Photo credit NPR

I was drinking my pre-church coffee this morning and listening to my daily dose of NPR when I heard this broadcast on building a solar powered backpack. It was an enjoyable clip that I thought I should pass on to you. The best part is when the backpack builders, Mike Edl and Dick Demenus from Tekserve, explain the personal benefits of doing something on your own rather than paying to replace things.

“That’s a skill that, if you master it, you’ve got it for the rest of your life,” he said. “And solving these little mechanical problems makes you think about the properties of materials. It gives you confidence in the future. If something breaks — ‘Hey! Maybe I can fix it.’”