"I work for the British government. Special licence, you know. I assume you intend to treat the young lady well?"

;-)

Martin,

Well said!! I'll also add that there is no such thing as a well rounded individual. We all have strengths/talents and non-talents (potential weaknesses). If you want to be well rounded you had better become part of a good and diverse team.

I catch occasional well meaning "grief" (all in good fun) from friends who know that I can be counted on to have all manner of odd things in my pockets, the desk, the car etc. They know they can count on me for these things and I know I can count on them to help me when I need it. Besides, being called McGyver or the Renaissance man is kind of flattering.

- Eric

that's all well and good, but the whole point of EDC is that there might not be someone around with the tool you need when you need it.
I have no disdain for the "weak," but weakness is not the same as being willfully helpless, and the ones referred to as "sheep" fall into the latter category. The "sheep" thing just means they follow the crowd(flock) and whoever's America's Top Model(the shepherd) this week. If you have a better term for those who follow the crowd for the sake of being part of the crowd, and emulate the famous just because they're famous, by all means share.
And regardless of what an honor it was, your friends should have called 911 themselves. Not that they shouldn't have called you, but if the girl had been in real trouble, LE would be better equipped to deal with it.

For the weak, no, for the lazy and the stupid, they are begging for it. Being ill equipped is most often a result of one of the latter two, seldom of the former. Even the poor and the crippled can do something to help their situation, even within their limits. What I have no tolerance for is the person who had every opportunity to prepare themself, to evaluate the risk ahead of time and make the necessary adjustment to mitigate what would be the most likely challenges, and did not avail themselves of the opportunity. They deserve neither respect nor sympathy. If we are all team members, then we are all expected to pull our own weight, and as a pitcher I may not be the one cutting the grass, but by God the guy that should be doing it better get it right, or he'll darned sure hear about it!!! I am not here to soothsay the failings of those who are in over their head. I would be ashamed of being in that condition myself, and I have no tolerance of it from others. It's no accident that people go about their lives unprepared for the sort of things we all know to be common events. It is a mistake, pure and simple, and my problem is their foolishness not only costs them, but those around them as well, and I am not in the business of bailing people out of their self-imposed misery. I abhor the notion that I somehow owe a duty to my fellow man to bail them out of their problems when they could've done so themselves. I may choose to help, but I consider neither an obligation nor a charity, for the undeserving individual will most likely not accept responsibility for themselves if so treated, nor will they learn from their mistakes as nature intended.

If I really cared about my friends, I would point out to them (should they be interested in listening) how they can improve their odds and what pitfalls they may avoid thereby. I did it for my own family, even when they didn't like hearing it all the time, but the gratitude later on when they managed to get through a tough situation on their own was well worth the attitude beforehand.

I am once again reminded of the fable about the ant and the grasshopper. I would prefer to be thought of as the ant, and the grasshopper can go suck lemons when the snow comes.

Ahhh, Benny. The only ant that produces offspring is the queen. The rest of them are sterile female slaves.

On the other hand the grasshoppers all mate in the fall and lay eggs for over the winter, thus ensuring the continuation of their species.
Not only that, but the grasshoppers do it as free individuals, instead of as lowly antlike servants without any free will at all.


Edit:
I don't get accused of being chicken little but I am noted as being the one person likely to have a full set of tools in the truck along with good spare tires, booster cables, a shovel and a tow chain just in case.

Lucky you. Mine all say that they are going to hide behind me!

Hmmm, sounds like a job for exersizing and a change in diet.

-Blast

Ok, let's get something clear here. I for one do not regard the weak with disdain, contempt or anything else of that ilk. The weak and uninformed I try to help. If they will let me.

The wilful ignorant are another matter entirely. That's the items to whom Inspector gadget, Mcgiver etc are terms of deliberate comtempt and abuse. As apposed to what is generally termed termed cheerful abuse.

Oh and your quite right: calling them sheep is an insult to sheep.

Nothing. I just hinted delicatly that it might be tell him then..... time.

I've had a few people amazed at what I seem to be able to pull out of my bag of tricks. My pastor was doing some work around the church and needed a file but couldnt find one and was shocked when I handed him my gerber with the file opened, another time someone asked if there was a screwdriver around cause they wanted to pry something apart and I got that wtf look when I handed him an actual pry bar. Yes I carry a lighter and no I dont smoke, yes I carry a knife and no I dont plan to kill anyone with it, why do I have a multi-bit screwdriver and other tools cause sometimes things need fixing and it's easier and cheaper than calling a repair guy. The sad part is while they look at me funny I'm the one that gets to laugh when they look like a monkey and grunting while tearing at packages with thier keys and trying to use thier teeth to open bags while I can just reach into my pocket pull my knife and open the item without any effort.