Why can't i ever leave anything alone?

Jason_The_Angry · 05-26-2004, 09:24 AM

Greetings everyone. was just considering yesterday that nothing i ever buy/create is good enough. everything is in a constant state of tweaking. as an example, i have a wonderful water cooling setup, but then i got paranoid that my temps were still too high, so i made improvements. then more improvements. etc etc. i'm happier now, but the new TDX block comes out, and i'm thinking, gee, that might drop my temps a few more degrees. and this attitude doesn't just apply to computers. as a musician, most of my gear has evloved constantly, trying to find the best combination of tone for me. as an engineer (well, grad student now), you should see me in the machine shop! i get pissed when some thing i make isn't perfect. and don't even get me started about my car... hell, sometimes things i have are working fine, but i just have to tinker with them to make them better (and i've broken a few toys in the process, believe me) in any case, i was just wondering if all "technical" people have this tendency. or am i just crazy?

jason

cougem · 05-26-2004, 09:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jason_The_Angry

Greetings everyone. was just considering yesterday that nothing i ever buy/create is good enough. everything is in a constant state of tweaking. as an example, i have a wonderful water cooling setup, but then i got paranoid that my temps were still too high, so i made improvements. then more improvements. etc etc. i'm happier now, but the new TDX block comes out, and i'm thinking, gee, that might drop my temps a few more degrees. and this attitude doesn't just apply to computers. as a musician, most of my gear has evloved constantly, trying to find the best combination of tone for me. as an engineer (well, grad student now), you should see me in the machine shop! i get pissed when some thing i make isn't perfect. and don't even get me started about my car... hell, sometimes things i have are working fine, but i just have to tinker with them to make them better (and i've broken a few toys in the process, believe me) in any case, i was just wondering if all "technical" people have this tendency. or am i just crazy?

jason

It makes you an excellent worker and a great emplyoee, but the question is will it ever make YOU happy? I'm the same to be honest, though maybe not to quite so much of an extent.

I just hope it isn't annoying to poepe who love you if you can't accept anything you do.....hell, I guess if it becomes too bad you could just drown yourself in a lake.

jaydee · 05-26-2004, 10:30 AM

I have similar issues. I try to perfect everything I do when it simply doesn't need to be. I design and build water blocks (spent $2000+ on them so far), but yet my main 2 rigs are air cooled. Only my test bench mobo sees the water blocks and all it runs anymore is CPUBURN. I think the search for something BETTER is the whole point of life. If you don't have that drive then you probably will not be to successful in life.

I have seen people loose the drive to do better and it is a bad thing.

mikoto · 05-26-2004, 10:44 AM

I agree with Jaydee with one caveat:
Such drive, unfocused, will likely just scatter your energy. It can cause problems. That is what priorities are for. They keep your energy focused on productive things.

cougem · 05-26-2004, 11:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaydee116

I think the search for something BETTER is the whole point of life. If you don't have that drive then you probably will not be to successful in life.

Though you'll never be satisfied....

Jason_The_Angry · 05-26-2004, 12:22 PM

i tend to believe that i am happiest with a "project" as well. when i was looking to get into water cooling, i spent hours on research. when it came time to install, i looked forward to it during work every day. and as for happiness, i guess i prefer to have something to work on. when it reaches a point where i can no longer afford to spend the money or time, i just have to put it down till i can. that's why i admire the guys that are into car restoration. they have day jobs, but every night, they head into the garage to do a little more sanding, tweaking, wrenching.... etc. till one day, perfection. (or the personal judgement thereof.) also, i take great pride in the work i do. if my name is on it, it better be good. somehow, i think that idea got lost in this country (USA) a while ago. rather sad actually.

MadHacker · 05-26-2004, 12:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cougem

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaydee116

I think the search for something BETTER is the whole point of life. If you don't have that drive then you probably will not be to successful in life.

Though you'll never be satisfied....

if everyone was satisfied with what they had..
then we would never have anything better...
I agree with jaydee.
I myself am never satisfied with my PC...
always want it to go faster...
now i want it quieter...

bigben2k · 05-26-2004, 12:53 PM

It's not about the destination, it's about the journey.

I also endlessly tweak things, including my car. What I've learned to do is to treat such things as a project, which includes a cost analysis: is it worth it for me to spend that much time to do it myself? Planning the mod is one thing, planning the time it takes to do it is another.

Once in a while though, one of my projects slips past the cost, and gets filed under "hey, it's a hobby!". It still beats whatever else one would do otherwise with their free time.

Now if I could just convince my wife that turning the garage into a machine/work shop/office is actually a good idea... :shrug: (I found a great plan in some woodworking magazine for such a building

)

Jason_The_Angry · 05-26-2004, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigben2k

Now if I could just convince my wife that turning the garage into a machine/work shop/office is actually a good idea... :shrug: (I found a great plan in some woodworking magazine for such a building

)

just tell her it's for home improvements. maybe promise a gazebo. hehe.

(albeit a steel gazebo)

pHaestus · 05-26-2004, 01:11 PM

With small children I can justify ANY hobby purchase/time commitment as long as it's coupled with additional time for her to do her hobbies. Want to convert garage to shop? Maybe dedicating Saturdays or Sundays to being 100% responsible for kids so she can go do whatever will make it happen

BillA · 05-26-2004, 01:23 PM

there is another aspect to the 'drive to excel', how to instill this motivation in children

obsessive/compulsive by example ?
type A by example ?

what to do with a youth who just 'gets by' ?

kronchev · 05-26-2004, 02:54 PM

yeh, im exactly like that. ive taken my w/c system apart and put it together probabily 10 times so far. remounted the block thrice. more to come in fact, now that im getting a dual board so ill have to put two blocks...recut my hose....reposition the pump...i sure hope that board fits in my case

Jason_The_Angry · 05-26-2004, 06:24 PM

in response to the above post about what to do with kids that just "get by"....
i think that these days, we reward children too much. everyone is afraid of hurting someones feelings. my opinion, if you didn't place in the top three, try harder next time. it's not that the child has failed, it's just that some kids try harder, or have more help from their parents.

to encourage you children to do their best is the key i think. rewarding kids too much gives them a false sense of accomplishment. and that can be a dangerous thing when they get older and start to compete with truly hard working people. i guess it's a matter of judging the child's ability and seeing how to motivate them. with me, it was fear. my mother was a school teacher and she insisted that i get good grades. and really, up until my senior year of high school, i had never earned less than a "B" in classes. college was a bit different, but..... anyways, i guess you could take the darwinian approach and say, "treat kids equally and let society sort them out." hard to say really.

jason

krazy · 05-26-2004, 07:30 PM

I laughed when I read the first post in this thread. I fit the bill perfectly. A friend of mine is known for telling me things like "Why can't you ever just leave stuff alone? You always have to go and f*ck with stuff". He has a large closet full of spare parts (computer and other electronics) of all varieties. Whenever I'm at his house and get bored, I always end up sifting through the magical closet of "stuff" and making something or taking something apart. Good times...

bigben2k · 05-27-2004, 12:39 AM

My parents have fond christmas memories of me receiving presents, then quickly taking them apart

Puzzdre · 05-27-2004, 07:49 AM

'It's not about the destination, it's about the journey'...LOL, exactly in my case...
No matter how new and improved the 'insert name' is, always must tinker with it to see...or to know...or to see what I need to know to make it better if possible...

One thing thou, I'm almost always satisfied with the result (because of the fun doin' it) but also always eager to make it just a little bit better, even just for the looks and same performance....

Damn, another club to join eh? LOL

Cheers!

Jason_The_Angry · 05-27-2004, 08:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigben2k

My parents have fond christmas memories of me receiving presents, then quickly taking them apart

lol, yeah, i think the best and worst thing for me as a child was my father letting me borrow a phillips head screwdriver. changed my life forever. hehe.

05-26-2004, 09:24 AM	#1
Jason_The_Angry Cooling Neophyte Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: D.C. Posts: 55	Why can't i ever leave anything alone? Greetings everyone. was just considering yesterday that nothing i ever buy/create is good enough. everything is in a constant state of tweaking. as an example, i have a wonderful water cooling setup, but then i got paranoid that my temps were still too high, so i made improvements. then more improvements. etc etc. i'm happier now, but the new TDX block comes out, and i'm thinking, gee, that might drop my temps a few more degrees. and this attitude doesn't just apply to computers. as a musician, most of my gear has evloved constantly, trying to find the best combination of tone for me. as an engineer (well, grad student now), you should see me in the machine shop! i get pissed when some thing i make isn't perfect. and don't even get me started about my car... hell, sometimes things i have are working fine, but i just have to tinker with them to make them better (and i've broken a few toys in the process, believe me) in any case, i was just wondering if all "technical" people have this tendency. or am i just crazy? jason __________________ "You can get much further with a kind word and a gun than you can with a kind word alone." - Al Capone

05-26-2004, 12:22 PM	#6
Jason_The_Angry Cooling Neophyte Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: D.C. Posts: 55	i tend to believe that i am happiest with a "project" as well. when i was looking to get into water cooling, i spent hours on research. when it came time to install, i looked forward to it during work every day. and as for happiness, i guess i prefer to have something to work on. when it reaches a point where i can no longer afford to spend the money or time, i just have to put it down till i can. that's why i admire the guys that are into car restoration. they have day jobs, but every night, they head into the garage to do a little more sanding, tweaking, wrenching.... etc. till one day, perfection. (or the personal judgement thereof.) also, i take great pride in the work i do. if my name is on it, it better be good. somehow, i think that idea got lost in this country (USA) a while ago. rather sad actually. __________________ "You can get much further with a kind word and a gun than you can with a kind word alone." - Al Capone

05-26-2004, 12:53 PM	#8
bigben2k Responsible for 2% of all the posts here. Join Date: May 2002 Location: Texas, U.S.A. Posts: 8,302	It's not about the destination, it's about the journey. I also endlessly tweak things, including my car. What I've learned to do is to treat such things as a project, which includes a cost analysis: is it worth it for me to spend that much time to do it myself? Planning the mod is one thing, planning the time it takes to do it is another. Once in a while though, one of my projects slips past the cost, and gets filed under "hey, it's a hobby!". It still beats whatever else one would do otherwise with their free time. Now if I could just convince my wife that turning the garage into a machine/work shop/office is actually a good idea... :shrug: (I found a great plan in some woodworking magazine for such a building ) __________________ WBTA (Water Block Testing Alliance) Nordic Hardware WC 101

05-26-2004, 02:54 PM	#12
kronchev Cooling Savant Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Lawrenceville, NJ Posts: 254	yeh, im exactly like that. ive taken my w/c system apart and put it together probabily 10 times so far. remounted the block thrice. more to come in fact, now that im getting a dual board so ill have to put two blocks...recut my hose....reposition the pump...i sure hope that board fits in my case __________________ Ghetto riggin'!

05-26-2004, 06:24 PM	#13
Jason_The_Angry Cooling Neophyte Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: D.C. Posts: 55	in response to the above post about what to do with kids that just "get by".... i think that these days, we reward children too much. everyone is afraid of hurting someones feelings. my opinion, if you didn't place in the top three, try harder next time. it's not that the child has failed, it's just that some kids try harder, or have more help from their parents. to encourage you children to do their best is the key i think. rewarding kids too much gives them a false sense of accomplishment. and that can be a dangerous thing when they get older and start to compete with truly hard working people. i guess it's a matter of judging the child's ability and seeing how to motivate them. with me, it was fear. my mother was a school teacher and she insisted that i get good grades. and really, up until my senior year of high school, i had never earned less than a "B" in classes. college was a bit different, but..... anyways, i guess you could take the darwinian approach and say, "treat kids equally and let society sort them out." hard to say really. jason __________________ "You can get much further with a kind word and a gun than you can with a kind word alone." - Al Capone

05-26-2004, 10:30 AM	#3
jaydee Put up or Shut Up Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 6,506	I have similar issues. I try to perfect everything I do when it simply doesn't need to be. I design and build water blocks (spent $2000+ on them so far), but yet my main 2 rigs are air cooled. Only my test bench mobo sees the water blocks and all it runs anymore is CPUBURN. I think the search for something BETTER is the whole point of life. If you don't have that drive then you probably will not be to successful in life. I have seen people loose the drive to do better and it is a bad thing.

05-26-2004, 10:44 AM	#4
mikoto Cooling Neophyte Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: smog Posts: 47	I agree with Jaydee with one caveat: Such drive, unfocused, will likely just scatter your energy. It can cause problems. That is what priorities are for. They keep your energy focused on productive things.

05-26-2004, 01:11 PM	#10
pHaestus Big Player Making Big Money Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: irc.lostgeek.com #procooling.com Posts: 4,782	With small children I can justify ANY hobby purchase/time commitment as long as it's coupled with additional time for her to do her hobbies. Want to convert garage to shop? Maybe dedicating Saturdays or Sundays to being 100% responsible for kids so she can go do whatever will make it happen

05-26-2004, 01:23 PM	#11
BillA CoolingWorks Tech Guy Formerly "Unregistered" Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Posts: 2,371.493,106 Posts: 4,440	there is another aspect to the 'drive to excel', how to instill this motivation in children obsessive/compulsive by example ? type A by example ? what to do with a youth who just 'gets by' ?

05-26-2004, 07:30 PM	#14
krazy Cooling Savant Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: St. Paul, Minnesota, USA Posts: 123	I laughed when I read the first post in this thread. I fit the bill perfectly. A friend of mine is known for telling me things like "Why can't you ever just leave stuff alone? You always have to go and f*ck with stuff". He has a large closet full of spare parts (computer and other electronics) of all varieties. Whenever I'm at his house and get bored, I always end up sifting through the magical closet of "stuff" and making something or taking something apart. Good times... __________________ Abit NF7-S ... xp1800+ ... Abit GF4ti4200 ... Maxtor 120gb SATA150 Currently gathering parts to water cool everything! (read about the project)

05-27-2004, 12:39 AM	#15
bigben2k Responsible for 2% of all the posts here. Join Date: May 2002 Location: Texas, U.S.A. Posts: 8,302	My parents have fond christmas memories of me receiving presents, then quickly taking them apart __________________ WBTA (Water Block Testing Alliance) Nordic Hardware WC 101

05-27-2004, 07:49 AM	#16
Puzzdre Cooling Savant Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Croatia Posts: 969	'It's not about the destination, it's about the journey'...LOL, exactly in my case... No matter how new and improved the 'insert name' is, always must tinker with it to see...or to know...or to see what I need to know to make it better if possible... One thing thou, I'm almost always satisfied with the result (because of the fun doin' it) but also always eager to make it just a little bit better, even just for the looks and same performance.... Damn, another club to join eh? LOL Cheers! __________________ 'Out of cheese error... ...please reboot the universe (press the GBL to continue)'

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