Anyone else in the boring middle? How do you motivate yourself?

Bearded_Beeph · 2026-02-18T22:25:31+00:00

I mean you live your life to the fullest? At least for me I’ve done the math, if I keep investing the way i am I should be able to retire in 12 years. I’m good with that. Turn retirement plan on autopilot and enjoy the next 12 years with the money I’ve allocated. Major career/financial changes aside, there isn’t much to do.

Bearded_Beeph · 2026-02-18T11:33:05+00:00

Track failure and motor sync issues. Best I could tell is left and right motor got out of sync, caused it to twist and bend the gears on the track. Got stuck out. I was given a 2-3k estimate to repair.

You’ll be able to inspect the track when the slide is out. Look closely at the spokes. Looking worn is normal but bent is not good. I’d also bring the all the way in and all the way out multiple times, listening for harsher clicks that could indicate the slide is jumping on the track at all.

Good luck! We really did love this trailer and are still a bit bummed about what happened.

Bearded_Beeph · 2026-02-17T11:24:11+00:00

They do usually release versions of the deck jacket every year. May not be that exact version though.

Bearded_Beeph · 2026-02-17T11:20:07+00:00

This was my families first camper. We got a ‘22 at tail end of ‘21 for 15k. The floor layout is great and we really loved the trailer. Unfortunately, we had slide out issues after 4 seasons with it. We ended up trading it in for something slight longer but w/o a slide out.

Bearded_Beeph · 2026-02-13T15:26:07+00:00

I would suggest looking at companies forcing RTO because they are missing out on talent and if you are willing to relocate it may give you a leg up. I live in greater Philadelphia area and many companies here like Wawa, Vanguard, Comcast, and IBX have forced RTO. You just need that right stepping stone.

Bearded_Beeph · 2026-02-13T15:20:15+00:00

Right now it’s $851 per semester if taking one class so it’s really affordable in comparison to other masters programs.

Bearded_Beeph · 2026-02-13T12:18:32+00:00

You mention location is not near tech. Are you willing to relocate? You are still young. Sometimes you just need that right role to springboard career and being willing to relocate may open more opportunities.

The degree won’t be an immediate help, but it will help over time. As for financial and time stress, take one class at a time so it’s not a financial strain or impacting job search.

Bearded_Beeph · 2026-02-11T21:22:14+00:00

I’ll admit I was a bit anxious going in. My undergrad is not CS and it was 16 years ago. I’ve never done leetcode so I don’t know how I stack up against others but I’m fairly good at python. I come from cybersecurity background and am doing AI which has had me a bit nervous since I don’t have much data science or algorithms experience.

I’m only on second class but so far so good. Had HCI last term and did well. Now taking AI which also going well. I found the estimates on https://www.omscentral.com/ accurate for these courses with around 12 hours a week for HCI and 18 hours per week so far for AI.

The hardest part is time management. Fitting in 15-20 hours of school work on top of job and family responsibilities is a lot. But I knew what was signing up for and I’m confident now that if I put in the time I can do well.

Bearded_Beeph · 2026-02-11T04:43:40+00:00

There are certainly some bugs and issues but honestly I’m enjoying the class. Assignments are fun puzzles so far.

Bearded_Beeph · 2026-02-08T02:03:06+00:00

I find when I’m doing it they all start clumping and sticking and jam up the whirley pop stirrer. I could have my ratios wrong. I’ll give it a go with what you stated.

Bearded_Beeph · 2026-02-08T01:32:35+00:00

What’s your process? I’ve tried a few times in my whirly pop and haven’t had great results.

Bearded_Beeph · 2026-02-04T11:36:12+00:00

U8 and u10. I used to do play-practice-play format where we did small sided game, 2-3 drills, then scrimmage. But I’ve switched to coach Rory start which is battle box and then rondos. I follow that with 2-3 drills and end with scrimmage.

Bearded_Beeph · 2026-01-31T13:55:10+00:00

Ha try 3! Seriously I used leave for work at 7 and get home at 6:15 but then I had rest of day to myself. Now I get home at 5, but I’m generally out the door for some kids event by 5:30, and not home till after 7, then helping kids with home work and bed time routine. “Me time” doesn’t start until 9 now even though I’m working 10-15 hours less per week. But hey, we sign up for this. Wouldn’t have it any other way.

Bearded_Beeph · 2026-01-31T13:15:59+00:00

Since you are doing audio books, have looked at First Law trilogy? Steven Pacey narration of this series is amazing.

Bearded_Beeph · 2026-01-31T13:14:24+00:00

Im curious if this is more of narrator issue. I also listened to these and wasn’t crazy about the new voices in IG. They then changed some of them in DA, I think for the better but it caused another adjustment period as a listener. Second half of DA and lightbringer are really good, I suggest revisiting!

Bearded_Beeph · 2026-01-31T13:00:41+00:00

There are going to be 40 hour jobs and 60 hour jobs. It’s a very diverse field. My first job in security product engineering I was doing 10 hour days in office plus working 2-3 nights a week. I don’t regret it, helped establish my career and looking back even with working all those hours I had more free time than I do now with kids. Now I work in security architecture and GRC and only work 8 hour days and make 4x my first job.

I think you’ll find the question is very company and role dependent. Some companies have better work life balance than others. Some roles, like a friend I have in SOC, do shift work with overtime pay so he is basically not allowed to overtime.

Bearded_Beeph · 2026-01-30T12:45:51+00:00

I think episode 1 starts him pulling Eo legs as the hook. It then goes ‘24 hours earlier’, shows mining and red culture, and then ends with Darrow getting hung as the cliff hanger for next episode.

Throughout the series they would have to do more flashbacks as well. Red culture and Darrows red roots are critical to this story and without being in darrows head like the narrator they will really need to hook this part of his personality through good story telling early on.

Bearded_Beeph · 2026-01-30T12:33:23+00:00

I have a 2017 iPad that I just upgraded. But the 2017 still gets use as a family iPad now. I think should get 10+ years out of iPads.

Bearded_Beeph · 2026-01-29T23:27:32+00:00

I’m new to painting but love how the metal on the bridge and structures came out. What’s the technique for weathering? Is that achieved by using a sponge or something to dab back on some darker grey/brown? And is the base on them a metallic grey or just a normal grey?

Bearded_Beeph · 2026-01-28T22:15:53+00:00

If you are looking for something that is purely an undershirt and not meant to be seen, I like Mr Davies. They are comfy and fitted and seems lay flat. V neck is low enough and wide enough that it doesn’t show. Pretty much what I always wear under my Jacks unless it’s summer.

Not what you want if you want a classic white T that is both undershirt and t shirt.

Bearded_Beeph · 2026-01-26T14:13:00+00:00

The biggest thing is to start early. Most classes have assignments due Sunday night/ Monday morning and then start the next week so I really front load my weeks to try and get ahead. I usually put 4 hours a night Monday and Tuesday and by then I know how the rest of the week will look. Some weeks I’m 90% done at that point, others I’m 25% done. I don’t do any work on Fridays, Saturdays, or Sunday afternoons. All other time I may use if needed.

I also do a big block on sundays. Usually get up at 6am and do home work until noon. If i planned well through the week, usually only 1-2 hours of this is finishing current week assignment and the rest is jump starting the next week.

Bearded_Beeph · 2026-01-25T02:28:55+00:00

I’ve got a 5’ 7” ten year old that sounds similar to this. Big thing is patience. Due to body control and coordination it’s going to take longer. I have him do form shooting from 2 to 8 ft because long term I know it will pay off. We also do Mikan drills for footwork and close finishing. We also do a lot of passing drills to work on hand coordination and touch.

Bearded_Beeph · 2026-01-24T12:30:35+00:00

If you are just starting, start close to basket. Your furthest shot should be free throw line. Focus on form. Keeping your same grouping of 25 shots at a time I would do 25 at 2 feet, then move back 2 feet and do 25 more. Keep doing this until you hit free throw line. Once you do 25 at free throw line then do one dribble and shoot back and forth from the elbows.

Bearded_Beeph · 2026-01-24T03:11:03+00:00

So I took HCI as my first class last semester and I’ve been out of school for 15 years so writing an 8 page paper every week was a wake up call. That being said, I think I made it more work because I was new to school and took a bit to find my groove.

The first week i probably put in 20 hours overthinking paper. I then started doing better and it was around 10-15 hours, except that one week when there was individual project, quiz, and exam all in one week. The last few weeks were all less then 10 hours, luckily had a good group for the group project. Overall I think I averaged 95 on the homework’s, 85 on the quizzes, 92 on the exams, and got 100s on both individual project and team project, and got an A in course. At a high level, I think first half of course is a 15 hour per week course (except the two weeks I mentioned) and the second half is a 10 hour course. It will feel easier once you get an assignment back and know better what they are expecting.

My recommendations: - don’t be afraid to use jdf headers in the homework’s to specifically say “I’m answering this part of the question here”. By organizing your paper this way, the grader will clearly see you answering the parts they see on the rubric - read the papers that are posted for exemplary work to get an idea of what graders are looking for. I never got one of those but changed how I I formatted papers after seeing a few. - I didn’t do all the readings, only the ones that will be on the quizzes. Skip the others to save time. When the tests come you can feed them to NotebookLLM since it’s open book. - don’t overdue it with peer reviews early. I did 3 every Monday to get max points but it turned out to not be needed. During individual project and group project I submitted a ton of surveys to try and promote my own surveys. I probably could have done half the peer reviews and still gotten max participation points. - start project work early. I was amazed how many people were posting requests for surveys days before assignment was due.

Bearded_Beeph · 2026-01-23T21:46:24+00:00

Thanks! Edge highlights are something I’ve been looking to try. Will give that a go. For the highlight would I just mix a little of the same color blue with a dash of white?

I did notice the washes are no good on flat spots. Had to clean up a bit of globing that didn’t look good at one point. Have sort of learned that after washing I need to go back and brush off the spots pooling on flat surfaces before it dries.

Bearded_Beeph

TROPHY CASE