D.I.Y. (Do It Yourself) experiences, ideas, and opinions

[Ambi]

I like the idea of it. It's a bit lame and sad that it seems the only way some people know how to really enjoy themselves and get by is to pay expensive entry fees to somewhere specifically built for fun, buy expensive things, and run to the experts for help every time the slightest thing goes wrong.

Generally, I really don't care if your rich parents got you a macbook pro for Christmas, I don't want to hear about your trip to Disneyland or those brand new jeans you bought on sale for $50 that were pre-ripped and pre-faded in the production line of a Chinese sweatshop, what water parks you've been to, or how your laptop had to be sent somewhere to be fixed. You don't have to have fully adapted a radical D.I.Y. anti-corporate anti-commercial anti-whatever lifestyle (although if you're into that, it would be very interesting to hear about), I want to hear about that time you got plastic sheets and made your own water slide, made a tree swing, built your own custom computer, wrote your own programs, modified or sewn clothes, fixed your car, taught yourself a language, cut your own hair (or your friend's), or held a concert in your garage, just for some examples.

When was the last time you decided you didn't want to pay for a product or service for the sake of being more economical or creative and making things work by yourself? Was it worth it?

As for myself, I don't really do much but I want to start being creative again. I used to regularly try all sorts of things as a kid but then I became lazy and borderline addicted to the internet. Well, there was that time a few years back when I tried to cut my hair, it was kind of "meh" but I got the job done without ending up looking stupid, and there was also that time I painted my bookshelf.

 

[Link_to_Future]

I...uh...decided not to eat today because I need to make my money last until May.

I hate college. o.o

Oh well, just sitting around browsing the internet and doing homework is fairly cheap by itself.

 

[Ambi]

I...uh...decided not to eat today because I need to make my money last until May.

I hate college. o.o

Oh well, just sitting around browsing the internet and doing homework is fairly cheap by itself.

D.I.Y. nutrients and energy, how does that work? Energy through pure willpower? You could go dumpster diving, haha.

 

[Drakane]

I am a bit of a do it yourselfer... I grew up working construction and my grandpa owned his own mechanic shop. Fidgeting is kind of in my blood.... the most fun was using the winch of my friends jeep conected to another wire as a zip line over a pond..... good times.

 

[Link_to_Future]

I...uh...decided not to eat today because I need to make my money last until May.

I hate college. o.o

Oh well, just sitting around browsing the internet and doing homework is fairly cheap by itself.

D.I.Y. nutrients and energy, how does that work? Energy through pure willpower? You could go dumpster diving, haha.

Oh yeah, it's all very zen. I gain nutrients through sheer focus and meditation. Who needs "food" when I have positive vibes!? >.>

I guess the point I was trying to get at was I don't have a lot of money to spend on entertainment so I just don't usually do fun things. Unless you count me absentmindedly playing with whatever happens to be on my desk. That can kill an hour if I'm in a zonked out mood.

I do have a great idea for a dumpster diving project now that you mention it though. >.>

 

[Anarchemitis]

I have a not-so-secret-anymore ambition to make a Do-It-Yourself Rocket to land a webcam on the moon pointed at Earth so that we can get stuff like this, but in time lapse or real-time video feed.
[img_inline width=600 caption="Blue Marble by Apollo 17. Image flipped upside down."]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/The_Earth_seen_from_Apollo_17.jpg[/img_inline]

 

[Capt. Crankypants]

When was the last time you decided you didn't want to pay for a product or service for the sake of being more economical or creative and making things work by yourself? Was it worth it?

Spoiler: DIY

I Man-fixed the shit out of that crappy antenna so I could watch the 2010 World Cup. SOOO f**king worth it. XD

 

[DeadpanLunatic]

I have removed my words from this site.

 

[Anarchemitis]

I have a not-so-secret-anymore ambition to make a Do-It-Yourself Rocket to land a webcam on the moon pointed at Earth so that we can get stuff like this, but in time lapse or real-time video feed.

That sounds like a huge and potentially illegal project. How far down planning stage are you with that?

Nowhere. It's an ambition alongside making a video game or a blockbuster movie. But it's not illegal. [http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Outer_Space_Treaty_of_1967]

 

[DeadpanLunatic]

I have removed my words from this site.

 

[laol1999]

I have a not-so-secret-anymore ambition to make a Do-It-Yourself Rocket to land a webcam on the moon pointed at Earth so that we can get stuff like this, but in time lapse or real-time video feed.
[img_inline width=600 caption="Blue Marble by Apollo 17. Image flipped upside down."]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/The_Earth_seen_from_Apollo_17.jpg[/img_inline]

that would be awesome
except it would take forever to do without the right suplies
im going to assume your pretty good with that stuff though

 

[Anarchemitis]

I wasn't worried that putting something of yours on the moon might be outlawed by some international treaty, my thinking was that local law enforcement might take notice since this project would likely have you purchasing large quantaties of what is essentially an explosive. Unless of course you intend to build a giant sling or railgun of cannon, but those aren't exactly non-suspicious either.

I'm not dumb enough to 1. Attempt such a project within any city limits 2. without the expressed permission (or if seen necessary, supervision) of the local authorities.
If/when I built a rocket like that, it would be somehwhat like Suveyor 1 and probably cost over a million dollars.

 

[FamoFunk]

I refused to pay for a Pink PS3 controller, so I pimped my Black one out by myself, it actually looks amazing!

 

[Verp]

Sprouts are good and very nutritious. Sadly, they also tend to be a bit on the expensive side, depending where you live and what season it happens to be.

No problem -- I sprout things by myself, which cuts the expenses more than 50% in most cases. All you need is some manner of dried seeds or beans (not kidney beans unless you want to go to the hospital), soaking them in water overnight, and letting them grow in a glass jar covered by cloth through which they can drain. The angle should preferably be 45 degrees so it doesn't drain too fast or too slow. Rinse and drain the seeds two times a day, put them in sunlight after the first or second day so they photosynthesise and voila; after some days you have healthy, delicious sprouts for sammiches or salads.

I recommend sunflower seeds especially -- young, only slightly green sunflower sprouts have a lovely nutty taste. Also, sprouted peas that have grown their leaves are great on sandwiches.

Also, there's a very inexpensive DIY trap you can make for them pesky fruit flies. Get some apple vinegar (I don't know if ordinary vinegar works, haven't tried), put it in a small glass, and put a few drops of dishwashing liquid in there. The smell attracts flies to the surface and the dishwashing liquid breaks the surface tension, which means that the flies aren't getting out of there before drowning. Put the glass in a place where those buggers tend to swarm and watch the body count go up.

 

[Jroo wuz heer]

snippers

I did the same thing with wasps and expired strawberry jam

 

[smearyllama]

I plan on eventually modding my Nerf Longshot with a high-tension spring someday.
Also, I've started building computers (well, one, but it works!) I like doing D.I.Y. stuff.
I should come up with projects to do more often.

 

[FFXI Dude]

Instead of spending an arm and a leg to repair my laptop I have fixed it myself. Several times

the power cord tip where it plugs into the computer broke off I have soldered it back together covered it in hot glue for strength and wrapped it in electrical tape.

The computer speakers I hook up to it broke and I rewired the headphone jack with a old set of headphones to make it work again.

the hinge/screen mounting bracket broke apart and stripped the screws so I built a new adjustable rest for my screen to rest against out of lego.

built in microphone stopped working so I use the mic from guitar hero world tour for ventrilo (also a great excuse to stop people from trying to sing)

I recently had to reformat and install windows XP off a usb thumb drive since the cd drive doesn't work anymore

and yes I am posting this from that monster of a computer. probably should replace it within the year though

 

[hittite]

Assassins is coming up and I decided I needed some sort of holster for my Nerf gun.

Spoiler

Unfortunately, the design I used to make one for my Maverick wouldn't work (the shape is weird and it's weighted more towards the back, meaning it'll fall out a lot). Luckily, I had the (completely worthless) flip-up sight from my Recon just sitting around. Some scrap cardboard and a lot of duct tape later, I have (somewhat unorthodox) holster.