Things are so “cheap” no one ever fixes anything anymore. Throw it away, buy a new one. Of course, you don’t see the externalized costs that make it so cheap. But lots of things can still be fixed.

Less junk in landfills, more money in your pocket, and the bonus is that a lot of times older versions of simple devices are better than their newer counterparts.

A basic skill you need for repairing small electronics is soldering. As with most hard skills it’s becoming a bit of a lost art in the world of integrated circuits, ultra-miniaturization, and disposable junk. Plus, most people have no idea how to solder and as a result think it’s harder than it is when they get really poor joints.

Soldering is actually a really simple skill that is easy to pick up when you have the right tools and materials and it’s almost guaranteed to come in handy in fixing or making something.

Peep this video tutorial that walks you through what you need, and how to make a good, strong, reliable joint.

Or view on IG TV.

 

This has happened often enough that it’s not a coincidence, and as a microcosm it reminds me of something I’ve seen again and again in my life.

Jen and I love growing plants in our house. We talk about how the plants are doing every day, and things like new buds or shoots are always highlights. But sometimes, in the darkest hours, things don’t go as planned and a plant dies.

Now a reasonable ​person would just throw the dead plant in the trash and that would be the end of it.

I of course pride myself on not being a reasonable person, most of the time.

More than once I’ve pretty much given up on a plant, but let the pot sit there anyway. One time we put a plant outside on the deck as a means of getting it out of the way until we trashed it.

AND THEY’VE COME BACK.

​Life is always going on under the surface, and sometimes maybe a plant just needs you to leave it the hell alone so it can build up some strength before erupting triumphantly from the ground.

Anyway, I’ve seen this before in my life in other areas. Sometimes you just need to do nothing, which is a perfectly valid course of action. People always want to do something. Always want to take definitive action. But intervention isn’t always the answer.

Sometimes you just need to let things play out under the surface.

This is, in my mind, different from specifically choosing not to do something. Choosing to do nothing is different from choosing not to do something. Both are valid, both have a place, and from where I’m sitting both are underrated options.

Something to think about.