But Wait! There's More: When Technology Bites the Dust

I've always enjoyed tinkering with things. When I was young, I learned how to take things apart. Didn't always get them put back together, but I learned a lot about How Things Work in the process. When I got my first car, a 1963 Morris Minor convertible, my dad gave me a Minor manual and a set of tools and let me figure out how to change the oil, adjust the carb, and fix the head gasket. I learned enough about how the car worked that when the fan belt broke in the boonies, I was able to limp back to civilization without frying the engine (no cell phones in those days, and too young for AAA). Over the years, I've learned how to build model rockets, wire a house, raise chickens, and fix electronic gadgets, among many other things. All it took was a certain fearless curiosity and a healthy respect for sharp objects and live electricity. And rogue chickens.

Sadly, I'm afraid the days of DIY fixits may be coming to an end. Things just aren't designed to be repaired any longer. Example: I got an inexpensive flat screen TV with built in DVD/CD player a couple of years ago. Today, the DVD/CD player suddenly decided it wasn't going to spit out my Celtic Circle CD. The player is completely enclosed in the TV housing, so I got out my screwdriver and took the case apart to see if I could fix the player. I was able to retrieve my CD, but the player is done for. I could try to find a compatible internal DVD/CD drive and retrofit it to the space in the TV housing, but that would take a lot of time. Who knows?-- the TV could die next week.

So, even if it could be fixed, is it worth my time to do it? Or should I just toss it?* And what about the trend in electronics where one device can now perform so many different functions? They're like an electronic Swiss Army Knife. Only when you break a blade on a real Swiss Army Knife, all the rest of it still works. Wonder if the electronic gadget can make that claim?

*BTW, I intend to hook up an old DVD player I have that used to be attached to an analog TV...