Can you buy 2nd hand equipment for professional usage?

I recently built an extra home office at my parents’ house with a fully equipped workstation with thunderbolt docking station, two 1440p screens mounted on a premium gas arm, keyboard, mouse and everything you need. The total price was below 2000 SEK. A brand-new setup with equal performance is likely to cost at least 10000 SEK. With some patience and a clear focus, 2nd hand deals are abundant. There is a lot of money to be saved on this road. For the past years, I have learned to shop at auction sites. Mostly electronics, but the principle holds equally well in other areas too. The limiting factor is time.

Engineering, ComputerRikard ÖqvistOctober 25, 2024reuse, 2nd hand, auction, sustainability, enterpriseComment

A proper barn-find?

I recently sold my Kodiaq L&K SUV, and now I plan to replace it with a 31-year-old classic W124. It all started out as an obvious way to save money because my wife is not commuting while on parental leave and it did not make sense to have two expensive cars rusting away in the carport. We decided to try and get by with only one car. Before long, we realized that a 2nd car is indeed a very good idea when you’re living in the countryside. But it does not have to be anything fancy if you only need it a couple of times per month. I then remembered that my grandfathers very nice W124 has been collecting dust in a garage for at least a decade. Is this a proper barn find perhaps?

DiaryRikard ÖqvistOctober 4, 2024cars, retro, sustainability, classic, mercedes benz, analog, petrolheadComment

Ownership is sustainability

We are currently re-painting our houses, starting with the dog kennel and the garage the first year. The houses haven’t even been cleaned for a very long time, perhaps never, and it is a massive undertaking, at least three years. To outsource it would cost a small fortune and it isn’t that difficult to do a half-decent job so we went the DIY route to invest the money in more challenging tasks like plumbing and construction. However, things are only free if your time has no value. And time is the most precious commodity of all. Projects like these really highlight the importance of choosing a place you call home that you love.

Philosophy, DiaryRikard ÖqvistJuly 24, 2023sustainability, home, ownership, diy, renovationComment

Are there similarities between restoring old computers and old cars?

Since I resurrected my old enormous RGB shining gaming laptop from the dead to a new life as a blog typewriter, I have been trying to figure out if there are any similarities between restoring old computers and for example old American cars? Old cars aren’t really usable as a daily driver either, I told my wife. Yes, but at least old American cars can be beautiful. An old laptop with RGB cannot. She has a point. It got me thinking: Have I ever seen a beautiful computer? I can’t think of one honestly, but I can think of several beautiful cars. Both are tools meant to be used, so what is it that cars have that old computers doesn’t seem to have?

ComputerRikard ÖqvistMay 3, 2021linux, dell, computer, retro computers, blogging, writing, focus, productivity, reuse, recycling, sustainabilityComment

Beneath the three pillars of sustainability

Sustainability is often said to rest on three pillars: 1) Ecological, 2) Economical and 3) Social sustainability. When supporting a structure with pillars, we also need a solid foundation, or the pillars might sink into the ground. In today’s post, I explore what this foundation might look like. The foundation should consist of eternal values. Two such values instantly come to my mind: Beauty and Education. The primary difference between these two eternal values and the three pillars, is that the three pillars need to be optimally balanced against each other over time as the facts on the ground varies, whereas beauty and education unconditionally strengthens all three pillars at once.

Do you believe in God?

As I learned more and more about physics, mechanics, mathematics, electronics, fluids, optics, etc, I became increasingly convinced that science could find the answers to our difficult questions. But later, when I started my PhD education and encountered the courses in philosophy, especially Philosophy of Science, something changed. When I got my PhD degree in 2017, I had found my way back to God again. I realized that God was the only rational, logical and coherent answer that would explain everything I had learned. Since then, every single area of my life that I can think of have improved. Massively.

Philosophy, HabitsRikard ÖqvistApril 18, 2020religion, god, sustainabilityComment