HPR3779: Just Because You Can Do a Thing...

Hello Hacker Public Radio fans. This is Trey, and I am throwing this recording together for several reasons:

1. The queue of shows is abysmally sparse. There are far more openings for shows in the next few weeks than there are shows posted.

2. This show is a pitiful excuse for why I haven't posted any shows recently

If you like what you hear on Hacker Public Radio, please express your gratitude by recording your own show. It doesn't need to be long, or sound professional, or anything. Introduce yourself and share something you find interesting.

If you do not like any or all of what you hear on Hacker Public Radio, then it is the perfect opportunity for you to take a few minutes and record a short (or long) podcast of your own which "fills the gap" of what you might feel is needed on HPR.

Alright. Enough preliminaries.

A long time ago, at an undisclosed university far, far away, I took my first class about Ethics. One of the things I remember most was the question of "Just because you can do a thing, does that mean you should do the thing?"

This was applied to many different scenarios - from nation states building weapons of mass destruction, to authoring computer viruses, and even to saying what you are thinking at any given moment.

It should quickly become obvious that you should not always do a thing simply because you can do it. And today, I would like to relate that to DIY home improvement projects, especially as we work our way up in years.

For regular listeners, you may recall my series "Everything You Always Wanted to Knox about PEX" recorded and shared in May through July of 2022 (hpr3604, hpr3614, hpr3624 & hpr3634). In this series, I recounted the process of replumbing my home using PEX with helpful advice for anyone else who wants to try it. What I did not realize at the time I was doing the project was the toll that doing so much work overhead, by myself, was taking on my old shoulder joints. It was only one straw, but a rather significant one, which eventually broke the camel's back. Or, in my case, resulted in several severe tears in my rotator cuff and bicep tendon.

Therapy was marginally effective, and surgery was eventually required to put things back together the way they belonged. My effort to save money and do the project myself "Because I could" helped lead to significantly more expenses and more than a year of recovery.

I am not sharing this for sympathy, but rather because I learned something important. Now that I am getting older, as I decide which projects I should do myself and which to pay professionals to do, it is important to factor in the potential impact on my body, my mind and those around me, even if all goes well.

Just because you can do a thing does not necessarily mean you should do a thing.

Unless that "Thing" is recording a podcast for HPR. THAT is something you can and should do.

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