Screw it

English Language – A strange beast
Oddly enough, when people say ‘aw, screw it’ they generally mean they are frustrated and have given up. We do something well and we say ‘I nailed it.’ That seems a little backwards to me.

The nail is simple. Beat it with a hammer (or any other hard object) and you generally drive it into place. Hammer Time! Now, you may bend it and have to straighten it out if you want to drive it in right or you may just hammer the heck out of it and a few good whacks will drive the bent nail in too, but it won’t be pretty.

A screw is different. Sure you can hammer it in, but then it is no better than a nail. To do the job right you need a screw driver (and not just any screw driver). You may need a Phillips’ (or ‘star nose’ as my wife calls them) or maybe a flat screwdriver. Other options include a socket or torx head type. The screw has made the simple job of fastening things together a lot more complicated. Maybe that is why nobody uses screws anymore! But wait, we are using screws all the time because if installed properly they hold so much better than their simple counterparts.

Git-r-Done – Larry the Cable Guy has done a great job of teaching us the wrong way to do things. He uses what I call ‘nail it technology’ as if the only tool in his tool box were a hammer. Get it done no matter what, just get it done. Have you ever done that? Get it done no matter what, with no time for safety! It will catch up to you.

Doing it Right – Means just that! Taking the time to plan the project, making sure you have the required tools and proper PPE. MSHA calls it SLAM. Stop, Look, Analyze and Manage Risks. This goes for home projects as well since six times more people get killed in off-the-job fatalities. Using the proper tools and PPE may be more complicated then the simple Git-r-Done way, but the results are worth it. Don't take my word for it...ask anyone that has been seriously injured. The time you save taking short cuts can very easily be spent in the Emergency Room.

Follow the Rules to reduce your chances of injury. Injuries happen but they don't have to happen to you. Safety cannot just be a priority (priorities change). Make Safety a value that you will not compromise. No one can do that for you!