May 16, 20215 yr 1 hour ago, Frosty said: Oil rig drill crews might send a new guy to find Kelly Bar or Stan Pipe. Or tell the worm that "it's raining, go close the V-door" Or a favorite trick the roughnecks played on the new mudloggers was to pitch red bricks down the hole and see what happened when the mudlogger got the ground up bricks in the cuttings samples. Thomas Powers may have had that pulled on him once.......
May 17, 20215 yr Carrying a 5 gallon bucket of water up to the water table was an old one. I didn't get brick; but one time I worked a 16 hour tour, drove 2 hours to take a 12 hour tour for a sick guy, drove back 2 hours and caught another 16 hour tour. Any way when I showed up at the sick guys unit I had to use the porta potty really bad and the hands thought it would be funny to tie the door shut while I was in it. (at lest they didn't turn it over!) Being a Lot Younger/thinner/more athletic I just pushed the top of the door open and climbed out and went to work. About an hour later a rig hand pops into my logging unit and i said "can I help you?". No more trouble on that rig! (And having anyone who needed the porta potty not being able to use it because the door was tied shut for that hour was a subtle revenge...)
July 18, 20215 yr Even so, it's better to laugh last than just stand there looking confused. Frosty The Lucky.
August 11, 20214 yr I read this one a while back I thought it was funny. “He who goes to the blacksmith shop comes back with scorched clothes”. is it just me? Quin
June 9, 20224 yr Good day Smiths, here is one I find empowering : “The strongest steel is forged by the fires of Hell. It is pounded and struck repeatedly before it's plunged back into the molten fire. The fire gives it power and flexibility, and the blows give it STRENGTH. Those two things make the metal pliable and able to withstand every battle it's called upon to fight.” ― Sherrilyn Kenyon
June 9, 20224 yr Prose written by someone who obviously isn't a blacksmith. Knowing how to make steel, the foundation of human civilization, do your will with nothing but fire, hammer and skill, is all the self confidence anybody needs to take on whatever comes their way. Frosty The Lucky.
June 9, 20224 yr Should I used something other than commas to delineate the subtext? Removing it reads "making steel do your will." Bidding would've been a better term. I could've been more clear but it was early even for me. Frosty The Lucky.
June 9, 20224 yr Ah, "the foundation of civilization" was a parenthetical comment. Gotcha. Well, I'd recommend dashes, thus: "Knowing how to make steel -- the foundation of human civilization -- do your will etc" This would be better than actual parentheses: "Knowing how to make steel (the foundation of human civilization) do your will etc" Using the comma after "skill" is debatable. Many authorities insist that there should never be a comma between the main subject and its verb, but others allow it in cases such as this, where it improves the readability of a sentence with a complex subject. I agree with the latter position.
June 9, 20224 yr Thanks John, parentheses make it more readable. I even reworded it a couple times before posting. I over use commas but I'm dictating to myself and it never reads how I hear it. <sigh> How about, "Knowing how to make the foundation of human civilization, steel do your will with nothing but fire, hammer and skill" . . .? I didn't word it that way because it didn't really say what I meant in a way I liked and I REALLY wanted to put a comma behind steel too. I posted my 3rd. rewrite, knowing it could've been better. Frosty The Lucky.
June 9, 20224 yr Yeah, in that version, "steel" is parenthetical (explaining "the foundation of human civilization") and therefore should be set off with commas, parentheses, or dashes; a second comma would indeed have been advisable. You could also break it up into two sentences: "Steel is the foundation of human civilization*. Making it do your bidding with nothing etc." 16 minutes ago, Nodebt said: I bet it's aggravating, to read. No commant. *This assertion is itself debatable. Flintknapping and pottery are much more foundational to human civilization, predating steelworking by thousands of years.
June 9, 20224 yr The assertion isn't regarding civilization's foundations, it's about the confidence instilled by knowing how to manipulate steel. Saying, "modern civilization," would cover that semantic quibble. Speaking of semantic quibbles, I believe you mean "Knapping," flint knapping refers to working a specific type of stone. It's a pet peeve of mine that grates when I hear an archeologist, or narrator on one of the .edu channels talk about flintknapping, obsidian, chert, agate, etc. It's becoming a common term and another PITA speaking a living language. <sigh> Lastly, speaking of semantic quibbles, I've completely side tracked when I was seeking your advise regarding punctuation and sentence structure. I'll go sit in a corner for a while now. Frosty The Lucky.
June 10, 20224 yr I keep breathing when in a coma, so far anyway. If I think about it I probably put a comma between inhaling and exhaling. I guess the answer is yes now that I think about it. Frosty The Lucky.
June 10, 20224 yr 15 hours ago, Frosty said: Saying, "modern civilization," would cover that semantic quibble. Much better. 15 hours ago, Frosty said: I believe you mean "Knapping," Yes, you caught me napping on that one. 15 hours ago, Frosty said: I was seeking your advise I think you mean "advice".
June 10, 20224 yr Aieeee! The Grammar Hammer is loose! (We all know that the making of beer is the foundation of civilization!---As explained in "Star Well" by Alexei Panshin.)
June 10, 20224 yr No pottery, no beer. (Actually, I heard something recently about the idea that the best evidence of the earliest beginnings of human civilization is not any artifact -- that is, the remains of something *made* -- but a healed bone that had suffered a complete fracture. This would show that an injured person who'd been unable to care for themself had been cared for by another person or a community. It's an interesting idea.)
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