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Found: Rules of Thumb 2


Rules of Thumb 2
Originally uploaded by hotdogsladies.

Last month, I mentioned a series of books by Tom Parker that I had loved in college, called “Rules of Thumb,” and I’d lamented that they were out of print (since I couldn’t find my old copies). Imagine my delight when a bit of closet refactoring turned up this dog-eared veteran.

Here are a few of my old favorites:

  • Passing a Car - You can safely cut in front of the car you are passing when you can see its headlights in your rear-view mirror.
  • Planning Potato Salad - When making potato salad, figure 1-1/2 medium potatoes and one egg per person.
  • Lowering Your Travel Risks - Pick a hotel room between the third and sixth floors. Three floors put you above street attacks and random shootings, while six floors will keep you in range of a cherry picker or fireman’s ladder if the place goes up in flames.
  • Cooking Your Dinner - Things cooking in the oven are almost done when you can smell them in the living room.
  • Reaching a Compromise - You know you’ve reached a good compromise if both sides are dissatisfied.
  • Feeding Cockroaches - Twelve cockroaches can live on the glue of a postage stamp for a week.
  • Keeping Yourself in Shoes - If you switch back and forth among three pairs of shoes, they will last as long as five pairs of shoes worn out one pair at a time.
  • Cooking a Steak - If you want a medium-rare steak, it should be as firm as the puffy area between your thumb and index finger. If you want your steak rarer, it should be softer; more done, harder.
  • Deciding What You Want - If you don’t know what you want, it’s probably sleep.

RoT2 has 930 of these little gems of guesstimation, and, frankly, I think I could read them all day. The books are available used on Amazon (see below), but, man, I wish Houghton Mifflin would reissue all three of them as a single big volume. I’d totally buy it.


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JD McMillan's picture

"Deciding What You Want -...

“Deciding What You Want - If you don’t know what you want, it’s probably sleep.” Simple and brilliant. I’d love to hear more of these if you have the time to share them.

Merlin Mann's picture

That's a classic JD, and...

That’s a classic JD, and it’s so true.

I’ll try to add a few more a bit later.

Jonathan Horak's picture

Just bought all three books...

Just bought all three books at Amazon (via your Associates links) on the cheap. If they are filled with even just a few more insightful nuggets — in addition to the above — their purchase will be justified.

DasFreak's picture

I love "Shite's Unoriginal Miscellany"...

I love “Shite’s Unoriginal Miscellany” (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1843170817/) for the same reason. Lot’s of stupid and interesting information. Like the names for different size flowerpots and so on.

Great for a giggle as well as informative.

Andreas's picture

AlwaysWoW - Rule of Thumb...

AlwaysWoW - Rule of Thumb 1: Read 43 Folders before you start to work to ensure a productive day ahead.

AlwaysWoW - Rule of Thumb 2: Don’t read 43 Folders before you go to bed. You won’t be able to sleep since the easy and great recommendations would keep you awake. You would just wait to get up and read the next entry before you start to work the next day.

Menolly's picture

Awesome! My HS driver's...

Awesome! My HS driver’s ed class was full of this sort of tip, but I forgot most of them before I finally got my license. (The one I recall is that, when stopping at an intersection with a crosswalk, you’re in about the right place when the far line is barely hidden by the front of your car.)

fixedgear's picture

You mean like "stop your...

You mean like “stop your car so you can see the rear tires of the car in front of you?” This always leaves enough room to go around the car if it stalls or just decides not to proceed.

Or when following another car, you can measure following distance by counting in ‘Mississippi’s’ when the car in front of you passes a stationary object like a telephone pole. Three Mississippi’s works at any speed. Try it.

Louise's picture

You might also like The...

You might also like The Practical Guide to Practically Everything (link to Amazon) - your friendly neighborhood librarian ;)

Rich's picture

That "Passing a Car" rule...

That “Passing a Car” rule of thumb was actually on the CA driver’s license exam when I took it.

silk and spinach's picture

rules of thumb I must get...

rules of thumb

I must get myself a copy of Rules of Thumb 2! (I always wondered why my potato salads never turned out quite right…)…

About Merlin Mann

Merlin Mann's picture

Bio

Merlin Mann is an independent writer, speaker, and broadcaster. He’s best known for being the guy who started the website you’re reading right now. He lives in San Francisco, does lots of public speaking, and helps make cool things like You Look Nice Today. Also? He looks like this, answers questions, and has something like a life.

The best thing Merlin’s ever written is a short essay called, “Better.”

 
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