My neighborhood has bulk trash pickup monthly. Most of the bulk trash gets put out the week prior to pickup day. The majority of this trash doesn’t make it to the dump! People with trailers come by and pick up anything remotely usable. I like to think they are reusing/upcycling this stuff but I really don’t know. I see this as a huge win because it keeps stuff out of the dump but it does feel very dystopian to see a junk economy like something from Fallout.

I’m in the USA btw. Others have pointed out that some countries have different laws regarding ownership of trash. Don’t get in trouble with law enforcement, get to know your neighbors better! It’s not trash if they give it to you.

I actually just upgraded my Dell Optiplex 990 SFF to a new full ATX case and had to get a new motherboard. Dell does some funky stuff to their motherboard to get it to fit into their custom cases. For instance the CPU cooler clipped into the case through the motherboard This was one of the ways the motherboard was secured into the case. The other mount points were entirely non-standard so no other case would fit. I did consider making some modifications to the case with a hacksaw before deciding to just get a new case and motherboard. The new Motherboard was pretty cheap because I was using a 4th-gen intel i3. Not great specs but good enough for a homebrew NAS.

I have enough money for an angle grinder and a new used graphics card. But not a fancy new case.

I can’t imagine what it’s like taking him to the airport.

I have had the same problem with Powerbeats Pro and Beats Fit Pro. The case uses two small pogo pins in each earbud slot to provide power. These provide the tolerance required to make a good contact with the earbud which is held in place by magnets. These pogo pins are the problem. I periodically use a microfiber cloth moistened with a bit of isopropyl alcohol to clean the earbud slots with focus on these pogo pins. Make sure to move the pins up and down with your cleaning motion. My thinking is that the alcohol will clear out any earwax or other gunk that has built up around the pogo pin and is preventing it from coming back up to full height. I haven’t had this issue recur since adjusting my cleaning habit to include the alcohol on the pins. Pogo pins do use a spring to function so like all springs it will eventually lose some of its resistance and will need to be replaced. Since these small electronics are not made to be repaired, that means buying a new pair, most likely. However, I recently replaced one Beats Fit Pro with a new pair after almost four years of near daily use. I’m pretty impressed with how far these wireless earbuds have come since the first generation.