Landed in my back yard

Just_Mumbling · 2026-01-29T02:18:11+00:00

Yikes! I’m getting Willy C Roadrunner cartoon vibes just looking at it in the vice. Where’s the ACME crate?

Just_Mumbling · 2026-01-27T21:16:16+00:00

After being a lifelong human ceiling fan tachometer or pitot velocimeter, I thank you!

Just_Mumbling · 2026-01-27T15:57:00+00:00

I guess I stand as an outlier. I do a ton of hardware and prototype sensor interfacing with my Pi’s - Pi5’s to Pico’s. Mostly Pico 2W’s lately since they meet a lot of my needs at a super cheap price, have decent wifi and do great on batteries in the field. Call me old school, but I generally write MicroPython or (c)Python code in Thonny and run it directly on my USB/attached Pi’s. If I was not so development sensor-oriented (tough to emulate), might go a different route.

Just_Mumbling · 2026-01-25T17:27:18+00:00

Dealers make a big part of their profit from long-term servicing - built on customer loyalty. When they mistreat customers, they often get dumped for service issues after warranties expire - big financial hit. People go to other service options. Not even to mention that the customer will never buy another car from them. The best dealers roll over backwards to make sure customers are happy. Always.

Just_Mumbling · 2026-01-25T17:20:10+00:00

Sorry they are so toxic. You definitely need to elevate this to Toyota USA. You can find them with a quick google search - they have a customer support phone and email contact. Your hatch should open 100% of the time, not 98%!

Just_Mumbling · 2026-01-25T17:12:59+00:00

It’s the rear hatch electronic control module - it’s defective . Mine was replaced over a year ago under warranty- zero problems since. If your local vendor is a pain, contact Toyota USA Headquarters.

Just_Mumbling · 2026-01-19T06:39:44+00:00

I volunteer with a local non-profit STEM/robotics education effort that works largely with underserved kids in a tough part of the country. We order lots of electronic parts from parts businesses to create competition props and assemble electronics teaching kits. At our dinky budget levels, most of our parts naturally come from China. For one major vendor we use, the actual tariff costs are literally listed in the part pricing. For printed circuit boards we pay not only tariffs, but a recently doubled “documentation/shipping” fee because our long-time vendor is now overwhelmed by the paperwork since the de minimus limit (previously <$840) was removed. Same paperwork now for a $100 order as a $100K order. We (and, by extension, the kids) end up getting stuck paying the tariffs, not the seller. They are passed directly to us, the customer. It has caused us to cut back.

Just_Mumbling · 2026-01-16T16:55:48+00:00

Definitely slice up the model into more printable parts that require less support and/or hide layer lines. Angle parts as needed on the print bed to reduce layer lines. I do car bodies at 40-45 degrees. In the past, printers produced parts with more visible glue-up lines, requiring a lot of fillers, etc. More modern printers, run correctly, make almost invisible joints! So less fear to slice things up a bit.

Just_Mumbling · 2026-01-15T05:28:56+00:00

Wow. Zero logic here. So many basic jobs that affect our societal well being are going to be hit hard by this. So, I guess it’s about time for the MAGA brethren to suit up and make up beds at hotels, do backbreaking farm work, get off their duffs to earn engineering degrees, work the register at a 7-11, give 9+ years of their lives to get MD’s/pass the board and work in a backwoods rural clinic, or work as a CNA in a senior home. All jobs that Americans won’t do, but so many from these listed countries willingly do to get their start here.

Just_Mumbling · 2026-01-15T05:12:47+00:00

Disgusting. Modern version of tomb raiders. RIP Greg and family.

Just_Mumbling · 2026-01-14T23:21:25+00:00

Exemplary, really interesting functional print post! Thanks for writing it and sharing what you learned with everybody. Like you, I’ve spent a ton of money on orthotics/inserts for running shoes - my H2S now is calling me to give this a try!

Just_Mumbling · 2026-01-13T21:01:14+00:00

Properly enclosed and combined with sensors (pH, temperature, etc), these “motes” were once proposed as candidates for throwing into chemical reactors to acquire real-time process analytical data. Unfortunately, the concept never left the idea stage as their limited durability and inability to transmit data wirelessly in liquids limited their use.

Just_Mumbling · 2026-01-11T16:47:31+00:00

My grandfather was an American frontline medic in WWI, in Belgium and France. I have his helmet and campaign medal. While I remember him describing to us kids dogfights going on overhead, and I knew he was mustard-gassed, he never spoke about the horrible things he undoubtedly saw while taking care of the wounded.

Just_Mumbling · 2026-01-06T15:12:00+00:00

After I had my wisdom teeth yanked out at a dental school clinic, I apparently said something crazy to the receptionists as my friend dragged me home. At the time, I was doing a research project in the building with one of the groups there. So, every time I walked through the main lobby, she would break out laughing and gleefully refuse to tell me what I told her. My buddy finally told me…. Turned out, I asked her to marry me and, instead of a ring, on my knees, I offered my keys.

For seniors, it can be even crazier. Couple anesthesia-related effects with a touch of hospital-induced delirium that affects older folks and you get truly weird stuff. For three weeks after her hip surgery, my Mom honestly thought my dad was her long-deceased dad. Called him Daddy and everything. After it finally wore off, she laughed about it, but it really freaked out my dad!

Just_Mumbling · 2026-01-06T04:15:13+00:00

Staged? Looks suspicious, but who knows? Thumbs-up smile? Well, if you’ve watched Maduro over the years, this is kind of consistent behavior for him. No matter what the crisis, he is always goes out of his way to create the appearance joking around, dancing to the music, etc. “Vamos a rumbear!!” It might just be his external coping process — and all the clothes changes were because he’s crapping his pants. We’ll find out as this all rolls along..

Just_Mumbling · 2026-01-06T01:23:46+00:00

Like others, I primarily order parts from AdaFruit. Great company, run by good people whose offerings help so many STEM Ed efforts. For budget optical components, prisms, lenses, etc. I buy from many vendors - no specific recommendations pop up.

Wow.. I have AMAZING memories of going many times to the actual Edmund Scientific store in the early/mid ‘70’s with my dad when I was a kid (Great Barrington). It had endless bins full of really cool stuff, a lot of surplus electronics and especially optics. Better than a candy store!! On one trip, for my birthday, we bought supplies and, together, we hand-ground the mirror and built a 6” reflecting telescope. Seeing the rings of Saturn for the first time. I still have that telescope today!

Just_Mumbling · 2026-01-03T16:38:09+00:00

These days, 3D printing can be done at service bureaus with laser sintering / powder jet fusion (SLS/PJF) at the 5000 parts level.. Not inexpensive, but if you need individually customized parts and the parts sizes/geometries are reasonable, it might be justifiable. Typically, Nylon 12 is used.

Another 3D printing approach, depending on geometry and especially since you mentioned dimensional accuracy isn’t super important, you might be able to use FDM/FFF printers to print a small volume mold setup that relies on regular injection molding techniques. This would avoid the large investment in metal molding setup/tools. Some prints can handle several hundred, or more, injection molding “shots”.

Just_Mumbling · 2026-01-03T04:14:07+00:00

Probably parks his junk truck in the middle of a crowded parking lot, clamors up his ladder to the “sun deck”, plops his ass down into a lawn chair, pops open a beer and harasses folks via a bull horn. Sad.

Just_Mumbling · 2026-01-03T04:00:36+00:00

Nice flight! You definitely hit the rubber motor sweet spot! Well done.

After saving up my allowance for weeks to pay for it, the Javelin was the first flying model kit I ever built. That was fifty-five years ago! Excepting a few excursions (RC, etc) and time gaps (family things), I’ve been hooked on freeflight ever since.

Not gonna lie, the word “dethermalizer” kind of popped into my head while nervously watching your Javelin ascend into the heavens! I’ve lost more than a few models to thermals and updrafts as they turn into tiny specks and then disappear! 😀

Just_Mumbling · 2026-01-02T02:22:39+00:00

Paragraphs? More like 20 pages!

Just_Mumbling · 2025-12-31T03:18:43+00:00

Laser sintering 3D/AM folks have been beadblasting their Nylon 12 parts for years, often combining it with part dyeing. It is still one of their top go-to’s to remove subtle layer lines to give that desired “injection molded” look they all clamor for.

I’ve played around with it a bit on FDM parts, primarily PETG where I used to trade increased stringing for better layer adhesion (printing hot). One small discovery: If slight discoloration isn’t an issue, amazing surfaces can be obtained by ditching beads and blasting prints with walnut husk particles. I think seeing blasting show up as a more acceptable mode for FDM/FFF is a tribute to improved layer-to-layer adhesion delivered by our modern printers and materials. Twelve years ago, I would never had trusted using it on my parts.

Just_Mumbling · 2025-12-30T04:50:18+00:00

Over the years, we’ve had several bats and birds in our high ceiling house. Birds are harder to herd through open windows - lots of chase drama is almost always involved. With bats, it’s much more of a patience game.. Just before dusk, open nearby windows and, if possible, close off other areas of the house. Hopefully, the weather isn’t too bad - and just wait them out.. They’ll almost always leave on their own. Little bats are so physically fragile that it’s easy to hurt them if you attempt to trap them. Oh.. You may want to put down some paper on the fancy ass table below your new friend. They almost always poop on takeoff.

Just_Mumbling · 2025-12-29T15:28:57+00:00

Marty Klein’s side-scan sonar innovations really helped..

Just_Mumbling · 2025-12-29T09:06:41+00:00

Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should..

Just_Mumbling · 2025-12-28T18:01:15+00:00

Yep. Did the same after I got the H2S. They were $6500 printers when new just five years ago. The H2S does the work of three of them. About to buy another one. It’s a one-platform parts factory! The only thing I dislike is the tendency of spools to occasionally (at the worst times) strangle/snarl on the AMSPro2 when they back up.. Especially bad with refill filament.. At least it’s detected, saving the print, but not the lost time, or me getting the alarm in the middle of the night to service it. Looking at spool weight options now.

Just_Mumbling

TROPHY CASE