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Is it Mr or Ms Fix-It ?

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by tink!

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In the discussion of differences of women and men in gaming, brought to mind the differences of men and women in general.

As techs we are called upon to troubleshoot and fix many, many things at the office. Is it the same at home? Are you also Mr./Ms. Fix-It for things at home [b]other than computers[/b]?

I know I am, but I've always been a Ms. Fix-It even as a kid and long before I got into tech. I enjoy fixing things whether it be a computer, a screen door, or caulking a roof (which I just did).

21 replies

by tig2

I have it easy as my partner is a programmer. I am a better trouble-shoot repair tech and I know more about network than he does.

I generally am the first call for help for his family- I think they like the fact that there are two of us now who know what their systems are doing.

We're kind of a shared resource family in general. My partner writes handy little utilities and games that we all use, one brother works for a local car dealership so we all take our vehicles to him, that brother's wife is a hairdresser- takes care of everyone's hair, another brother is an avid hunter so if we don't get a deer, we can at least get venison. It is really kinda nice- no one person makes the family function- we all do.

As far as home stuff goes, it really depends on who it irritates first. My partner does all of the cooking so I take care of laundry. He will ignore plumbing so I get that job. Thank heaven for Townhouses- neither of us likes to mow!

by dawgit

This one has got to an eye opener for some of us. Please, we men really want to hear this. I'm all for equal too, so let us know, we need to hear how some women are pulling their own weight around the house. And yes I know of more than 1 'man' who couldn't do _______. (fill in the blank, for some it's just about anything)

by j.lupo

I am it when it comes to fixing things in the house but I don't think it has anything to do with my being an IT person. I grew up in a family of all women -- no men. Therefore we all learned how to fix the roof, do the plumbing, air conditioning, electrical, mow the law, put up a fence, fix screen doors/windows, etc. What I didn't learn, and this is really funny, is how to cook.

by itgirli

I started with repairing an old VCR my mom thought she threw away. later when I was about 10 or 11, I found an old phone and decided to wire a phone cable into my room. I hid the phone under my bed and the cable beneath an edge of carpet and only wired it up when I needed it. I used to fix watches for a few bucks. I have yet to find anything I haven't been able to fix. I've done some basic plumbing. I've doen just about everything. I'm a very hands'on type of person and I like taking things apart. I used to help my aunt with her roof or minor house repairs. And a lot of people expect free PC advice and when they find out I do computer work, they always want to ask me how to fix something. I don't mind, I like fixing things. If it's a real job, then I'll charge them to actually fix it, but it they just want a few words of advice, I don't mind taking the time to tell them. I'm an all around fixer. Fixing is fun. It's a shame you can't fix stupid.

by tryten

Baseball Bats fix stupid. And it only takes 2-3 good whacks for someone to learn their lesson.

by gadgetgirl

They were the only ones in the village that didn't have any shoes.....

I used to do a lot, but since the arthritis made a take over bid from the shoulders and wrists, I find I'm too ham-fisted for a lot of things now. I still sew, iron and thank goodness, cook; that's not just a necessity, it's a hobby too.

But I've generally had to pass over a lot of stuff to HOB, which comes back to the cobblers kids remark.....

He's a qualified brick layer and builder
He's a certified auto electrician
He's a qualified carpenter
He's a certified house electrician (lapsed)
He's a registered marine electrician
He also builds computers and repairs laptops

so

The stairs in the backyard took 4 years to fix
My reversing kit for the car took 3 months to fit
After 3 years, he still hasn't finished the outside of the closet upstairs
I still don't have enough sockets in the kitchen
We still have an inherent problem with the batteries on the boat
My new PCMCIA card for the lappie has been sold to other people five times after being repurchased for MY USE......!!!

AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH

:_|

GG

by jdclyde

sockets in the kitchen?
Cupboards? Shelfs? Electrical outlets?

Scream for me baby.... I like it! ]:)

by gadgetgirl

been in the house seven years.....

(remember this is a super-large, 6 bedroom house)

Bathroom's done
Shower room's done

(both through floor failure)

Living room's had a lick of paint.....

that's it.......

GG

by tink!

Boy do I feel for you. Thank goodness I'm a Ms. Fix-It still in her prime, otherwise nothing in our house would get fixed. As it is, since I'm a procrastinator, things don't get fixed til I get [b]really [/b] annoyed with them, or [b]they make [/b]themselves a priority, such as the porch roof which leaked (poured) during our last downpour. I was out within 2 days caulking the roof - that's pretty quick for me! :)

I must say though, that the toaster which went up in flames this past weekend is beyond even my Fix-It skills. But now I have "sand and repaint kitchen cabinet directly above toaster" added to my long list of to-dos!

by counter

They're electrical outlets.

I was recently thrown off after a visit to the States. My friend there called them sockets, whereas I, being from Australia, was used to calling them power points.

by lmayeda

I feel like a total dolt amoung you all. I can barely fix the time on my microwave and/or VCR/Dvd ... and then only if I read the manual ... which I can't because the words are too small for my poor eyes. My water hoses leak so now they're my drip system for my orchids one day and my tomato plant on another. The roof leaks, but only when it rains very hard and then it leaks directly over the toilet. I'm told I need to replace my electrical system in my house ... that I think I'll leave for a professional ... when I get around to calling one. Yes, I help my brother and co-workers when they have computer problems. I do mow the lawn, and do all the yard work, and I do cook... but I could use a plumber, electrician, carpenter and termite eliminator. :~)

by curlergirl

I've been in the computer biz for over 25 years and started my consulting business 16 years ago. My SO was in the flooring business but quit that and joined me about 9 years ago. I literally taught him just about everything he knows about computers. But wherever we are together, whenever someone has a computer question they address it to him, not me. I think it's hilarious...I just sit back proudly and let the big lug answer the questions; I only interfere if he gets in trouble or if he asks me. :-)

Cultural prejudices like these annoy me sometimes, but I mostly just try to take it in stride...

by marianne.popp9

I've been in the computer biz almost 20 yrs. myself. When my SO and I got together, he was a tinkerer in the computer field. Took care of the church's one and only 486, friends, etc.

Since we've been together, upgraded the churche's PC, added a few new ones to the paster's area, and Sunday School, worked on many friend's and word-of-mouth customers (all for money now a days). But like "gotta laugh", when the people ask the questions they address him (who has no certifications) not me...LOL! And unlike "gotta laugh" I don't bail him out...they ask you, you either answer it or flunk.

As for other things around the house...I cook, I sorta clean (but not the bathroom) and I couldn't set up a VCR if I read the directions...that's all his area ;)))

by vanessaj

...I actually walk into some of our clients' offices to work on thier computers and these men, in their $600 suits and $1,200 watches look at me and actually say with no small amount of incredulity, "You're the tech?". You should see their faces. I want to laugh, then I want to slap them or give them a virus or something. But I just say, "What's you problem?" and they always think I mean the computer and we get to work. So you're not alone. But I think I would rather be the one in the movie that writes a great film into being than the one who acts it and gets all the attention, anyway. Praise and pomp never seems to beat personal satisfaction.

by dmambo

I'm cheap, and my wife thinks money is for spending. I'm Mr. Fix-it by default. I don't want to pay anyone to do the work. She Who Must Be Maintained would rather just pay to have it done right.

The beauty of this arrangement is that when the time comes to do a similar job for a friend or relative, I've usually learned enough not to screw it up the second time around. :D

by vanessaj

...everywhere I've been, work and play. My dad was always in a business suit at work and in politics, etc. and my Mom was at home with three girls and the four of us did everything...and I mean EVERYTHING. I just visited my Mom last weekend, 5 states away, and when people ask me if I had a fun trip, I don't know how to tell them that I spent the weekend up to my elbows in cement building a wall in her back yard.

I tech during the week and nights and weekends help my friends, paint their homes (I have more "paint-stained jeans" now than good ones, fix their fences, stage their homes for sale, repair grout, hang sheetrock, lay carpet, put together their put-together furniture that they bought and can't assemble, look at their cars (I've had so many junkers, I've learned a lot aobut cars over the years, too), hang wallpaper, tear down wallpaper, pickout wallpaper and choose colors schemes for various rooms, graph a "to-scale" layout of kitchen or bath so they can plan a remodel, and so on and so on and so on... It doesn't end. Yesterday I helped a friend rebuild the soffet in his kitchen he had to rip out because of a leak. My Mom taught me well.

I married a man almost seven years ago, that is also great at fixing things. It took me 36 years to find him. He was a pretty serious gamer when we met and got me interested. I became completely addicted to the Tomb Raider series. I love the games with mysteries and puzzles best. But I never really had as much time to play as I wanted.

I believe women aren't gamers primarily because of two reasons. First: they might get as pissed off as I do about women being reduced to only so much meat for male consumption (when's the last time you've seen a video or advertisement with men's pants tight around the crotch with a little hanging out and a really long camera close up of that, bobbing up and down? ...or an ad with fully-dressed women and half-naked men?)

Second: maybe females just don't spend so much time on gaming when they could be out building real relationships, taking care of their family and friends and friends' families, getting involved in social and community organizations and projects, etc. I find that males are becoming more and more scarce in community and family-oriented organizations over the years. In other words, maybe women are taught to have a different set of priorities than men are taught, do you think? How many times have you heard the term "deadbeat mom"? Not that there aren't any, but the difference gap in priorities, genderly-speaking, is really pretty wide, at least in the U.S. that I live in. I could go on, but won't.

I expect some feedback/flames if anyone is still visiting this blog, but after 44 years of living in six different states, in both affluent- and ghetto-type neighborhoods, this is what I have observed as a common thread throughout. And you only have to turn on the TV for proof.

I welcome either confluent or contradictive discussion.

by tink!

What you say is very true, women are guided into different priorities and ways of life than that of men. I think these guided lives fall into the "a woman's place is in the home" or "keep em at home, barefoot and pregnant" type of thinking. Women for a long time have been sheltered and pressured into staying at home, taking the responsibilities of the cooking, cleaning and the kids.

However, I believe times are changing, this may or may not be good for society as a whole.

Girls are more into video games nowadays. I know, I have 2 girls and they trade with friends and talk about what the other girls have. Granted, most of them right now are simply into Pokemon, Nintendogs and the like, but as society's view of women changes more girls are going to filter into the violent game area.

I think one of the key things we need to do as parents, is to constantly talk with our kids. You can try to keep them away from the violent games, but if they want to play them, they're going to find a way. You can't watch them 24 hours a day. Since I myself enjoy video games, including violent ones, I take it into stride and continually remind my kids that violence is not the way to solve things in real life, these are just games created in someone's imagination, you do NOT practice what you see on a video game. As well, I try to instill into my girls that they do not need to worry about what other people say in regards to their appearance and as long as they are living a healthy lifestyle they'll be just fine. My oldest, 11 years old, doesn't like the low cut outfits she sees everyone wearing on TV, movies and vid games. I think she'll be just fine growing up in the video game world.
Tink
PS The girls just got Nintendo DS systems for their birthdays! They each got a Nintendog game too. These new handhelds are so cool! They have the dual screens, touch screen, respond to audio input AND have built in wireless DS to DS communication. In their first night of playing, the girls already met each other "on the street" with their dogs! Plus this allows mommy to upgrade now...since the DS plays Advance games too, I'm taking my oldest's Advance SP...YAY!

by juanita marquez

I can fix a lot of things but when it comes to housey projects I choose not to - I hate it. I worked on blasting and stripping the paint off of my wooden house and still haven't finished the job; when I get the money I'm calling in a pro. If I had my druthers, I'd be living in an apartment where I could just dial someone up every time something broke.

My father was ill while I was growing up and basically taught me to be the responsible one for the family when he was gone so he showed me things like changing bathtub and faucet washers, light switches and other things within his power to fix. He would let me play with his spare electronic bits and I'd solder wires and things together. As an adult, I realized house maintenance work is just annoying and would gladly pay someone else to do it when I can - but for some reason, as long as it's not involved with a house, I'll happily monkey with it. I took a stab at changing the brake pads on my car and other general maintenance, fixed a tape player's innards with a piece of gum, made a makeshift tv antenna with a metal bracelet and that kind of thing. Same with computers - it's a puzzle to be solved rather than a chore.

I'm more of a crafter - knitting, crochet, cross stitch, calligraphy and so on. I guess I prefer creating things to fixing them as recreation.

My reasons for playing games but not being a gamer are - I have a short attention span, and I enjoy real life more. Last weekend I was out on a canoe trip and I saw a large blue heron staring back at me in the middle of the waterway. That probably isn't as exciting to my FPS/MMORPG addict friends, but I'd take 10 minutes of full-blown nature, European travel, or other unique experiences over hours of online gaming. You can't taste fresh bread from a patisserie, know how it feels to pet a dolphin or ride in a blimp by playing a game. Games are an immersion into a world I can't visit in real life - like sailing a pirate ship or being a paladin warring against evil forces - but there is so much richness and fun to be had offline that it has never been a contest. I play games too infrequently to really be useful in a guild (which most games force you to do, little effective solo play unless offline) and the people who cheat and/or are unfriendly make it even less enticing. The "chainmail bikinis" are more amusing than offensive to me because they are so absurd, but yes, it would be nice if we had 007s with tuxes and accents running around as the male characters. You have to admit, there is definitely a gender difference as far as visual cues relating to appeal to men vs. other stimuli for women, so there will always be Lara Crofts bouncing in slo-mo out there.

by tink!

Aside from not liking house repair jobs and being a true gamer, you and I share similar viewpoints. I too am a crafter. I dabble in all the genres of crafting but currently specializing in crochet and beading. My craft table is also filled with pending repair jobs such as my son's RC truck which has a broken suspension.

Although I'm a gamer, I also enjoy nature. I always point out to my kids any herons, blue or white when I spot them. We belong to a Conservation Club out here and go fishing as a family.

So I guess my point is that you can be a gamer, a fixer, a crafter [b]AND[/b] a nature lover all-in-one. I'm a Jill-of-all-trades. :)

by vanessaj

Balance is the pivotal word, here. It's good to enjoy all that you can enjoy...and if you don't enjoy one thing - make money at what you do to pay for what you don't. You sound like a "Renaissance Woman".

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