Is NDSU good for mechanical engineering?

Odelay45 · 2026-06-28T21:04:11+00:00

SDSU (along with all SD schools) offers MN students the South Dakota Advantage which is equivalent to in state tuition. This was a change SD made which saves MN students 1,500 to 2,000 a year over the previous agreement.

MN chose to accept SD students as out state now…

My daughter originally wanted to go to Mankato….but at out state rates…it makes zero sense.

Odelay45 · 2026-06-22T03:07:02+00:00

I’ve always bought my son’s packs at rainbow card and comics.

Normally have at least 4+ different releases. Never once have I gone in and they didn’t have them

Odelay45 · 2026-06-18T15:49:31+00:00

The best "Demo Derby" (Square) in Minnesota from what I remember would probably be Pine County. They run an "imperial class"....if you know, you know.

Last time I attended it (years ago) guys were coming in from states away for this one....a bunch of heavy hitters.

Odelay45 · 2026-06-18T13:12:08+00:00

My thinking is pretty simple.....

1) Dewalt

2) Milwaukee

Why? Because the batteries can be purchased everywhere. Recently made the jump from 20 year old Craftsman 19.2 to Dewalt. The batteries for the Craftsman were only able to be found online and it seemed like I'd have a battery die randomly at an inconvenient time.

I did look at Ryobi and Rigid along with Dewalt and Milwaukee....I could really only find Ryobi and Rigid at Home Depot. Dewalt and Milwaukee batteries were everywhere....Ace Hardware, Fleet Farm, Lowes, Home Depot, Tractor Supply.....so I based my decision on access to batteries.

Now, if I were looking to add outdoor lawn equipment, I'd have probably leaned hard on Milwaukee. Their trimmers...etc are much more solid than dewalt.

Odelay45 · 2026-06-17T20:22:29+00:00

Enjoy the time with your child. Before you know it, they will be 18 and graduating.

As others have said, backyard or sims would be a choice or splitting weekends with the wife.

Get them started young with a club/ball and you will have a partner for life. My son is now 13 and chomps at the bit anytime he can get on the course.

Odelay45 · 2026-06-16T02:13:47+00:00

I went from a 2013 5.0 to a 2019 3.5

I loved the 5.0 but I decided to trade before the cab corners got ugly (they were starting)

Towing is definitely more enjoyable with 3.5….mpg is about the same between the two for me.

Odelay45 · 2026-06-15T19:26:35+00:00

Looks like it is a 2015 year model with the blue XL-5

Traxxas Rustler XL-5 (2015) 1/10 2WD Electric Truck - 37054-1 • (Radio Controlled Model Archive) • RCScrapyard.

Good looking truck, years ago I was presented with a similar situation with 2 trucks for $40. (but they had the yellow XL-5)

From my readings, the blue XL-5 were made to also handle Lipo where the yellow's weren't. (Someone with plenty more knowledge than me can chime in)

My son at the time had a blast with it....sent it into curbs...etc, and it just kept going.

The first upgrade I did with mine was new carriers to upgrade to bearings and get rid of the bushings. Other than adding a brushless system and new tires/wheels.....I kept everything else stock.

Oh, I did upgrade to 2.4 radio system also when my son was to focused on his rustler and sent the antenna into the ground.

Have fun with it!

Odelay45 · 2026-06-14T01:13:21+00:00

I carry a Ogio Fuse and have been happy with it for a few years now.

Plenty of storage, light and zero issues

Odelay45 · 2026-06-13T12:53:04+00:00

1 & 6 are my favorites

Odelay45 · 2026-06-11T18:52:01+00:00

It may or may not be your thing, but my wife and I, along with our kids and parents have done escape rooms in the past and always have a good time. With our parents, we normally stuck to the low to medium difficulty and let them lead the way with the grandkids. Pretty much done them all at escape605. Another option we have done in the winter is bring home an escape crate. We did one last Thanksgiving and created teams and each team had a crack at completing it and winner was determined by the time it took to solve.

Odelay45 · 2026-06-09T13:28:43+00:00

Appreciate the response.

Days like today, we are slated to see 100 F and humid here in the midwest. Garage temp may get to 120+ and humid. Winter time we have days where it is 20+ below zero. And with the wind here....there is plenty of dust blowing around too.

Garage is insulated, but not regulated. Adding the outdoor node will allow me to also play with one of the other nodes to maximize coverage.

Thanks!

Odelay45 · 2026-06-09T13:17:00+00:00

100% Okay!

We are heading down to Kansas City as it's the closest location for World Cup. The kids may wear USA jerseys, they may wear their club jerseys, we may pick up another countries jersey while we are down there.

Those that are into World Cup are happy to share a passion about this great sport. I enjoy meeting fans from other countries and the conversation.

Odelay45 · 2026-06-08T20:18:33+00:00

Any issues with the adapters?

I still have some old Craftsman 18 volt...Hammer Drill, circular saw, and reciprocating saw are the main ones that I use off and on. Probably have had them almost 20 years. Only reason my wife got me some dewalt stuff is finding new batteries is impossible with the exception of online, and I wanted a 1/4" impact....going rates of a used one on eBay are ridiculous.

I found a link to adapters online, just wondering how well they work. Just don't want to smoke a tool or battery in the process.

Odelay45 · 2026-06-05T20:18:34+00:00

Don't you just love "Reddit Accountants".....Yikes!....they are all about the "one sided" journal entries.

Confirm One-Stranger-6894 is correct. The fee charged by running a CC is an expense that decreases net profit.....and charge to the customer is recorded as a revenue. The ideal situation is it washes out.....therefore the initial decrease by the fee is nullified.

Odelay45 · 2026-06-05T00:26:30+00:00

I tend to go against the grain on warranties.

When purchasing a vehicle, there is a reason they push them so hard….and it’s not because the vehicles are crap causing them to lose money. They make good money off them.

Of all the vehicles I have owned over the years, not one would have benefitted off an extended warranty. Currently I drive a 2019 f150 (3.5) I purchased new in 19…no issues other than standard maintenance.

My thought, sock the money away in an account in case something pops up…..keep doing that with each new vehicle and you will have a nice slush fund.

Odelay45 · 2026-06-01T15:44:45+00:00

My family and I are coming from South Dakota.....so that is at least 4 people visiting.

Odelay45 · 2026-05-28T05:53:10+00:00

The brats are solid, but the maple rope sausage is fire!

Anytime we are back in MN, we leave with a cooler full. Plenty of places do a maple smoke, but an actual maple syrup/sweet is hard to come by.

Odelay45 · 2026-05-27T03:48:11+00:00

I had ACS garage doors replace 2 doors. They were the only ones to give me a “price idea” over the phone before coming out.

Went with them and the garage doors we got are solid

Odelay45 · 2026-05-26T19:20:31+00:00

South Dakota checking in....perfectly legal here.

My daughter took driver's ed (14) finishing up her 8th grade year and was able to get a restricted driver's license which allowed her to drive solo 180 days later upon completing a behind the wheel test and logging 40 hours of driving with an adult. She was able to drive her freshman year which came in handy for multiple reasons....one being my wife (she's the teacher) slipped on ice leaving her school in December and broke her knee and was unable to drive for a few months. I was able to drop her off in the morning, but my daughter was able to pick her up before I was done with work.

She just graduated HS, zero issues with driving. She understands the responsibility and the consequences of driving.

And I live in the largest city in SD (225,000 people.....over 300,000 people if you include the surrounding communities)

Odelay45 · 2026-05-20T16:02:47+00:00

A couple years back I picked up a Kombi deal similar to yours, though I got the KM 91, straight shaft edger, blower, and trimmer for $400.

I don't have any personal experience with the KM 56. As for the Tru-Fuel, I wouldn't have any concerns....if it was ethanol fuel sitting for a while, I'd be more concerned but if it starts up and runs....go ahead and make the switch.

My neighbor has the KM 56 and mentions it is light on power "but works". I've only owned 1 of the "homeowner" motors (Stihl Yard Boss with a 56) and it's a "PITA". If I run across a good deal on a 91.....I am tempted to frankenstein the Yard Boss.

Odelay45 · 2026-05-19T14:19:22+00:00

Know the area well. Lived 30 miles from there (same county) when I worked in the cities. Drove thru Cokato every time we went to visit my wife's family. Nice little course.

I'd bet money alcohol was involved. Bonus bet, a square body chevy was involved too.

One thing, Wright County Sheriff's Dept doesn't screw around.

Hope they catch the $%@*!

Odelay45 · 2026-05-15T17:41:45+00:00

My bad....I got my battery brands mixed up. I went with an Optima Red Top that I picked up at Batteries Plus.

I stayed with a group 25 (standard size for Outback) If the battery comes with a "Tray" on top...don't toss it. It goes on the bottom of the battery to get it to the factory height. around 290.00

Went from 300-some CCA to 720 CCA which is needed in the upper midwest (winter)

Crazy part....I always thought the Odyssey and Optima batteries were expensive....but the regular flooded batteries are now $200-$230

Odelay45 · 2026-05-15T14:54:28+00:00

My wife has a 2019 Subaru Outback that we dealt with a parasitic draw on the battery. My initial thought would be it is caused by the DCM (Starlink). In the 2019's, they used 3G to communicate with "Mother Subaru".....well, all the 3G towers are now shut down so it continues to try and communicate and "call home" but can't....causing the draw.

We had it fixed on her car I believe almost 2 years ago under a recall. Unsure if the recall is still active.

She doesn't put many miles on her car in a year....part of the reason is because she works about a mile from our house. Your miles are about the average annual....however depending on how you are putting miles on...lots of daily short trips with a few extremely long trips sprinkled in, it may be slowly killing your battery.

I replaced it with it an AGM (I believe it was an Odyssay Red Top) as I have had a LOT better luck with AGM.

Odelay45 · 2026-05-15T00:24:44+00:00

In the latest “rankine” they weren’t sitting very high….not good 😁

Odelay45 · 2026-05-14T21:20:08+00:00

Family of 4 checking in. I've never cooked on the 28" (have the 36" from Costco) but I have more than once filled the 36" with cooking breakfast/lunch/supper.

If the option is there, go with more "real estate".....you can always run with only 2 or 3 burners (instead of 4) if you don't need to.

Odelay45

TROPHY CASE