Is DIY becoming a thing of the past?

[Jludo]

We have more information available, and more/better tools. Yet,....
It's like having to close the county down, because morons don't know how to act in the snow. Even though we have better clothes and snow gear than in the past. Even though knowledge is just a click away.
I think the availability is making everyone lazy though.

Hows that? I don't know what I'd do without youtube teaching me how to fix things, find a library book?

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

I think the gap between doing something mechanical like changing your oil and the things like computer science is ever growing. Shoot when I troubleshoot my broken TV, I'll just replace a circuit board before I'd try to troubleshoot the board itself. (unless it's something obvious like a blown capacitor)

No doubt. I'm talking about level of aptitude though. Some of the best engineers I'd ever been around were farm boys and racers.

 

[actaeon277]

Hows that? I don't know what I'd do without youtube teaching me how to fix things, find a library book?

I also love to look stuff up.
But I grew up having to find out stuff. It wasn't at my fingertips.
My dad taught me how to use tools. But when we did a job, I had to try to figure it out first before he'd make a suggestion.

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

I also love to look stuff up.
But I grew up having to find out stuff. It wasn't at my fingertips.
My dad taught me how to use tools. But when we did a job, I had to try to figure it out first before he'd make a suggestion.

May be an over slimplification but seems like repair parts and materials for projects (lumber, etc.) are a lot more expensive than they used to be. It is handy to be able to pull up a video and see exactly what you need to do instead of the good old days whey you'd pull something apart to see if you could figure out what was wrong.

 

[Lil Bob]

I used to watch Hometime in the 90's. I loved that show. I learned a lot from him. Did a lot of work on my first house from what I learned. I watch a bunch of HGTV and DIY, and really had not noticed that there was not a lot of DIY anymore. The one show I do learn some from is the different Mike Holmes shows. Now if you want to learn anything just look at Youtube. Anything you want to know or learn you can find there.

 

[Cameramonkey]

Its actually simpler than that. Follow the money.

Have you noticed History, TLC, and Discovery (as well as others) have moved to primarily reality based programming? Reality shows are dirt cheap to produce. Scripted programs however require writers, paid talent, and other production costs. Why spend $20k+ per episode of History's Mysteries or Alien Adventures when you can do an episode of Pawn stars or Storage Wars for $5,000? (or less? )

As long as we have idiots willing to work for fame and nothing more, and you dont need writers, researchers, talent, and other high dollar expenses, this reality crap will continue to dominate the airwaves.

At first 8 years ago when we ditched cable so we could afford for my wife to become a stay at home mom, I was sad. 15 months later I was on the road and was excited to get to the hotel and watch me some documentaries. I was sorely disappointed when all I could find was crap like pawn stars and shows about mountain men and other crap. I havent missed cable one bit after that night. Yes, I get little bonuses sometimes on the road when I find a marathon of How its Made or other old school History show, but for the most part cable tv is crap now, and the cool programs run overnights as filler.

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

Its actually simpler than that. Follow the money.

Have you noticed History, TLC, and Discovery (as well as others) have moved to primarily reality based programming? Reality shows are dirt cheap to produce. Scripted programs however require writers, paid talent, and other production costs. Why spend $20k+ per episode of History's Mysteries or Alien Adventures when you can do an episode of Pawn stars or Storage Wars for $5,000? (or less? )

As long as we have idiots willing to work for fame and nothing more, and you dont need writers, researchers, talent, and other high dollar expenses, this reality crap will continue to dominate the airwaves.

At first 8 years ago when we ditched cable so we could afford for my wife to become a stay at home mom, I was sad. 15 months later I was on the road and was excited to get to the hotel and watch me some documentaries. I was sorely disappointed when all I could find was crap like pawn stars and shows about mountain men and other crap. I havent missed cable one bit after that night. Yes, I get little bonuses sometimes on the road when I find a marathon of How its Made or other old school History show, but for the most part cable tv is crap now, and the cool programs run overnights as filler.

Yeah but wasn't This Old House the original reality show?

 

[Jludo]

Its actually simpler than that. Follow the money.

Have you noticed History, TLC, and Discovery (as well as others) have moved to primarily reality based programming? Reality shows are dirt cheap to produce. Scripted programs however require writers, paid talent, and other production costs. Why spend $20k+ per episode of History's Mysteries or Alien Adventures when you can do an episode of Pawn stars or Storage Wars for $5,000? (or less? )

As long as we have idiots willing to work for fame and nothing more, and you dont need writers, researchers, talent, and other high dollar expenses, this reality crap will continue to dominate the airwaves.

At first 8 years ago when we ditched cable so we could afford for my wife to become a stay at home mom, I was sad. 15 months later I was on the road and was excited to get to the hotel and watch me some documentaries. I was sorely disappointed when all I could find was crap like pawn stars and shows about mountain men and other crap. I havent missed cable one bit after that night. Yes, I get little bonuses sometimes on the road when I find a marathon of How its Made or other old school History show, but for the most part cable tv is crap now, and the cool programs run overnights as filler.

I'd agree to a point but I doubt these DIY shows could cost that much to put together.
I was dissapointed in cable channels but like you I just don't pay for cable anymore. You can watch some of the best VICE, NOVA and Frontline Documentaries free on youtube.

 

[RobbyMaQ]

May be an over slimplification but seems like repair parts and materials for projects (lumber, etc.) are a lot more expensive than they used to be. It is handy to be able to pull up a video and see exactly what you need to do instead of the good old days whey you'd pull something apart to see if you could figure out what was wrong.

To an extent yeah I agree... but like on the circuit board replacement vs diagnosing what was blown (beyond a cap kit) on a board.
Oftentimes, it's cheaper to replace the board than spend 10 hours trying to diagnose it. And unless one is wanting to become a tv repairman, it's sort of not worth diagnosing (actually not worth diagnosing even if you are a tv repairman) with as cheap as replacement parts are these days.
So many things are like this... and yet we still get the 'gist' of how things operate through the trial and error of replacing parts, vs fixing the broken compenents.

I've 'fixed' more monitors and tv's by replacing capacitors (with about a 70% success rate) that it's comical. Most will just throw them away... and today's appliances are just that... 'throw away'. They are not our father's appliances... trying to figure out how they work and make them last longer, is oftentimes futile imo.

 

[Cameramonkey]

Yeah but wasn't This Old House the original reality show?

Kinda. I'm sure Norm got paid pretty well for his time. Its not like today's crowd that is happy to get a pittance and the knowledge that everyone in the world recognizes them on the street.

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

To an extent yeah I agree... but like on the circuit board replacement vs diagnosing what was blown (beyond a cap kit) on a board.
Oftentimes, it's cheaper to replace the board than spend 10 hours trying to diagnose it. And unless one is wanting to become a tv repairman, it's sort of not worth diagnosing (actually not worth diagnosing even if you are a tv repairman) with as cheap as replacement parts are these days.
So many things are like this... and yet we still get the 'gist' of how things operate through the trial and error of replacing, vs fixing.

I've fixed more monitors and tv's with capacitors (with about a 70% success rate) that it's comical. Most will just throw them away... and today's appliances are just that... 'throw away'. They are not our father's appliances... trying to figure out how they work and make them last longer, is oftentimes futile imo.

I hear ya. Along these lines, back in 2004, we bought a new frig. About 6 minutes after the warranty ran out (ok...it might have been a little longer than 6 minutes), we noticed a problem with the interior lights flickering. I figured it was something on a circuit board, down at the bottom of the frig. We checked the price for the replacement and it was like $200-something dollars. Yeah...we'll live without lights for awhile. Then, maybe a year later, I decided to check on it again...only this time I googled the issue. The first link that popped up was an exact fix for it. A little soldering, a jumper wire or two, and bingo! They can keep their $200-something dollar board.

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

Kinda. I'm sure Norm got paid pretty well for his time. Its not like today's crowd that is happy to get a pittance and the knowledge that everyone in the world recognizes them on the street.

Norm got me interested in woodworking. I still think his were the best on TV.

 

[RobbyMaQ]

People not recognizing Norm would be a travesty.

 

[chezuki]

This has quickly degraded into a "kids these days!!! " thread.

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

This has quickly degraded into a "kids these days!!! " thread.

The adults are talking. Quiet down!

 

[RobbyMaQ]

This has quickly degraded into a "kids these days!!! " thread.

Indeed mr. millenial. don't make me barnhammer you.

 

[chezuki]

Indeed mr. millenial. don't make me barnhammer you.

I'm a Gen X'r!!

 

[Jludo]

This has quickly degraded into a "kids these days!!! " thread.

Thought that was how it started...

 

[RobbyMaQ]

I'm a Gen X'r!!

You're a millenial trapped in a gen xer's body. But... help me troubleshoot my reloading press, and I might reconsider!
#barnwoodprivelege

 

[chezuki]

You're a millenial trapped in a gen xer's body. But... help me troubleshoot my reloading press, and I might reconsider!
#barnwoodprivelege

Just throw it away and get a new one.


That reminds me, I need to move my press.