plasticFirst of all, to be sure no one gets the wrong impression, I am not a materialist. I don't live for possessions. I'm not wealthy in the material sense, and anyone that visits my home can see that. That being said, I can and very much do appreciate nice things. That is, well-designed and built things. Beautiful things. I appreciate them very much.
As an aspiring engineer, however, I see things on a daily basis that make me want to vomit. I see the formed plastic stereos, the lifeless, characterless TVs, and the slabs of particle board held together with plastic bolts that make "couches" and "tables" and "desks" and "chairs"
Do you know how hard it is to fix something like that when it breaks?
You probably haven't tried.
Almost no one does.
People buy new stereos and TVs and furniture all the time.
They buy new crap that will break just like last month's crap.
New crap replaces old crap, and then maybe a profit.
Particleboard accumulates until an overconsumption equilibrium is reached.
Or until you run out of space for the excess plastic.
The life of a stereo is now determined by the life of an underengineered plastic clip holding one piece to another.
Determined by the life of the in or out jack that they could not afford a panel mount nut for breaking the circuit board.
Because it is so cheap, repair is out of the question.
Because it is so cheap, people will not go through the trouble of thinking, of concerning themselves with it. They buy a new one, for want of a screw or button.
Because it is accepted so cheap, it will be built to a standard that cannot be repaired.
Because it is so cheap, it will inevitably die because of the equivalent of a splinter.
This is important because our memories are tied to external objects all the time. Because an old record may remind us of an old relative, because the solid wood desk in your home reminds you of the hell of a time you and your friend had lugging it up three flights of stairs. Because owning it can be a rewarding memory in itself. Not the memory of screwing together particle board with plastic.
I'm not telling you that mass production is bad. We need mass produced microprocessors. We do. Do we need tables that turn into oatmeal when they get wet? No.
Voodoo Child is one of the greatest sounding guitar amps I've ever heard.
Not gloating.
I built it with my hands.
Do you know how rewarding that is?
Moreover, do you know how long I'll have it?
A very long time indeed.
I'm planning to build a stereo around similar components.
I'm going to build a stereo that is robust.
A stereo that I can fix in 20 minutes if anything goes wrong and I have the parts on hand.
A stereo hand built to a quality that cannot be bought.
That is my personal war on crap.
A war on overconsumption.
A war against cheap trash that will be replaced over and over.
I plan to replace most of the things I have in that manner.
I will replace the plastic bolts and particleboard with robustness, with the flesh of a strong oak.
With an item that will last as long as it took the trees that made it to grow.
Yes, I'll replace the foil and foam with pillars of steel.
Indeed, it is still impermanent.
It is, however, less wasteful.
It is not pissing on craftsmanship.
Its a careful, involved, human. One that cannot go as fast as the machines with careless, poorly trained operators. One that cannot be as consistent.
One that will be better.
As an aspiring engineer, however, I see things on a daily basis that make me want to vomit. I see the formed plastic stereos, the lifeless, characterless TVs, and the slabs of particle board held together with plastic bolts that make "couches" and "tables" and "desks" and "chairs"
Do you know how hard it is to fix something like that when it breaks?
You probably haven't tried.
Almost no one does.
People buy new stereos and TVs and furniture all the time.
They buy new crap that will break just like last month's crap.
New crap replaces old crap, and then maybe a profit.
Particleboard accumulates until an overconsumption equilibrium is reached.
Or until you run out of space for the excess plastic.
The life of a stereo is now determined by the life of an underengineered plastic clip holding one piece to another.
Determined by the life of the in or out jack that they could not afford a panel mount nut for breaking the circuit board.
Because it is so cheap, repair is out of the question.
Because it is so cheap, people will not go through the trouble of thinking, of concerning themselves with it. They buy a new one, for want of a screw or button.
Because it is accepted so cheap, it will be built to a standard that cannot be repaired.
Because it is so cheap, it will inevitably die because of the equivalent of a splinter.
This is important because our memories are tied to external objects all the time. Because an old record may remind us of an old relative, because the solid wood desk in your home reminds you of the hell of a time you and your friend had lugging it up three flights of stairs. Because owning it can be a rewarding memory in itself. Not the memory of screwing together particle board with plastic.
I'm not telling you that mass production is bad. We need mass produced microprocessors. We do. Do we need tables that turn into oatmeal when they get wet? No.
Voodoo Child is one of the greatest sounding guitar amps I've ever heard.
Not gloating.
I built it with my hands.
Do you know how rewarding that is?
Moreover, do you know how long I'll have it?
A very long time indeed.
I'm planning to build a stereo around similar components.
I'm going to build a stereo that is robust.
A stereo that I can fix in 20 minutes if anything goes wrong and I have the parts on hand.
A stereo hand built to a quality that cannot be bought.
That is my personal war on crap.
A war on overconsumption.
A war against cheap trash that will be replaced over and over.
I plan to replace most of the things I have in that manner.
I will replace the plastic bolts and particleboard with robustness, with the flesh of a strong oak.
With an item that will last as long as it took the trees that made it to grow.
Yes, I'll replace the foil and foam with pillars of steel.
Indeed, it is still impermanent.
It is, however, less wasteful.
It is not pissing on craftsmanship.
Its a careful, involved, human. One that cannot go as fast as the machines with careless, poorly trained operators. One that cannot be as consistent.
One that will be better.
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Re: Oh the Places You’ll Go - YAYYYYYYYYYYYYY...
I love that one. :)
I also love seeing you h
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