|
|
|
|
|
| Philosophical Dilemma : Throw it away or fix it?
Posted: 5/1/2008 6:48:04 PM | I use VCRs too - tape all my favorite shows
I had an el cheapo from Sears and I put in a tape and it got stuck. I just went out and bought another el cheapo
I'm so bad that when a battery goes dead in one of my watches I'll just wear another instead of replacing it. I suppose I'll have to eventually | |
|
| Philosophical Dilemma : Throw it away or fix it?
Posted: 5/1/2008 9:42:35 PM | 1) recycle
2) art work....sell it for a few hundred, then buy new fancy thing.
3) If nothing broke or one never need to replace something they bought, would our economy survive? Would the impoverished find themselves in worse shape? Would more jobs be cut if people stopped throwing things away entirely?
I don't know the answer to #3, but say for example it was that way. Are we then actually better off? | |
|
| Philosophical Dilemma : Throw it away or fix it?
Posted: 5/2/2008 12:55:36 AM | We all need things, and things sometimes break. We could start by choosing necessary things, and forgoing more or even most of the trivial gadgets we seem so attached to. Reducing waste and use of materials right off the top. Then build simple reliable machines, and heres a thought , employ people to make parts. Even have standards , and adhere to them. The people making parts are the ones making cast-away things now. I think it's to easy to blame it all on business, if we don't buy it they won't make it.
Short story long, Try and fix it, if it's not cost effective junk it. And we should all try to buy Quality, local , products when we can. | |
|
| Philosophical Dilemma : Throw it away or fix it?
Posted: 5/2/2008 1:27:36 AM | | My approach is simple - buy at a thrift shop or Craigslist, use it, then take it back to the same thrift shop. When it breaks, take it to recycling whenever possible. Use it for kids' project. Take it to one of the gazillion electric engineer aquaintances for fixing, an average Russian guy can usually fix almost anything. Just don't have it unless you absolutely need it. My footprint is not too big actually! | |
|
| Philosophical Dilemma : Throw it away or fix it?
Posted: 5/2/2008 2:01:06 AM | How do you repair something that is only designed to last a bit beyond the warrentee?
Everything from cars to appliances have a design life span. People only expect a kettle to work for a couple of years. So that's how they are designed. We can say all we want but that is how the market has evolved and it is based on popular trends and not on anything else.
If the popular trend was to want items that were environmentally sound last a long time and had easily locatable parts for repair that's the way it would be.
The masses want their appliances to reflect their life style and well it does, it's disposable so when they have changed their minds they can get a new on that matches what ever look they want. Although 50 year old toasters are in vogue again they are not built the same as grandma's toaster that is still working.
You can try to buy more expensive items but that doesn't guarantee that they will last the longest though. At the end of the day the less things we buy the better. Being self sufficient rarely means buying a lot of consumer products. Although some of them are just so cool... *whistles innocently* | |
|
| Philosophical Dilemma : Throw it away or fix it?
Posted: 5/2/2008 5:56:05 AM |
The masses want their appliances to reflect their life style and well it does, it's disposable so when they have changed their minds they can get a new on that matches what ever look they want.
This line totally reminds me of the movie "Fight Club" (for those who think it's about fighting, go rent it). The line at the end of the movie... that we are all living the "Ikea lifestyle" is so spot on with it's concept.
Americans now keeps their brand new car a average of 3 years... THREE YEARS. It makes me want to just scream and pull my hair out... And why would car companies care if their car lasts for more than 5 years since they don't make any money from the secondary market? They don't; well, at least that's the attitude of American car companies, not so much German or Japanese.
James, Seattle, Washington, USA, Earth | |
|
| Philosophical Dilemma : Throw it away or fix it?
Posted: 5/2/2008 12:34:14 PM | Crazylilting, inquiring minds would like to know... mine, too... just what do you do with your appliances that they break within the couple years? Mine last much, much longer, and I abuse them. Maybe they make them tougher for the US, don't know.
Definitely bigger. | |
|
| Philosophical Dilemma : Throw it away or fix it?
Posted: 5/2/2008 1:03:28 PM | The only thing we can do with them take them to the recyclers. I don't think things last longer in the USA i lived in Canada for 30 something years. In fact at one time i worked in an appliance repair shop in Kitchener Ontario, so i've talked to many manufacturers about this very topic. Many things are not made with spare parts. They are pressed out as cheaply as possible, more and more with design being the focal point.
Like some other posters have alluded to some times the parts that can be found are more expensive then replacing the whole item. The secret is i think buying only the appliances you absolutely cannot live without. While in Canada i was a gizmo junkie and know how many appliances actually get used.
I wish it were different I wish you could buy an appliance and it last 20 or thirty years. I'd pay more for it wouldn't you? | |
|
| Philosophical Dilemma : Throw it away or fix it?
Posted: 5/2/2008 9:20:40 PM |
Americans now keeps their brand new car a average of 3 years.. ooopsss...I don't even buy a car until it's about 5 years old.
I have noticed people putting more and more money into things that depreciate instead of appreciate over time. How often does one see a junky house with a sports car in front that probably cost as much as the entire house did? I see it all the time. I think some of it is a lack of confidence that one will be ok if they work with their money properly. I know I've even wondered if all my saving for retirement is going to be completely useless. It can disappear 100% faster than how long it took for me to save it. | |
|
| Philosophical Dilemma : Throw it away or fix it?
Posted: 5/2/2008 9:30:28 PM |
Americans now keeps their brand new car a average of 3 years
My first thought on seeing this was that many people lease cars as they are often too expensive now to take out a loan for. Are leased cars part of those stats? If so, then the stats are misleading, as lessees don't "own" the car.
Up to this point, I don't think I have ever owned anything less than 5 years old.
"New car smell" is pretty expensive if you want to own instead of lease. | |
|
| Philosophical Dilemma : Throw it away or fix it?
Posted: 5/2/2008 9:38:56 PM |
"New car smell" is pretty expensive if you want to own instead of lease. Didn't studies also show that whatever it is that causes that "new car smell" also causes cancer?
I'd rather have a heavy smoker in my car every day than deal with that new car smell. It actually makes me nauseous . But yes, I'd say that the western world has developed a disposable society attitude. Basically, one can't really expect to keep their job either much longer than they keep their car. | |
|
| Philosophical Dilemma : Throw it away or fix it?
Posted: 5/2/2008 10:45:14 PM | May I be so bold as to suggest that the over-simplified question is much more complex in nature than suggested?
We as humans need generalization rules to function and live and the question is not one that can be uniformly applied across the wide spectrum of applications, situations, products, realities of modern life, etc... Society is what it is today, no matter what ones perspective - pessimestic or idealist. Carbon footprint and enviro friendly - the only real answer is going back to primitive means and ways of living and who really wants to do that? The reduced carbon footprint is a feel-good placebo of self-righteousness. Think about it. Today's society has developed for specific reasons and overall benefits and we are all parts of it, like it or not. Feeling better or bad about it is irrelevent in the big scheme of things. Life has evolved for valid reasons and logistics and it is all around us. The perception that re-use or recycle makes a big difference is comforting but if you really look at the numbers, is it that beneficial/significant when you look at cradle to grave scenarios? There is a cost to recycling and the price and quality issues are not as favorable as may be romantically imagined or logically argued, I would guess.
And not all items have the same obsolesence or repair factors. Consumer Reports looked at the avg. lifespan of household items and when to replace and when to repair. Everything is different. The only real total answer is abstinence/avoid purchase, live in a hollow fallen tree eating mushrooms. Would any of us have a computer and internet service then? There was a reason why medieval times were called the Dark Ages. And then, what would happen to modern society if we all stopped the wheels of commerce from spinning - would you still have a job?
Blaming China's pollution upon our consumerism or corporate conspiracy obsolesence/profiteering theories doesn't take into account efficiency, economics, population growth, greed, environmental negligence, politics, etc...
So toss or repair? Buy new vs used? Quality vs quantity? Chinese vs local?
No moral dilemmas there - make your own personal best judgement based upon your situation because overall, the big picture is evolving beyond most of our control.
Here are questions for you - what happens to your garbage and sewage? How much garbage do you put out? How much energy do you use? What is the real cost/benefit of your local recycle program? What is normal and what is not? Do you find todays modern life beneficial and rewarding or would living like the Middle Ages be more fulfilling of living than say, in a mud hut, tending your acre plot and animals, making your own clothes and everything from hand, living the romance of being in tune with the land and forgetting the harsh realities of competition with man and nature and the associated disasters?
Ex. - the latest compact Flourescent bulbs - yup, way more efficient but how about manufacture and now, hazardous disposal factors? Better than the old light bulb? Turns out, not necessarily. Ethanol save/reduce crude oil stocks? You will be paying more for your food as a result - no corn for food or feed but we will have gas, does that make sense as well? We all need to look at the big picture more, overall.
IF you think about it, your original question was trying to find a guilt free/reducing way to justify consumption. While your form of consumption is not obvious nor direct, overall, I would bet that it is. Someone suggested hand tools and you said that your plot was too big and thus time consuming, justifying the required m/c efficiency and its purchase/operation/maintenance.... a sign of consumption? | |
|
| Philosophical Dilemma : Throw it away or fix it?
Posted: 5/3/2008 3:21:06 PM |
C-Y Said:
IF you think about it, your original question was trying to find a guilt free/reducing way to justify consumption. While your form of consumption is not obvious nor direct, overall, I would bet that it is. Someone suggested hand tools and you said that your plot was too big and thus time consuming, justifying the required m/c efficiency and its purchase/operation/maintenance.... a sign of consumption?
Hi CY, nice post. I don't think my original question was as much about guilt or justifying consumption... one of my (many) pet peeves is being called a "consumer". Obviously very few people want to go back to mud homes and only working out in the fields when it's light out, but obviously buying new crap over and over and over again is NOT the way to go.
I was just trying to get a feeling for what others do when something breaks... fix it or throw/recycle it.
I'm continuously at conflict with my entire CAREER... I'm a metal sculptor. While I think creating ART is a very important part of society and civilization, I also realize it to be a part of the problem... at it's most basic, I make STUFF for a living... STUFF I hope that other people will buy. The stuff I makes simply looks pretty and makes commentary on the human condition.
My yard is large so I can display my art and art of fellow local artists. If I had a 1 bedroom Cottage with a postage stamp yard and white picket fence I'm sure I could maintain it just fine, but that just won't work for me. My house isn't too large for me and three cats, although there *IS* room for one more... that's why I'm on POF.
James, Port Orchard, WAshington, USA, Earth | |
|
| Philosophical Dilemma : Throw it away or fix it?
Posted: 5/3/2008 9:21:19 PM | I hear ya seattlerain. Would like to see pics of your metal art. Got a website? Time for a shameless plug.
We are all part of the problem, dilemma and solution. Only those self-sufficiently living on a deserted island aren't. Pogo pogo, here I come! Not.
Dang. | |
|
| Philosophical Dilemma : Throw it away or fix it?
Posted: 5/3/2008 9:26:27 PM | Hey CY, my website is at: tinyurl.com/5qvgs6
I mostly work in Stainless steel and bronze, which while recyclable, my art comes from 'new' material, not found objects. I put new in quotes since much of the 'new' material is actually recycled before I buy it "new".
James, Seattle, Washington, USA, Earth | |
|
| Philosophical Dilemma : Throw it away or fix it?
Posted: 5/4/2008 11:11:36 AM | CY : Wonderful post and you hit the nail right on the head. Supply and demand rules the roost. Population growth increases supply and demand, cities grow larger because of population growth thus driving the need for more consumer 'conveniences' in order to maintain survival in the metropolis. Economic growth depends on consumer's demand... etc etc. It's a vicious circle. Corporations and government eat this stuff up.
In my mind it all comes back to the one root problem : Population growth is what's killing us. And there's no end in site on that one.
The burning of fossil fuels will not come to an end anytime soon, if anything, it's only going to get worse. Going 'green' will only work if and when the big guys at the top do so as well. But that's just not economically feasible in their eyes because immediate financial benefit overrides future financial benefit. And the mighty buck is their only motivation... I'm an accountant, I see it every day. Today's bottom line is all that matters, everything else is secondary. Just to give you an idea on today's mindset : I have one heck of a time trying to convince businesses to look at the big picture when it comes to their expenditures. Saving five dollars today is not necessarily beneficial if it could eventually cost you fifty down the road, and I can literally physically show them the cashflow forecast analysis. Spend the fifty now and it will pay for itself later down the road, it's an investment into the future of the company. Longevity is the key, not immediate gratification. Alas, sometimes you can get through to these guys, sometimes you can't.
We are an 'instant gratification' society. How the hell did we get to that point ?
And how is it that our society has all of these new fandangled 'conveniences' and yet we have less time on our hands than ever before ? That particular question boggles my brain.
Ahhhh.... the longtime fantasy of disappearing into the mountains and living like a hermit, at one with nature....
*Sigh* But, I'm too 'consumerized' to last so much as a month in the bush I'm sure. Besides, I don't think my computer would work if I plugged it into a tree. 
I'm a bit of a tinkerer and quite the handyman. But I'm the first to admit that more times than not, I prefer to just toss and replace, just simply because I can't be bothered and would rather spend my time doing something else.
I am undoubtedly, 'consumerized'. | |
|
| Philosophical Dilemma : Throw it away or fix it?
Posted: 5/4/2008 11:53:52 AM |
SO, MY PHILOSOPHICAL QUESTION:
What do you do when something breaks? Dump it in a landfill and buy a new one or fix what you have? This goes for tools, furniture, and anything else that COULD be fixed...
I ask myself this question, "How can I possibly fix this with duct tape and picture wire?". It might not look pretty but if it works it works.
If that fails, I procrastinate until the issue becomes dire. If I'm able, I might offer it up to someone I know who will either get it fixed or sell it so they can make some money off it rather than just toss it away. | |
|
| Philosophical Dilemma : Throw it away or fix it?
Posted: 5/4/2008 12:14:59 PM | I use duct tape frequently but the picture wire, mind if I use that one as well. lol In the days of v.c.r's I had a stock pile of various pieces to patch them together. I really loved opening them up and figureing out just what made them work. When it comes to fixing a machine such as a weed eater you can google for repair ideas or just ask someone who knows. If you should choose to not bother to repair the item there is craigs list free listings and you can post it there or place it on the road side with a free sighn someone will find it as a treasure. Pull coards should not be that difficult to repair though. It has a spring action inside and you might be able to find the part at your local hardware store. I have a troybuilt rototiller that has a pull coard issue I usually have to hit the case that encloses the coard in order to pull start the tiller. It works so I am not going to "fix" the problem. The tiller is valuable to me and to replace it would cost me about a grand should it need repairs I would have it done and as soon as possible because I need it in the spring.
As for the philosophical side of this. It has become a throw away society but we all need to be aware of the items we dispose of. | |
|
| Philosophical Dilemma : Throw it away or fix it?
Posted: 5/4/2008 12:33:48 PM | I've tried to bite my tongue on this one but i simply can't.
The reduced carbon footprint is a feel-good placebo of self-righteousness
I don't think people trying to reduce their footprint on the world is a bad thing. Being almost vegan (besides free range eggs) people think that bringing up the moral and ethical reasons behind such a decision makes a person self righteous. I don't think doing something good for the environment and other species is a bad thing yet it is treated as though it is. I can understand peoples reluctance in making personal sacrifices to make a difference but to actually put down people for being vegan, environmentalists, social activists etc... is simply wrong.
I do understand that some people probably do more harm trying to 'save the world' but well informed environmentalists knew the issue of disposing of those deplorable light bulbs we are supposed to change to. And there have been people speaking out against ethanol and factory farming as contributing factors in food shortages in developing countries.
There is no way we can have no footprint in this world. Fact is just being alive is contributing to a host of problems. If we are not working towards self sufficiency and lessening our carbon foot print we are contributing to the problem and not the solution to a growing number of problems in my opinion. This makes me self righteous? ummm i hardly think... I contribute to the problem just as much as anyone else. So should we just throw our hands up in the air and just allow the powers that be to direct our future according to their bank role? I don't think so... Why shouldn't people voice their opinion when it comes to the disposable life style that we are forced to live because of the decision of a few capitalists? | |
|
| Philosophical Dilemma : Throw it away or fix it?
Posted: 5/4/2008 8:27:27 PM | | There are do-it-yourself repair forums online, I use "appliantology" a lot; it's mostly for major appliances. I've heard of DoItYourself.com, but maybe somebody there can recommend another self-help group? | |
|
| Philosophical Dilemma : Throw it away or fix it?
Posted: 5/4/2008 9:28:50 PM | Re crazylilting; That comment was meant as a slick ideology to explain the motive and resulting psychological reward of the many that jump on the bandwagon. So, if you push the ideology to the extreme, you either live a simple, low consumption life and walk the walk, elsewise your a consumer hiding behind convenience and a few limited effect actions to say/feel that you are doing your part to save the world. This was the logic behind that statement. Of course, extremely debatable depending upon anyones perspective and preferences. I will admit that I was baiting to incite a little riot there with that slight exaggeration of presumed motive. But just a little one, hehehe. However, if you just didn't take that one line out of context and got a feel for everything else that I said, most of it was sound. I hope.
However, may I show an example to support, but readily admit that it is not true of all or probably most. I was just being the devils advocate and readily admit that any effort is worthy and an improvement.
Let us take the most recent son of enviro feel good - Al Gore, academy award winner for his enviromentary upon global warming. You did read the reports upon his large house, extensive hydro bills, continued air travel, high consumption lifestyle. It was nice of him to show us recent scientific info in a high visibility medium and tell us what will happen, but.... And I am sure you can see this coming. Has he changed anything in his own life if the impact was so great, urgent and important? He was still looking like he was living large - no passing resemblance to Ghandi now was there!
Apparantly not and so I am now wary of people, organizations, govt manipulated by business, telling what everyone should do, while they themselves throw a party and do it in private while the costs and sacrifice is borne by the avg. joe.
Do you remember the large LA blackout in 1988? Well, it appears that all the smog cleared up there while the power was out. Yet, the cars and traffic were still on the roads thanks to back up generators at gas stations. Sooooo, if the cars are not creating all the pollution, what was or is????? Any guesses on this one????
The answer was industry which was shutdown without any hydro. We pay taxes on fuel, pollution control our cars and regulated to control our pollution, limit our water consumption -taxed upon usage, but it is not the main cause. Seldom stated or mentioned by govt, it is undustry, which is essential yet a bastion of greed as well.
And consumption is the real root cause and whether or not you fix or replace the gadget/widget is on too small a scale to matter. And industry which creates jobs and can manipulate due to financial power, fulfills that need to both our benefits - probably more for theirs. If your a pessimist - you fault capitalistic greed. If your a fatalist - beyond any individual's power, if your a martyr - you take the blame for it, if your a caring optimist - you do what you can to help.
And this is why I said that it was more complex than originally stated....
What are the motives for our own individual actions, logic and justifications. Often it is convenience or preference. Our recycling programs prove that, because how many of us compost all of our waste organic matter. Our recycle programs waste energy and only pick up the easy/profitable to recycle, more for industry benefit than ours. There was a time not that long ago that scrap prices were so low, it was cheaper and they were, dumping all of the recycle collection in Toronto in a land fill! And how many cities barely treat waste before dumping in surrounding waters??
Note, I said ALL of our organic waste matter. Also note, the polluting chinese lead the world in recycling waste organic but don't look at their industries however. So, what does one conclude from that?
This was the can of worms that I was alluding to and with no simple easy answers.
But always bear in mind the human psyche, motives of human nature and start with oneself. No simple answers.
There are much bigger factors and scales at play with more impact than whether or not we make a singular choice. And those factors will be much more impacted/manipulated to the benefit of the powerful few I would guess, than to matter whether we chuck or repair a specific item.
Chalk it up to mankind and modern society.
Yes we live in a democracy and the power of collective individuals.
A myth my good man, a myth, ideology fostered by beneficiaries for their benefit.
We just go to work everyday and pay the taxes and consume to survive... | |
|
| Philosophical Dilemma : Throw it away or fix it?
Posted: 5/4/2008 10:11:06 PM | Why shouldn't people voice their opinion when it comes to the disposable life style that we are forced to live because of the decision of a few capitalists?
I reread your post and most of it is valid logic.
But that one sentence is not - your are NOT forced to live a disposable lifestyle, you just think so because the alternative is CONSIDERED IN ONES MIND TO BE TOO HARD. Back to my point of convenience and everything is just a feel good excuse to rationalize a decision. In this case, too hard to live in the woods alone, living off of the land and by hand. Just go join the Amish or the Mennonites who seem to be doing well enough, if you can handle their level of sacrifice, tedious work, boredom when compared to modern day convenience lifestyle.
I call this spoiled elitism of choice. Our tomatoes at the supermarket, if they have a blemish, we will not buy but leave it there to rot because we will pick the other riper, fuller, more perfect ones. When in fact, nature is full of blems and it is still as nourishing and tasty as all the others. But we perceive it to be inferior and make our choice accordingly. And thus the same with feel good placebo environmentalism.
Most of these actions are marginal, partial and insignifican at best, when considered of the whole.
A rationalization in one small area when there is so much going to waste overall that we partake, assist and cause. That was the justification for the statement.
My new statement, if your not a Mennonite, your still a cog in the wheel and any enviro approach is limited and strictly a self-righteous, feel good lip service.
Slave labour was forced. Our decision to use efficiency benefits and the convenience associated with that is a choice of logic! And an intelligent one I might add, but not forced. And most conservation or recycle is based on interesting fundamental, seldom-mentioned motives. Money, convenience or personal benefit. Think about that one really hard and you will see the underlying truth in that which applies to 99% of all situations regardless. Takes a clear mind to be able to see the "real" motives behind most actions, including reduce/re-use/recycle. Reduce is the only real solution in that recycling mantra.
Why do we recycle paper products? Because they recycle easily, thus cost effective.
Only certain types of plastic? Only the ones that recycle easily.
Why don't we recycle tires? Because it isn't easy or cost effective.
Why do we reduce electrical consumption? To save money and because the current generators are overloaded.
And here comes another crazy statement - you can blame it all on oil! Huh?
Know why? Because it is such a FANTASTIC resource because it allows us to multiply our efficiency gains for great benefit! The harnessing of explosive power converted in to work, thus affording us great convenience and our current wonderful lifestyle or for the spoiled elitists - our disposible capitalist forced lifestyle! Think about it - one gallon of gas for $1-2-3 $ and we can travel for 20 or 30 miles in complete comfort and safety! Next time, be a true conservationist and walk it. Or go back to the farm and raise it and then earn it so you can use a horse.
And the $20 you save in hydro by changing bulbs, isn't doing squat in the entire scope of the world scenario of industry, population and technological advancement. But it makes you feel short term good, right?
When they get going on the Kyoto accord, and only at that level, will signficant affects matter at this stage of the game. Good luck on accords, the history of man has not evolved enough to bode well for this... | |
|
| Philosophical Dilemma : Throw it away or fix it?
Posted: 5/5/2008 12:11:00 AM | What makes you think we aren't forced? Try to live off grid... See how far you get. It is impossible to live completely off grid and self sufficient now days. You have to pay taxes etc... The closest to being able to is being a gypsy but driving around a caravan doesn't seem to environmentally friendly in my opinion.
Land is not free, Taxes need to be paid and you are right we are cogs in the wheel and all part of the problem. The Amish and Mennonites are communities not individuals trying to make a difference within the wheel. They have removed themselves and do not pay taxes etc... So in my opinion there is a huge difference. I tried the whole back to the land thing. If i was single i could of done it but as i wasn't i could not force a family to live as i wanted to. The other thing is just five acres of raw land takes a vast amount of resources to make it workable for a family or years of hand labour to make it workable. In any event unless it is a church you have to go to work to pay for it and all the related taxes that go along with it.
And last time i checked you cannot go to a store and ask and pay for a fifty year life span toaster even if you wanted it. We have less choice then you portray. less freedom and it is only when you try to be free you realise how we are not.
I don't know what the real source of smog is, however i found your comments very interesting on the black out of 1988. No one wants to point the finger wrongly at different industries, but we do want positive change that will be sustainable. We look to scientists and well informed people because we don't have the time and resources to investigate these things for ourselves.
Like i said we can only try to reduce our impact to the best of our ability, very few people myself included could not become raw vegan, Buddhist, cotton spinning, philanthropists. I cannot grab an axe and the few small tools and go carve a free life in the woods nor can you or anyone else without being caught and probably thrown in jail for trespassing and tax evasion or something. | |
|
| Philosophical Dilemma : Throw it away or fix it?
Posted: 5/5/2008 3:07:25 AM | I personally fix almost anything around me that breaks, sometimes even things that aren't mine to fix.
Just a few days ago I had my computer die on me, power supply over loaded and burned up a couple pins on the main board where the main power line connections. Was going to throw out the board an pick up a new one, but instead I tackled it like everything else. Tore open the power supply to find one loose capacitor, had a junk amp in the corner of my room which had the same capacitor in it, replace it, power supply worked. Tore out the pins on the board that fried, sanded em down a lot, then put them back on and that worked as well, even caused a few features of my computer I been trying to get working for awhile now to finally work properly.
I've yet to encounter anything, unless it's more than 20 years old, that cost more to fix than replace, but I've encountered a lot of people who told me the stuff would cost more to fix.
People who throw stuff out for really dumb reason annoy the crap out of me, like above the comment about throwing a VCR because it had a tape jammed, a minute with a screwdriver and you'd have probably saved the tape and the VCR.
But then I kinda do like people who throw stuff out for really dumb reasons, I've made a lot of money over the years off picking up things people were/did throw and and fixing them to later sell. One year I made more per month just fixing computers people threw out than I made at my job in 3 months. That was just selling them at 50 to 200 depending on how good they were, some of them a single part was worth easily 4x the amount I sold the whole pc for.
I think it really depends though, would you rather sit around and watch a television which you pay for the service, or spend that time on something you can actually get a real life use out of beyond conversation with your friends. | |
|
| Philosophical Dilemma : Throw it away or fix it?
Posted: 5/6/2008 12:21:57 AM | | For me, I just love trying to fix whatever myself. It's fun for me to come up with innovative ideas to get a thing going or even fix it better than original. Of course if you have to have a repair person do the deal then it costs, but maybe if you take a shot at it yourself even with a little advice you can fix a thing yourself. A number of girls (just happens to be girls only) have presented broken hair dryers to me. It's always because the screen over the fan is full of lint that's causing the problem. Pick out the lint, then the overheat switch wont kick the hairdryer off...simple. | |
|
|
|
Home
login 
