Hi Trisk and Grog,

I'd like to chime in and say it is not exactly easy for some of us to "look at something and see how it works." I can't look at anything mechanical and logically figure out how it works. If you show me, like a million times, I *might* be able to remember the sequence, but to me, you are absolutely right-- it might as well be an equation, and I had absolutely no memory for any mathematical algorithm in school.
I bet the poster actually has some mechanical ability, or she wouldn't have asked how to do these things! I would never even attempt it. Mostly, because if I did it wrong, there would be a safety issue.
So, I'd say, yes, mechanical anxiety and math anxiety are highly related because you are using the same processing skills. I have been to 4-5 mechanical clinics and I still wonder if I could change a flat if I had to. After eight years, I've only had one and I wasn't alone.
I know that this is a genetic learning thing, because my dad is even worse than me in the mechanical area. My mom was a whiz at fixing things, so it's not gender related. I have other relatives who are much worse than me. As the years have gone by, and more and more things are technology driven, it has made me feel like a prisoner in my own home. I can't remember how to use half of the stuff we have; I think a lot of this stems from the fact that I don't think we need most of this stuff anyway (dvd/dvr, on demand, remotes, programmed heating/cooling systems, cell phones, and most of the stuff on a computer). The only thing I like is the Internet, because to me, it's just an extension of being in a library!
OK, totally off topic, but not all of us just want a prince to come and rescue us... I'd gladly pay anyone to fix my stuff!