Y'know what you hardly see anymore, and it makes me sad?

[Oeditpus Rex]

Fixit shops.

I like to fix things when they break, or try to. But we live in a throw-away society.

That's sad. :cry:

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. My dear Oeditpus Rex.....

You know, you're right....

Funny how you don't notice something's missing until somebody mentions it...

We do live in a throw-away society, don't we? :cry: :hug:

[reyd reid reed]

2. I know of a few of 'em...

but you're right. You don't see many these days and it sucks. Too many things that we just toss aside when they break, without giving them a second thought.

It Is sad.

[u4ic]

3. Come into my shop

I'LL fix it for ya...

[Oeditpus Rex]

5. There's nothing wrong with *that*

"Please — we are doctors."

[u4ic]

8. You mean you didn't know

Mae was a Maytag repairwoman before she hit it big?:shrug:

Why don't you open up a side business of your own if you like to tinker with things?

I agree, and I like to recycle, freecycle or try and get things fixed. There are still a few stores around here that do that sort of thing - but they are few and far between.

[Oeditpus Rex]

9. I don't really want to do it for other people

I like to work on what I wanna work on and take my time doin' it. And if I can't fix it, it's like, "Oh, well — at least I tried."




I thought she was a loading-dock foreman. :shrug:

[u4ic]

11. Have you thought of using the freecycle list

in your area? Some people give away VCR's, TV's, Microwaves, etc that don't work.

As stated, it's free - maybe you can make a bit of money repairing and selling them?


Gack! Those nasty Rethugs are still spreading nonsensical rumours about her to this day?
:grr:

Or...are they confusing it with the 'bobcat' thang? :shrug:

[Oeditpus Rex]

19. Yup

I was gonna do Freecycle to get rid of some bookshelves a couple months ago. But I couldn't remember the name of the site, and when I posted here to ask, skygazer said she'd take 'em. :thumbsup:

[GoddessOfGuinness]

4. I used to take my shoes to a repair person...

for new heels or worn soles. I haven't seen a shop in years.

[Oeditpus Rex]

6. Thanks for remindin' me

I gotta do a Shoe Glue job on my ratty sneakers.

[reyd reid reed]

7. Me too...

You don't see seamstress or tailor shops any more, either. So many things have fallen to 'disposables'....

[Nicole]

10. I still do

I have boots there now getting new heels & resoled.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

21. Location?

The last shoe repair place in my neighborhood closed at least 10 years ago.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

13. There's one right down the street from me....

makes me nostalgic just to walk past. :)

[GoddessOfGuinness]

24. Ours used to have a gum machine

that sold Beemans and Black Jack gum. :)

[faithnotgreed]

25. hey goddess

i think youre close by
if youre ever in adams morgan/u street area i can direct you to georges shoe repair
you may not want to travel for that but just in case....

[GoddessOfGuinness]

34. Thanks for the tip!

Are they in the yellow pages?

[faithnotgreed]

36. i honestly dont know but i will get that information and pm you

[CanuckAmok]

12. On the upside, there are more upsacle cheese shops around lately.

Thank god for the buying power of the useless borgeoise!

[bridgit]

14. i like shoe repair stores...

:thumbsup:

[leftofthedial]

15. it's cheaper to buy a new one at Wal Mart

than it is to pay the one old guy who still knows how to fix it

[reyd reid reed]

16. Not in the long run...

but no one thinks of the long run.

[leftofthedial]

18. the long run

isn't that why we have credit cards?

[reyd reid reed]

20. Heh....not me.

Cash only. So I've learned to use a screwdriver.

And to unplug appliances before the screwdriver comes anywhere near them.

I'm in it for the duration.

[BelleCarolinaPeridot]

17. There was an old hard ware store in my city ...

it was located uptown. I liked going in there because it was people friendly . And the hardware things , although I never knew what they were for were exciting to me everytime I went into when I was a little girl. Connected to the hardware store was also and old school soda fountain counter - I missed those two places . I think a couple of years ago the man who owned it retired and it closed up. Sigh ...

[seemunkee]

22. There's a great one near my office

Parts for anything you could ask for. I've rebuilt my grill several times over the years with parts from there. Fixed a refridgerator that got flooded and various other items. I like how you can show them a part and they know what it came out of.
http://www.watersappliance.com/

[bikebloke]

23. I still see cobblers around

I've had the soles and velcro straps replaced on sandals for years. Same with a dressy pair of shoes.

You can forget television and electronic repair. It's all disposible. Remember those tube testers for televisions for do-it-youself repairs.

When I travelled through India, I noticed that nothing is junked but repaired or salvaged for every part.

[billyskank]

26. And of course part of the reason is that things are designed

to be difficult to repair, BUT the daddy reason of them all is...

...stuff is just too cheap nowadays to be worth repairing. And why is it cheap? Because it's made out of shit materials and assembled by someone who is paid almost nothing.

[Call Me Wesley]

27. I like to fix things, too.

But why do I always end up with some left-over parts if I take something apart and put it back together? Are the engineers stupid or what? :P

[Oeditpus Rex]

29. Well, you know engineers

If it doesn't go back in, it wasn't necessary in the first place. :eyes:

[Call Me Wesley]

30. Exactly!

And look what I've built with the spare parts!

[Oeditpus Rex]

31. And if I say 'Gort — Klaatu barada nikto' to him

he'll... what? Eat the drapes? :shrug:

[Call Me Wesley]

32. Ha ha! That doesn't work with this one.

He'll offer you a cigarette I'm afraid. Nikto=Nicotine. I hope you like the Klaatu kind ...

He's not the brightest one, but I blame the engineers!

[Love Bug]

28. Shoe repair shops are getting hard to find, too.

[MadHound]

33. Yep, a disappearing part of our society.

The thing is that a lot of products have become so cheap pricewise that most people simply throw away what is broken and buy it new. And I think that this has been an ongoing deliberate corporate plan for years and decades now.

In addition, it has become increasingly difficult for car owners to work on their own vehicles. I have two vehcicles, a '98 Honda Civic and a '98 Nissan Frontier(truck) that I can't change the oil on due to the placement of the oil filter. I can access the air filter and spark plugs, but that's about it:grr: But to change the oil, or get to the fuel filter you have to have a lift to access these two things. And for more major problems, forget it. Everything is computerized and tucked into such a small place that it is inaccessible to folks with hands any larger than a child's.

I started noticing this phenomenon concerning new cars and being unable to change the oil about the same time I noticed the explosion of Jiffy Lubes and other oil change places. However I'm a determined old cuss with a deep seated distrust of the vast majority of mechanics, and as soon as I see a garage going out of business, I'm going to the auction and buy their car lift. I have the room to install it, and by God I will change my own oil again:grr:

Another disgusting piece of built in obsolescence is on lawn mowers. I picked up a little Murray push mower about eight years ago. It had a Briggs and Stratton engine, which I always patronize. Last week I was having difficulty with it not running, and determined that what was probably going on was the carburetor diaphram had gone south, not uncommon after a few years. Simple four buck fix, right? Wrong. I took off the carb to take a look at the diaphram and noticed a strange thing. The black carb wasn't made of metal at all, oh no, it was painted plastic. And furthermore, according to my local small engine pro(this man is a treasure, one of the last of a dying breed of mechanics) these plastic carbs will warp after time and heat, thus not providing a tight seal and rendering your lawnmower non-functional:grr::grr: So, long story short, I had to buy a new plastic carb and slap it on to get the mower working again. I think I'm going to take that old school B&S engine out of mothballs and put it back on a mowerframe. Those old engines literally run forever.

So yes, we're now living in a throw away society, one that is becoming ever more so as time goes by. We have a couple of possibilities facing us on this one. Either we have a huge economic downturn where people are forced to repair, renew, reuse items because they don't have the money to do otherwise, or we'll simply get to the point that we're ridiculous, throwing away cars because they get a flat or some such BS.

Me, I'm stocking up on some of the old tech, mowers, engines, etc. that are built to run forever and can be easily repaired.

[Oeditpus Rex]

35. Which is why I drive cars from the '60s

Well, that and they're just seriously cooler. B-)

This is an engine:

[Lydia Leftcoast]

37. I saw one just today

It's near the University of Minnesota campus.