Comments on: Spontaneous Induction- Low-Tech Fixes for High-Tech Problems

By: Jose V

Jose V — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 03:06:59 +0000

Now that the country is in economic distress we are trying to find new ways to save a buck or two. I believe that were are all capable of stretching our money a little further for example changing ones oil or cleaning your own carpet instead of hiring someone to do it for you. I consider myself to be a “Do It Yourselfer” like Kyle C mentioned above. I try to save money wherever I can like changing my own oil, which is not difficult at all and it cost half the price if I were to have it done by Jiffy Lube, besides the instructions are in the owners manual. During the thanksgiving brake a friend of mine had the back widow from his convertible cutout with a knife of some sort, which ruined the whole convertible top. So we went to an upholstery shop to find a replacement plastic to cover the hole temporally. The shop wanted forty dollars for a piece of plastic, so we went to Wal-Mart and purchased the same plastic and black duck tape for less than ten dollars. My point is that we did not have to wait until we were in a state of panic when we could have been implementing new money saving ideas all along.

By: Kyle C

Kyle C — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 00:48:29 +0000

I have been an avid “do it yourselfer” for many years. I feel that when you are confident in what your abilities you are more likely to try different ways around a technical job. I know of a few things that work great that would normally cost hundreds, like the NY Times article states, putting a water logged cell phone in minute rice to dry it out. I have used this more than once and it always works for me. Also the plastic bag on a credit card trick works out most of the time. These simple little everyday products make the faulty overcomplicated technology more reliable for everyday use. I also take on projects that require special tools to complete. With a little ingenuity and skill one can tackle projects for cheaper. For instance, turning a few pieces of scrap steel into a pulley puller, or bending a screwdriver to get into a tight space instead of buying one pre-bent. When people do not have the money to pay someone to fix something they can be as creative as they want to get the job accomplished. I like to work by one phrase that an old mechanic had told me a few years ago, KISS (keep it simple stupid). When you start over thinking your task at hand you will lose reliability in what you are building or repairing. Like paying ten dollars a can for Mass airflow sensor cleaner when non-chlorinated brake cleaner is the same, for two dollars a can. A little knowledge goes a long way when money is tight.

By: Sylvia V

Sylvia V — Sat, 16 May 2009 17:43:17 +0000

I agree, with the economy many have to do without items they used before or luxuries. Many are looking for deals, which has the more affordable stores like Walmart making greater profit because of this. I also agree with JamieA’s example of peoples ways of cutting back. When she mentioned about an all purpose cleaner, I immediately thought, yep that’s me. It just makes me wonder why I did not do this before, I could have saved some money.
The article from the NY Times, “Low tech fixes for high tech problems”, but it had lots of interesting things to try when in desperate need to fix things. Some of my favorite where when the ink cartrige runs out in the middle of printing an important paper. Also, when someone drops a phone in water (toilet). Another, suggests using a $5 mouthwash for cleaning CD’s versus a $75 dollar cleaner. Very useful tips and money saving. Not sure if the work though, but I would not mind trying them the next time I’m in desperate need to fix something quick.

By: JamieA

JamieA — Thu, 14 May 2009 05:51:38 +0000

I currently work in retail at a local Walgreens drug store. Walgreens is a company that profits greatly on “impulse buys.” What our staff considers “impulse buys” are items that aren’t necessarily common and thought to be purchased prior to someone walking through the door. An “impulse buy” is something that you literally see and buy just because, not to serve a specific purpose. Sales have declined majorly because of the economic stress that the nation is suffering from all around. People are buying less and stretching what they already have. People are appreciating what they have and are trying to purchase items that essentially serve more than one purpose, rather than single use or entertainment. For example, buying one type of cleaner that can be used throughout the entire house rather than a different cleaner for the bathroom, kitchen, carpet, etc.

By: BrookeM

BrookeM — Wed, 13 May 2009 08:47:48 +0000

It always seems as though when bad times occur there is always a saying to go with it. After reading this blog, I immediately thought of, “When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going”. N our economic situation, the tough people will survive. Tough people will make plans and strategies to stay afloat and succeed in this time. I think that we all must get a lot tougher in order to be able to come out on top. I, as a young adult, and others like me must learn that nothing come easy and we will only prosper with hard work. I hope that my generation will learn to understand what these times are like, so that we will work hard our entire life. During this time, people must also get make to the basics. We must think, just as the blog explains, of other ways to use objects. Thinking outside the box can lead to several innovative ways to use one item. This time can a positive experience to better our world in so many ways.

By: elsag

elsag — Fri, 08 May 2009 18:19:23 +0000

Once again, I agree with the other two postings. I think that during a national crisis, people are more willing to go forth with creative ideas that will help minimize their financial impact and be more resourceful. For example, I was once watching on the History channel a TV show called Modern Marvels. Here, they show the latest innovations in tools, machinery, weapons and so on. Well, one of the episodes was dedicated entirely to “eco-friendly” appliances. In the episode, they showed this food compactor that will turn leftover food into soil. The soil produced it totally organic and can be used to harvest vegetables and then sent over to the food compactor again. This was very interesting to me because it seems that in order for humans to really care of their surroundings and be more cautious of their spending and their resources some major has to happen either in their current economy or in their surrounding environment. I was also reminded of a famous book that was written by William McDonough and Michael Braungart called Cradle to Cradle. That concept was applied to that food compactor thing.

By: kthao

kthao — Thu, 07 May 2009 20:26:28 +0000

I personally think that during an econimic down turn people are willing to forgoes life’s luxuries for energy efficient items. There are more and more energy efficient appliances available and they are getting popular. Now is the time to make life long changes that acutally sticks. The problems that we faces today have always exits, but they were not so important until we have to deal with them. One example is the the water crisis we are facing now in the central valley. It is a very complicated problem involving global warming and lack of responsible for water usage. We need to find solutions to deal with these problems.

By: LauradawnR

LauradawnR — Thu, 07 May 2009 17:35:32 +0000

This brings up an interesting topic. I think that it would be a great idea to create items that would not be expensive to buy or to use. I do think that more and more people, who are running into economic problems, actually are beginning to care about the economy and even trying to ‘go green’. I do think it would be hard for people to take steps back and create items which require no energy, as in the 1800s or times when electricity and energy did not exist. However, if they think about it another way they would be advancing even further than the society is now. To take items that are energy required and turning them into energy efficient and no energy.
This is being done already, for instance energy efficient light bulbs. So we may be on the way to everyday items, which normally require energy, to be used with out any energy at all. Another example is solar power, which is getting bigger everyday.