The Question You Should Ask Yourself

Does Adam Savage have advice on finding ways to improve a workspace to better accommodate a particular style of making? What are some of Adam's non-maker pastimes with Mrs. Donttrythis? In this live stream excerpt Adam answers these questions from Tested members @ethanpersinger and @ShaggyJustin, whom we thank for their support!

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Intro bumper by Abe Dieckman

Thanks for watching!

[AlessaBaker]

Completely unrelated, but if I could wave a magic wand. I'd wear hearing protection as a kid. Ya'll, tinnitus is the worst. Get hearing protection. :3

[hedgeearthridge]

"The only way to think creatively about a system is to assume it was destroyed last night—it no longer exists. If you don't know what you would do when you CAN do whatever you want, then how can you possibly know what to do when you CAN'T do whatever you want?"

That was Dr. Russell Ackoff, attributing the quote to a "vice president of Bell Labs in the 50's." He called it "Idealized Design."

Your workspace was destroyed last night. It's gone. You get a fresh start. What would you do? Use that mental framework to generate ideas for your current system.

[flyingo]

I love that Merlin bird identification app. I wasn’t a bird watcher but now I find much more pleasure in listening to the multitude of birds nearby.

[richardfromontario]

As a big fan of owls both watching them and photographing them it warms my heart to hear you speak fondly of them. Keep on being awesome maker man!

[DavidLindes]

If you like hummingbirds (or various other things), and you're ever in Southeast Arizona... give a visit to the Ash Canyon Bird Sanctuary... a labor of love that my mom built over a quarter century, now run by the Southeastern Arizona Bird Observatory (which in turn is run by some friends of my mom). A lovely spot to just sit and watch a wide variety of birds, with some special emphasis on various species of hummingbirds.

[thom]

It's funny how appropriate the first segment was as I was just contemplating the basic issue of "getting things done." I've long made lists to keep me focused and on track throughout the day, but Adam's point about the magic wand and getting that "compass heading" gave me a new insight to my lists. Most of the time, my lists are a bunch of different tasks. Pay the bills, wash the sheets, finish up end-of-year accounting, etc. Too often I end up getting the tasks done, but it ends up feeling like treading water because I'm just (barely) keeping up with the rigors of daily life and not really moving forward most of the time. I need to take that step back, find that compass heading, and then make my list to achieve it. There will still be the mundane daily tasks on my list, but I need to start putting compass heading projects on my list to move forward.

[Vondudek]

Capturing a Hummingbird frozen in flight, was a great lesson in photo patience. I always loved the pelicans while I was stationed at Ft Ord, Monterey Ca. We visited the coast in September, and I finally got to capture them gracefully in flight. Also while stationed at Ft Ord, once I had a huge Barn owl swoop down at me, scaring this poor soldier boy senseless. I don't know which of us screeched louder, the barn owl or myself. but only one of us almost crapped their pants. That was one big silent hunter for sure. Love my papermate shapewriter.

Best wishes for team Tested.

[MorRobots]

Barn Owls are the stealthbombers of the avian world. Had one in my back yard in CT. It was massive and dead ass silent. Massive wing span.

[QuarryCad]

Hi Adam! Longtime fan. Your intellectual curiosity is infectious. One of the most delightful experiences of watching Mythbusters was seeing how much delight you gained from every investigation. Your knowledge and skills along with your fearless involvement with every project you tackle has been an endless source of encouragement. Now I find you are also enamored with birdwatching. Is there no end of your enlightenment I can’t want to emulate. Thank you for being a source of encouragement for so many years!

[piaonomata]

Protip from a longtime birder: check out sewage treatment plants and landfills. No joke. (Make sure they allow visitors first.) The settling ponds attract a huge variety of waterfowl and shorebirds, especially during migration, and landfills are great places to spot gulls.

Constructed wetlands, often adjacent to water/sewage treatment plants, are a fantastic innovation and way to support the local ecosystem. Also a fun day out for birders.

(Identifying gulls to species and year is the work of a lifetime. Don't go down that rabbit hole unless you really REALLY want to.)

Learning to understand the language of nature really is like learning to read again. Suddenly there's this vast new world you only were peripherally aware of before, and it's all around you, all the time. You'll go from birds to butterflies to moths to plants to frogs and even to landforms and clouds. The biota and biogeography of the Bay Area (or any area, really, but the Bay Area is both attractive and active) are great places to strengthen those skills.

[marscaleb]

He brings up bird watching is for "people his age" and I suddenly remember how obsessed I have become at identifying the difference between crows and ravens because I could swear that these birds I see at work are a crossbreed between them.

[Michael_Robinson]

If I could wave a magic wand, I would be as excited about EVERYTHING as Adam Savage!

[ChefSarah]

Bay Area native here, I love all of the different birds we get by our home. My husband and I are in our 40s and we have learned all of the birds in our area and get excited when a new one shows up at our feeders. I love owls, they're fascinating creatures

[davidyoder]

6:13 I love the fact that the sound of a screech owl causes you and your partner to start plowing in the woods

[seangilman]

I lived in Santa Rosa in the late 80's, and we used to see and hear barn owls frequently on top of that as a former member of the CCC I spent alot of time working with CDF. The sheer amount of owls in the forests in California would amaze you!

[petegossett]

I used the Merlin app to identify a flock of birds on the beach that I’d never seen before. It’s definitely cool to have that ability in your pocket.

[madbradfreeman]

My wife and I were privileged to see and film a hummingbird moth. Most magical day ever!

[leosklein]

I use this phrase at work all the time. It's a great way to communicate the north star goals to a team and to indicate what we would do if we had infinite resources and time

[aaronbono]

Emptying the room out and doing it all over from scratch is about what I'm doing right now with my Craft space. There are a few things that I'm leaving in there just because the new design utilizes them but my design started with an empty box of a room. Another thing that I find useful is to go through everything and Purge things that you thought you were going to use but you never ended up using and you can't think of a reason to use it again, you clear out so much that is a distraction or is using a valuable space. I probably do this every 2 to 3 years.

[MisterMockery]

An alternative to the magic wand that I found useful in making decisions is imagine you could flip a coin, where one side is one option and the other side is another option. What would you hope the coin lands on as it's falling?