Hack This

Kerbz,

I'm writing you today in place of Bluelagh. I hope you don't mind. If you do mind, then let me apologize in advance. Also, please do not eat me. You are a bear after all.

Today I'd like to talk about hacking. Yeah, there's been a lot in the news lately about computer network hacking. But that's not what I'm going to focus on. Though, to be fair. the concept of "hacking" I'm referring to was born of the computer age. You see, back in the ol' days, when nerds wanted to alter a piece of software that they didn't actually write, they had to break into (or "hack") that software's source code. In recent times, the idea of hacking has been extended to many subjects. Finances, furniture, food and lots of other things that don't start with the letter F have hacking websites devoted to them. Basically, if you're unhappy with the way something works out of the box, hack it to make it more in line with your needs/desires.

One hack I'm kinda proud of involves the headphones pictured above. I spend a lot of time working in audio production. So a good set of headphones is essential. I really like these Yamaha cans (That's just another word for headphones, Kerby. Please get your mind out of the gutter!) but when I first started using them there was a problem. When I placed the headphone over my cranium, they felt so tight it was as if my head had been caught in a bear trap (ouch!). Honestly, after a few minutes of wearing them, I could feel the blood being forced out of my brain. I knew that if I wanted to continue on using these headphones without eventually passing out, something would have to change. I wondered if there was anything I could do to adjust the fit of the headphones. I looked them over and noticed that there were six small screws holding things together; Two screws that held each earphone cup in place and then two more screws, one on each side, that attached the earphone assemblies to the headband. Using a screwdriver (the same kind you'd use to take apart a laptop), I removed two of the earphone assembly screws completely (one from each side) and then loosened the two that attached to the headband. After doing this, I noticed a definite improvement in the comfort level of my headphones. I kept hacking away by loosening/tightening things up until I had them just right. It probably seems simple, just reading over it now. But I was pretty proud of myself for figuring this one out.

Of course, there is a downside to creating your own hacks. If something goes wrong as a result of your hack, you've got to be the one to fix it. And indeed, about a month ago, my hacked headphones fell apart. It had been so long since I did the original modifications, that I'd forgotten exactly what it was that I'd done. After a short period of experimentation, I figured out how to get things back in working order. But the lesson here is that, once you modify something, you own it. You can't expect someone else to fix it and you definitely can't take it back to the store or rely on warranty service. Make sure you keep this in mind before hacking anything, even if it's just a pair of headphones.

So that's it, Kerbster. I hope this gives you some good ideas for things you may want to hack in your own life. I don't know exactly what a bear might want to hack. Other than a salmon, perhaps. Take care.

Shawn