Skip to main content

When Things Go Wrong

I haven’t written lately because things haven’t been working out really well. Of course it could always be worse, but I was hoping not to go on a rant. It seems, however, that I have some regular readers, who have asked me “how it’s going?”

In reality, I have had a wonderful (although too short) summer. But in the last week or so, one of the people who is closest to me had a family member die, and then her car started on fire the day she returned from the (out-of-town) funeral.

In my own little part of the world, my car needs brakes, my refrigerator decided to stop being cold and I find that money is short and my summer is all but over.

Why do things break? Planned obsolescence keeps consumers buying. I can’t afford to buy right now, so I am attempting to fix some things. My friend Mike looked at my refrigerator… had it pulled apart and opened it up actually… and nothing seems wrong with it. In fact, this morning it started working again. Will it keep working? I don’t know, but my food is temporarily at my parents’ house and I need it back (… getting hungry…).

I have two small black & white televisions that I like because I can move them where I need them. One is in my bedroom, and it kept getting “snowy” after it was on for awhile. I took it apart, and though it works better I don’t think it is really fixed. I cleaned it up inside though. My other, smaller set wouldn’t tune in anymore and I took it apart and now (for the moment) it seems to work again.

Perhaps temporarily, I have undermined the idea of planned obsolescence. Perhaps I haven’t. I just know that between my two jobs, I don’t make enough money not to try to fix things. I’m really not that good at it. My brother and dad are really good at fixing things, but I’m really not. Although I have noticed that when measured against the entire population, I’m not too bad at it actually.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Hormel is Dumb: No More Little Sizzlers

We appreciate your interest in LITTLE SIZZLERS® Sausage. Unfortunately, this item has been discontinued. We value our loyal consumers and apologize for any disappointment our decision has caused. Please visit www.hormel.com for coupons, promotions and recipes using many of our other products.

SPRUCE Project

We were lucky enough to be given a tour of the SPRUCE Project in the Chippewa National Forest, North of Grand Rapids, Minnesota. Our tour guide was W. Robert Nettles IV, SPRUCE Project Operations Manager at Oak Ridge National Laboratory . I went into the site fueled primarily by my lifetime of interest in the natural environment; as well as my interest from volunteering as a park ranger in the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge. However, by the time I was done, my interest in technology, from over 10 years as an IT professional, was thoroughly peaked! Definitely off the "beaten path," in a spruce bog in Northern Minnesota, this site boasts an incredible array of scientific equipment that is supported by an amazing technological infrastructure! There are control sites and some of the chambers have added heat, carbon dioxide, or both. A lot of equipment and experimental testing goes on 24/7, 365 days per year. These guys know their stuff. The 10 chambers are connected ...

Measles Outbreak?

The people dying from measles are unvaccinated. This is preventable. Those who are pushing misinformation are participating in the cause of these deaths.