We are living in really strange times at the moment, especially if you are someone who spends a lot of time on the internet. Even more specifically, if you’re someone who’s been spending a lot of time on the Internet over the years, and you’re able to remember how things were when you started and how they are now, it’s definitely a very different world.
If you’ve followed the quirky projects that Grind Hard Plumbing Company creates, you already know that they’re an impressively talented group of builders. His videos have long attracted a lot of attention online, and rightfully so; They’ve been building whatever crazy custom vehicles they want (usually offroad) for a long time, and are bringing their designs to life using a combination of hard-earned skills, machining tools, CAD, and a willingness to imagine things and take the practical steps necessary to bring them to life.
Plus, it doesn’t hurt that most of their projects seem to come with built-in scope creep. What do I mean by that? Other DIYers will probably find this concept familiar, but basically it’s that a given project often isn’t complete until you feel it in your heart. You think you’re going to do one thing and that’s all? No friend; What will happen is, if you’re emotionally invested in whatever it is you’re creating, you’ll complete one of your tasks, but then you’ll examine it and find that, in fact, there’s one more thing you need to do to get you closer to whatever vision of completion you have.
And second. And second. And so on, until you finally reach the point that it is complete in your heart and mind. The project isn’t really finished until you’ve exhausted every possible avenue (or exhausted whatever monetary or time budget you’ve set aside for it).
Previously, the Monster Trike was RWD only. But by adding power to the front wheel, where the driver sits, you’ll see an immediate difference, as in the previous part of this video, where they’re testing it around the track at the GHPC shop. This thing can now successfully rock climb (well, sort of)! And climb the hill! It still needs more work, as the gearing isn’t perfect; But this is something you can only learn by doing, testing, and making changes.
And that’s why videos like this are great; Because you get to see a project evolve over time. How it began won’t necessarily give you any indication of where it will ultimately end, but the journey along the way will be worth watching.
Doing things like this by hand, especially if you document them heavily with video like the GHPC guys do, is probably the best solution for AI slop. Of course, you don’t have to be crazy like them; You can just take a wrench and do the work on your machines, and that too will be its own kind of satisfaction.
Trust your brain and your hands. Give them some food and water, fuel their curiosity, and let them do something amazing. Maybe you suck at first; Most of us do this. But if you keep moving forward, and keep analyzing and improving what you did wrong last time, you will improve. And then you’ll do cool things on your own, and you’ll be able to show it to people and say, “Look what I did!” And there’s no other feeling like it in the world (and no shortcut to get there, because ultimately, at the end of the day the only person you answer to is you).
