On Tue, 28 Jun 2005 23:13:57 -0400, Daniel J. Stern wrote:

> On Wed, 29 Jun 2005, hachiroku wrote:
>
>> >> > Chiltons and Haynes manuals will be around $30 and cover the
>> >> > repairs most homeowners would attempt themselves.
>> >> CarQuest sells them for $19.95
>> > ...and they're equally worthless whether the price be $20 or $30.
>
>> I find them adequate for filling holes in my knowledge for things *I*
>> would tackle.
>
> You're making the faulty assumption that the "knowledge" contained in
> these pieces of garbage is accurate, which it often is not.

It comes with learning how to READ the damn things!

I have been a 'technocrat' all my life and have read manual after manual.
Once you learn how to read one, they're all the same.

But, I have been left scratching my head on more than one occasion.

What I do. I RTFM BEFORE touching a tool, to make sure i uunderstand the
procedure. Then, I do what I used to do when taking tests in college: the
answer to one question is often contained in another question. So, I
peruse the manual further to see if there is a better explaination. If
there is, Gravy. If not, the phone number is inside the front cover...