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equanimous
Norse clairvoyant shapeshifter goddess
Unrelated but a good news story worth sharing
"When 79-year-old George retired, he didn’t buy a golf club or a hammock. He hung a handmade sign in his garage window: “Broken things? Bring ’em here. No charge. Just tea and talk.” His neighbors in the faded mill town of Maple Grove thought he’d lost it. “Who fixes stuff for free?” grumbled the barber.
But George had a reason. His wife, Ruth, had spent decades repairing torn coats and cracked picture frames for anyone who knocked. “Waste is a habit,” she’d say. “Kindness is the cure.” She’d died the year before, and George’s hands itched to mend what she’d left behind.
The first visitor was 8-year-old Mia, dragging a plastic toy truck with a missing wheel. “Dad says we can’t afford a new one,” she mumbled. George rummaged through his toolbox, humming. An hour later, the truck rolled again—this time with a bottle cap for a wheel and a stripe of silver duct tape. “Now it’s custom ,” he winked. Mia left smiling, but her mother lingered. “Can you… fix a résumé?” she asked. “I’ve been stuck on the couch since the factory closed.” By noon, George’s garage buzzed. A widow brought a shattered clock (“My husband wound it every Sunday”).
A teen carried a leaky backpack. George fixed them all, but he didn’t work alone. Retired teachers proofread résumés. A former seamstress stitched torn backpacks. Even Mia returned, handing him a jar of jam: “Mom says thanks for the job interview.”
Then came the complaint. “Unlicensed business,” snapped the city inspector. “You’re violating zoning laws.” Maple Grove’s mayor, a man with a spreadsheet heart, demanded George shut down.
The next morning, 40 townsfolk stood on George’s lawn, holding broken toasters, torn quilts, and protest signs: “Fix the law, not just stuff!” A local reporter filmed a segment: “Is kindness illegal?” The mayor caved. Sort of. “If you want to ‘fix’ things, do it downtown,” he said. “Rent the old firehouse. But no guarantees.” The firehouse became a hive. Volunteers gutted it, painted it sunshine yellow, and dubbed it “Ruth’s Hub.”
Plumbers taught plumbing. Teenagers learned to darn socks. A baker swapped muffins for repaired microwaves. The town’s waste dropped by 30%. But the real magic? Conversations. A lonely widow fixed a lamp while a single dad patched a bike tire. They talked about Ruth. About loss. About hope. Last week, George found a note in his mailbox. It was from Mia, now 16, interning at a robotics lab. “You taught me to see value in broken things. I’m building a solar-powered prosthetic arm. PS: The truck still runs!”
Today, 12 towns across the state have “Fix-It Hubs.” None charge money. All serve tea. Funny, isn’t it? How a man with a screwdriver can rebuild a world." .
"When 79-year-old George retired, he didn’t buy a golf club or a hammock. He hung a handmade sign in his garage window: “Broken things? Bring ’em here. No charge. Just tea and talk.” His neighbors in the faded mill town of Maple Grove thought he’d lost it. “Who fixes stuff for free?” grumbled the barber.
But George had a reason. His wife, Ruth, had spent decades repairing torn coats and cracked picture frames for anyone who knocked. “Waste is a habit,” she’d say. “Kindness is the cure.” She’d died the year before, and George’s hands itched to mend what she’d left behind.
The first visitor was 8-year-old Mia, dragging a plastic toy truck with a missing wheel. “Dad says we can’t afford a new one,” she mumbled. George rummaged through his toolbox, humming. An hour later, the truck rolled again—this time with a bottle cap for a wheel and a stripe of silver duct tape. “Now it’s custom ,” he winked. Mia left smiling, but her mother lingered. “Can you… fix a résumé?” she asked. “I’ve been stuck on the couch since the factory closed.” By noon, George’s garage buzzed. A widow brought a shattered clock (“My husband wound it every Sunday”).
A teen carried a leaky backpack. George fixed them all, but he didn’t work alone. Retired teachers proofread résumés. A former seamstress stitched torn backpacks. Even Mia returned, handing him a jar of jam: “Mom says thanks for the job interview.”
Then came the complaint. “Unlicensed business,” snapped the city inspector. “You’re violating zoning laws.” Maple Grove’s mayor, a man with a spreadsheet heart, demanded George shut down.
The next morning, 40 townsfolk stood on George’s lawn, holding broken toasters, torn quilts, and protest signs: “Fix the law, not just stuff!” A local reporter filmed a segment: “Is kindness illegal?” The mayor caved. Sort of. “If you want to ‘fix’ things, do it downtown,” he said. “Rent the old firehouse. But no guarantees.” The firehouse became a hive. Volunteers gutted it, painted it sunshine yellow, and dubbed it “Ruth’s Hub.”
Plumbers taught plumbing. Teenagers learned to darn socks. A baker swapped muffins for repaired microwaves. The town’s waste dropped by 30%. But the real magic? Conversations. A lonely widow fixed a lamp while a single dad patched a bike tire. They talked about Ruth. About loss. About hope. Last week, George found a note in his mailbox. It was from Mia, now 16, interning at a robotics lab. “You taught me to see value in broken things. I’m building a solar-powered prosthetic arm. PS: The truck still runs!”
Today, 12 towns across the state have “Fix-It Hubs.” None charge money. All serve tea. Funny, isn’t it? How a man with a screwdriver can rebuild a world." .
Luppo71
Founding Member
Go find one of these, will work just as good.
Attachments
Battery life issue? No problemHowdy All,
I just came across a very interesting article published just a few days ago discussing Qualcomm’s latest chip for smart glasses. In it, Qualcomm’s Head of XR, Ziad Asghar, announces that the new processor is 20% smaller and 5% more power efficient.
But then - and here’s the kicker - he openly admits that battery life is still a problem!!!
Check out this quote:
"Asghar admits that glasses have a battery life problem at the moment but says some solutions could pop up."
The article goes on to say the chip might not boost battery life that much, and floats other potential fixes like more on-phone processing, connected pucks, doubling the battery, or even designs with replaceable batteries.
Is it just me, or does anyone else think this is pretty significant?
We already know that the NEXA Smart Glasses from Onsor Technologies, which use BrainChip’s Akida processor, have achieved all-day battery life, without external battery packs or reliance on the cloud.
So, if battery life is such a clear and persistent issue in the AR/XR wearables space, and BrainChip has a chip that literally solves it… surely Qualcomm has to be aware of this?
To be fair, Asghar probably doesn't want to go announcing to the the whole world that “BrainChip is the solution!” It wouldn't exactly be a smart move since they're trying to secure a competitive edge. But, let’s be real, if Qualcomm and other companies in the smart glasses space haven't been exploring licensing Akida or something similar, it'd be like trying to build a race car but refusing to use tires IMO.
EXTRACT from article titled "How a Tiny Chip Could Power Up Smart Glasses" Published 10 June 2025
View attachment 87150
How a Tiny Chip Could Power Up Smart Glasses Like Meta Ray-Bans Next Year
Qualcomm's head of XR tells me about its latest processor for glasses and how it will improve cameras, battery life and AI.www.cnet.com
View attachment 87149
Onsor Announces Seizure-Detecting Wearable, Powered by BrainChip's Akida Technology
Ultra-low-power on-device model acceleration delivers claimed "all-day" battery life in a compact pair of smart glasses.www.hackster.io
CHIPS
Regular
Nice story. In Germany, it is called repair café. They are only open every few weeks, but they are also free, and there is a jar where you can put in some money if you like, but you do not need to. They repaired my sewing machine.
Fullmoonfever
Top 20
CHIPS
Regular
Do they repair broken share prices at all?
Asking for a friend
I doubt it, but I will check with them next time for your friend. If alcohol had the same surface tension as mercury, the meniscus would let you fit more in the glass.
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