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Comment by hirundo | Hacker News Reader

AvE (arduinoversusevil). He's a Canadian engineer of some kind that mostly does tear downs of various equipment, commenting on their construction. He's also a foul mouthed master of malapropism, but those things just add spice. The engineering content and commentary are really fascinating and keep me coming back. He has the great teacher's ability to convey joy and astonishment at things I didn't even know were things and make me want to learn more. He's also taught me a lot of things that turned out to be of great practical use, like how to drill through steel, which brands of tools to avoid and which to pay through the nose for.

Keep your dick in a vice! (I don't know why. Maybe if I keep watching I'll find out.)

https://www.youtube.com/user/arduinoversusevil/about

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Yep, enjoy watching him. He has an interesting combination of knowledge about materials, electronics, machining and general tools know-how.

I got a kick out of an episode when his young daughter came into the workshop while he was filming. Clearly he has had an effect on her because she wanted to "make some metal". He told her she had to leave because otherwise he can't swear. She replied "That's OK."

While I sometimes chuckle at his vulgarities, I'm a little disappointed that I can't let my young kid watch him because of the language. It would be a great way to help instill a love of tools and making stuff.

FWIW, I have a 12 yr old boy and had to reconcile my and the culture’s proclivity for swearing when he was old enough to know what was going on. I decided to treat it like other things in the category of “for adults only”. I.e it’s ok to watch adults doing it and when you’re an adult you can too, but until then, no swearing.

For the most part it’s worked. On the few occasions where he’ has sweared (sworn?) there have been consequences. So far he’s stayed on the straight and narrow.

Identical situation. Two boys; I swear frequently in front of them. They don't speak similarly.

In my case, I've emphasized the fact that if they start speaking as I do in public, they will face consequences from their teachers and the other adults around them. I think it helps that there are people, times, and places for which I distinctly modify my tone and vocabulary, and I think they have absorbed that along with everything else.

The subject of using profanity around your kids is a subject I have definite opinions about. But it is a whole other topic that I'm not sure belongs in this thread. I will, however, mention something Paul Graham says in one of his essays, that the only reason we teach our kids not to swear is because we want them to remain cute - that is just so off, in my opinion. I like what the comedian Jerry Seinfeld said, that if you have to use profanity when telling a joke then you didn't nail it. I think that applies more broadly than just joke telling.

> that the only reason we teach our kids not to swear is because we want them to remain cute

I disagree with that. For swearing to be useful as swearing, it must be taboo. Avoiding it in certain places and teaching children not to do it is part of preserving the taboo; it's preserving the cultural heritage for your children to enjoy when they grow up.

I like having content that is specifically not kid friendly. I find vulgarity to be quite entertaining and I wish there was more of it.

I can listen to him talk for hours (and do). He has absolutely mastered the English language, in the sense that it sounds like he's talking gibberish half the time, but you still know exactly what he means. That to me is a skill in itself, but then he also REALLY knows what he's talking about, to an incredible depth, so the puns and unique expressions actually complement some quite serious knowledge and teachings.

I wish I was half as good with words and explaining things.

His video on using hair shampoo to whiten his wife's dimmer cover was bordering on spoken word poetry.

I don't believe that was shampoo, rather bleach for hair.

“Keep your dick in a vice” is a play on words of the saying “keep you stick on the ice”. The latter being made famous by the Canadian comedian Steve Smith aka Red Green.

Probably should include the red green show - for a bit of redneck engineering https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUXPuYZ4DEQ&list=PLYA1dURVg2...

It would have been nice to have been warned not to take it literally.

One of the most joyful dude to watch, the constant stream of crummy puns rarely gets old IMO. Not a lot on the theoretical side but you'll learn things for sure.

I love AvE, though do grimace every time they start a clip with "Gentlemen!".

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