If YouTube gave out degrees, which I think is a great idea, by the way, I would now have at least an associate’s degree in several areas, including Setting Up a Subwoofer, Fixing a Clothes Dryer, Homemade Sawmilling With a Chainsaw, Fixing the Ice Maker in a Refrigerator, Wiring a Three-Way Switch and Installing a Shower From Scratch (With or Without a Schluter-Kerdi Waterproofing Kit).
Barry CourterI’ve done all of those thanks to YouTube, and I’m 100 percent certain I would not have dreamed of tackling them without first watching several how-to videos. I’ve learned it’s also important to read the comments and to think it all through before cutting that water line. I suggest doing that while the hardware stores are open. Plan for the worst.
I’m also pretty sure I have enough hours logged for a four-year degree on certain auto-repair topics, and I can build a truck camper with a working sink and toilet. At least in theory I can, based on the knowledge I’ve learned watching hundreds of videos on the topic.
I have no idea why I’ve spent so much time watching how-to videos on truck campers, but I have. I camp once a year at Bonnaroo, and that’s it. My wife never camps. Never. To her credit, though, when I announced I was thinking of building a truck camper, rather than laugh or waste time even talking about it, she smiled and patted me on the head, metaphorically speaking.
I’m not sure if I’m more intrigued by the idea of having a mobile home in the bed of my truck or the fact that hundreds of people out there have built their own and made videos about the experience.
It’s fascinating to me what you can find on YouTube, and even more amazing is just how many people are out there making these videos. Some are quite good, done with nice video and sound equipment and easy-to-follow instructions. There are also some really clever people out there. One guy made a sawmill out of an old golf cart.
Some are terrible, having been done by people who simply turn on their cellphone, but even those intrigue me. I wonder why they did it and why they thought it would be of interest to anyone.
In a lot of cases, these are just regular folks who maybe had a problem and filmed their solution. Sometimes, however, the videos are done by pros in a certain field who want to share their experience. I was able to fix my dryer thanks to a video done by a guy with the same model dryer and the same problem I was having. It took 45 minutes to fix, and that included a trip to the store.
Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.