4.4 KiB
+++ draft = true categories = ["English","Story"] title = "GNU/Hand and how I fixed my arms with free software." displayInMenu = false dropCap = true featuredImage = "https://n07070.xyz/img/fixing-my-arms-with-free-software/cover.jpg" description = "In the spring of 2021, I was on vacation in Switzerland with my family. We had this beautiful chalet that was passed down from generation to generation, an hour drive from the closet city. We were lost in nature, surrounded by the mountains and... cows. They where raised by a farmer which I tried to help fixing his machines, loosing an arm in the process. I then tried to make the most out of it, while keeping the control over my body, by keeping control over the software." date = "2020-08-01T13:37:00Z" displayInList = true +++
In the spring of 2021, I was on vacation in Switzerland with my family. We had this beautiful chalet that was passed down from generation to generation, an hour drive from the closet city. We were lost in nature, surrounded by the mountains and... cows. Our neighbor was a friend of my mother, and had raised cows, like his father before him. And, that made our surroundings looked like a garden, thanks to the freshly-cut grass, that he fed to his cows in winter. I never asked how much land he had, but I guessed that he had to cut down, dry, pack and store more than 40 tons of grass. And he needed to do that twice during the short two months of summer ! So, family, friends and neighbors came together to help with the grass cutting. It was part of the life of the valley, and we all worked hard but joyfully ! After the work, a big barbecue was waiting for us... Having all this help meant that we he worked less, and was capable of going on, in otherwise hard times.
As for myself, I had no problem working with everyone in the fields. I was doing it since I was young. But, when I was not on holidays, I worked in a co-op that helped people around Europe connect to the internet and learn how to use computers, in either form. Recently, we had met a group of farmers from Iowa, in the US, who had been working with Ukrainien hackers to develop a free software for their trucks and tractors.. It was amazing, because thoses farmers had shifted from "we don't need no internet" to being fierce advocates of the free software movements, some even learning to code !
So, when my neighbor came up in haste to the fields, and shouting my name, I was first pretty scared ! He was a though guy, even if he was nearly 60 years old, he was square, and had been moving mountains around since he was a kid. He looked at me, and his eyes went from concern to sadness. What was happening ? He paused, and as he took his breath, he started to explain... His transporter, a Aebi eVT 850, being fully electric, had been acting up for the past few days, and had refused to turn back on after he deposited the grass in his barn. He asked me if I could, being an computer guy, look into it and do something. He told me that even though the Aebi tech people could look at the issue right way via a LTE connexion, it cost nearly 300.- CHF an hour to do so ! And he didn't have that kind of money, plus, the weather was getting cloudy and if it rained on the fresh grass, it would rot and be lost !
He swore in swiss-german, cursing himself for having sold his old diesel transported. I could feel his anger, and it was partly because of this kind of problem that I had bought a diesel from 1999, even thought it wasn't C02-free, it never broke down like that. And if it did, repair manual had been published on the internet. I told him I could give a look, but I need to get my computer and a few cables. Can you believe that they didn't even provide a USB cable with you truck ?
I went back to my house, while he went to his. He went to get a cross. I got my computer, a USB key, a USB cable, some electrical wires I had lying around, and a voltmeter. Was I a 21th century car mechanic ?
// I try to fix the motor, and while doing so, I unplug everything, but the motor has an capacitor / battery I didn’t see, and it chops of one of my arms // Shock, horror, comma // Insurance ? I was fixing something while not authorized // New arm : robotic, but proprietary // Super fancy : lots of function, but thus very heavy, and very expensive ( paid for by the cooperative insurance ) // Fuck that, I’m gonna do my own // 3D print it // Flash it, update it