Higher Learning

[Ryan]

Every day I go to work in an office full of really smart people with MBAs, electrical engineering degrees, computer science degrees, etc... I mean, these people are really damn smart and have t...

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[Richard D]

Not bad for a Kiwi.
This one came out O.K., too...
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/s...4701&showall=1

Great stuff.

[scottybaccus]

Ryan,

For once, you have understated something. As I lack your eloquence, I'll be brief and hope to pass a lot of meaning. The most recent examples of Kev's work had something else. Refinement. These were not a working draft, but tools that had been well thought out, tuned to a fine detail. Not a mere Master's degree of detail, but a Doctorate. Such equipment being in use for half of my own life is very humbling. Thanks for sharing, Kev.

[Danimal]

The best thing I've found is when you send a PM to him asking some questions, he answers and is very humble about any praise you may offer for his great tools and posts. I bet you can't say that about those with the credentials on their walls! Kev's credenitals decorate his walls, they are the tools he uses to ply his trade. Some day I hope to do more than just see his work on the HAMB and have a brief conversation using a PM.

[Chris Casny]

I've been to his shop a few times and it is amazing to see all of these incredible tools and parts that he makes.
The stuff that he does, cannot be learned, either you have it or you dont.
He is definetly one of those guys, that we will still be hearing about in 30 years from now.
He is going to want to kick my ass for saying this, but Kevin is definetaly well on his way to become a hot rod legend.

[hudsoncustom]

Anyone can get a graduate degree in anything...it just takes time and money. I've known plenty of "educated" morons in my life, and plenty of "life educated" people with real knowledge.

[Ryan]

Anyone can get a graduate degree in anything...

I absolutely disagree with this... Anyone that has ever worked their ass off in a decent graduate school knows how tough it is. Doesn't matter how much money or time you have. You have to know how to play the game and you have to be smart and dedicated or you will never make it through.

Now, that said and out of the way... I know a ton of folks that can do the above, have done the above, and are really damn smart folks... but simply can't approach something like a guy like Kev does. It's a different kind of intelligence... and in my opinion, it's much more rare and just as valuable as the other kind.

I think Scotty said it much better than I did.

[4t64rd]

Originally Posted by Ryan

It's a different kind of intelligence... and in my opinion, it's much more rare and just as valuable as the other kind.

There's lots of comments that I could make about this, I'm sure someone else with a lot more vinegar will do it for me.

I agree with this statement completely.

[pan-dragger]

great stuff

[Ryan]

I didn't want to use myself as an example, but fuck it...

I went through college and graduate school (I have an MBA) without ever getting a 'C' in any class. However, I don't consider myself all that intelligent... I just made it a point to work harder than anyone else.

Now, I'm pretty proud of that accomplishment... but if I am really honest with myself, I can admit that there is no way in hell I could pull off some of the things in the highlighted posts above... no matter how hard I worked... Frankly, Kev has a different level of intelligence than I do.

As rare as this kind of thinking is, it amazes me how much of it there is in the hot rod world. We are supossed to be a bunch of hoodlums and low lifes man...

[Moonglow2]

The best example of a guy with those skills had to be Smokey Yunick and I have seen this kind of intelligence in action in my best friend Don who is now deceased. I think it's a matter of wiring in the brain. I perceive one common thread in guys like this. Invariably they are people oriented guys who are willing to put down what they are doing and talk to someone on the phone. Back in the 60's a buddy of mine used to call Smokey Yunick for advice every time he came across a tough nut to crack dealing with a Chevrolet engine. Smokey was always liberal with his vast knowledge and so was my friend Don who taught High School Auto Shop. (A program that has been cut from the budget of so many high schools.)

Unfortunately we are only now just beginning to develop learning institutions devoted to developing these folk's skills in a more formalized way. Leading the way are places like Universal Technical Institute. I just wish there were more opportunities available to the guys with the natural talent and desire.

[Flathead Youngin']

when he posted that thread....i was thinking i like to know more about him.....bio??? who he is, what got him in to hot rods.....does he do this for a living?

[53burb]

We are supossed to be a bunch of hoodlums and low lifes man... Ryan, now ya had to blow all of our reputations. That was totally uncalled for. Now I have to go get a masters degree in something.....gee, thanks! KNUX!

[1950ChevySuburban]

It is a different kind of intelligence, a different way of looking at the world. I, for example, can look at something mechanical and think of it in a mechanical sense - as in rebuilding an automatic transmission without book training, or grasping electrical concepts. However, I don't have the highest levels in "street smarts" and can make social blunders with ease! I also was not an A student in college, but got my Associates in Technology.

Then there are those with the street smarts - they can have no clue how things work mechanically, and may be weak in book smarts.
And they certainly contribute plenty to bettering our society!

The ones with book smarts may get straight A's in school, but can't seem to pump gas on their own, and can be socially retarded.
I know guys who have all the ASE tests, and still have a hard time diagnosing a fouled plug.

MOST of us are a blend of all three, and one of the aspects will certainly be stronger. In a world like ours (cars) I would expect to see a bunch of mechanical thinkers in here.

I definetely admire the way Kev can look at the world through the eyes of a tool craftsman, much like an automotive Einstein!

Just my take on it, thats all.......

[metalshapes]

Originally Posted by Ryan

As rare as this kind of thinking is, it amazes me how much of it there is in the hot rod world. We are supossed to be a bunch of hoodlums and low lifes man...

I'm not that surprised...

Really thinking stuff through is in its own way, an act of defiance.

[30roadster]

I went to the university of Georgia for my undergraduate degree. My room-mate was in law school and the top of his class. He was interested in a girl that lived in the apartment above us and wanted to cook her dinner. He had never cooked anything in his life and so decided that hamburgers would be easy and asked for my help. I told him to get the hamburger out of the freezer and thaw it while i went to the grocery store to get what he would need. He asked me, "how do you defrost the meat?" I told him to fill the sink with hot water and put the meat in it - I'd be right back. I got back and there were little chunks of meat floating in the sink. My old roomie has gone on to be very sucessessful......but i would not want him working on my cars!

[NoSurf]

I think some people have "Mechanical Ability" and some people don't. Kev's definitely got it to a high degree.

Long ago people with that elevated mechanical aptitude (nowadays="gearheads") were esteemed for their command of the processes of machinery. Whereas today they are looked-down upon somewhat. What is so terrible about working with your hands?

Maybe it's in the psyche of the mechanically minded, that to figure out a better way and the accomplishment associated with it is sometimes payment enough, rather than to charge an arm and a leg as some attorney would?

oh well- I'll shut up now...

Great job KiwiKev!!!

[1950ChevySuburban]

"Long ago people with that elevated mechanical aptitude (nowadays="gearheads") were esteemed for their command of the processes of machinery. Whereas today they are looked-down upon somewhat. What is so terrible about working with your hands?"

Sometime in the future, when the world goes to shit, we'll be the ones they look up to again.
Us and the gardeners/hunters.

[D-Russ]

WORD.

Originally Posted by Ryan

I didn't want to use myself as an example, but fuck it...

I went through college and graduate school (I have an MBA) without ever getting a 'C' in any class. However, I don't consider myself all that intelligent... I just made it a point to work harder than anyone else.

Now, I'm pretty proud of that accomplishment... but if I am really honest with myself, I can admit that there is no way in hell I could pull off some of the things in the highlighted posts above... no matter how hard I worked... Frankly, Kev has a different level of intelligence than I do.

As rare as this kind of thinking is, it amazes me how much of it there is in the hot rod world. We are supossed to be a bunch of hoodlums and low lifes man...

[SinisterCustom]

Originally Posted by Ryan

We are supossed to be a bunch of hoodlums and low lifes man...

Gotta new sig.....


You'd never know that by the majority of posts/replies around here though.....would ya?????