I had a MAJOR brainfart

Dan in MI

Dan in MI

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Davisburg, MI. USA
I have been working on a gun off and on for month that isn't functioning as I'd like. It just doesn't lock back on the an empty mag, not a major issue, but it is annoying. I shoot at my property an hour away. I am also in mid project of working on a 20x30 cabin on the same property. So I almost always kill two birds with one stone.

I've been working on the gun off and on to solve the issue. It got to the point I sent it back to the manufacturer for repair. Upon return I took it out and tested it and thought they had it fixed. With the repair note came a coupon for 15% off accessories so I grabbed a threaded barrel.

Yesterday I went out to do some work and play with the gun. For reference I shoot after the work is done so I am tired at that point. I also use my tailgate as my shooting bench. I loaded up a half dozen magazines and started shooting. Well, they didn't fix it. It's much better but not 100%. Once that was discovered I went into play mode. I swapped out the barrel with the threaded one to see how it runs. I ran a bunch of ammo through it with and without the suppressor with no new hiccups. I took the suppressor off to swap out the barrel and because it was hot I put on the bed rail for a little more airflow. I had done some group shooting to see how the threaded barrel shot compared to the factory barrel and with/without the suppressor. With the factory barrel back in place I shot a bunch to get the final group comparison targets. I shot a few groups, pulled the targets, gave it them a quick look, packed up, and policed my brass.

I drove home and cleaned out the truck, threw my range bag into the shop and had dinner. After dinner I went and pulled the gun out of the case, wiped it down so it wouldn't condense and rust. About 9 I went to bed. About 9:30 I thought "where is the suppressor?" OH, NO! I could not remember where it was. Then it hit me. I put in an abnormal place and forgot. In hope of a foggy memory I jumped out of bed and searched the range bag. Nope. The I remembered where I last saw it and looked in the bed of the truck. Nope. It has to be on the ground by the range. By now it is ten o'clock and I'm not driving two hours to look.

All night I'm hoping it is there on the ground, praying I don't have some kids sneaking in and going fishing (happens too often) that find it and take it, then there's the "what do I tell ATF?" scenario running in my head. I went the property early this morning and there it was, in the dirt, covered in dew. WHEW!!!

The moral of the story? I don't know... don't play when dead tired and distracted over things not working? Don't put things in an abnormal place? Don't be stupid? You pick, I'm just glad it was there.
 
Last edited:
Dan in MI said:
I have been working on a gun off and on for month that isn't functioning as I'd like. It just doesn't lock back on the an empty mag, not a major issue, but it is annoying. I shoot at my property an hour away. I am also in mid project of working on a 20x30 cabin on the same property. So I almost always kill two birds with one stone.

I've been working on the gun off and on to solve the issue. It got to the point I sent it back to the manufacturer for repair. Upon return I took it out and tested it and thought they had it fixed. With the repair note came a coupon for 15% off accessories so I grabbed a threaded barrel.

Yesterday I went out to do some work and play with the gun. For reference I shoot after the work is done so I am tired at that point. I also use my tailgate as my shooting bench. I loaded up a half dozen magazines and started shooting. Well, they didn't fix it. It's much better but not 100%. Once that was discovered I went into play mode. I swapped out the barrel with the threaded one to see how it runs. I ran a bunch of ammo through it with and without the suppressor with no new hiccups. I took the suppressor off to swap out the barrel and because it was hot I put on the bed rail for a little more airflow. I had done some group shooting to see how the threaded barrel shot compared to the factory barrel and with/without the suppressor. With the factory barrel back in place I shot a bunch to get the final group comparison targets. I shot a few groups, pulled the targets, gave it them a quick look, packed up, and policed my brass.

I drove home and cleaned out the truck, threw my range bag into the shop and had dinner. After dinner I went and pulled the gun out of the case, wiped it down so it wouldn't condense and rust. About 9 I went to bed. About 9:30 I thought "where is the suppressor?" OH, NO! I could not remember where it was. Then it hit me. I put in an abnormal place and forgot. In hope of a foggy memory I jumped out of bed and searched the range bag. Nope. The I remembered where I last saw it and looked in the bed of the truck. Nope. It has to be on the ground by the range. By now it is ten o'clock and I'm not driving two hours to look.

All night I'm hoping it is there on the ground, praying I don't have some kids sneaking in and going fishing (happens too often) that find it and take it, then there's the "what do I tell ATF?" scenario running in my head. I went the property early this morning and there it was, in the dirt, covered in dew. WHEW!!!

The moral of the story? I don't know... don't play dead when tired and distracted over things not working? Don't put things in an abnormal place? Don't be stupid? You pick, I'm just glad it was there.
Click to expand...
What a dope. I am glad I gave never been that forgetful. Well, wait a second.
There was that time when I unlocked a large padlock on my reloading die cabinet.
Put the keys down on a shelf inside the cabinet. Duh.
When done loading locked padlock (an expensive one) with keys still inside.
Couple of hours of searching for the keys I got the cutters to cut off the lock.
Wow. Keys were still safe inside.
 
Several years ago I had the brain fart of the century. I have told the story to some of the ROCS crew but this is a real dandy.

My Jamaican buddy Vince-Mon grows the best strawberries I have ever had. I asked him his secrets and he said Goatchit Mon, Goatchit!
So I get a couple of quarts of his strawberries and make up one for me and give the other to my wife to do the way she likes them.

I wash and hull them and mash them up with plenty of sugar and a little bit of hot water. I get them all nice and well mixed making sure that they are in plenty of nice sweet delicious strawberry juice.

I put them in the refrigerator because I love them cold and sweet ready for ice-cream or fresh biscuits.... I resist temptation to sneak a little taste until they are nice and cold.

A couple of hours goes by and I just have to take a taste of these beautiful sweet delectable strawberries!!!!

I took a HUGE spoonful and my eyes bugged out of my head and I spit out the mouthful of strawberries that I put Kosher salt in instead of sugar! The sugar container and salt container were both red and I grabbed the wrong one.

I had to throw them out and get more. When I told Vince-Mon what I did I thought he was going to piss his pants laughing at me. We both had a good laugh at my expense and we laugh about it every year.
 
After a while you realize it's not a good idea to put something down on the bumper or the roof. You realize as you are putting things down in the engine compartment you're going to forget about it and lose it. Don’t put tools down in deep sand or snow or mud. A voice says "If I put this here I'm apt to forget it."

But every once in a while you have a slip. Stuff happens. Don't beat yourself up about it.
 
Ya don't have to be old for this to happen. A bazillion years ago when I was just a kid I put my tools away after working under my car and couldn't find the six-inch extension for the 3/8" sockets I'd been using. Looked all over the area for it, but nope. Forgot all about it. A couple of years later I was doing similar under-the-car work and happened to reach up and grab the frame to help me move . . . and there was my missing extension, lying on the frame rail, rusty but otherwise OK. How it had remained there during all the travels that car had been thru I have no idea. Cleaned it up and it's still in my toolbox today. 😁
 
Sure been there myself, had to buy needle nose pliers the other day because I couldn't remember where I put the other one a few days ago. I also admire your resolve in not driving back at night, I would have headed right out since I know I wouldn't sleep a wink anyway.
 
Best misplaced tool story I have is this. After a maintenance shutdown at a refinery we started things up without any real issues. But there was this clunking sound in one line. It slowly moved a few hundred feet to bc a 90. It stopped moving but kept clunking.

The next shutdown the pipe was cut open and there sat a 48" steel pipe wrench. Someone must have put it in the open line and forgotten about it. The line was buttoned up without anyone looking inside.
 
Jeepnik said:
Best misplaced tool story I have is this. After a maintenance shutdown at a refinery we started things up without any real issues. But there was this clunking sound in one line. It slowly moved a few hundred feet to bc a 90. It stopped moving but kept clunking.

The next shutdown the pipe was cut open and there sat a 48" steel pipe wrench. Someone must have put it in the open line and forgotten about it. The line was buttoned up without anyone looking inside.
Click to expand...
My deceased friend Eddie was one of the best skilled tradesmen ever. He had 3 Journeyman's Cards as Millwright, Tool and Die Maker and Welder.

He put a cooling system in for a foundry that used a quarry pond that was there when the foundry was built. The line was 8" pipe with a 125 horsepower electric motor to move the water and I can't remember the GPM that Eddie said that it was.

They tested the system and it was good to go. A few days later he gets a call saying that it's not working properly. He goes back and tests it again and it works fine. Again he gets a call and can find no problem with it and the plant executives are there to verify that it's working. The 3rd time EVERYONE is beyond frustrated. Eddie stayed there for several hours and then the pump started cavitation and chattering like crazy.

He followed the intake line to the first 90° elbow and felt a fluttering vibration at that point. Eddie cut out the elbow to find a well battered Snapping Turtle in the line acting like a stove damper. The turtle was near the intake and got sucked into the line where it was pulled along to the first restriction point. They disposed of the turtle and Eddie built an enclosure around the intake to prevent further incidents.
 
Dan in MI said:
I have been working on a gun off and on for month that isn't functioning as I'd like. It just doesn't lock back on the an empty mag, not a major issue, but it is annoying. I shoot at my property an hour away. I am also in mid project of working on a 20x30 cabin on the same property. So I almost always kill two birds with one stone.

I've been working on the gun off and on to solve the issue. It got to the point I sent it back to the manufacturer for repair. Upon return I took it out and tested it and thought they had it fixed. With the repair note came a coupon for 15% off accessories so I grabbed a threaded barrel.

Yesterday I went out to do some work and play with the gun. For reference I shoot after the work is done so I am tired at that point. I also use my tailgate as my shooting bench. I loaded up a half dozen magazines and started shooting. Well, they didn't fix it. It's much better but not 100%. Once that was discovered I went into play mode. I swapped out the barrel with the threaded one to see how it runs. I ran a bunch of ammo through it with and without the suppressor with no new hiccups. I took the suppressor off to swap out the barrel and because it was hot I put on the bed rail for a little more airflow. I had done some group shooting to see how the threaded barrel shot compared to the factory barrel and with/without the suppressor. With the factory barrel back in place I shot a bunch to get the final group comparison targets. I shot a few groups, pulled the targets, gave it them a quick look, packed up, and policed my brass.

I drove home and cleaned out the truck, threw my range bag into the shop and had dinner. After dinner I went and pulled the gun out of the case, wiped it down so it wouldn't condense and rust. About 9 I went to bed. About 9:30 I thought "where is the suppressor?" OH, NO! I could not remember where it was. Then it hit me. I put in an abnormal place and forgot. In hope of a foggy memory I jumped out of bed and searched the range bag. Nope. The I remembered where I last saw it and looked in the bed of the truck. Nope. It has to be on the ground by the range. By now it is ten o'clock and I'm not driving two hours to look.

All night I'm hoping it is there on the ground, praying I don't have some kids sneaking in and going fishing (happens too often) that find it and take it, then there's the "what do I tell ATF?" scenario running in my head. I went the property early this morning and there it was, in the dirt, covered in dew. WHEW!!!

The moral of the story? I don't know... don't play when dead tired and distracted over things not working? Don't put things in an abnormal place? Don't be stupid? You pick, I'm just glad it was there.
Click to expand...
You dodged a proverbial bullet on that one...as an official Geezer, I wish I could tell you it gets better...but ....
 
LOL. In 2002 I took a job as a two-way radio installer for a county. One of my first installations was in an ambulance. During the install an adjustable wrench went missing. I swear I looked all through that ambulance looking for that wrench, to no avail. I finally gave up, buttoned the vehicle up and sent it on its way. The next day I ran by Sears on my lunch break and bought a replacement to go into the shop toolbox.

Flash forward eight years. I’m now a supervisor doing complicated technical work in the core of the radio system, and will soon be leaving for a higher paying job in the private sector. Our installer was out sick and we got an urgent call to go to Fleet and remove the radios from a wrecked ambulance. I grabbed a tool bag and ran over to take care of it. Lo and behold, as I’m pulling control cables out of the ambulance ceiling I happened upon that wrench! Even though I rarely touch a tool these days I keep that wrench in a tool bag in the back of my company vehicle!
 
Yesterday I went to the drug store to buy my wife a birthday card. When I opened my wallet to pay I noticed my drivers license was missing. I started to panic about it until I remembered I printed a copy of my license on our computer 10 days ago and forgot to take it out of the printer.
 
I just realized that the number 3 rule in my business is to never set my notebook on the hood of the van.... Never ever...not even just just write a note or clear something up.... it never touches the hood of my van... I think y'all can figure out why ... the third time I forgot about it 30 minutes later I was walking around a cow pasture picking up the checks and paperwork from that day.....
 
I'm glad you found it. I think we've all done something like that.
 
The second General Contractor I ever worked for used to build ground up restaurants. Outback Steakhouse was one of our clients. We got the contract to do some remodels and on my first job the old guy who was the lead super came out of the restroom holding a drill he said he found in the ceiling that he had lost 15 years ago when they first built the place.
 
Total brain cramp for me too! My little brother is turning 80 on the 28th. I bought him two b'day cards (one goofy and one serious) and promptly could not find them. Checked the car, everywhere in the computer room, kitchen counters, and every other place I could think of. Today I went to open the Karma book I received and lo and behold there were the cards
Apparently I stuck them in the book when going from one place to another and completely forgot.
 
... honest, I think it's just being human ... our minds run so fast it's easy to set something down and mentally, immediately, move on to the next task.
 
Fox Mike said:
Total brain cramp for me too! My little brother is turning 80 on the 28th. I bought him two b'day cards (one goofy and one serious) and promptly could not find them. Checked the car, everywhere in the computer room, kitchen counters, and every other place I could think of. Today I went to open the Karma book I received and lo and behold there were the cards
Apparently I stuck them in the book when going from one place to another and completely forgot.
Click to expand...
That's okay. Sometime over the next year you'll find them. Then put them someplace you won't forget and be able to use them next year. Assuming you can find them next year.
 
Fox Mike said:
Apparently I stuck them in the book when going from one place to another and completely forgot.
Click to expand...

Some thirty five years ago I was a subject in a medical study. The study had a clinical psychologist attached to it to evaluate how we were dealing with related issues. One time the psychologist asked me if I had any questions so I asked about forgetting things.

I specifically asked about why I would head downstairs to get a can of peas and by the time I got to the pantry I would forget what I was after. She explained that short term memory is very ephemeral and going down the stairs I'd be thinking of peas. However, on the way down, another thought would intrude like "gotta sweep the stairs" or "I wonder if the dryer is done." That new thought would just knock those peas into the dust bin and now I would have to mentally retrace my steps as to why I had headed downstairs in the first place.

After that conversation, I stopped worrying about forgetting things in the short term. I'll start to worry when I can't remember my daughter's name.
 
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