Costliest Brainfart

Two stories:

 

YOUNG AND STUPID.

I was a freshman in college ('77). I had a dorm room facing a courtyard. It was just before spring break. People were shooting frisbee and hanging out on the courtyard. I decided to impress them with my vinyl collection. So, I had Pioneer sx737 receiver, a pioneer turntable and nice set of KLH speakers. I went to move one speaker over to a lower window facing the courtyard that opened towards the inside. While balancing the speaker in one hand and propping open the window, I dropped the speaker on the metal corner of the window and put a huge 2 inch gash on the side of the speaker. My heart went through the floor. I mowed many a lawn to earn those speakers. And I trashed one. 

 

OLD AND STUPID. 

Although this involves a guitar and not audio gear, I was trying to line up two hand made classical guitars side by side to compare neck profiles. Not being satisfied with the placement of one, I tried moving it by slightly grabbing the bass bout on the front and the back with one hand. As soon as I gripped it I heard a slight "click" sound. Again, my heart dropped. The pressure cracked the red cedar top at the rear bass side. A 5k guitar, cracked by a mishandling idiot. 

 

 Brain farts happen. I'm sorry for yours! 

Anyone can act in a stupid way , times to times...

I did myself too as anyone here...

And it is not all about damaging a mere object...

Making people feel bad is worst than loosing an amplifier...

Because the negative emotion caused on others stay forever recorded on the cosmic memory field...Believe it or not....

An audio component lost means nothing... Few bucks...Anyway few thousand bucks perhaps... 😊

 

 

Not an audio related brain fart but I did drive into my parking garage with my $5000 mountain bike still in the roof rack.  Needless to say it got binned.  It was not a good day.  That said, I had a great ride for my, unbeknownst to me, last ride and I eventually replaced it with a much nicer one.  Silver linings and all.

".....we're all bozos' on this bus."

Yup, guilty by DNA breaks 'n dents....mouth in motion when brain clutch shattered, wrong space with no time at all prior to the start, affairs pursued even assured of the death spiral ending...

...finished the first Real Pair of diy Walsh; still crude yes, but much improved over the cobbled smaller 1st go...enthused, enjoyed, warts 'n all....

Something To Listen To while moving on to the next iteration, another roughed pair to satisfy a curiosity about omnis 4 square...an early demented notion, yesss...

Completed.
Yes, the dark side of that moon had muddy secrets to be observed by the absurder...

Until, in a evening of enthusiasm, a crisp *pop* from R front.  No nononono...

Voice coil. Not just failed but fused into a band of stink.

Knew that heat is the enemy of the diy Walsh; lesson now seared into my mind.

Minimums: Kapton formers / vented / RMS rating far above my max. available / thermal fusing a desired 'enhancement'....

...and learn the meaning of Restraint.. 

With a preference to avoid the harder version....(no pun intended, but it's there..)

 

Seen too many 'performed by others', fortunately or no, not close enough to be a hero or victim...

- A fat arrow of oak, launched by a table saw, zings across 20 yards....misses the head of an employ by transiting just as close to the top curved glass front of an antique display case, finally stopped by the front wall of said shop...

...inches from the pay phone, closer yet to the co-owner on that phone....

All Steve could do is to drop the receiver, turn and stare at all in the shop staring at him....

Of course he exploded....the dent in the wall got painted blood red.

 

Another:

- Install crew leaves a much later day from the facility, crane truck loaded with the rather large illuminated sign to be installed that morning to an impatient client who had the right to be such....having been 'pushed back' time-wise far too long....

15~20 min. later, the call comes in....the unit was now in the middle of an interstate, forming an impromptu barrier to morning rush hour traffic....

Of course it was sideways, 90 deg. +/-....blocking 2.5ish of 4....

 

Lost track of how many bullets and shrapnel I've had the odd pleasure of not being in the way of, nor directly involved/responsible for.

I've my own...

Better over a drink or 3, or other 'adult enhancement(s)'.... ;)

Seen on a t-shirt in Manhattan, at the bar of a sidewalk tavern.

Tried to talk/barter the guy into giving it up, who just laughed....

"No, we had these printed after a clusterf*ck of outrageous proportions..."

(I listened to the spiel....the guy was right; and the legend on the shirt?

 

WE, THE UNWILLING

LED BY THE UNWASHED

HAVE DONE THE IMPROBABLE

FOR SO LONG

WITH SO LITTLE

THAT TODAY

WE WILL ATTEMPT

TO DO THE IMPOSSIBLE

WITH NOTHING

 

....and that, Dear Friends...

was an understatement....)

😏