Easy as One, Two, Three? LOL, Part II?

[RICHARD]

I had a wonderful experience last night that involved numbers, memory and trash.

I felt so stupid afterwards that I am still laughing about it.
It's No Mean Feat, because I operate in that mode most of the day


Cleaning out the yard I began to dismantle a fence that I want to rebuild.

In between the the box where the firewood is stored and the fence post I found a heavy duty combo lock hung on a nail. I set it aside to see if I could find the combination when I had some time.

The lock has four dials with 10 numbers on each dial. So, I had a job ahead of me.

A few weeks before I had bought a cheap bike lock to secure some trash cans together and I had to find the combo to.

The stupidity starts there. I bought THAT lock and the package said that there was a TAG attached to the lock that had the combo on it.

NO TAG, so, as a puzzle, I managed to open that lock by playing with it. That lock also has four dials, but with only 6 numbers each one.

I bought another lock of the same 4 dial/six number style and this time I noticed that the combo to the lock was not on a tag attached to it! The combo was on a small sticker attached to the barrel.

I went back and looked at the previous lock and saw the same sticker, worn out by my handling it. What I thought was a quality control sticker was the 'tag' that had the combo on it.

Ugh, I should pay more attention at times?

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I managed to crack the combo to the old lock on after almost three tries of starting at zero and systematically going thru all the numbers.

I'd pick it up and roll a few digits during a TV commercial or while I was doing something else.

The combo turned out to be a something like 2350, and was the style that I was able to use it on the front gate of the house!

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In the dark, the numbers to the old gate lock are hard to read, but if you walk out onto the driveway there is an automatic light on the porch that offers you some help.

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Last night I went out to place the trash cans at the curb.

I set off the sensor light and went to the gate to open the lock.

I squinted and dialed in the number. I didn't have my glasses with me so I have to suffer a bit.....

Nothing.

I rolled the dials and tried again.

Nothing.

The sensor light, adjusted to time out after one minute, goes out.

I walk back to the porch to set the light off again, then get back to trying to open the lock. I reach up to scratch my head.....

HEY, MY GLASSES ARE UP THERE, NOW THE LOCK WILL OPEN!!!

I go back.
Dial number.
No luck.
I go thru the motions again.

Check number, dial number, the light goes out.

I do this one more time and am ready to retreat and gather my wits about me.

I stop, take a deep breath and think about why the lock will not open.

A few weeks prior to this, it did rain and the lock did freeze up. I sprayed it with a lubricant to make it easier to open and that seemed to help.

I took one breath, ran the numbers thru the old cranium and realized that the numbers 2304 will not open the lock because that is my PIN NUMBER TO THE ATM!!!!!!

I started to laugh like an idiot because I would have stood there all night trying to figure out why those numbers would not work.

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Lesson learned?

I hope so, I can hardly wait to try and get money out of the ATM with the combination to the gate! And, in the future, I will pay more attention to what I am trying to accomplish!

[Husky_mom]

lmao... I won´t say been there done that.. hehe.. but I have.. lol

number and me just don´t go together.. lol

[Queen of Poop]

Anyone get pictures of this escapade?

[Karen]

Hee hee! My brain does words and letters FAR more reliably than numbers. I am good at remembering the digits, but not the order in which they go. So my fellow choir folks know that if my answer to "what page do you think it's on" is 328, they might as well try 283 and 238 ... etc.

[Andie]

The lock has four dials with 10 numbers on each dial.

I would have found that lock and thought, "Oh look, a chunk of metal that use to be a lock." I wouldn't have had the patience to work out the combo. After the first two attempts, I would have thrown it to Dustin...or at Dustin.

[RICHARD]

Tonight I went to the store and the local burger joint to grab a bite...

I put ANOTHER lock on the gate, this one you can take apart and put your own combo on the dials.

They have a cogged dial so I can open it by feel.

I line up all the teeth and VOILA!

I am in.

I got the gate open fine and dandy....I had my drink in my hand a bag in the other and my headphones on and was trying to close and lock the gate.

I tried to dial the combo in to lock the lock and just could not do it.

I walked over to the porch, put my food down and went back out to try again. Of course, the dial was off and that was the reason I could not close it correctly.

I was able to get the lock closed and turned to pick up my food and go indoors.

I reached for the bag and a GIANT ORANGE BALL jumped out from behind a box that I had set the food next to..

Toonces, the crazy cat, had run to the front porch and zoomed in on the food-I had only left it there for not more than two minutes and the little sucker was on it!

I jumped and probably lost about 2.5 years off my life.


At this rate?

I'll OWE time to the Grim Reaper........I think I am about 27 years behind on my longevity...

[RICHARD]

OH!!!!

I just realized something...

In the bag?

A cheezeburger!!!!

I swear!

[blue]

Dang it now I want a cheeseburger.

[RICHARD]

01/06/10..

Try the lock on the gate?