If you’re handy(wo)manning skills aren’t up to scratch and you need some inspiration check out There, I fixed it. It’s truly inspirational. 
Tag: DIY
Mr Fix It
Convenience store convergence
This week I’m all about convergence devices – toasters printing weather forecasts and the like. One day there’ll be a gadget that does just about everything. Oh wait. That’s an iPhone. Apparently I’m getting my work one soon – fingers crossed…
Anyway. I give you. The Trolley Bike. And instructions on how to make one yourself. Thanks to instructables…
Geek checklist
Continuing the vein of discussion about whether I’m a geek or a nerd (and in fact whether the distinction is necessary) – here’s a list of ten habits of a geek spouse from Wired. And here’s how I fare…
1. Punning.
Guilty as charged. Really, really guilty. I had no idea that this was a geek thing. 1 point.
2. Swearing in Klingon.
Nope. Not interested. Not really interested in sci-fi – but that doesn’t stop me wearing my Star Wars inspired “Milk I am your Father” shirt. 0 points.
3. Weird or over the top ways of celebrating mainstream holidays.
Not that I can think of off the top of my head. I do however celebrate federal budget night with an annual beer and budget celebration featuring only myself (and my wife who is there in presence not spirit). I’ll give myself half a point.
4. Dissecting movies.
I’m not really a movie geek/film buff. In fact I like really stupid movies that would no doubt annoy those who are film geeks. I certainly don’t point out continuity errors or any time a movie breaks natural law. So no points.
5. Wearing obscure geeky t-shirts to “normal places”.
Well yes, I do that. Lots. It shows just how clever you are. If you understand them. It’s like an idiot filter. 1 point.
6. Requiring extra space in the house for geeky things.
Yes. I have a coffee machine that’s more than a metre wide. I have a breadmaker set up on the back patio for roasting coffee, and I have four archaic consoles sitting in our TV unit. 1 point.
7. Geeky toys/decorations can be hard to explain to kids.
Well I don’t have kids. But I can’t imagine explaining why I own a plastic Bob Hawke drink dispenser will be easy. 1 point.
8. Looking up information while a discussion/argument is still in progress.
In the internet age who doesn’t do this? Really? Maybe it is just me. Very, very guilty. Especially when I know I’m right and I’m just doing it to back up my argument. 1 point.
9. Needing to watch certain TV shows ASAP to avoid spoilers.
Well, I actively seek out spoilers at times – just to stay ahead of the curve. But there are times when I guess this could be true. 1/2 a point.
10. Geeky projects that take over the house and whole weekends.
I guess ripping apart a breadmaker to install a switch bypassing the circuit board is pretty geeky. I like little DIY challenges – like the restoration of my coffee machine. 1 point.
Things aren’t looking so good. Lets count up those points. Drum roll.
6 7 out of 10 by my count. I guess that makes me an annoying geek spouse.
Epic fail
A few days ago in my post on coffee snobbery I mentioned that I liked the idea of rewiring my breadmaker so I wasn’t subject to it’s stupid cycles.
I had to wait half an hour for the motor to kick in and spin the beans. Now they won’t spin at all.
It sounded so easy on the website. Just add a wire here, a switch there. It wasn’t. I’ve killed the breadmaker (I think, I’m in the process of rewiring it again).
There was a spark, and a bang as the fuse blew when I turned it on for testing.
My soldering skills aren’t up to scratch and now I’m feeling a little light headed. In a rare moment of wisdom in this little episode I purchased the lead free solder. That could possibly have saved my life.
The breadmaker’s body, when you strip all the plastic off, is quite sharp. I now have cuts on my arms, the back of my hand and a nasty one right on an existing scar on my thumb.
The most annoying thing is the death of the breadmaker. Hopefully I’ll be able to fix it or replace it before the next batch of beans is due to be roasting.
If any of my readers have some electrical expertise and feel like coming around to take a look I’ll make them a coffee.