Tenacity
I quit on something today. The LED grill light, probably fifteen years old and hopelessly behind modern LED technology, finally quit working. I opened it up, it was corroded and generally just a mess, but with some diligent scrubbing, a spray of electrical contact cleaner, and a bit of patience, I thought I had it. Then I noticed the wire that had broken lose from its solder pad. Grrr.
I went to the garage, found the soldering iron, solder, a bit of wire, and went back to tackle the soldering.
When I started at the University of Illinois I had originally wanted to become an electrical engineer. However, tackling engineering at a rigorous school, with what can only be described as poor calculus skills was not to be. So I settled into Computer Science, which while relying heavily on those electrical engineers solves problems with a keyboard. I developed great relationships with EEs over the years and always yearned for their savvy with a soldering iron. My skills are ghastly.
After 30 minutes getting one side to stick to the corroded battery terminal I was met with a bit of success. Maybe the pad and the PCB would prove easier and before you know it, I'd have a working light. 20 minutes later I found success. Yes. 50 minutes to solder the ends of a wire.
I loaded the batteries, screwed it back together and pressed the power button. Nothing.
The old Kevin Butler would have taken it back apart, checked it over, tried cleaning it a bit more, and spent several more hours at it hoping for success. But the "new" Kevin? Removed the batteries and chucked it in the trash.
This takes me to my 2005 MINI Cooper S convertible. After 21 years of exposure, the seams on the cushion for the front seats have started to come apart. I could take the car into town and I'm sure the upholstery shop could fix it right up for a handful of dollars, but I opted for nice Union Jack seat covers that I'll photograph later. I attempted the install last night. I finished the first seat only to find that I had not taken into account Left and Right and with side impact airbags, I needed to undo everything I'd done and swap it to the other side.
Old Kevin would have fought with it the rest of the night, or at least been late to our usual get together with friends at Starboard Brewing in Sturgeon Bay. Twenty years ago I would have viewed that as failure. These days I view it as recognizing that tomorrow is still an option.
With patience and a bit of time, they are installed and hopefully will provide a cooler surface than the leather and more importantly, stay in place. It is motoring weather today, so I'll find out soon!
