Comment by hagbard_c

I live in Sweden, coming from the Netherlands, both countries somewhere in the global top yet I still repair hardware, mend my clothes, repair the tractors and car, restored the 17th century farm we live on and extended it, built a barn and more. I intentionally do not make myself lust after the 'latest and greatest' of anything since I realise that such a lifestyle puts you on a treadmill, always running for the next treat. Hence I'm typing this on a computer from 2009 I got for free because the video card was 'broken' (27" iMac, a short stay in the oven later fixed the video card) connected to a second monitor I got for free because of a broken power supply (two capacitors later it worked again) which sits on a stand-up desk I got for free because of some trivial electrical defect (quickly fixed). In a way I still partake of the 'fruits' of that latest-and-greatest lifestyle, only with a decade or so of delay and without the compulsion to 'upgrade'.

Why do I do this? For a few reasons, most of them quite basic. I like fixing things. I get far more satisfaction out of using abandoned hardware which I have fixed myself than I get out of using whatever new gizmo I happen to lay my hands on because I know I can keep the former working (or find an alternative which I can get to work) while I do not know that for the latter. I like being self-reliant. With a soldering iron, a BGA rework station, a few old oscilloscopes and meters and a few decades worth of experience and scavenged parts I can keep things working for the most, design and build circuits to extend whatever is needed, etc. The advent of cheap and relatively open microcontrollers - the ESP series, Arduino, Raspberry Pi pico etc - has given a boost to the DIY electronics sphere which adds to the appeal of keeping older stuff working, e.g. I'm currently looking in to replacing the worn out control circuit and assorted switches of our 35 year old oven with something totally different and more functional, not because I can't get a new oven but because the current one works quite well apart from those switches. The same goes for the tractors and car, motorbikes (Russian Ural and Ukrainian Dneprs with sidecars), etc. There are no electronics in my tractors, they are purely mechanical. They can be repaired by anyone who knows how without the need for proprietary tools, dealer-only computer terminals and such.

Of course I could save a lot of time if I abandoned this 'life style' and just went with the flow, buying new clothes as soon as the old ones needed mending, buying a new computer every 3 years, a new car every 5 years, a new tractor every 10 years, a new dishwasher every 7-12 years, a new washing machine every 10 years, etcetera. I could stop cycling to the village and just take the motorbike, that would be much quicker after all. Think what I could do with all that time saved:

- instead of cycling to the village I could spend time at a sports school for exercise

- instead of fixing that computer (and learning a bit more every time I fix one) I could watch some series on some streaming service

- instead of mending that hole in my trousers (using the Elna sewing machine I got for free because it was 'jammed', took me all of 5 minutes to unjam it) I could browse the web looking for some new trousers - something I'd have to do every few weeks since my clothes somehow seem to acquire holes quite easily, why would that be?

- instead of building that barn I could be working a few more months to pay someone else to build me a barn

- instead of gaining self-reliance I could make myself become more and more dependent on outside sources and 'experts'

Well, thanks but no thanks, I'll just keep on mending my own stuff simply because I can and I like it that way. Here, in Sweden, in the land of plenty.