nope.. not my fault....

Subject: nope.. not my fault....
From: GUEST,a husband
Date: 13 Sep 14 - 04:06 PM

How come I regularly get cries from the wife to immediately drop what I'm doing
and come and fix something that has suddenly, mysteriously, spontaneously stopped working,
snapped, or collapsed..???

Just now it was the clothes drier.
Last week her hairdryer.
Before that the shower... microwave.. fridge door.. tumble drier......

Anyone notice a pattern..??

But it's never her fault.. ever..
she will consistently swear her innocence and argue against any suggestion or evidence to the contrary...

.. uncanny...

Subject: RE: nope.. not my fault....
From: Noreen
Date: 13 Sep 14 - 07:20 PM

So the clothes drier, microwave, fridge, tumble drier etc never stop working when YOU're using them?
Oh, you don't? I see- that'll be why then.

Subject: RE: nope.. not my fault....
From: Shimbo Darktree
Date: 13 Sep 14 - 07:36 PM

So ... I'm guessing this is one of those mysterious drifts from another website? A shame really ... the whole episode would have been better than a football game. Not musical, as most things are on the 'cat, but man cannot live by music alone. Oh, you think he can? Your folk clubs must pay better - ours doesn't pay at all!

Why am I writing this drivel? Back to my song database ...

Shimbo the Waffler

Subject: RE: nope.. not my fault....
From: GUEST,a husband
Date: 13 Sep 14 - 07:37 PM

A very fair point for consideration Noreen.

Of course I'm not a perfect husband.
Except, part of the division of labour in our household is I do all the cooking and wash my own clothes.

Neither of us bother much at the moment with dusting though, since the vacuum suspiciously expired.

Subject: RE: nope.. not my fault....
From: Ebbie
Date: 13 Sep 14 - 08:00 PM

Is the idea just faintly feasible that you two bought those appliances at about the same time and therefore they are approximately the same age and that just possibly they have reached the end of their trouble-free lives?

Personally, as a woman, I have difficulty in comprehending how I could damage

the clothes drier.
my hairdryer.
the shower...
the microwave..
the fridge door..
the tumble drier..

How does one do that, pray tell?

Subject: RE: nope.. not my fault....
From: GUEST,a husband
Date: 13 Sep 14 - 08:57 PM

Ebbie, you'd have to ask her.

But as the standard reply is usually "Accidents happen, things just break - fix it now"
your guess is as good as mine ?

clothes drier [1 year old] - metal tubing twisted and cracked by unknown sudden trauma, total collapse

hairdryer [4 or 5 years old] - thick flexy wall hanging ring, snapped

the shower - shower head dropped approx 5 feet, shattered [3rd one in 12 years - same cause and damage]

the microwave* [10 years old] - door front panel cracked

fridge door [2 years old] - rubber seal deformed by shoe strap/buckle trapped in bottom of door overnight

tumble drier - [1 month after warranty expired] sudden death, possible supernatural causes ???????????????

[*when I said earlier I do all the cooking - that does not include all her inbetween meal snacks
when she uses the microwave]

... and yet if I even dare muttter words such as 'careless' & 'clumsy'....

Subject: RE: nope.. not my fault....
From: Ebbie
Date: 14 Sep 14 - 01:43 AM

Not to put too fine a point on it, it occurs to me that I might not like being married to you. First off, it is not the wife- it is MY wife. OK?

Subject: RE: nope.. not my fault....
From: Musket
Date: 14 Sep 14 - 03:21 AM

If she comes through from the kitchen complaining, try shortening her chain.

Subject: RE: nope.. not my fault....
From: GUEST, topsie
Date: 14 Sep 14 - 03:28 AM

And the vacuum? Did 'someone' mysteriously forget to empty it?

Subject: RE: nope.. not my fault....
From: maeve
Date: 14 Sep 14 - 05:27 AM

The public blame game is an odd way to work out marital issues.

Subject: RE: nope.. not my fault....
From: GUEST,Grishka
Date: 14 Sep 14 - 07:31 AM

You write that there is evidence that your wife is not "innocent". Assuming this, it can be either culpable negligence or intention. In either case, the possibly subconscious purpose may be to get you away from what you are doing (watching porn on the Internet?) and force you to interact with her.

If that is indeed your suspicion, you have two options: to tell everybody how stupid she is, or to save your marriage. Find out what she wants, what you want (- not always easy either -), and work on it.

Subject: RE: nope.. not my fault....
From: GUEST,a husband
Date: 14 Sep 14 - 08:45 AM

What an odd bunch of indignant self righteous responses ???

Ebbie, I've no intention of even cheating on the wife, let alone proposing to a complete stranger
on an entirely different continent.

Where we come from, 'the wife' is an accepted sign of respect,
'my wife' is frowned upon by any feminists we know
as implying posession and ownership in the archaic sense of 'Chattel'.

The wife is a highly educated modern woman, she would not be at all happy with that.

We've just emerged from our Sunday mid-day 'cuddle'.
The pine bed frame [15 years old] is cracked in the middle, held together with glue
and a few strong screws.

This is actually one area of household damage we both happily agree the cause of
and accept full mutual responsibility.

Subject: RE: nope.. not my fault....
From: GUEST, topsie
Date: 14 Sep 14 - 12:37 PM

That's interesting regarding 'the wife'. In England it would sound as if you are regarding, her as an object, like 'the car', 'the washing machine', or 'the lawn mower', or something you own, like 'the dog' or 'the cat'. Does the same apply regarding 'the girlfriend' or 'the fiancée'? And does she refer to you as 'my husband' or 'the husband'?

(I'm not being facetious - I really would like to know.)

Subject: RE: nope.. not my fault....
From: GUEST,Rahere
Date: 14 Sep 14 - 12:43 PM

Gremlins, my dear 'oss, gremlins (I take it you're the original 'ubby 'oss?).
Wait until you have kids...and the girls have boyfriends...and the boys start helping...

Subject: RE: nope.. not my fault....
From: Noreen
Date: 14 Sep 14 - 12:46 PM

What are you expecting in way of response, then?

Are we expected to sympathise with your implied belief that your wife is at best careless and clumsy and at worst deliberately damaging all these household items- and lying about what happened?

Perhaps this might be suitable blokey chat at the pub, but it's not likely to get a friendly response from those who feel sympathetic towards your wife.

Think about it :)

Subject: RE: nope.. not my fault....
From: Rapparee
Date: 14 Sep 14 - 12:50 PM

So? In August we replaced the furnace, the air conditioner, the garbage disposal, and a water heater. Yesterday I replaced the microwave and we're waiting for the washer and the refrigerator to croak.

Things wear out. The centre cannot hold, and what rough beast, its hour come at last, slinks toward Bethlehem to be born?

Subject: RE: nope.. not my fault....
From: LilyFestre
Date: 14 Sep 14 - 01:00 PM

I don't know the circumstances but things DO break and wear out. It happens here frequently. Things aren't made like they used to be.

I'm not sure I'd appreciate the demand for things to be fixed immediately but if you are able to fix them yourselves, count that as a blessing as repairs are costly.

My husband can fix just about anything but I do my best to give him some time to get things done as he does already have a full time job. Sometimes a gently SHOVE in the direction of the item needing fixing IS necessary. My honey doesn't like me to put nails in the wall (he does not like the way *I* hold the hammer) so I'm only somewhat patient in waiting for that kind of thing to be done before I do it myself as I CAN use a hammer just fine. :)

Michelle

Subject: RE: nope.. not my fault....
From: GUEST,pete from seven stars link
Date: 14 Sep 14 - 04:01 PM

I,m not good at fixing stuff, but if -I- don't service the vacuum cleaner , someone else will tell me its not working very well !
I try to be on the ball with that one , as, if its choc a bloc and the brushes are full of hair, it will be inefficient, and might well break.

Subject: RE: nope.. not my fault....
From: olddude
Date: 14 Sep 14 - 05:52 PM

When my Mrs killed my sports car she said that tractor trailer just pulled out in front of her..it wasn't her fault that it ran over the front and flattened it like a beer can. No she wasn't hurt but my car was killed Lol yea dear

Subject: RE: nope.. not my fault....
From: Ebbie
Date: 15 Sep 14 - 03:10 AM

Inattention, carelessness, a smidgen of malice- they can all be a part of interaction between people.

For instance, I remember my brother 'accidentally' ran over his (the?) wife's bed of asparagus with a tractor mower. The fact that he didn't/doesn't care for asparagus had nothing to with it. Of course not.

A nephew of mine ran over my mother's new rhododenron plant with her lawn mower. He had been shamed into 'helping' his grandma by his mom. He never noticed the plant. Of course not.

Subject: RE: nope.. not my fault....
From: meself
Date: 15 Sep 14 - 10:52 AM

Wow. I'm glad I don't have people like that in my family.

I remember once, when I was a kid, damaging a young tree with a ride-on mower - I had misjudged the distance it would take me to get the thing turned. I wonder if the owner went to his grave convinced I had deliberately damaged it to get back at him for some imagined offence ....

Subject: RE: nope.. not my fault....
From: gnu
Date: 15 Sep 14 - 11:48 AM

I sympathize without inference of any kind. I heard about a (Surely "a" is acceptable?) wife who used to break things on purpose. For example, one should close the bathtub valves before closing the shower diversion valve in order to prevent pressure shock on the assembly parts. This was explained the very first time the loud bang was heard and again many times thereafter, to no avail. The first replacement required cutting an access in the kitchen wall and making a presentable access panel. As well, it required cutting into the basement ceiling, removing the wet insulation, drying out the works, installing new insulation, making an access panel, and painting. The second replacement was bothersome. The third was the straw that broke the husband's back. The ultimatum was issued: Fuck it up again and YOU call a plumber and YOU pay for it. Yup... you guessed it... next morning... BANG. Maybe this wife was just not a "morning person"?

Quiz: How many spoons does it take to destroy a garburator?

BTW, just wondering... if spouse A, accidentally of course, burns a cigarette long burn mark in the kitchen vinyl flooring which spouse A doesn't care for anymore even though it's fine in the mind of spouse B, should spouse A go fuckin apeshit when spouse B says, "No. I am NOT calling the insurance company. That is obviously fraud. Ya want new flooring, call a flooring contractor and YOU pay for it."

I'll stop short of the dishwasher, the oven, the screen door, the living room curtains, the... as the above oughta provide enough fodder for future conversation or contention or whatever.

Subject: RE: nope.. not my fault....
From: Bert
Date: 15 Sep 14 - 01:22 PM

...How come I regularly get cries from the wife to immediately drop what I'm doing...

Stop right there. Could it be that you are not paying her enough attention?

Subject: RE: nope.. not my fault....
From: Gurney
Date: 15 Sep 14 - 05:29 PM

Perhaps we should look rather at the quality of modern appliances, and the dearth of people who can repair them, who've gone out of business because appliances are not intended to be fixable. I CAN fix many things, or rather, I could, but for most of the electric stuff we have, spare parts are just not available.

Some items are just ludicrous, like flimsy(and unavailable) moulded plastic hinges on big heavy frig. doors, dryer doors, microwave doors. People who keep house have to move things to clean behind and under. Could this be the unnamed wife's job?

Or like unavailable transformers for otherwise good TVs and printers.
Nothing electronic works on the power that comes out of the wall, the voltage has to be transformed. Guess how.

We live in a throw-away world. Stuff is cheaper than it used to be for good reason.

Subject: RE: nope.. not my fault....
From: GUEST,Rahere
Date: 16 Sep 14 - 08:39 AM

Try following the Maker blog.

Subject: RE: nope.. not my fault....
From: Mr Red
Date: 17 Sep 14 - 03:24 AM

in my experience "stuff" happens. And it is more likely to happen to some people. As an engineer I notice when an object is vulnerable to certain kinds of usage and modify my approach. Especially if I paid for it.

A non-engineer (of any gender) drives me into apoplexy (internally) when I see how some approach an innocent, unsuspecting apparatus.

Take my next door neighbour, we are semi-detached (=duplex). When closing the front door I turn the handle and pull, if stiff - brace with foot to avoid slamming. Next door they yank with force to over-come any resistance from jam or catch, ie slam. They are on their second door of a 25 year-old house.

And don't event start me on girlfriends' "Can't do this on the internet...............................!"

Subject: RE: nope.. not my fault....
From: GUEST,Rahere
Date: 17 Sep 14 - 06:31 AM

And always check if you can get into it to sort it BEFORE you buy it.

Subject: RE: nope.. not my fault....
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 17 Sep 14 - 12:06 PM

my first fridge lasted 27 years. It was a Phillips (sp?) & was new to the Australian market when I bought it in the late 70s & could be easily accessed for any repairs thru the top, according to the friend in the frozen foods industry who recommended it.

I dunno about that - it never needed repairing! Eventually the door seal which had been replaced a number of years earlier was no longer holding the door so I bought a new one which I know will never last 27 years.

My first clothes dryer lasted 17 years, the second about 9 years, dunno how long no. 3 will last -

sandra

Subject: RE: nope.. not my fault....
From: Bert
Date: 17 Sep 14 - 01:01 PM

The Kitchen Aid died after 30 years of service. I went to our local appliance repair shop (Yes we have one in Colorado Springs, www.nelsonappliance.com)and bought a part for $35 dollars. It should be good for another 30 years. A new Kitchen Aid would cost over $300.

Subject: RE: nope.. not my fault....
From: gnu
Date: 17 Sep 14 - 02:29 PM

Sandra... planned obsolescence is a bitch. Or whatever is PC today.

Subject: RE: nope.. not my fault....
From: Gurney
Date: 17 Sep 14 - 05:19 PM

Ah, Mr Red, you've hit on a particular itch in my undies, sticking doors. When external doors are hung, by chippies, they are hung as manufactured, primed/varnished on both faces but NOT painted on the edges. And they are usually hung with fixed-pin hinges so that they are not readily removable.
This means that when the house, along with the door, is painted, the bottom edge is, and remains, unprotected wood. Which swells and drags on the sill, stressing the door all Winter.

I used to maintain a factory staffed by people who SLAPPED their way through the doors which had lever-style doorhandles, destroying the stainless-steel latches in about four years. Time after time.
It saved them from breaking step on their way through.

Subject: RE: nope.. not my fault....
From: Elmore
Date: 17 Sep 14 - 07:59 PM

Chippies?

Subject: RE: nope.. not my fault....
From: GUEST,Rahere
Date: 17 Sep 14 - 09:23 PM

Carpenters. In France, jail bait.

Subject: RE: nope.. not my fault....
From: Elmore
Date: 17 Sep 14 - 10:11 PM

Thought chippies were prostitutes, but I'm a very old Yank.

Subject: RE: nope.. not my fault....
From: Gurney
Date: 18 Sep 14 - 04:51 PM

Sorry. Chippies, brickies, sparkies..... UK/NZ/Oz slang for tradesmen in the building trade and elsewhere. Not insulting, just normal.