Fixing Things

Kindle_light_01

Last night I crawled into bed with my kindle and couldn't help but notice my little reading light was lying in two pieces on the bedside table.

I assumed that like me, my little boy has a keenness to take things apart to see how they work. At two and a half though, taking things apart means snapping them in half.

For how incredibly useful the little light is, It's not an expensive piece of tech. It was a present but I think you can buy them for about seven quid. Never-the-less I just spent a good chunk of an hour fixing it.

Why fix it?..

Kindle_light_02

I feel we live in a pretty disposable society. You only have to go down your local Tip (Recycling Centre) to see that. The act of repairing something, no matter how cheap, has a lot of other value attached to it apart from the obvious saving money benefit.  Learning new skills and helping the environment for starters. Not to mention the feeling you've achieved something. A small win over the god of chaos and whoever the patron saint of binning perfectly good stuff is. For this reason I like to at least have a go at fixing stuff.

There are lots of things that I can't fix. Our education and banking systems. Most cars. And yesterday evening I had some digital kitchen scales in bits on the kitchen table. No matter what I did the display still kept giving me an error message. I salvaged some parts and the rest had to be chucked.

My best investment this year has been a glue gun. I am not exaggerating when I say It has saved me hundreds of pounds in the few months I have had it.

On the whole, fixing stuff is incredibly rewarding so if you get the chance please give it a go. At the very least you will see how stuff works.

Kindle_light_03

I'm @Documentally on Twitter
Jan 03, 2012
Popular Posterous Spaces liked this post.
Jan 03, 2012
isbnsearches liked this post.
Jan 03, 2012
isbnsearches liked this post.
Jan 03, 2012
drazenfx liked this post.
Jan 03, 2012
kllim liked this post.
Jan 03, 2012
Documentally said...
Speaking of fixing things.. What's the record for the most kids DVD's rammed into a PS3? I just disassembled mine & found four..
Jan 04, 2012
Media Attention liked this post.
Jan 04, 2012
Media Attention said...
My thing at home is sewing things up, clothes and the like. My Missus says to chuck them when a hole appears in anything, but my military instincts take over and I sew it back up and wear it again. Make do and mend I think was the saying from the war years... Enjoyed the post Christian.
Jan 04, 2012
Documentally said...
Hi @MediaAttention Good work. I wish my sewing was more than just 'go over it 30 times'. Seems to do the job though. :)
Jan 04, 2012
tookie bunten said...
I try to fix things where I can. Next one is the fan belt on the Suzuki, it snapped yesterday. Bloody knuckles here I come.

One question, where did you get the light in the 1st place? I would like to get my wife one for her kindle. :)

Jan 04, 2012
Buzdjow liked this post.
Jan 04, 2012
Patrice-Guy Martin liked this post.
Jan 04, 2012
Documentally said...
Hi @TookieBunten The light was a present. I linked to it on amazon in the post..
Jan 04, 2012
James Barisic liked this post.
Jan 04, 2012
Nick Lewis liked this post.
Jan 04, 2012
isbntextbooks liked this post.
Jan 05, 2012
Adrian Hoe liked this post.