On Aug 23, 4:25*pm, David Nebenzahl wrote:
Well, I don't personally hate him. Don't even know the guy.

But that's the title of the latest piece by one of my favorite
columnists in the /Berkeley Daily Planet/, Matt Cantor, local owner of a
home-inspection business who writes a weekly column on home repair and
maintenance.

Here's a sample:

* *I do genuinely hate these specific shows: "Hometime," "This Old House"
* *and "The New Yankee Workshop." I hate them for one simple reason: they
* *make most people feel like idiots. Even if a show only demonstrates how
* *to build a basic chest of drawers, it does a lousy job of preparing the
* *average Joe or Joan for the task. In the end, the show provides nothing
* *more than boutique shopping and showing off. I suppose that would be a
* *lot of fun if you only want to learn that you—as a homeowner or stock
* *broker or bank clerk—know nothing about houses or furniture or nails and
* *that you’ll never stand a chance of doing more than hanging a picture on
* *the wall.

* *On shows like these, the jobs are made to look so darned easy. All the
* *materials are waiting for assembly and nothing is spoiled, the wrong
* *type or missing. The air gun never misfires and the compressor never
* *needs to be drained (yes, you have to drain compressors daily because
* *they fill up with water and will rust out if you don’t do so). That’s
* *another thing I hate: in actuality, there are many small details that
* *fill a contractor’s day (or your day when you play contractor) but
* *they’re neatly edited out, just as they are in a cooking show. Just pop
* *the raw one in the oven and Voila, the new freshly baked one comes right
* *out of the other oven.

(See article athttp://berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2009-08-20/article/33531)

--
Found--the gene that causes belief in genetic determinism

They are definately not woodworking for dummies shows but I get a lot
of good ideas from them. Most of us know it is going to take all day
to do one step in his .project that it takes 5 minutes to do on TV.
That is just just the reality of DIY hobby woodworking. Hell it took
me 4 months to build my wife a cedar chest. Now my daughter wants one
and expects me to have it built over a weekend. Now thats the problem
with those shows. I t gives unrealistic ideas to those who want you to
use your woodworking skills for them.

Jimmie