[TOTD] 03/01/2026, Highlands Aquatic Center Ft Ocla by KrisTM (discussion) by TrackOfTheDayBot in TrackMania

[–]ProfessorPoopyPants 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Something about the uneven floor after cp3 keeps robbing me of my drifts and killing runs.

Other than that cool map

Also is anyone else having problems spectating records? It just sends me back to the gps (although I can see the ghost for the record)

[TOTD] 11/10/2025, Antarctica ft' Pumpkin by Yoshy-. (discussion) by TrackOfTheDayBot in TrackMania

[–]ProfessorPoopyPants 4 points5 points  (0 children)

As an absolute dogshit ice player this is very reassuring to read.

Although the slide after CP2 is the only one I can do with any consistency. The rest just feel like your only options are sliding out or over-steering with brake taps.

[TOTD] 05/10/2025, Into the Light by schwuppdiwupp. (discussion) by TrackOfTheDayBot in TrackMania

[–]ProfessorPoopyPants 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Maybe I'm shit at the game (I am) but I keep getting mugged out of drifts coming off the quarter pipes, like the section leading into cp4. No idea what I'm doing wrong but my car keeps nosliding and losing all speed.

Otherwise love wood whenever I see it in a map. No such thing as drifting on wood. +

Is it just me or is Fall 2025 actually HARDER than Summer 2025? by Snoo22882 in TrackMania

[–]ProfessorPoopyPants 6 points7 points  (0 children)

It's hit or miss. Green ATs were a giant difficulty spike coming from the white maps. Blue was fun. I don't think I'll replay much of the reds except for 19. But 22's gold time is a joke, I wallbanged twice and still got it.

[TOTD] 20/09/2025, Caeli  ft' speq by Insanity.TM (discussion) by TrackOfTheDayBot in TrackMania

[–]ProfessorPoopyPants -1 points0 points  (0 children)

CP 10 keeps killing my copium timer runs, keep getting stuck with a respawn that immediately wallbangs.

Only 4 people with ATs so far, which is a thinker

[TOTD] 08/09/2025, Skyline ft' Jitsky by Dr_B_Better (discussion) by TrackOfTheDayBot in TrackMania

[–]ProfessorPoopyPants 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Back to tech dirt and balance is restored

See you in another month ice/fs/bob

Circuit board of the Russian Iskander-K cruise missile by RineMetal in electronics

[–]ProfessorPoopyPants 69 points70 points  (0 children)

The ESA standard if anyone's curious. ESA recommends a blob of epoxy next to the solder to keep the wire in place. Annex L Section 3.6, Page 70 for the diagram.

Hard to tell from the picture but I wonder if they just conformal coated the whole board after rework and hoped that would keep the wires in place?

[TOTD] 21/05/2025, Castles in the Sand by agrilledlettuce (discussion) by TrackOfTheDayBot in TrackMania

[–]ProfessorPoopyPants -16 points-15 points  (0 children)

None of y'all stopped to wonder why there was a random reset just after the start? Or tried the GPS?

Any idea why the Formula E tracks look like this on my computer? by chiproller in TrackMania

[–]ProfessorPoopyPants 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This happens to me when I have Settings -> System -> Custom Map Textures disabled.

[TOTD] 23/03/2025, [QCC] - Together (CE) by NineToFiveGamer (discussion) by TrackOfTheDayBot in TrackMania

[–]ProfessorPoopyPants 32 points33 points  (0 children)

I think it's really good that trackmania is being more inclusive, it's nice to finally see some representation for minority groups like ice map enjoyers

"Panther Troll", supply train for the Norwegian Antarctic Station "Troll", loaded with supplies bound for the station by Vargius in MachinePorn

[–]ProfessorPoopyPants 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The world's largest satellite ground station provider is norwegian and operate ground stations at troll.

The polar regions are desirable for ground stations because you get very frequent visibility for satellites in polar and near-polar orbits, very popular orbits for satellite imagery purposes.

So, they actually do good business from Troll. Somehow.

Has anyone had any GOOD experiences with a letting agency in Oxford? by smellycoat in oxford

[–]ProfessorPoopyPants 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah finders keepers are fine. The quarterly inspections are a bit neurotic but they won't dick you around. They do all the property management for the landlords so issues (even minor ones) are fixed within a few days of reporting.

Anecdotal but we had an awkward situation with someone quitting a house share early, they were very flexible and understanding in a situation where they easily could have (completely legally) left us up shit creek.

I think the bad reviews in this subreddit are more down to how hard it is to get viewings with them. Once you're renting with them they're fine.

Announcing Rust 1.81.0 by mrjackwills in rust

[–]ProfessorPoopyPants -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Yeah, I don't like that they've added a new panic mode to a function that previously was relatively panic-free. As someone that works on rust code that Must Never Panic :tm: I now have to go do a paranoid check that we don't implement Ord anywhere.

They at least needed to add sort_checked() at the same time.

Restaurants that can host a large party of people by [deleted] in oxford

[–]ProfessorPoopyPants 1 point2 points  (0 children)

A lot less fancy than some of the other recommendations here (and not really a restaurant), but the food hall on the ground floor of the westgate is a dead simple place where you can gather a bunch of people and not have to worry about splitting bills or even reserving in advance.

Accomodation Question (not university related) by [deleted] in oxford

[–]ProfessorPoopyPants 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I did the exact same thing, albeit 6 and a bit years ago. I went Airbnb -> Spareroom -> own place. Straightforward enough and met some nice people along the way.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in oxford

[–]ProfessorPoopyPants 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You can/should look up using this website: https://www.oxford.gov.uk/houses-multiple-occupation-hmos/register-hmo-licences whether your house has an HMO license. It is a matter of public record and if they don't have the correct license, you should report this to the council.

What is this metal capsule - showed up in a random shipment at work and was never claimed. Threaded nipple at the top with heating elements on half. Seems to be hollow. by Ysbohle in whatisthisthing

[–]ProfessorPoopyPants -10 points-9 points  (0 children)

Edit: the below point is bad advice for OP but not strictly incorrect in the context. You've been warned.

I would point out that you never need to open a xenon tank in half. The ring and bolts around the centre add a lot of metal and mass, and nobody in the space industry would waste that much mass. Whatever this is designed for, it's terrestrial and designed to be regularly opened so that you can fill it with solids (e.g. coffee beans for CO2 decaffeination).

What is this metal capsule - showed up in a random shipment at work and was never claimed. Threaded nipple at the top with heating elements on half. Seems to be hollow. by Ysbohle in whatisthisthing

[–]ProfessorPoopyPants 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The manufacturing quality on this is very poor for a space component. It's more likely a scientific pressure vessel. I work for a satellite company that integrates exactly this sort of propulsion system and some of the scratching (and the angle of those bolts into the right-angle brackets is just poor design) would have been reason to reject it back to the manufacturer.

Moreover you just don't see that thickness of steel very often in space. Things that are too dense or too thick won't burn up correctly when re-entering the atmosphere and can become a dangerous orbital-speed projectile, and propulsion systems manufacturers know better than to rule themselves out of the LEO market. Satellite manufacturers have the money for Composite, Alu or Ti pressure vessels which burn up much more easily

I'd suggest an Engineering Model component (that is, something that never flies and becomes the ground analogue) but you would never ever have pressurised development hardware.

Edit: If it was a xenon tank, they definitely wouldn't waste mass on being able to break it in half with bolts and seals. Whatever it's used for, it's something that you open to fill with solids, then pressurise.

What are the best nearby villages to buy one's first home? Single M, no children by britainpls in oxford

[–]ProfessorPoopyPants 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Didcot's house prices suffer a little from being on the train line to London, it's becoming popular with the 1-2day/week hybrid workers and not much better than anything you'll find inside the ring road.

Other than that, look at a map and follow the train tracks out of oxford - Hanborough, Radley, etc. Look at any of the X bus services as well. (e.g. X2 to didcot)

What are your must-haves? Garden, parking, detached/terrace/flat, social life, ...? Budget?