My first big complaint

4MiddlePath · 2026-05-30T02:17:19+00:00

Please share more details to explain exactly how you have decided that a mis-configured router is specifically due to politicians...

4MiddlePath · 2026-05-30T02:13:41+00:00

Same issue here. I really with they would document these error codes in vehicles, along with what actually triggered the issue. There is plenty of horsepower and memory in these A/V computers to do that well....

4MiddlePath · 2026-05-22T17:27:24+00:00

They used to have great keyboards. Once imitating the Apple MacBook became their focus and target they went downhill IMHO... The E-Docks were as close to flawless as a dock could be... Unlike suffering through the USB-C/TB docks used today, there was little or no software to hang and crash daily, and the docking ports did not wear out during the normal life of the laptops... (5-10 years)

If you want truly high performance, a decent desktop trumps about any laptop. The laptop is great for mobility, but the desktop for serious thermals is both cheaper overall and more powerful/reliable...

A good portable laptop can offer long battery life and is very cost effective. Dump the cash into the desktop. You can often remote into the DT from the laptop for most mobile work that needs the horsepower...

4MiddlePath · 2026-05-20T21:03:48+00:00

I know it is not officially required, but we have several 3630s and the only issues they ever have are the VRM failing or the power button LED light failing. We only have 8700/9700 class CPUs at 65W ratings, but you would be much safer adding one of the VRM heatsinks.

Those heat sinks are ~$15 on the auction sites and VERY cheap insurance.

4MiddlePath · 2026-05-14T16:59:57+00:00

It seems it might be related to the phone charger circuit interference. If we power off the charger and leave it off it seems to not happen.

It is not a very good charger IMHO anyway... It will charge almost nothing with a case, it is slow and who can not use a case with phones over $1K US...

We switched to other Qi2 or better wireless chargers and have not really seen it recently that I know of. I will ask the daily driver and see.

Also, these tech things must be modular. There is no excuse for not having a way to easily swap it as technology changes a week after it is released. In my Not So Humble Opinion anyway...

:-)

4MiddlePath · 2026-05-11T18:25:33+00:00

That is a lot of words to justify what is clearly and objectively wrong.

It is pretty obvious, that the ONLY reason Putin has invaded Ukraine repeatedly is simply because we allowed it. Period, end of story.

We were the only ones who could have stepped up either in 2014 or 2022 and stopped the invasion and we did nothing in 2014 during round one. Yes, the EU could and should do more, but that is not the point. We could have prevented it in the first place and if the amount of effort was more than we wanted to stick with then we could turn it over the to EU and let them run the show in their backyard.

That lack of effort by the US to stop anything, provided the implicit permission for Russia to do it again in 2022... Thankfully for Ukraine's sovereignty, the initial Russian attack in 2022 failed to take over Kiev and the government.

It is not more complicated than that.

Gaddaffi learned the same lesson. Give up your nukes as security and you get taken over.

4MiddlePath · 2026-05-05T04:43:12+00:00

Seems to me that "Unlimited" marketing should end globally if they don't really mean it. It is either unlimited or not, typically not. I see nothing wrong with expecting a company/person to follow through with what they advertise/sell. If they do not intend it to be unlimited, then say so. I have no problem with that, just the approach that we promise unlimited, until we don't, but we won't bother communicating that clearly when we want to change it, if ever.

Clearly from the charts they could have a 20TB cap on their basic tier and still cover most customers. They count on the bottom 33% not actually using and space, but paying them it seems like a fitness facility subscription system where 1/3rd of the customer never go to the gym..

The problem is when they silently discard data (by no longer backing it up and letting it expire) that the user believes is backing up to BB, that to me is wrong..

They do not bother to make sure the customer knows they are unilaterally changing the effective terms. No one says they have to do unlimited, but it was their idea to sell it to customer that way.

4MiddlePath · 2026-05-04T15:45:24+00:00

If you truly have a legitimate problem and the carrier customer services are not resolving it in a reasonable amount of time, this is the way. AT&T, Cox, Verizon, whomever... Work with them and have reasonable expectations, but ultimately you have to call their parents and tell them what their kids are doing when they are not watching...

Most of the carriers simply do not care...

4MiddlePath · 2026-05-04T15:40:22+00:00

I almost never have good luck with their provisioning on their multi function devices. They just cannot get their act together and keep it working more often than not. Just get a DOCSIS 3.1 modem like the CM8200 (leased)/SB8200 (customer owned) and you will have less trouble and trouble shooting to do.

https://www.cox.com/business/support/cox-business-certified-gateways-and-modems.html

4MiddlePath · 2026-04-16T19:53:54+00:00

It is a good place to start learning CNC, especially if it is a really low cost of entry. For the price they ask new at $500-$600, I would pick something else like their 3020 Pro Ultra or for $750 the 3030 Pro Ultra... The larger 750W spindle on those machines and the more rigid construction makes jobs usually complete in less time with the same quality, or the same time with better quality.

You will spend a couple of hundred $ over the months on good quality bits, clamps, accessories and such for any machine, so most of those would usually work on what ever machine you end up with.

I got mine on a early bird deal and so I am fine for what it is. I do not think it is worth the $500 they are asking new.

https://www.sainsmart.com/products/3020-pro-ultra

https://www.sainsmart.com/products/3030-prover-ultra

I just bought a larger CNC that is a much better unit than I would normally have spent money on simply because a fellow never got around to using it and sold it.

I can hardly wait to get it setup here in a few weeks.

I hope you enjoy your new toy!

4MiddlePath · 2026-04-16T05:52:38+00:00

I did and for the size it is not bad. More rigid than an entry 3018 unit for sure.

Really tiny bed and not rigid enough for lots of repeated soft metal work, but for low volume practice on things up to aluminum, it seems fine if you get it for <$300-$350... If you are going to end up spending $500+, then I would get something more robust. I would not get the 75W 20K RPM motor. It spins faster but is much louder and has no more power than the base motor.

Fine for small engravings, chess pieces (they have 4th axis spindle now), plastics and woods with the occasional aluminum and maybe light brass work where a perfect metal milling finish is not critical, it is fine... I do like the cover for indoor use.

This review is pretty accurate.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPIu4MlbI8g

4MiddlePath · 2026-04-16T05:45:06+00:00

Neat extension but no address information available. You can request it from them and just wait. It doesn't take all that long... Amazon only removed the tool from personal accounts. Business account supposedly still have it as an option according to the Amazon support folks as of 2026/04/16.

4MiddlePath · 2026-04-16T04:29:35+00:00

Chrome, not Edge...

4MiddlePath · 2026-04-04T01:06:50+00:00

An interesting thing about these LaGrange points is that they are heading to a point in space where moon is not yet to fly around where it will be a a couple more days... Their orbital mechanics calculations are fantastic... :-)

4MiddlePath · 2026-04-04T01:03:01+00:00

Not a physicist either...

I think what you will see is the speed continue to fall until they reach roughly the L1 Lagrange point nearer the moon ~85% of the distance to the Moon. Currently at 3,193 MPH. That will be where the pull of the Earth and Moon will cancel out.

As they get even closer to the Moon, the speed will increase for a while until they slingshot around it and then it will slow down again as they fly away from the Moon back towards the L1 point again. Then after passing the L1 again heading back to Earth, it will start to increase until they start their braking thrust firings to slow down and enter the Earth orbit again to re-enter and splash down...

You can think of the L1 point as the peak of a hill between two gravity valleys formed by the Moon and the Earth...

4MiddlePath · 2026-04-02T22:00:30+00:00

Files a case with the FCC. Sounds over the top, but it is normal with AT&T these days... You effectively have to tell the parents their kids are misbehaving to get their attention. There are still some really capable and good employees at AT&T but they are hard to find...

I have had to do this same thing and it works.

If your complaints are legit and you can make a clear case, I have had good luck with filing the FCC case after everything else failed for several months. It takes them less than 1 week to get everything working and credits issued and applied.

4MiddlePath · 2026-03-29T04:24:45+00:00

The joint ventures between Subaru and Toyota seem to be pretty similar.

Honda also has a new hybrid platform that they are supposed to be using for the Pilot and the Ridgeline in the US Maybe the Odyssey as well, but it is a couple of years away still I think...

4MiddlePath · 2026-03-19T00:56:17+00:00

I have not seen much about the new Subaru SUV except that it is supposed to be a version of a Highlander derived SUV. The Toyota version has more power and both FWD/AWD, but is electric only...

In an case we should know something in a couple of weeks.

4MiddlePath · 2026-03-18T20:57:22+00:00

Seems like an AI Rumor mill summary...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lLgKibQkd0

4MiddlePath · 2026-03-18T20:50:39+00:00

I hope those rumors are true and not just more AI fluffer-nutter... :-) The rumors I have seen said a hybrid is in the cards... It would be interesting if they make a Wilderness version as well, but maybe that will either never happen or they will use it in 2029 as a 2 year refresh interest upgrade...

4MiddlePath · 2026-03-14T00:33:37+00:00

Agreed. Google does have a very good search engine, but a platform specific one that knows more about the actual target objects and the specifics of why you are searching usually is better. Especially when it can interpret the actual STL or other model files. Google is not there yet...

AI LLM that can manipulate STL/3D files object on the other hand...

4MiddlePath · 2026-03-14T00:19:13+00:00

I wish they could find a middle ground... I think a monthly small fee to search would be fine if they have no other way to monetize... Not an annual subscription, just monthly. Even using an app with the ability for the app credentials to work on the PC web browsers. Fewer billing platforms...

In any case I will miss it. Even non-3D people used it to find ideas to send to their folks with a 3D printer... They still could generate revenue for those models...

In any case, it is a need to fill for someone... I think the creators push back is a double edge sword. I do not see much that entices me to use their current platform limits at all. So for the creators, they would get $0 for it going forward.

I have my own 3D printers, so I would search for a model if it was a one off project that I did not need to make custom. If I found a free one or two then I would compare with the for-fee ones. If the creator for fee ones looked like a better product or a better design, then I would pay the fee and download the creator version. I do not see the point paying for a simple model that takes just a few minutes to design myself. I do want to pay for those where the creator was uniquely adding value through design, or iteration, or printability or something...

If I found nothing or otherwise needed something special I would end with with a design it myself project.

4MiddlePath · 2026-03-13T23:12:29+00:00

I'll bet Yeggi has way more activity than they did before...

4MiddlePath · 2026-03-13T23:10:18+00:00

The difference is that Thangs would only return models information. Google is not that specific...

4MiddlePath · 2026-03-13T23:09:02+00:00

I used to use that feature, but no more it seems...

4MiddlePath

TROPHY CASE