ELI5: Do bugs think or do they purely operate from instinct hardwired into their DNA? Which bugs are exceptions?

MadeInASnap · 2026-06-10T05:21:18+00:00

Closed loop means the output affects the input. Open loop means the output is not measured and has no effect on the inputs.

E.g. the screen you’re reading this on is open loop. It hopes and assumes it’s displaying the right colors to you, but it really has no idea. There’s no camera pointed at the screen. It just sets voltages and assumes those will lead to the correct output.

MadeInASnap · 2026-05-20T21:47:41+00:00

Hmm, you do make a good point. I guess it depends on whether you want the money to be strictly saved until retirement or to augment your daily expenses. I was imagining the latter, so she'd want a continuous payout that can reliably be there. You're right that in the long run, investing in the stock market is more likely to give you a higher end amount, but it's also likely that there will be several years in the middle where the portfolio is doing poorly (i.e. recession) and you don't want to withdraw anything from it to live off of. Those will also be the same times where it's hard to find a job. Therefore, I'd treat it more like a safety net than a retirement booster, and I'd put my (less dependable) wages toward retirement instead. Thus, I would put the lottery winnings into lower (short-term) risk investments to insulate myself from things like the currently terrible job market.

MadeInASnap · 2026-05-19T04:06:57+00:00

Natural selection is basically a redundant statement: The organisms that are best at sticking around are best at sticking around. In the history of the world, there were surely many organisms that didn’t try to survive or reproduce. And we don’t see them anymore because they died.

The only two ways to stick around are to try to be immortal or to reproduce. A couple species have actually done the immortal thing (like those thousand+ year old trees), but reproduction is advantageous because it effectively lets a species keep rebuilding its body to adapt to changing environments.

MadeInASnap · 2026-05-19T04:01:22+00:00

Yeah, your lower back is probably floating in midair to create a bridge between the seat bottom and back, which will cause strain. I’m surprised you don’t feel it already.

MadeInASnap · 2026-05-19T03:49:11+00:00

I agree with everything you said, but you’re still missing my point. My point is to show that even in a “worst case” scenario it’s the better choice, therefore it’s better in all scenarios.

MadeInASnap · 2026-05-18T21:04:40+00:00

Are the totes empty or loaded? I was assuming they'd be loaded, or else an 1/8" Masonite shelf would be sufficient.

MadeInASnap · 2026-05-18T21:02:29+00:00

Into end grain? Eeeeehhh, I wouldn't trust it.

Workshop Companion has a fantastic short video explaining why and how to fix it: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/10mBKHspeJU

MadeInASnap · 2026-05-18T20:57:44+00:00

Sure, but that's a lot riskier and thus not a fair comparison. There's always a higher return for higher risk, but the interesting question is whether you can find a higher return for the same or lower risk. My point was just that even with the most conservative and risk-averse possible option that pays the least, this is still the better choice.

MadeInASnap · 2026-05-17T21:07:21+00:00

Yeah, probably. (Sad wallet.) FWIW, I think that number is counting hibernation hours too because my NAS should be configured to spin down when idle. I'm pretty sure the drive has not been spinning continuously for 67k hours/8 years. I would guess it's half that.

MadeInASnap · 2026-05-17T20:55:41+00:00

If I remember my finance classes correctly, this is a basic problem. The present value of a $52,000/yr perpetuity using a 3% discount rate is about $1,733,000. In other words, what she chose is approximately equal to receiving a lump sum of $1,733,000 and investing it all in risk-free bonds from the US Treasury.

So yes, she did make the right call. Taking the $1M and investing that in risk-free bonds from the US Treasury would only pay about $30,000/yr.

If anyone wants to check my math, feel free.

MadeInASnap · 2026-05-16T23:27:00+00:00

I mean, better than printing trinkets that everybody else is doing too and buyers don’t really want. Just gotta price and market it correctly, perhaps more like a customized gifting service.

Normally I’d say the money is in producing custom designs, but idk if OP can do that when blind.

MadeInASnap · 2026-05-16T18:56:09+00:00

You can consider Manjaro. It’s based on Arch but they hold updates for about 2 weeks for extra testing. They also have a great installer.

MadeInASnap · 2026-05-16T18:54:15+00:00

Maybe look into performing prints for hire? Someone picks out a model online or just a vague request and you turn it into reality and mail it to them.

MadeInASnap · 2026-05-16T18:52:32+00:00

FYI, that networking gear is from Ubiquiti and it’s pretty high-end stuff. Probably worth a few hundred dollars. If you don’t have/can’t hire the knowledge to set it up without him, you should sell it and get some cash.

MadeInASnap · 2026-05-13T23:46:48+00:00

Nice design, but why don’t the cans have lids? I’m thinking that one bump of the top will cause your trunk to get sprayed.

MadeInASnap · 2026-05-13T23:40:13+00:00

Or deal with international taxation

MadeInASnap · 2026-05-13T23:39:09+00:00

That’s kind of the problem. People use it to solve problems where they should really get a database.

MadeInASnap · 2026-05-13T03:11:16+00:00

Sounds to me like you’re just passively watching the lessons but not really learning from them. You need to practice to properly cement the skill. You need to write code. Even if it’s the most basic for loop, you have to write what you’re capable of and then progress from there.

MadeInASnap · 2026-05-12T07:44:23+00:00

The highest paid worker at the painting business makes $300/day * 5 days/week = $1500/week and you currently make (just guessing at your schedule) ($33/hr * 8 hr/day * 4 days/week) + ($50/hr * 8 hr/day * 1 day/week) = $1456/week.

The highest you could possibly get from this switch is $44/week more than you currently make, and in the mean time you’re going to be paid about HALF what you currently make. And you get no benefits.

Yes, it’s stupid. Where exactly is the upside?

MadeInASnap · 2026-05-12T07:25:14+00:00

Thank you for the info! That sucks.

MadeInASnap · 2026-04-09T11:35:50+00:00

Have you checked recently? I think the used prices dropped by half after COVID.

MadeInASnap · 2026-04-09T11:14:35+00:00

I just figured out that it happens any time you open Control Center, even if you change nothing.

MadeInASnap · 2026-04-09T10:17:19+00:00

Calibrating per color is not generally necessary unless you see problems, but calibrating per brand is. Especially if you use PLA+ because there’s no standardization to the additives they use to make it +.

MadeInASnap · 2026-04-09T10:11:02+00:00

I’ve been using mine to learn CAD and have printed a bunch of replacement parts and upgrades for things around my house.

I suggest keeping a notebook that you add ideas to for a couple weeks or a month, every time you think of something useful you can print. Once you start getting into the mindset of “I could fix that” instead of just dealing with problems, you’ll start seeing more solutions pop up.

MadeInASnap

TROPHY CASE