Boing Boing Big-Wig's New Book Searches for Meaning in a "Throwaway" World

Nick Gillespie | June 1, 2010

Boing Boing is a great site and Mark Fraunfelder, the editor-in-chief of Make magazine, is a huge part of that. His new book sounds pretty interesting. Snippet from Amazon:

From his unique vantage point as editor-in-chief of Make magazine, the hub of the newly invigorated do-it-yourself movement, Mark Frauenfelder takes readers on an inspiring and surprising tour of the vibrant world of DIY. The Internet has brought together large communities of people who share ideas, tips, and blueprints for making everything from unmanned aerial vehicles to pedal- powered iPhone chargers to an automatic cat feeder jury-rigged from a VCR.

DIY is a direct reflection of our basic human desire to invent and improve, long suppressed by the availability of cheap, mass-produced products that have drowned us in bland convenience and cultivated our most wasteful habits. Frauenfelder spent a year trying a variety of offbeat projects such as keeping chickens and bees, tricking out his espresso machine, whittling wooden spoons, making guitars out of cigar boxes, and doing citizen science with his daughters in the garage. His whole family found that DIY helped them take control of their lives, offering a path that was simple, direct, and clear. Working with their hands and minds helped them feel more engaged with the world around them.

More here.

Make mag here.

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|6.1.10 @ 12:37PM|#

Worst fucking hairdo ever. Just so passé and precious.

|6.1.10 @ 12:38PM|#

BTW I like Make.

dhex|6.1.10 @ 12:43PM|#

the haircut is also diy.

(i like make too, wish i was better with a soldering iron)

|6.1.10 @ 12:55PM|#

It only takes (lots of) practice dude - I used to be utterly shit at soldering.

Warty|6.1.10 @ 1:39PM|#

Boo hairstyling vacuum attachments

Zeb|6.1.10 @ 12:53PM|#

I've seen worse. Though I agree that the deliberately mussed look is particularly irritating in its pretentious cuteness.

Mark Frauenfelder|6.1.10 @ 12:45PM|#

I agree DB! But if I go natural, I look just like Moe Howard. Trust me, it's worse.

|6.1.10 @ 3:48PM|#

Whoa, if that is really you, then you're certainly a good sport!

¢|6.1.10 @ 12:50PM|#

When I finish building my time machine, I'm going to "upcycle" the Library of Alexandria into button sorting boxes.

I probably already did.

White power!

BakedPenguin|6.1.10 @ 1:07PM|#

Yeah, it's a damn shame we've gotten so efficient at manufacturing things that it's cheaper to buy new than trash (or recycle) broken stuff. What a shame that such a massive increase in our standard of living has occurred.

Zeb|6.1.10 @ 1:34PM|#

While what you say is true to a large extent, mass production does lead to some limitations on quality, variety and interest in the things we use. The things that I own are not valuable to me simply for their utility or efficiency. By some standards it is more efficient and practical to buy cheap stuff and throw it away when it breaks, and there is certainly a place for such stuff. But I value things that are well made by someone who cares about what they are doing and which will last a long time, and be worth fixing if they break.

BakedPenguin|6.1.10 @ 1:46PM|#

Zeb - I should have added that I have no problem with people who like to build stuff, or fix stuff. I just get annoyed with the "everything was built better in the olden days" idiots, though.

Most of the stuff that was built 200-300 years ago was crap. The reason that it's not around anymore as proof that it was crap is because it was crap. It got broke, and couldn't be fixed. Stratavarius, Chippendale furniture, Revere silverware / pewterware, etc. were the exceptions, not the rule. And they were expensive as hell, even when they were first made.

|6.1.10 @ 3:06PM|#

So its a false nostalgia. Manufacturing has always been 95% cheap-throwaway crap, with the other 5% being the exception.

HOWEVER....ya think that ratio has changed a bit to reduce the amount of decent products made? For example, where can i buy a loveingly handcrafted gaming keyboard that will last for 20years (or atleast till USB4.2 takes over....what the fuck guys, do we really need to change the way keyboards and mice plugin EVER AGAIN?)

Mark Frauenfelder|6.1.10 @ 3:42PM|#

Baked Penguin, No argument there. I make it clear in the book that I like buying things and am really grateful for a free market that delivers a bounty of well-made, inexpensive stuff. But it's also be a lot of fun and rewarding for me to keep bees, raise chickens, build cigar box guitars, and so on. I just harvested 16 pounds of honey over the weekends and my kids and I had a blast.

Warty|6.1.10 @ 1:09PM|#

Making stuff by hand is fun and something a man should know how to do, but the reason our dads and grandpas did everything themselves is because shit was fucking expensive in the old days. I mean, if your drill costs a week's pay, you're gonna learn how to rebuild its motor yourself.

|6.1.10 @ 1:54PM|#

When the Obamacolypse comes a-calling finally, I think they might be the ones having the last laff.

I dread to think how quickly my family will die from my lack of any useful mechanical skill to trade for food.

Warty|6.1.10 @ 1:58PM|#

Stockpile ammo, dude. Apoco-currency.

|6.1.10 @ 3:07PM|#

Yeah, protect the craftsmen you know. BAM, you just made yourself valuable.

ev|6.1.10 @ 1:38PM|#

Frauenfelder?

His name means "fields of women" in German? Holy shit. Way to win the lottery.

This seriously trumps anything else the man could ever do.

Ted Bundy|6.1.10 @ 1:49PM|#

Oh sure. I work my fingers to the nub for that nom de guerre and have nothing to show for it... but Emo McFadster's born with it. F*cking bullsh*t, dude.

Warty|6.1.10 @ 4:49PM|#

While on a business trip to California in the summer of 1973, Bundy came back into the life of his ex-girlfriend "Stephanie Brooks" with a new look and attitude; this time as a serious, dedicated professional who had been accepted to law school. Bundy continued to date Kloepfer as well, and neither woman was aware the other existed. Bundy courted Brooks throughout the rest of the year, and she accepted his marriage proposal. Two weeks later, however, shortly after New Year's 1974, he unceremoniously dumped her, refusing to return her phone calls. A few weeks after this breakup, Bundy began a murderous rampage in Washington state.[22][23]

Well...I guess that's a pretty good way to do a breakup.

|6.1.10 @ 3:09PM|#

My tip to DIYers: take pictures of your projects. Not yourselves. (The Words Me and my Unkempt Hair Live By.)

oncogenesis|6.2.10 @ 1:38AM|#

Boing Boing is a great site

If you avoid all the political posts, sure. Otherwise, it's just more of the same old progressive masochism.

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