January 10, 2005

None of the above.
A blonde with big boobs.

I'd take a mechanical engineeer, presuming I want to get off the island.

If I wanted to live I'd take a doctor.

Not every job that doesn't get your hands dirty is worthless.

You can respect true craftsmen without having to necessarily denigrate the rest of us with soft hands. I'd enjoy learning a craft and toghening up my hands, but, let's face it, it doesn't pay nearly as well and there's only a need for so many craftsmen in an information age economy. The weasels you noted do have soft hands, but that doesn't mean everyone with soft hands is a weasel. I'm guessing most doctors, nurses, teachers, ambulance dispatchers, engineers, bloggers, and many other fine people hae soft hands.

Nix on the engineer. Gimme someone who can swing a hammer anyday.

I learned quite young that every animal has enough brains to preserve its hide - both while it lived and after it died. I can cobble together 5 different kinds of stills, wildcraft any edible or medicinal or dye plant, and hunt most critters. If it involves food, drink, or clothing, that's where my craftsmanship lies. My hands are soft and smooth because I know how to make the lotions and salves to keep them that way.

My ex is a blacksmith, his father is a woodworker, my son's a mechanic, my daughter knits and bakes - and you don't want to get in her crosshairs, she's accurate with her weapons.

I don't see why a carpenter can't also be a salesman and a lawyer, but on that deserted island, I'd rather depend on my own skills, thank you very much.

I’ve been told that William Wrigley, even after he made his fortune, liked to work on his own cars. The story that impressed me the most was the one about the time he was working on his car in the driveway in front of his mansion when a young family, out for a Sunday drive, had a flat tire.

Supposedly the young man, assuming that Wrigley was the mechanic, asked him to come and fix the tire. After patching the tire, Wrigley told the young man that he owed him fifty cents – the going rate at that time. Proof that even as a millionaire, he knew the value of a dollar.

I bet his hands weren’t soft, either…

Not fair Acid. I can differ in so many ways... yet, you do make a valid point. I've scubbed toilets for a-living. Actually, being a janitor has some great advantages: (ONE being you can do some deep THINKING while scrubbing toilets and sweeping floors.) You ain't got to worry about machinery and stuff amputating your fingers and hands - not to mention vital organs like your head -- and your ass..)
And a big point! Don't forget the nerds with soft hands who invented the tech which allows HARD HEADS like you and me - to fill the Internet with our intelligenge. LOL!

I wouldn't care if my island colleague happened to be a salesman or a lawyer, as long as there were some additional skills that could be used in a survival situation. I have some of those, if not as many as I'd like. I figure it's no good to work with computers if you'd fall completely apart in a world suddenly devoid of such things. The more skills and knowledge, the better.

I personally don't see what good a carpenter is on a desert island, either. It's not like there are tools, lumber, and the like scattered about.

Even a lumberjack isn't much use without an axe, unless he's so hardcore he knows how to make his own rope from native fiber, and knap stone to make a stone axe, etc.

You really want a mountain-man type or a hardcore historical recreator for that kind of situation. (I know enough about it to know I really don't want to be in a position to be stuck making my own tools and going from there, is all I can say.)

Personally, if I were stranded on a desert island, I'd rather have Halle Berry. But that's just me.

I'd rather have a NAVY Seal, or a Sea Bee. Those peeps are flat out bad asses. As far as laywer vs. plumber fixin' your comode goes, both of 'em can potentially get you out the shit. So can the firs two I mentioned.

Oh, one more thing. If it's mechanical, and can be rigged to run, a RedNeck aint' bad to have around... I'm just sayin'. I've seen blown fuses that prevented cars from operatin' correctly repaired with the tin foil wrappin' in a pack of cigarettes... not to mention many other 'Neck Miracles.

Here's one point many seem to be overlooking. A person with a trade skill can always find work. While the AMA keeps a tight control on the number of doctors and there are too many lawyers among us, you're not too fucking able to export roofing jobs overseas like you can software engineering or even basic manufacturing.

I may be a chemist by education but I grew up the son of a carpenter. I've got a good set of tools and I know how to use them.