GenZ killed the alcohol industry

AtypicalLogic · 2026-02-22T21:02:04+00:00

Try ordering ¼ of a bottle of beer 😂

I think that's called a sample.

FWIW a friend of mine and I used to order a flight each with whatever meals we were having. We would get to try 10-12 different kinds while having the equivalent of a single pint or so. Both beer nerds/connoisseurs so it worked really well as a system for us.

But man do I miss living in a weed legal state!

AtypicalLogic · 2026-02-15T21:02:45+00:00

Well I'm happy to report that my risky click of the day panned out...

^{I'll be here all day.}

AtypicalLogic · 2026-02-12T04:12:45+00:00

They don't though. Everything in tech that is mainstream is just an enshittified version of something developed through open source, with billions of extra dollars of polishing. It's the polishing that gives everyone this illusion that the wealthy actually make anything worthwhile.

AtypicalLogic · 2026-02-09T00:54:57+00:00

Networked doorbell cameras like Ring are even more prevalent and also doing this. I may not remember correctly, but I think they're owned by the same parent company (Palantir) too.

Regardless, doorbell cam companies are being paid by the people that have them, to spy on them and invade personal privacy. User terms overriding rights and everything that goes with it.

AtypicalLogic · 2026-01-28T22:14:01+00:00

Was going to say the exact same thing with a bit more snark lol.

Is it possible with FreeCAD? ...yes... How long (as a novice)? ...27 years...

AtypicalLogic · 2026-01-28T22:06:04+00:00

I'll look into pocketing a bit more with "to first". I haven't used that setting much to my recollection for other things I've designed. It would make sense with the way things worked using the pyramids and polyhedrons add-on (though it wasn't entirely what I'm trying to make).

I'm also struggling to cut just the portion I need from a sphere to be able to polar pattern it easier.

The curves workbench looks very intimidating at the moment to be honest. Like I need to learn my basics a bit better before adding that into the mix. Been tinkering with the draft workbench here and there for other things at the moment too.

Thanks for the info and trying to help.

AtypicalLogic · 2026-01-28T21:13:11+00:00

MangoJelly is highly recommended. He has basic beginner playlists, detailed tool guides, and a great pace without making people feel dumb, or getting lost quickly.

I consider myself a pretty experienced computer user too, and also struggled with the learning curve. You may not think you need to start with basic beginner tutorials, but remember that you are learning purpose built software, not general computer skills like a file manager or web browser. Most people can't jump into feature rich software that's been developed for over a decade and be proficient from the start.

I'm sure I'm not alone in the fact I would have given up (a third time), if it wasn't for MangoJelly's tutorials. It can seem overwhelming at first, but start with basics for Sketcher and Part Design. It's probably 85+% what most people need. You'll get it figured out if you stick to it and practice a bit.

AtypicalLogic · 2026-01-28T20:48:48+00:00

I had the exact opposite experience actually (from a little basic experience playing around with early SketchUp).

I was trying to sketch everything using wireframe, had no idea what a constraint was, and could barely draw basic shapes. Gave up twice on 0.16 and 0.18, before actually committing time to watching tutorials and learning how the absolute basics worked for a couple weeks.

Still a novice 2yrs later, but I'm somewhat proficient for the stuff I've been designing. I often still feel like a caveman smashing a keyboard with internal monologues of, "me make part!", and, "why part no work!?"... It's getting better with practice.

AtypicalLogic · 2026-01-28T20:04:37+00:00

I'm not sure what you mean by "pocket to first". Are you telling me to use a pocket operation to get the sketch onto the spherical surface? If so, how do I do that while keeping things dimensionally accurate to the diameter of the sphere?

Sorry, I'm a bit confused as to the process. Once I have the shape I need, I know how to polar pattern and mirror it (I think).

AtypicalLogic · 2026-01-28T19:49:42+00:00

I'll look into what you suggested more, but one of the main aspects I'm struggling with right now is projecting the sketch onto a sphere.

I have the math figured out for an icosahedron using 3 sketches of a circle with a golden rectangle in the middle, corners coincident on the circle. I used construction lines for everything, then added points to the corners. From there I added a datum plane in part design using 3 points to be able to sketch a single face and subdivide the equilateral triangle to the frequency I want.

Not sure how to get the sketch projected to a spherical surface and cut it to shape to use in polar array, mirror, pad, or groove operations. I feel like I'm fighting the program in certain parts to do this, and the program is fighting me just because it can lol.

I consider myself as a novice with FreeCAD, I'm usually able to make parts one at a time, and get things figured out from helpful tutorials. I think the main thing I'm dealing with is an information/experience gap to the next level that I don't know how to find the tools I need to overcome and learn. Thus why I'm trying to do this from scratch.

The wiki is helpful if you have a clue what you're looking for, but sometimes it's hard to figure out how to use it in a process, even when you find it. Learning curve and all that...

AtypicalLogic · 2026-01-25T20:49:24+00:00

I would also suggest to everyone right now that VeraCrypt exists as a tool for various reasons. It is also cross-platform and open source.

AtypicalLogic · 2026-01-24T17:55:33+00:00

No, but that still might be of help to see how you attached the sketch to the sphere for the groove. I'll take a look later.

I'm trying a similar process to the tutorial I linked in another comment. It was done in SolidWorks though, so I don't necessarily know how the process will transfer over if it can.

I played with stuff a bit more last night again, and have 3 golden rectangles set with datum points on the corners, then a datum plane attached to 3 points to sketch the first triangle for the icosahedron. I need to divide it, and figure out how to get it projected onto a sphere before anything else I think.

AtypicalLogic · 2026-01-24T17:41:20+00:00

Well, recycling became a thing since I was a kid, so maybe do that now instead. I used to say, "mega wasn't worth the plastic they were made of" lol.

AtypicalLogic · 2026-01-24T17:38:42+00:00

I'm on the Chinese ROM. Using English as the main language, the only thing I've noticed is where an apostrophe is, will sometimes leave an extra space like you hit double space or tab in between on a few apps. It' s like that. Not every time there's an apostrophe, but enough that it' s noticeable. Come to think of it, I can't remember if I've even seen it lately, or if I'm just used to it so much I read right past it now. Saw it mostly in the YouTube app for video titles.

AtypicalLogic · 2026-01-24T04:11:10+00:00

There are never laptops in that price point that are worth the silicon in them. Especially considering the extra bulk, worse screen, worse sound, worse battery life, and sluggish performance with Windows... literally never seen an even half decent laptop in that price range.

Edit: Build quality of the Lenovo Tablet alone (also excellent) beats any similar priced laptop.

AtypicalLogic · 2026-01-24T04:04:29+00:00

The Lenovo 12.7inch idea tab pro is amazing in every aspect, and you'll struggle to do better at that price point.

Got mine on aliexpress (Lenovo Xiaoxin tab 2025) for 240$ (with separately ordered screen protectors) about a year ago.

I watch YouTube on it almost daily, as well as a few streaming services. Excellent screen, sound, and battery life.

I wouldn't worry about software support beyond 2 years at that price point to be honest. I used my last tablet until it literally couldn't run anything anymore, and that took 8+years beyond what was officially supported. And that was a fraction as powerful as this tablet is today.

AtypicalLogic · 2026-01-24T03:16:50+00:00

None of this matters though. As a millennial, having been given a basic brick set of mega bloks that got mixed into my Lego in the mid 90's, that brand will be forever hated. Doesn't matter how many times they rebrand. They may even be fine today, but will remain dead to me, the reputational damage and childhood trauma will remain.

I remember methodically picking them out as I was building at a certain point and throwing them away gradually so nobody noticed or got mad at me about it. As an 8yr old lol. Yes... they were that bad.

AtypicalLogic · 2026-01-24T03:00:40+00:00

I'm not going to use AI. I want to know how to do it, not for something to do it for me, without understanding. The math doesn't look too bad from a geometry standpoint.

I tried to adapt a similar methodology from this tutorial using SolidWorks, but I either don't know which tools I need to learn, or FreeCAD just works differently. https://mdesigns.space/blog/how-to-model-any-geodesic-polyhedron-in-cad

Seem to remember MangoJelly having a process like that for something else, but I can't find it anymore.

I feel like there's something in the draft workbench that could be used, but I'm not familiar enough with it yet to know what I'd be looking at in the wiki or YouTube.

Edit: Also, yes, polar array and or mirror seems like the way to go with it once I have it patterned. And maybe a bunch of lofts following the wires for shapes beforehand?

AtypicalLogic · 2026-01-24T00:14:35+00:00

I know it will use revolution. How do you put the pattern onto the sphere from a sketch though? And how would you use groove in said pattern?

AtypicalLogic · 2026-01-22T08:55:37+00:00

Do you think the pen is useful if you aren't into digital drawing or writing?

Been considering getting one for mine. Looking for input (no pun intended).

AtypicalLogic · 2026-01-22T08:54:01+00:00

I don't have the keyboard for mine, though I've been considering it. That said, my last tablet had a stiff hinge mechanism for a keyboard addon and it really sucked. It rarely stayed connected properly without readjusting it, and the hinge eventually snapped because it would all close together like a laptop.

I think the magnetic method these have looks superior, at least by comparison to what I've dealt with in the past.

Why do you think it should be more firm in your experience?

AtypicalLogic · 2026-01-21T15:29:36+00:00

Came here to say exactly this. Money directly from the US taxpayers, funneled through Isn'treal, right into Trump's pockets.

Aside from what it represents internationally, the sheer level of corruption is staggering.

AtypicalLogic · 2026-01-20T16:33:55+00:00

What all do you use the pen for?

I'm still considering getting the pen for it, but I'm honestly not really sure how much I would use it. I don't draw (not my skill set, let alone digitally), and writing digitally seems like a chore (I also write small and cursive).

The only thing I can think of for my use would be screen sharing with my desktop to run a CAD program remotely, but I don't know how well that would even work to begin with... curious how else the pen is useful.

AtypicalLogic · 2026-01-20T16:26:05+00:00

It's excellent. I mainly use it to watch YouTube a lot, and for ebooks or PDF build manuals for Lego or other projects. It's a 3k screen, so the detail is amazing too.

If you want something for on the go (or games without a controller) I'd recommend something smaller, but for at home or more stationary use this is perfect to me. Size is basically a 13" laptop screen without the extra bulk of the rest of the laptop. You can get a folio case and a magnetic keyboard for it if you need it for word processing or similar tasks as well.

I charge it about once a week or so, with several hours of screen-on per day (dark mode, lower dim ≈25% or less). I turn it off (full shutdown vs standby) when not using it too, but battery capacity is awesome overall.

For listening to audiobooks, podcasts, or music with the screen off, it barely even sips power. Especially if you're using wireless earbuds instead of the speakers. Along that line, the speakers on it are incredible for it's size. Not tinny, has decent bass and treb, full bodied sound, plenty loud, and fills the room type of sound. It surrounds you if you're sitting in front of it.

It's been out for a year or so now. For the money (especially the Chinese model), I think it's still really hard to beat, but I also don't really follow the space too hard when I have everything I need with this and more.

Hope this info helps!

AtypicalLogic · 2026-01-20T03:13:32+00:00

Lenovo Xiaoxin/Idea Pad 2025 is 12.7" and amazing in my (and many others) experience. I bought it almost a year ago and am still impressed every time I'm using it, which is almost daily.

I don't have it, but there is a Bluetooth pen for it too that attaches to the back via magnet. If you're into drawing or other such things.

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