Just realized I've been signaling wrong for years

Got my crane cert back in 2008 and always did the standard hand signals. Yesterday an old-timer showed me I've been giving the 'boom up' signal with my thumb pointed wrong for 16 years. Has anyone else picked up bad habits from watching other operators?

4 comments

4 Comments

taraross7d ago

Ngl that's wild, bet a ton of us have been doing it wrong just copying each other without knowing.

adams.uma7d ago

Yeah, the "just copying each other without knowing" part really hit home for me. I've been doing the same thing with my garden planning, just following what neighbors do without checking if it makes sense for my soil or sunlight. It's embarrassing to admit, but I only realized last season that I was overwatering everything because everyone else did it. Makes you wonder how much time and effort we waste on stuff that doesn't even work.

sage_moore377d ago

The whole overwatering thing got me because I literally just realized I've been doing the exact same thing for like 3 years now. My neighbor waters her tomatoes every single morning and I just copied her without ever checking if my soil actually needed it. Turns out my clay soil holds water way longer and I've been drowning my poor plants this whole time. Makes me wonder what other basic stuff I'm completely messing up without even realizing it.

gibson.morgan7d ago

Copying what works is how people learn stuff fast without reinventing the wheel every time. Gardeners in the same area usually have similar soil and sun, so if one method is popular there's probably a reason for it. Watering schedules and techniques get passed down because they've been tested by years of trial and error, not just laziness. Sometimes following the crowd saves you from making dumb mistakes that someone else already paid for.