The Kneeslider

Doers Builders and Positive People

Bob the Builder Gets All the Breaks

By

The Kneeslider

Do you know Bob? Bob likes to work with his hands. He’s really curious, too. He’s always looking inside devices of all sorts, constantly tearing through those “no user serviceable parts inside” tags, to figure out how they work, voiding most of his warranties along the way, to his wife’s dismay, but, though he’s had a few close calls, he never seems to really break anything. OK, there was that one time, but he’s been pretty lucky overall.

 

He reads a lot of technical books and magazines, visits some good tech blogs like The Kneeslider, searching for new ideas and inspiration and is always asking questions about things he finds interesting, … which is most everything. He’s always learning, always adding to his skills, he figures it’s better to know than not to know and even better to know how. He’s not trying to impress anyone, it’s just the way Bob is, he’s wired that way. Bob seems to enjoy life, and to top it all off, he even got a promotion at work during this recession.

His neighbor, Fred, isn’t doing as well, the world seems to be stacked against him. He knows where he stands and if someone tells him things are a certain way and some things should never be tried, well, then, he doesn’t try them, after all, why should he stick his neck out? Life’s tough enough as it is.

Fred wanted to go to college years ago because he was told the degree would unlock all of the right doors but he didn’t have much money or a scholarship so he was out of luck. He didn’t have the right connections and without that paper to prove he knew something, he was going nowhere and he knew it. He had the feeling they were holding him down. He figured he would try getting into computers but all of the software was so expensive and no one was willing to teach him how to use it. It’s not like you could get all of that knowledge free for the asking, you gotta know someone.

Fred says guys like him never get a break. Life is hard for Fred, but he hangs out with some other guys who are also having a tough time and they try to keep each other’s spirits up as they wait for the economic recovery so they can get going again. Fred saw on TV that it might be a while but things were getting better. Fred does have a job, but it’s tenuous and he’s not very happy with it, plus, there’s not much left over after the bills are paid. Vacations are out of the question, so he bought a big new flatscreen TV and some nice surround sound speakers, instead, and a new Playstation. The family will just vacation at home. Since he can’t afford expensive hobbies, he volunteered to referee the kids’ soccer games to fill up his spare time.

One man’s junk is another man’s project
Coming home after a soccer game, one day, Fred saw Bob working on an old motorcycle and wandered over to see what was up. Fred joked, “Hey, where did you get that? It looks like a piece of junk.” Bob smiled, “Well, it is junk, I guess. Jerry, across the street, was tired of looking at it in his garage. It hasn’t run for a couple of years and it would cost too much to get it fixed so he was going to get it hauled away. I said I would take it off his hands and he was happy to get rid of it. Doesn’t look like much, but I think I can get it running. Don’t think it’s getting any spark.” Fred shook his head, “Don’t know much about that mechanical stuff, looks like an awful lot of work to me, besides, what are you going to do with it if you get it running? You haven’t ridden in years.” Bob shrugged, “I’ll figure that out later, but first I have to find out where that spark went.” Fred turned to leave and added, “Those things are dangerous. Hey, wanna help ref soccer?” Bob, already shining a light on the engine replied, “No, Thanks Fred. Not much free time these days.”

A couple of weeks later, Fred heard a motorcycle running next door. He turned off the TV and went out to investigate just in time to see Bob loading the old bike on a trailer. It was hard to believe it was the same bike he’d seen just weeks before. Bob got the engine running, polished the bits of chrome that weren’t rusted, sanded down and painted the rest, removed the rust from the inside of the gas tank with a neat trick he found on The Kneeslider, and then he gave the bike a deep red rattle can paint job. It looked years newer.

Money for nothin’ but not for Fred
A skinny kid about 16 shook Bob’s hand and then drove off with the bike. Fred watched it roll away and asked, “Who was that?” Bob said, “That was Mike’s boy. We were talking at work and when I told him I fixed up an old motorcycle he said his son was looking for one and offered to buy it. Gave me $500 for it.” Fred’s eyes got wide, “You mean to tell me Jerry gave you a 500 dollar bike for nothing? Huh! How do you rate? Well, I never liked Jerry anyway.” He spun around and stomped off.

It must be luck – what else could it be?
Bob watched Fred as he disappeared across the yard, thought for a moment, but said nothing. Then he turned to his workbench, picked up his coffee cup, took a sip and began thinking about building a pulsejet engine he had read about on The Kneeslider. He had mentioned it to Fred a few weeks before and Fred told him he was crazy, it was really dangerous, besides, what did he know about jet engines, he was no jet mechanic, he should just leave it alone, but Bob liked the idea and figured he would give it a try. All he had to do was find some plans and he’d be on his way. He closed the garage door, hopped up on his stool, pulled the keyboard and mouse of his computer closer and clicked over to Google. In the background, Bob could hear the faint sound of Fred’s TV.

Free resources:
Khan Academy
MIT Open Courseware
Blender 3D
SketchUp
BRL-CAD
Fab@Home 3D printer plans
Open Office
GIMP

Low cost software training:
Lynda.com

Low cost access to tools:
TechShop

Previously on The Kneeslider:
What Recession – Just Do It

Posted on Filed Under: Down Time, Motorcycle Builders

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Comments

  1. That’s a nice story.
    Not exactly mine, but I see some similarities in it.
    I’m a bit this guy that do not watch often TV…

    Keep up the good job.
    Greetings from France.
    ;]

  3. I agree with Phoebe, I, too, have a hard time parting with something I’ve fixed or made or restored. I’m like Bob, except with a compulsion to keep!

  5. What is the number one thing that keeps me coming back to this site? Motorcycles? no, a close second. Advertising? no, a distant eleventh. Comraderie with like minded people? no, I don’t even know where that would place.
    It’s the insightful and entertaining writing of someone who gets it, and is so easily able to put it in words. Thanks again Mr. Crowe.

  6. My Sensei, a man who I’ve respected for many years, is just like this Bob. I’m following in his footsteps, making the same choices and reaping the same rewards.
    I’ve got friends just like Fred, and although I love ’em dearly, I cannot figure out why for the love of Christ, they sit in front of that damned TV night after night and watch that sleazy drivel they are calling “entertainment”. In my mind, it’s almost like watching paint dry and just as much fun. I mean, who cares if that guy can really sing?
    Well, obviously the american public is so starved for “entertainment” that they’ll watch a nobody embarass themselves onstage and think that it’s funny or enlightening.
    Come on people, quit with the TV crap already. Give us a well written mystery or a movie of the week that won’t make us fall asleep.
    Me, I’d rather be wrenchin out there in the shop….

  7. Sigmund Freud once said that Religion was the opiate of the masses. If he were alive today he would probably amend that to Television is the opiate of the masses. For those who watch TV there is little to be learned unless you are tuned to the home and garden channel or Discovery. Most of it is mindless drivel that keeps your brain numb and you complacent, like Fred. Bob chooses to use his time learning and appreciating what can be accomplished if one chooses too. Two different ways of living. My mother is 82 and she, at my insistence, learned two years ago to operate a computer and run internet searches. Today, she is still learning and reaching out for more. It is one of those things that I thank my parents for, the desire to learn, improve, and seek out new and better ways………..

  8. Think you need to change the name from “The Kneeslider” to “The Doer Society”.

  9. Sensei also has luck by the pound. His latest acquistion is a near perfect ’79 XS650 that had a burnt coil. He got the bike for -free- from the former owner, who has upgraded to a newer full dresser. The old Yamaha was sitting at the dealer, who couldn’t (or wouldn’t) fix it. Maybe they had plans for it. Don’t know, but my friend said he’s seen dealers steal bikes over storage costs before and he wasn’t about to let that happen. The owner retrieved it and just -gave- it to my friend, who had it running later on that week. Average miles, a tight motor, and no rust.
    For dang near free.

  11. Television rots your brain. Friends always ask me, “Hey did you see that show last night?” I tell them I don’t watch TV and they look at me like I’m nuts! I don’t know where people find all the time to do nothing (AKA watching TV).

    Video games and working a remote are not the same as working with your hands. Good story Paul.

  13. Aren’t we all feeling a bit smug now, as most of us probably are a bit more like Bob than Fred? In particular those who don’t spend half our evenings trawling motorcycle blogs.

    • Kim, I gave up on the self centered bulls**t years ago. It’s counter-productive.
      I’ve also given up trying to point out other peoples problems to them, they don’t always appreciate my insight. And you can’t change people, not really. You can only lead by example. If you don’t put out a good example, you got nothin.
      My wife’s been trying to do that for more than 30 years now. Whoever told her she could change me after she married me had rocks in their head.
      However, I have found out that you can bribe them. Money is good, fine barbeque might be better…hint hint.

      • When you turn 30 people should stop believing they can change you. At age 40 they have to tolerate your quirks and idiosyncrasies. At 50 they have to respect them. Turning 60 entitles you to walk around talk aloud to yourself without anyone making fun of that (though of course with all that blue tooth phone tech around no one may notice anyway).

    • I hope you didn’t mean it this way, but I certainly don’t look down my nose at others that don’t know how to “do work” or simply don’t want to. It’s my hobby that I’m passionate about, and it’s not everyone’s thing. Nothing wrong with that.

  15. It’s what fixed my Power Steering pump for $1.60 in o-rings, $20 in fluids, and another $20 hose that didn’t like being moved after 90,000 miles. A Dealership woulda wanted the better part of $800, and probably would have pitched the old power steering pump.

    It’s also what’s de-rusting a bit of history in my garage. (google chelates, or check out my website)

    What gets me is that, now that the internet disassembls everything for me (most recent example: iPad 2), I don’t HAVE to take it apart myself. This is good, as certain assemblies only like (or can be convinced) to come apart and go back together a certain number of times.

    • Wow! $1.60 is expensive…I did the same thing for about 1/2 the cost and about 10minutes of my time. Dealer wanted to install a new pump for about $800.

  16. My name must be Frob. I have serious streaks of both running though me. And I hate Fred.

    • I must be Beb, as I have enough of the knowledge to get into projects, but get imtimidated by what seems like the enormity of it all… I’ve rebuilt my old ’88 Sporty twice since ’92, but this time I’ve hit some sort of Fred-wall, and just am tired of the dance. I do fix everything around the house, and even help others do that stuff, and I don’t do vidiot games, although I like 3 or 4 TV shows, but can read M/C and political internet stuff for hours. Maybe this summer…at least it’s still in one piece.

      • Bob can do other things besides motorcycles too. if you’ve already done it twice, You don’t have to do it again. We only ever do what we want to do, and a big step towards satisfaction is throwing off unneeded obligations.

  17. Great story Paul! The flatscreen and Playstation statement really hits home in explaining the laziness in today’s youth. I come across A LOT of people who express a desire to build with their own hands-a classic car, motorcycle, etc. But they only focus on the end goa: the satisfactions that come with finishing such a project. People don’t understand the unglamorous amount of effort and hard work required to truly undertake a restoration project. When people see my ’79 GS750, they are shocked when I tell them it took me almost three years’ time to rebuild (spare time from college, mind you). As if they expect perfection at that point in time, since I’m not yet finished.

    I just spent the last two days messing around with threaded rod, a butane heater and spacers to replace the front wheel bearings-a lot of trial and error, and I ended up stopping by a friend’s shop for some help, but I got it done. $4.75 in hardware is a better deal than the tall bill a stealership will throw at you. I promised to help out at that shop for a day or two in return, since I’m the kind of guy to wrench on a Jaguar MKII over playing Call of Duty any day.

  18. Fantastic parable however there is one thing to keep in mind, balance, I will use my time spent as example, by day I repair any and all sorts of industrial equipment and machinery, when my day is done many times I go to one of several shops I hang out at like a tavern and continue to wrench or create, however then when it is time to go home to see my most wonderful wife I will sit with her and talk, watch some TV then turn on my X-Box and go nuts killing Zombies with a few Freds, so all I mean to say is that life can and should be of balance

  19. Yea, I’d rather ride that old free bike for 40,000 miles and THEN sell it for $500.

    If you ask me, I’d say Bob needs to find some new friends. Me? I don’t have the kind of time Bob has, not because I’m watching TV (I don’t have one) but because I’m spending so much time hanging out with my wife and playing with my daughter. I’m happy to give up fixing that oil leak on my old Air Head for that. Besides, once you fix something it’s not like you have to spend much time on it after the fact (unless it’s that old Triumph over there…).

    -todd

  20. There is a Zen quality to working on or creating things, and if the journey interests you as much or more than the destination, being like Bob is fun. I know plenty of Bobs and Freds, and lots of folks somewhere in the middle. Myself, I like making stuff of my own creation, and don’t care much for fixing things other people designed. I think it’s just arrogance and a design education for the most part, because I get immense satisfaction from doing a good job fixing something.

    As for the rest of it, Todd puts a nice perspective on priorities talking about spending time with his daughter. Most people can’t devote the chunks of time needed to a project like building a bike from scratch without sacrificing time with family or friends. Or if one does, it’s piecemeal over the course of years or decades, for which a lot of people don’t have the patience or attention span.

    Fixing a neighbor’s “junk” bike is a lesser time commitment, but if the know how to fix it (or the confidence to believe you can) isn’t there, then the bike is junk in another pair of hands as well. If you watch any of the DIY shows aside from This Old House, most show you how to buy a kit, or bolt on parts, and how to install the parts. There isn’t much craftspersonship involved, because any craft involves thought and experience.

  21. When I read this article, you know what popped in up in my mind? Ayan Rand. I swear, this .. theme just matched up so much it isn’t funny.

  23. I call them can do people and cant do people. Cant do people have already decided that they cant do it and therefore will never learn . Can do people cannot be defeated. Opportunities rise more often for can do people because they have spent their whole lives opening these doors and creating the get it done attitude that people come to respect.
    The problem I have these days is mostly cant do’s trying to get me to do it for them. I don’t mind teaching but don’t say we when you mean me without compensation.
    Paul, you are definitely a can do person, as are most of the posters here at the Kneeslider.
    Hats off to all of you .

  25. “Normally working adults render a service. They implement what other people want. This is not what I do.”

    Papasan

  26. To add an angle on todd’s comments about priorities, I have noticed that sometimes I run into the limited time factor. In those cases, sometimes its more cost effective to pay someone else to fix one problem so that I can devote my attention to another. For instance, I don’t always enjoy tracking down a clutch problem with my 84 VF700s, so i took it to the local shop run by some retired guys who diagnosed and rebuilt the slave cylinder for $60. The problem had already cost my way more than $60 in time and lost productivity, and as much as the Bob in me wanted to do it himself, Bob is trying to start a company on top of his full time job and marriage, and had to delegate the clutch job to Fred.

    Some of the key traits that Bob has over Fred are patience and contentedness. For me, my Fred streak is alive and well when I get impatient and want to have accomplished in a weekend what took another Bob 3 years to do. I get frustrated and feel “behind.” But when I am content with myself, and realize that each of those steps take time and are valuable along the way, it frees me to slow down and be patient. Fred sees bob’s restored motorcycle and sees it as a single, insurmountable obstacle. Bob looks at the motorcycle and see a bunch of small, tangible, doable tasks. Fred never starts because there is never enough time to overcome the huge task. Bob sees a small task that requires one or two tools and a couple of hours, and so he bites off that small piece.

    The minor flaw Bob can have is a lack of perspective on what he values. He is painted in the parable as a very balanced contented person, but the problem with the Bob in me is that sometimes he can be maniacally focused to the detrement of his other responsibilities, or even to the things that Bob would rather do. So I try to use Fred to free Bob to do the tasks which bring the most joy.

  27. The parable is nice of a bit overly simplistic. The world is not divided between doers and complainers. Life is infinitely more complicated than that. As some have said, a person can have priorities other than being a compulsive doer – taking care of family for instance. Unless Bob’s motorcycle is his only means of transportation, perhaps he is spending money on his hobby that may be put to better use.

    The story assumes that there is disposable income to do these sorts of things. I know many who struggle just to pay the electric bill much less doing mods to a bike. As Maslow taught us, you’re not worried about your hobby when you’re struggling to just keep a roof over your head…

  28. Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.
    Thomas A. Edison

  29. I’m a conneseur of sour grapes. My wife wears the pants and I’m scared of my daughter. I have an engineering degree, so I can tell you why you didn’t do it right, even though nothing about my degree applies to the subject. My life experience can be summed up in a small collection of tired cliches. My priorities (I.E., what wife and daughter will allow me to do) have no room for tools, but I sure have a swell computer that I get to use when my wife and daughter let me.

    Yeah, Bob probably only does that doer stuff because he is lonely and needs attention on the internet. Bob probably cries at night and wishes he were me. I’m very happy with my life. Just ask my wife and daughter.

    -fred

    Oh wait – could it be that Bob really IS married and has more children than I do? No way! I’ll bet he’s a lousy dad. What sort of kid wouldn’t want a henpecked helicopter dad like me? Did YOU ever want to go to racetracks when you were a kid? Ever wish your dad actually, you know, did, like, stuff? Heck no! Bob Sucks!

    • It’s a bit obvious this sarcastic bit of diatribe is directed to me and my comment – however, it is a bit far from the truth.
      My wife is an excellent woman who I very much enjoy being around, she’s every bit my equal. My daughter is four and I love watching her grow and learn (she likes fixing stuff – or trying to) and I want to be sure she knows that her daddy loves her very much and that she’s an important part of my life. When she’s five or so I’ll likely be showing her how to ride and fix a PW50. I am a Mechanical Engineer and I work in the automotive industry, even designed an electric car from the ground up. I’ve stopped my side work repairing, restoring, and modifying other people’s cars and motorcycles to focus more on my stuff and my family. My collection is no cliche, I currently have ten motorcycles that I’m riding / restoring / modifying / rebuilding, I maintain three classic VWs (’58, ’67, ’86, the ’67 and I were running 14 sec 1/4 mile when I was in college), and my computer is an old G40 Thinkpad that I got cheap and repaired. My garage is a bit overstuffed with the tools I need. We can’t really have too many tools… My dad took me to Baylands Raceway nearly every weekend something was running (he was wrenching on a number of people’s cars) as long as I can remember, I toured with him in his show winning classic Mopars (one was even in Elle magazine), and he had me rebuild a transmission when I was 11 and restored my first car when I was 14. My step dad belonged to a fairly notorious Harley gang in Oakland and I learned a lot from him too. Too bad he didn’t live very long.

      Why am I defending myself to Fred? Besides, my name isn’t Fred or Bob, its;

      -todd

  30. My wife and I stopped watching TV in Feb 2005 after a 3 week bike tour of Tassie.
    We didn’t watch any TV in Tassie while on tour, and just thought that we didn’t miss it.
    Hence no more.
    It’s amazing how much time we have together now, and time for doing things we like doing.
    We still watch the odd movie, on DVD, and have no chance but to learn whats happening in the world from all of our work colleagues that are still stuck to the box. They all love spilling the beans and telling us about all the bad news.
    Life has never been better.

  31. Coaching a soccer team is time very well spent. I got involved with my son`s cub group and, though it did take up precious time, the 6 years of memories are worth far more. Everyone on this site “gets in it“ because they`ve found the gratification that Fred hasn`t discovered. As a cub leader I organized a cub-car building session for the group. This enabled all of the kids to safely find that gratification as they chopped, filed, sanded, drilled, hammered, glued and painted their blocks of wood into race-ready hardware. Watching those kids beam with pride over thier new creations was a major pay-back for me. The “build“ became an anual 2-meeting event for the group – it is one of the most eagerly awaited activities, as well. So to X-box…BOULEAYAHH!!!

  32. Unfortunately, these days people like Bob are the ones getting the short end of the stick, while people like Fred, manage to do very well, by exploiting people like Bob.

  33. I’ll never get all my current projects finished……really hard to accept if ya know what I mean.

  34. I can relate to this story a lot!. My hobby for 30 years was fixing up and selling vintage bikes. When my career evaporated with the housing market, I turned my hobby into a full time business. Thank the angels, it’s doing quite well and I’m doing what I want with my life and keeping the bills current.

  36. This story was, obviously, very simplistic, but meant to illustrate a point. We are literally awash in opportunities and they appear every day, while resources to prepare you to take advantage of them are often free for the asking or available at low cost. The Freds of the world are looking at their choices as though it was still 40 years ago when the real obstacles they face are often self imposed.

    The higher education bubble is about to burst as ridiculously high tuition is meeting free or low cost but high quality alternatives. Widespread low cost access to tools of all sorts is growing fast. This is the 21st century, not 1950.

    The story was also meant to show how you create value applying what you know to the real world, solving problems. Simply knowing can be great fun, but using the knowledge can be financially rewarding. You need no one’s permission to get started, just motivation.

    I used a motorcycle to illustrate the point but that project could be anything; starting a business, writing a book, anything that takes directed effort over time. While Fred waits for something to happen, Bob is out there making things happen. There are too many Freds and not enough Bobs.

    As to the comments about neglecting the family while off on that pursuit, you could do something that involves the whole family, too. It’s just a matter of what you choose to pursue.

    I wrote this because I keep running across people who can’t see what is literally in front of their face, talking about lack of opportunities when I see so many I don’t know where to start. When I watch the news on TV,(yes, I watch TV), I hear someone tell a reporter of their difficulties and I want to ask, “Well, have you tried this?” “What about doing this?” I can think of a multitude of options while that person sits there frozen into inaction, except perhaps to protest or complain.

    It’s all attitude. If you’re convinced there’s nothing you can do, that’s what you’ll see, you’ll do nothing and get nothing. If you think there’s always something you can do, you’ll start looking and asking questions and trying things to see what works. The results will amaze you.

  37. I live in Athens, Greece. A lot of motorcycles, scooters, mopeds, BUT people like Bob are subject to extinction, while new Freds are raising every day in more and more rapid rates…I still fix my bikes myself and rarely visit my friend Nick the mechanic, I still want to build that new project custom bike, I still chase my dreams…BUT, The environment, the situation, everything around me is holding me back…The struggle with the Fred in me, is growing stronger day after day…
    Thank you VERY MUCH for the story, AND for the way you put things, Paul!
    Now I feel stronger to continue the battle with the Fred inside…

  38. As much as I hate to admit it but I’m a Fred. I felt that I niether had the time nor the cash to expand my portfolio of skills, but unlike the Fred depicted here I will not whine and deride anyone their use of skills to produce something rather cool. I’ll say to myself ‘ Wow that is cool I wish I could do that’ but that is as far as it will go.
    So to all the Bobs of the world, keep it up.