I write those instructions for a living…I get to take stuff apart, examine the innards, figure out how it works, and put it back together, then explain it. And I get paid!
How cool is that???
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Are you hiring?
I have read every car manual i have ever owned.
I am the one reading the instructions to the group on board game night.
A pet peeve of mine is user interfaces, like my remote control’s channel button is a rocker switch with a raised center (like a tiny joystick) that is activated by the slightest brush of the face of the remote.
The first computer i took apart was a TI 99/4A, much to mum’s shocked disapproval, so that made me about 13.
I would relocate to the west coast if needed.
Thanks for considering me!
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Around eight or ten years old, I pulled the cord out of a lamp, split the wire lengthwise a ways, plugged it in and touched the ends to stuff. I tripped the breaker a lot. A metal window screen makes huge soft sparks, and the silver on quarters parts like the Red Sea, leaving a copper trough. It was almost as dangerous as playing mad scientist with household chemicals.
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I worked in [somewhere] where I was supposed to take donated computers and make them workable. This often involve getting inside the damn things and some were easier than others. Those fucking Apple pizza boxes were a bitch, but that’s how I learned Apple loved SCSI at the time.
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You make me smile. I always read every car manual that I ever get my hands on. My nostalgic favorite is “How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive: A Manual of Step-by-Step Procedures for the Compleat Idiot”. It was my bible back when I rebuilt the engine in my ‘73 Bug. It’s a great and fun read, you should check it out.
Enthusiasm about tech and innate curiosity are the BEST traits for an excellent technical writer. After that, the ability to simplify things for non-engineers is very important.
Unfortunately, I have no budget for new minions at the moment. Too bad!
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Mr. Wizard cooked a hot dog this way. Same method also turns a pickle into a lightshow.
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There used to be a device you could buy to do exactly this:
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Wow!? My first car was a 73’ bug, Bahama Blue. I loved that thing, an oversized lawn mower. I tell friends that the whole thing had 7 parts and 14 bolts lol!
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