You might say I'm a dreamer...

I have a dream!

I dream of machines that are made to be easy to fix! Of cars that have a good ledge to set tools on when you are under the hood! Of only one or two types of screws or bolts used on each machine! Of bolts that are accessible with a basic socket! Of diagnostic lights that give more information other than ON or OFF! Of things that are DESIGNED CORRECTLY IN THE FIRST PLACE!!

I dream of houses that are designed to be most useful for the occupants, not most convenient for the builders! Of software that can be configured for the 10% of us outliers who are not the 90% that are the target market! Of clothes that have ease seams in them you can open if you need to adjust the fit (that used to be standard!)

I dream of being the target market!!
You might say I'm a dreamer...
But I can dream :D

She says as she goes back out to swear at the truck that won't start, using time honored methods of cheater bars and profanity....

(With apologies to John Lennon, Martin Luther King, and Mark Twain)

But you're not the only one.  Someday I hope you join you.

I dream of household appliances like washing machines, driers, ovens, and refrigerators with easy to remove control panels that can be pulled out and replaced by simply removing 2 screws and plugging in a new panel.

I dream of sprinkler system valves that last 20 years and don't wear out because of cheap plastic seals and gaskets, and when they wear out, are easily opened so that you can drop new parts in.

I dream of a thermostat that can be simply plugged into a universal socket when it's time to replace it.

I dream of easily replaced air filters for my cumbersome furnace.  

The ABSOLUTE WORST DESIGN AND ENGINEERING is with baby products --- strollers, car seats, portable cribs, high chairs . . . that sort of thing.  I dream of baby products that are easy to operate, don't pinch your fingers, and with latches and hinges that aren't so cheap that they wear out the 20th time you use them.

So happy to hear somebody else other than me has the same dream about fixing stuff and why it wasn't built correctly in the first place. I guess that now officially makes 2 of us!

𝅘𝅥𝅰. ...But we're not the only ones...I hope some day you'll join us....and the world can 'dream' as one.  𝅘𝅥𝅰

Hope my parody singing was not hard on the ears...
Thank you for that, it just made my day!

the EU gets it
passed right to repair laws, too bad the politics in us is soooooo screwed up

here's a story about the new law passed in European Union
https://www.theverge.com/2019/10/1/20893132/european-union-eu-rules-right-to-repair-ecodesign-directive-environmental-spare-parts

My 30-year old Toyota Tercel is pretty simple to fix. My seven-year-old Yamaha 125 is even simpler.

I am my own architect and builder, using number 2 Robertson screws for almost everything.

I have no idea what goes on inside my phone or computer, so accept that I am completely at the mercy of those who do.
.....
According to Mr Lennon, none of these things are very important. There's nothing you can do that can't be done, All You Need Is Love.

The Eleanor Rigbys the world need no longer be lonely, with so many computer friends out there.

I like to think that we are not living in a Yellow Submarine, but the jury is still out on that. This may depend on what happens Back in the old USSR .They say things are warming up, so I'm glad that I am not The Walrus. Perhaps I should invest in Norwegian Wood.

bruce Fine wrote:the EU gets it passed right to repair laws,

I'd rather see market-driven change. The reason they can sell crap is because people will buy it. I try not to buy crap (although I dig it out of other people's trash and end up dealing with it...) but I think adding laws would just add complexity, and make it worse in the long run.

Maybe we need to start buying old washing machines etc and change the electronics out for non-digital, modular components, and reselling them. Most things that get tossed like that are for electronics issues, not actual structure. Or offer kits to do your own refit... hm.. If someone starts doing this, tell me, I might want to buy a couple of kits.

My almost a new washing machine that cost $150 Canadian is very simple. Washes in one compartment and spins in another. My favourite thing about it is that it runs on 240 Watts and doesn't lock me into a cycle as happens with those front loaders. I can wash for 2 minutes or 30 minutes or anywhere in between. Same thing with the spin. I have calculated my average cost of operation to about $0.02 per load.

Pearl Sutton wrote:The reason they can sell crap is because people will buy it.

Or the other way 'round: the reason people will buy crap is because it's all there is!

I dream of no longer seeing the "No user serviceable parts" label.

I dream of a spade with a handle that won't snap off just because there is a rock in the soil I'm trying to lift.

I dream of interchangeable electric motors, so that if my blender blows out, I can just buy a new motor, not a whole new blender.

When some gizmo around the place quits working, and it's out of warranty, and internet research yields no hope, I always do an autopsy.  Mostly I just end up with an addition to my cans full of small fasteners (which have also proven useful over the years), but occasionally I score big time.  Like my electric fencer box went out.  Out of warranty.  Big notice on the back "No User Serviceable Parts".  So I go in.  Behind three suspicious looking plugs set into holes I find three screws.  Open these, and in the innards I find a wire that has obviously come loose.  I solder this back into place and voila!....the fencer has been going strong for another two years!

Pearl Sutton wrote:I dream of houses that are designed to be most useful for the occupants, not most convenient for the builders!

I want houses that are easier for the builder, but I want the builder to be the owner!
Easy to build, repairable with natural, local materials!

Jason Hernandez wrote:I dream of interchangeable electric motors, so that if my blender blows out, I can just buy a new motor, not a whole new blender.

We could easily design food processing tools that are powered by electric drills.

Jordan Mathis wrote:

We could easily design food processing tools that are powered by electric drills.

I want my food processors run by pedal/treadle type things. I love my treadle sewing machine, looking for another base with pedal to misuse for things like the blender :)

I wish so many more things were pedal powered or hand-crank! Our kids hate food that is too hot. I have one little dinky plastic handcrank fan. It's wonderful for cooling down their food, but I wish I had a sturdy one that's bigger so I can cool their food faster. I have an old fan, but I have NO IDEA how to amke it turn into a handcrank or pedal powered fan.

There's little worse than a bunch of hungry kids unhappy about the fact that they cannot yet consume the food right in front of them!

There are lots of cheaply built things on the market. But there are lots of good things for those willing to pay. When I look at hand tools that I use for carpentry and Lawn and Garden work, there's no question that they are far superior to what I started out with 30 years ago. I no longer have to breathe gasoline fumes.

Both corded and cordless saws and drills are more powerful and capable of doing a more accurate job. A really good circular saw, could cost a carpenter a whole day's pay. It was the same back in the 1950s. But then we were offered saws that could be paid for with 1 hours pay, and big surprise, these were cheaply built, inferior products. If I were to take $50 which represents one hours pay for a carpenter, down to Walmart, there are many small appliances and hand power tools that I could buy with that. This wasn't the case 50 years ago. You couldn't put one day's pay into outfitting a worker with tools, and you couldn't put the same amount into getting all of the smaller appliances for the kitchen. People have become accustomed to not spending very much on stuff. Instead, all of the money goes to rent and mortgages and other things. Stuff has become disposable, because consumers have made that choice. Good quality stuff has always been available, but it has lost a huge amount of market share.

When I look at my Husqvarna and Stihl equipment, there's no doubt that it is awesome stuff. Better than in previous generations. But it's not being given away. Someone can spend 1/4 as much and get something that looks like a chainsaw. It will fall apart if it gets used very much, and they will buy another one or not. If it came from a department store, the person who sold it knows nothing about it or how you might get a part.

On the rare occasions when something goes wrong with one of the good tools, those parts are available at the dealer. The guy behind the counter at the Stihl dealer, knows a whole lot about what he sells, and many parts are stock items. There is no portion of any of my tools that can't be serviced. The only service I ever seem to need, are regular wear items. Things like bars and chains. So it's not a breakdown or complete failure of the tool.

It's been about the same with my Milwaukee power tools. A few things have worn out, but the tool hasn't stopped completely. Just about all of my Milwaukee stuff is twice the price of similar looking, junk tools. If I were using that junk, there would be many breakdowns, but more importantly I would be working at a slower speed and wouldn't be worth my pay.

There have been a few times, when I've had to make a snap decision, and choose one worker that I've never met before, over another. If one of them has good quality tools, and one has a bunch of brand-new looking stuff that is obviously from Canadian Tire (mostly junk), I have to choose the guy with the good tools.

I think there was an era when things were better.

For instance my skidder was made in 1979, and yet I can pull the motor out of that in 45 minutes. It is a strong, simple machine. The same for my 1988 bulldozer, I could pull the entire engine in 2 hours...it took awhile to take off the wiring going to the motor, the engine itself was held in place by (4) bolts. Yes only 4 bolts.

But that was because stuff was all standard sizes, today with components coming from every corner of the globe, stuff is standard and metric.

And along the same lines, some items are more disposable than others. For instance snowmobiles, there is a reason they cost $14,000...companies were investing heavily into making them better, and not making them cheaper. That is the case with lawn and garden equipment. A garden tractor now is made as cheaply as possible because 9 out of 10 homeowners are buying by price, not quality.

I still say that every engine that is out there should paint the parts that do not need to be on the machine to run, in hot-pink so us mechanics will know at a glance that this part is not required, and we can chuck it if it breaks. Right now, engineers are so arrogant that they have made things so they no longer work if THEIR particular part of the machine fails.

My father has a Nissan car that has a locked up security system...it will not allow the car to start. The engine is fine, and the car is fine, but the computer has an issue with the security side of things, so it will not do anything. It has 70,000 miles on it, perfectly usable, but will not run. Dozens of mechanics have looked at it, and yet no one can get past the security system. For some reason, some engineer thought their idea on security was so important, that it must work to run. That kind of mentality has to stop. When a dozen engineers feel the same way, a machine has 12 things on it that must run to get the machine to operate, but none are really, needed. I should be allowed to back a car up, even if the back up camera is broke...we have been backing up cars since the Tin Lizzy came out...really...it is okay...I am a human...I can back up a car safely.

I dream of being under a sedum roof surrounded by meadowy hugelkulturs and critter noises.

The lowest maintenance possible small home to allow more time for creating and being outside.  A couple years ago I saw a tiny home in Maryland with a lime walled bathroom designed for the shower hose/head to rinse the entire bathroom top to bottom and direct water to exit via a centered drain.  That's what fairy godmothers are for, yeah?

Looking out any window and see all manner of life and sky and seasons, instead of pavement or someone else's bedroom next door.

Finding a good reading tree.  Bees buzzing.  A pond with fishes and frogs and cattails.  Moss under a tree.  Wild plums and berries and fruit trees.

Not a luddite at heart, but there are timeless 'old' ways of doing things that works as well or better than some modern mistakes.  Like the treadle sewing machine, for which there was no real need to replace for home use.  I played with cams a few times to practice fancy stitching, then never used them again.  The treadle was so much more reliable and simple use and maintain.

Piddling around with saps and resins to see what works best for various purposes.

Finding a good clay pocket for making pottery and other stuff.

Having room for a horse again to work and play and take naps with.  (Miss you much, Crackerjack <3)

Snowberries.  Wildflowers mixed with crocus.  Hyacinths.  Lily of the Valley.  Gardenias.  Maybe a chinaberry tree in a spot nothing else wants to grow in.  Magnolia trees... always remind me of "Magnolia" by J J Cale.

What a beautiful dream ^.^

And of course, the demise of designed obsolescence.  Vehicles should come with a shelf life like perishable foods.  Damn war based economies, and Deming for upping the ante :-)

It's good that dreams don't have to stay dreams.

I have a dream that more of the worlds Billionaires will become active philanthropists and social entrepreneurs to assist in fixing climate, ecological and social issues. The world needs the types of philanthropists that existed in the 19th and early 20th centuries, most of the issues now facing us are beyond national boundaries.

Similarly, I dream of world governments swinging back to more moderate positions - neither too left or too right, we need leaders who can establish working policies, without lobby group interference.

I really dislike Lobbyists because they not only meddle in politics, but muck up all of society.

Like I have always had a hatred for the snowplow. I mean we sent people to the moon, WHY do we keep on insisting we scrape the ground of snow and drive on dirt. It cost billions to make the equipment, Billions in salt to clear the road of ice. It kills a lot of people a year when that does not work and they go off the road and get in accidents...why oh why do we just not drive on top of the snow. We got the technology!

But just as soon as someone suggests that, the Snow Plow Equipment Manufacturer's lobbying efforts get into play, and they stymie the effort. They hate change, even though if people switched to making devices that allow cars to drive ON the snow, it would not put people out of work, just building something different.

But that is just one example. Lobbyists do that to every form of change, and the injury that does to society is immense.

By the way, when I welded snowplows, they did not receive my idea for driving on top of the snow well either! (LOL)

Pearl I think we need a time machine.  I always felt I should have been an adult in the 1950's.  I would have fit in better.
When my husband and I got together we were given an old Kenmore washer.  I don't know how old it was, but it had been well used.  It worked for us many years without any problems.  Maybe 10 years later it broke.  My husband sent me to the parts shop(we still had one) to buy a wigwag I thought he was messing with me, but turns out that was the name of it, anyway, with not much time, and I think the part was around 20/25$ he fixed that washer and it ran a long time.  When we decided to get a "better" one we spent 1000.00 and had nothing but problems with it.  I think we have had about 4 or5 washers in the last 12 years.  I wish I had that old washer back.
I think the world we live in is a catch 22.  The USA could totally be self sustaining.  If we made and used our own products there would be less unemployment, and maybe we could afford to buy made in the US.  
It's a vicious circle.  Where does it start?  
I guess that is what it's good we can dream of a better word.  Because it truly is a   ' Wonderful World'

Jen Fulkerson wrote:Pearl I think we need a time machine.  I always felt I should have been an adult in the 1950's.  I would have fit in better.
When my husband and I got together we were given an old Kenmore washer.  I don't know how old it was, but it had been well used.  It worked for us many years without any problems.  Maybe 10 years later it broke.  My husband sent me to the parts shop(we still had one) to buy a wigwag I thought he was messing with me, but turns out that was the name of it, anyway, with not much time, and I think the part was around 20/25$ he fixed that washer and it ran a long time.  When we decided to get a "better" one we spent 1000.00 and had nothing but problems with it.  I think we have had about 4 or5 washers in the last 12 years.  I wish I had that old washer back.
I think the world we live in is a catch 22.  The USA could totally be self sustaining.  If we made and used our own products there would be less unemployment, and maybe we could afford to buy made in the US.  
It's a vicious circle.  Where does it start?  
I guess that is what it's good we can dream of a better word.  Because it truly is a   ' Wonderful World'

MayTag makes a clothes washer that has no electronic control boards in it. That is available now, and supposedly lasts a very long time.

We have a Whirlpool Neptune front loader, and that thing spins so fast that it scares the cat, the dog and us! I am pretty sure if it ever took off it would end up in outer space somewhere. It does however spin ALL of the water out of the clothes. I think the time in the dryer is half of what our other washer took.

Jen: I moved a couple of years ago, we are building (that's a mess still.) We got a a cheap washer that is easy to deal with, but I moved, and have stored, a 1970's vintage Maytag washer. I did NOT want to leave it. It's big, and a problem in this rental, but I miss it and hate the new one, even though I picked a low tech one. It doesn't do what I want.

As far as when I belong, not the 50's, I'm the child of the feminism in the 60's, I don't want to fight for my rights, I just want to be me and have it not matter what gender I am when I do things. My mo took a lot of  conforming type pressure, that she was careful to not throw at me. I don't think there ever was  a time I fit in. But I keep tools from the 50s to the late 80s, try to not end up with too much newer than that, although I LOVE older, but they are harder to find. That's about when they started getting bad to repair etc.

It's a vicious circle.  Where does it start?  

 
I don't know, I know how it got to where it is, and I know why I'm doing my best to find the lines between no tech, and too much tech. I'm a tool using type, and not strong some days, I like my tools, but not the high tech ones. (Except my computers, and I use older ones of them too.) I think there is a sweet spot in most tech of when it was working well, before it gets over done, that's where I try to buy and hold.

And one of the problems I'm having with the house is I don't want to end up with the standard crap construction, but I can't do an all natural one either (lot of reasons) so I'm doing stuff that's "Not Normal!" and that's not easy in this culture. It's all proven techniques, just not what people are used to. Frustrating. I'll be doing a LOT of it myself.

I don't know. I dream though. I dream of a world where not being part of the herd is not painful and frustrating on a daily basis.

Pear I wouldn't want to fight for my equality, and am grateful for those who did.  I graduated in 1986.  I wanted to get married and be a stay at home mom, and that is why I said the 50's, in the 80's this was a very backwards dream to most of the girls I knew.  
I am not against technology, I'm communicating with you on my computer through the internet after all, but I too dream of a world where being cheap and disposable isn't the most important thing.  I think my struggle with this is my family and I are part of the problem, with not much hope of not.  I work at Walmart, (at least until they replace me with a robot)  My husband is on disability with a neck injury with little hope of getting better.  We are the type of people that would never buy made in china anything if we had a choice, but when you don't have enough money, often it's that or nothing.  It's that catch 22 I was talking about.  I guess all we can do is strive to improve and do the best we can with what we have.  (does this mean I can't complain that my husband saves everything so he can use the parts to fix something else?)
My children all have the dream too.  My 19 year old son came home this summer with several shovels with out handles.(he was helping my father-in-law clean out his shed)  I ask him why on earth he wanted them, and he told me "they are made in america, and way better then what you can buy now a days".  Months later he hasn't put a handle on even one, but he has them when he decides he needs a quality shovel.
Thanks for starting this post, it's nice to share your dreams and hopes with others.  It made me want to go bring something old back to life while listening to some great old tunes.

I have always been the odd ball, so I never fit anywhere I go.

But that is why I love Permies, not because others on here are odd, I am not saying that, but just that people's ideas better fit mine. Like living sustainably with their monies. Doing as much for themselves as they can, no matter how that works out. And fixing things.

My house is heated with a 1893 pot bellied stove that I can still get parts for, and the Kitchen Range we cook our meals on was made in 1917..,and we still can get parts for that too. I like that, but I got the stove for half off because of a sad reason; the stove shop we were at had (2) stoves return because the homeowners insurance company would not let them have it, and most people could not find boiler guys to hook up the propane connections. Katie and I could buy the stove and hook it up because we own our home outright and thus have no insurance so we can do whatever we want. And I do my own propane line hook-ups because I know how.

(Insert Travis shaking his head in sadness here because he feels like a dying breed)

 I recently bought a car relatively cheaply and one of the reasons it was cheap was that it needed a new front wheel bearing.  The previous owner was quoted $300 by her mechanic to replace it.   To my surprise I was able to buy a replacement part for $25 and it took me 30 minutes to install it.   Similarly I was recently quoted $1600 to replace a clutch throw-out bearing on the same Nissan.  This one took me a whole day and $100 in parts to do. In each instance there were difficulties and frustrations but I managed to save a lot of money and felt a sense of accomplishment.     I must say that I got immeasurable help from YouTube videos.  What I am getting at is that oftentimes we are capable of creating or repairing things ourselves,.. if we will only try.  So much nowadays supposedly requires "experts" and "professionals"....  Sadly we are creating a culture of "incompetency" where people really don't understand how anything "works"... , much less, have any idea of how to "fix" them.   I think that a lot of it is that things really have gotten "complex",  and unnecessarily so.    A case in point is the automobile.  I remember my parents buying a brand new VW for $1800.  Now 40 years later it would probably cost $25,000. Yes it has radars, backup cameras, a stunning entertainment system and can go 120 mph,.. etc.  But God help you if any of those systems need repairing.  Ultimately is it really doing anything other than getting you from here to there. ?   It is staggering how much of our time, energy and money is being wasted on such inconsequentials...

bruce Fine wrote:the EU gets it
passed right to repair laws, too bad the politics in us is soooooo screwed up

here's a story about the new law passed in European Union
https://www.theverge.com/2019/10/1/20893132/european-union-eu-rules-right-to-repair-ecodesign-directive-environmental-spare-parts

Yep! Hell yep!

I have long thought that in the USA we can only solve our problems by surrendering to an EU country, perhaps France. Then we'd have sane governance!

And since I speak French, I'd have a govt job! Win-win!!!

I was born in 1948.  Until the last 20 years, and I am being generous in that estimation, companies were proud of their products, made them with quality materials, and made them to last.  For instance, when you go on Ebay, you will see 1950 toasters that are still going strong. Companies, in their greed are using technology, not to make better products, but as a way to be more greedy.  Literally they are making only disposable products......forcing you into those cycles of spending the big dollars endlessly.

I find myself going backwards in time when buying anything I need to last.  It comes down to having to make choices.....will I keep buying, literally into the greed philosophy or will I buy something that may take more of my daily appropriations of time, but in the process, transferring control back to me as much as possible.

I have two 1994 Dodge Ram diesel trucks.  They were money well spent....I've spent less than $4,000 repairing them in the last 20+ years.  But I look around and my thoughts are seeing ahead....look at the state of our affairs in this country....can I, with certainty rely on fuel, or fuel at a reasonable price?  Repair people are now charging upwards of a $100 or more per hour here, and even my previously honest repair guy is now padding the bill.  This gives me concern.  My DMV tags are $350 a year, plus of course, insurance.

I live in a very rural area and the nearest town, 16 miles away is a small one but has some big stores that I can get "necessaries" from, so I can endeavor with a fair amount of certainty, that this project will be successful.

I am looking for a pony, a bomb proof pony that has been trained barefoot.  I did some research and found that the Welsh and Connavera ponies are better at pulling than horses. Horses can only pull half their weight, ponies can pull two times their weight.  I found a really nice pony utility wagon on Frontier Equestrian.  A modern day wagon, make with aluminum and steel, and has motorcycle wheels that are hard rubber, thus addressing the issue of maintenance.  I intend to sell one of the trucks to pay for most of the costs.  The wagon is $1800 on Ebay, plus shipping. I did research making my own, they sell pony cart kits, minus the wood....but the costs came out to about the same.

I have mostly solar, including three ovens I made, I have a rocket stove you can use in the house.  I do have a small Vermont Castings stove but it takes wood, and wood is becoming expensive here, but there is always a wealth of brush here.  I have a clothes washer that runs off electric, but I also have an ancient Maytag, just in case.

There is a resurgence here where I live of people spending money for trucks from the 50-60's, something they can repair themselves, parts of course, being a lot cheaper, or found in junk yards.  I spend a lot more time now on YouTube looking at videos of people making their own solar heaters, for heat, for water......with cheap materials.

Living simply comes at some cost, but also reaps rewards. The biggest one being that with self-sufficiency, comes a more Peace-Full life and the outer world resides into the distance. Again, it comes down to choices. Sometimes we have to sacrifice a little, or a lot, to find that self-sufficiency, to maybe find the money needed to make a change. But we are only limited by our thoughts....where there is a will......there is always a way.

I get frustrated because I often help people. Normally that is a good thing...BE NICE after all is a great thing to do.

A year ago I felt bad for a family that was living in an RV and complaining because they would "Never get their home built." Well I got plenty of land and logging equipment so I cut them 7000 ft of logs so they could build their home. The wood was sawn out and then...

They go on numerous trips. Like every 6 weeks they go to foreign countries and all across the United States. I am all for traveling, but I can figure out why they only have their foundation done in the last 2 years when all the wood to build it was given and sawn for them.

That is the frustrating part, being generous and then realizing why others are in the pickle they are in. It is priorities.

Katie and I do not have much money, but one thing we do is give to those who are worse than we are. Our mechanic is a gruff, but decent guy if you know him. When I had cancer he cut us some slack and fixed our car and never asked for the money to pay him, We finally did, but it took a year.

Now we pay some money on our account with him, BUT have told our Church Crisis Team. Once and awhile they get a request to help fix someone's car (in and out of the church) and so they can direct the people to our mechanic, and the money to fix it gets taken off our account. Our mechanic knows this and chips in too.

I feel pretty good about it. It might be a single mom or something that cannot fix their car, so it gets fixed. But it is something that gets fixed, and fixed right, and is a form of charity. No one knows, I just say this so that other people can see how little unseen things can work behind the scenes.

Charity takes on many forms.

I really like this thread!

Is there any websites that can assist consumers in purchasing 'built to last products?

I do believe that policy could assist with pressuring business to work in the right direction; however; could we create change through education and selective consumption?

It seems branding with "USDA Organic" or "GMO Free" has provided incentives for companies to alter the business models with a demand for those products. Yes, they have their flaws, but I think the concept could still work and be economically successful. You could have a sticker/logo on your product of "Built to Last" certified by XYZ engineers to last for one generation (or insert time frame). Consumers would look for the logo because they now they are making a wise investment and companies would have to work to maintain their standing under the certification.

It would be a HUGE undertaking but the company that did so would be able to make a whole lot of $$$ performing the test to determine the longevity of the products and charging a yearly fee to maintain the certification licence.

Of course with any system corruption could set in.. but I think the up coming generations (Gen Z) really place their values in ethics and could drive such models forward (not saying older generations don't).

I dream of a world where design engineers are required to service/repair what they designed before releasing it to the permies.  I dream of a world where if I drop a tool while working on a vehicle I hear a satisfying ping of metal on concrete rather than the tool disappearing forever in the bowels of the engine compartment.  I dream of a world where repairs don't require special tools costing hundreds of $.

But mostly, I dream of a world where you don't have to use a knife to open the blister pack for the knife you just purchased!!!

Bob Gallamore wrote:I dream of a world where design engineers are required to service/repair what they designed before releasing it to the permies.

Oh, I totally agree! And have to do it with the tools they have on hand.
I had a car that ate starters, and to replace them, it was designed so you had to pull the engine. If you did not pull the engine, to reach one nut you had to use (in order) a 17 mm socket, a 6 inch extension, a bendy swivel connector, a 12 inch extension, a ratchet, and a cheater bar. And you had about 3 inches of swing room for said ratchet and cheater. And if you lost the grip on the nut with the socket while swinging back up for the next stroke, you had to get it all back on again, and balanced, and pull, and don't slide off again... it could take a while. The actual starter replacement was easy after that nut was off, but you could not reach it to even loosen or start it by hand. Starting it was fun too.

I also dream of a world where home builders had to be housewives in the homes they built for 20 years. Bet house design styles would change after they discovered there is no way to clean some things, and how many spiders love those gaps around the door frame that have trim over them, and can fit into the trim gaps, and get into the boots that you keep by the door. And that there is a special place in hell for people who glue the hand tight nuts on kitchen sink faucets, it's not easy to break them loose with no space for tools. And that gutters need to drain on the downhill side of the house, and garage floors slope toward the door, not into the house.