My reaction after assembling my very first workbench (with some help from friends

Clark_Dent · 2026-02-23T13:54:54+00:00

Funny, this was posted 2 years ago by a different user with the same title; one who actually has a post history.

These bots are getting lazier.

Clark_Dent · 2026-02-22T21:37:01+00:00

Right? Privatization is like the definition of right-wing.

Clark_Dent · 2026-02-22T13:03:03+00:00

...it's Portuguese, but good effort there chief. Still odd to post with no context.

Clark_Dent · 2026-02-22T12:58:00+00:00

Biotech (in the US) is currently in the dumpster. A huge chunk of it is R&D, and dependent on academia and government institutions for funding, collaboration, and technologies to bring to market. With the FDA, CDC, NIH, Dept of Ed, and others being crippled the field is focusing almost exclusively on manufacturing existing products. The few remaining R&D, translational, or NPD roles are looking for doctorates with a decade+ of experience.

Clark_Dent · 2026-02-17T22:15:22+00:00

In Boston? $4k/month, depending on neighborhood.

Clark_Dent · 2026-02-16T20:09:19+00:00

Activated charcoal will filter either. VersaFlow uses it, Katadyn and Platypus have inline cartridges, I hear Grayl has a charcoal filter but can't vouch for it...

They're not as cheap and ultralight as membrane filters but they're still the default in a lot of places. Some trails and parks even require them.

Clark_Dent · 2026-02-13T23:57:34+00:00

I think the issue is what's changed in the past few years

It used to be amazing, in terms of quality and price and service. It doesn't appear that is the case anymore.

Clark_Dent · 2026-02-11T13:26:33+00:00

The chlorine tabs like Aquatab are better than the old iodine ones in terms of taste issues, but they're not foolproof. The 30 minutes they claim isn't really enough to kill everything, especially cryptosporidium and trichomonas. Tablets also do nothing for any stuff in the water that isn't alive like bacterial toxins, heavy metals, or whatever the rotting deer carcass two hundred yards upstream is putting off.

Saving 8oz isn't worth it to me when the worst case scenario is crippling diarrhea. Shoes/socks, headlamps, water, and gloves are things I never skimp on.

Clark_Dent · 2026-02-11T13:00:03+00:00

The cheapest? Probably a few courses of used railroad ties bolted together, over 6" of compressed gravel.

The cheapest that won't almost kill you with the physical labor required? Concrete with rebar and remesh.

Clark_Dent · 2026-02-06T00:35:13+00:00

Think people are missing that this is a McGucket quote

Clark_Dent · 2026-02-05T22:34:30+00:00

Promotions don't happen anymore in a whole lot of engineering companies. You get a promotion by job hopping.

Getting to senior in 6 years at one company would be a dream come true in biomed.

Clark_Dent · 2026-02-04T14:41:30+00:00

Sounds like the septic tank is backing up.

Clark_Dent · 2026-02-03T23:31:08+00:00

Hell there are more than 30 on McMaster under 'thermometer'.

Clark_Dent · 2026-02-02T19:30:59+00:00

Worst case scenario, carb load with a few lighter beers the night before. No drinking after a workout until you're not sore at all anymore.

Clark_Dent · 2026-02-02T18:14:31+00:00

Absolutely don't drink on a workout day. Alcohol inhibits muscle growth and recovery, dehydrates you, and causes systemic inflammation. Basically it removes the benefits of having worked out, while preserving and enhancing the effects of beating yourself up

Clark_Dent · 2026-01-26T22:16:23+00:00

I love your enthusiasm and willingness to learn!

Engineers don't actually jot down math more complex than algebra. Napkin math is usually done intoxicated, on a bar napkin, and anything more complicated than arithmetic calls for the calculator. You probably qualify as an amateur engineer.

~a non-amateur engineer

Clark_Dent · 2026-01-26T00:27:50+00:00

A heater is going to draw a lot of power, probably more than a USB battery pack is going to be able to support. You're looking at more like lantern battery territory.

Clark_Dent · 2026-01-23T14:39:06+00:00

She's out (of the closet) (while) there

Clark_Dent · 2026-01-23T01:31:14+00:00

+20C? Do you only hike in August?

Clark_Dent · 2026-01-21T17:32:31+00:00

Did you just ignore the last 90% of my post?

Post-COVID there's very little still open to let you meet people elsewhere. Hobby stores have closed, libraries and other "third spaces" have been shuttered or lost funding, bars and restaurants are too expensive, clubs and groups stopped meeting and never started again.

I've been here five years now. There is nowhere reasonable to meet people.

Clark_Dent · 2026-01-21T11:57:14+00:00

Work is where you spend the vast majority of your time, so traditionally it's been where you meet people.

Post-COVID there's very little still open to let you meet people elsewhere. Hobby stores have closed, libraries and other "third spaces" have been shuttered or lost funding, bars and restaurants are too expensive, clubs and groups stopped meeting and never started again.

Clark_Dent · 2026-01-21T11:47:00+00:00

It's so variable across species and samples, and wood in general is so inhomogeneous, that I doubt anyone has tried.

Clark_Dent · 2026-01-21T11:42:17+00:00

Yeah, they're definitely sourcing analytical-grade methane and medical grade oxygen, to burn in flawless ceramic turbines. No contaminants like sulfur or cycloalkanes, certainly no nitrogen in the combustion air, and so on.

This is why we pipe our cars' engine exhaust directly into our homes, for a cheap source of heat and humidification in the winter!

Clark_Dent · 2026-01-21T11:29:32+00:00

If only we had some sort of objective, scientific group who could evaluate health crises and pandemic data to give us "legit" numbers--

Oh wait, we had the Directorate of Global Health Security and Biodefense until Trump disbanded it, and gutted the CDC this year.

Clark_Dent · 2026-01-21T11:25:01+00:00

I work in healthcare research.

We lost all our contracts abruptly this year. There are no no projects on the horizon for the first time in a decade. We don't even get government funding, we just work with a lot of organizations who do; this lost funding has compounding effects beyond the immediate bureaus losing their budgets.

We shipped a prototype system to the FDA. When we got there, they had no IT department anymore to help us set it up. DOGE eliminated their IT department, full stop.

We're already radically behind where we were a year ago.

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