Making something from nothing has always given me the greatest high. This video reminded me that it is that high that got me into software development.
When I was young (and had no money):
- Made origami
- Learned sailors knots
- 3d sculptures of science fiction aircraft from index cards
- Bow and arrows from q-tips and underwear rubber
- Sailboats from 2x4's, coat hangers, plastic garbage bags, and fishing line
- Skateboard ramps (usually bigger than I was capable of using and with
none of the right tools)
- A workbench
- Peg board (hand drilled from scrap wood)
- Dozens of hand drawn replicas of video game/anime art
- Repaired the broken fin of a surfboard purchased at a garage sale (never used)
In high school I exploited my auto shop classes:
- Replaced the rear differential on a 80's Mustang
- Removed a motor from an early 90's Camaro
- Built and installed a roll cage in an early 90's Camaro
- Taped and sprayed flames on a fiberglass replica 32 Ford hood
as a demonstration of a new paint line for local body shops
- Completely dismantled the engine of 87 honda civic
- Resurrected an 80's Volvo with 300k miles on it
- Made a functioning 6" cowl induction hood for my 89 SR5 Toyota Corolla
From there I got a job at a hot-rod shop:
- Teardown of a 52 Chevy Bel Air
- Teardown, body work, and assembly of a split-window Corvette
- And countless others
In college majoring in Mechanical Engineering (what a joke):
- Built a marshmallow launcher
- Convinced a big angry muscle man with a knife to my throat not
to hurt me, and steal a keg from a party instead
Once admitted to college, I was given a computer:
- Pirated software
- Converted drawings to vector graphics
- Made techno songs
- Made 3d models
- Designed album covers
- Frankenstein'd countless scrap computers
After I dropped out of college I became a restaurant server:
- Documented everything I could about HTML/CSS
- Created custom MySpace themes (and never made a dollar for it)
- Built my profile in Flash to overcome MySpace's limitations
- Hid all of the generated MySpace content (minus comments)
and built my profile from scratch
From there I became a developer. Software has been an incredible way for me to create and learn. Sadly, the projects my employers provide aren't always challenging enough. Additionally, the complimentary benefits of working with my hands versus sitting at a computer have drawn me to other projects:
- Built an engine lift
- Restored a 1987 19' Galaxy boat that I bought
for $200 on CL (engine had collapsed into the floor)
- Bootstrapped a prototype analytics app for the last year (not launched)
- Insulated, ran electrical, and drywalled my garage
- Built a workshop (bench, storage, etc) in the garage of my new house
- Buy/restore/sell furniture on CL
Currently I'm restoring a pool table I bought for $100 on CL:
- Built strong/true cabinet from cheap construction grade lumber
- Carved, antiqued, and stained the cabinet to make it not
look like cheap construction grade lumber
- Built a slate sled for moving the 1" thick slate pieces up to the 3rd floor
Exactly. This is the sentiment I expected to see on HN, where there is always praise for the hacker "building" and sticking it to the man because he/she can make something on their own.
After reading books like "The Servile State" by Hilaire Belloc and "Birth as an American Rite of Passage" by Robbie Davis-Floyd, I think there should always be praise for this sort of thing.
Our culture has become extremely centered on mechanics, whether social mechanics and processes of businesses or automation of manufacturing, and to make humans again the center of society will take a lot of effort, but I believe it is a worthy task.
When I was young (and had no money):
In high school I exploited my auto shop classes: From there I got a job at a hot-rod shop: In college majoring in Mechanical Engineering (what a joke): Once admitted to college, I was given a computer: After I dropped out of college I became a restaurant server: From there I became a developer. Software has been an incredible way for me to create and learn. Sadly, the projects my employers provide aren't always challenging enough. Additionally, the complimentary benefits of working with my hands versus sitting at a computer have drawn me to other projects: Currently I'm restoring a pool table I bought for $100 on CL: