Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, REPAIR

Been fixing things lately.

Started out when Marty's iPod died.  Got the sad iPod icon on startup.  Research indicated a dead or dying hard drive.  Best suggested cure was whacking it; but that didn't seem to do anything.  Along the way, I came across someone who had replaced the microdrive with a CompactFlash card.  And what do you  know, I found a good deal on one.

But, it's always something.  It had been a good long time since I opened Gerry's iPod mini to replace the battery, so I didn't quite remember little things like how hard you had to work to pull off the top, or how far to stick the pry bar.  Damn, I broke the screen.

Still, you seek and sometimes you find.  Got a good price on a replacement screen on eBay.

Hey, it works!  Not only did I fix the dead iPod, I upgraded it and doubled its capacity with an 8GB CF card.

Then I remembered that I still had that damn dead iBook.  I really loved that iBook.  It served me well.  But with no video it was pretty darn useless.  I did hook up a firewire cable and boot it into target mode to copy some of its files over a couple of weeks ago.  Which only made me wish it was working.

Well, the internet is an amazing place.  I came across a video put out by a school district's IT department in Maine detailing how they'd taken the crazy idea of flaming a candle on top of the video processor and modified it.  

So what have I got to lose?  Worst case, I end up with a broken iBook, which is where I'm starting.  So, heat gun to the rescue!

Hell, yes, it worked.

Of course, now there's a dead battery to deal with, but that's just a matter of settling for spending the money.

Then I got back 'round to Gerry's iPod, which needed a new battery.  I found a cheap one (eBay again).  And while I was at it, I got a good price on a 16 GB CF card, so I upgraded the capacity as well.  

All in all, though it took a while, things are better.  Here's something about the work it takes to make it so:

Many Lives, Much Work

how many lives will it take

to make the change i need to make

how many times will i need to learn

what makes a man make things that last

how many lives will i need to take

to make one life enough to have

how much work do i have in store

before my work will stand for me

and when we discuss and disagree

and scream like all we say is most

and when we flush and flight like cowards

and scream and whisper all the truth

and when we double up our outrage

and when we fling ourselves to hell

that's when we know we've done our utmost

that's when we know we've gone to hell

how many lives  do i need to take

to make this work become a force

how many days is that you say

to make it all complete and closed

how many lives will it take

to change the model of my heart

how many times will i need to teach

what makes a man make things that last

and when we digress and equivocate

and scream like all we say is best

and when we flinch and fight our courage

and scream and doubt our worth is moot

and when we double up our outrage

and when we fling ourselves to hell

that's when we know we've done our utmost

that's when we know we've gone to hell

how many lies will i get to use

to make one life enough to have

how much work do I have in store

before i stand beside myself