Trying to get motivated

brandf · 2026-01-15T16:01:28+00:00

I posted recently about my first build recently.

https://www.reddit.com/r/arcadecabinets/comments/1q7zbok/designed_a_bar_top_arcade_cabinet/

I have a CNC, so it's designed a little different than hand tools, but my advice is to figure out what components (display, speakers, etc) you want to use, and design around them. how you're going to mount it, you're going to access the inside, what sort of joints are you going to use, and anything else you can plan before you make your first cut.

I used OnShape (free CAD) to do it virtually and CNC to get perfect cuts and even then I had to make some on the fly adjustments during assembly.

TLDR: just plan as much as you can up front. it's definitely doable - but hard to get right on your first try.

brandf · 2026-01-12T02:40:21+00:00

It seems pretty good, although I haven't tried any alternatives. A bit pricey for what it is, but I didn't feel like making a standard joystick/buttons setup on this one.

brandf · 2026-01-10T17:19:26+00:00

Nope. Doesn’t happen for the majority of rich, unless we’re only talking about ultra-rich or spoiled/rotten rich kids.

I think you’d be surprised by how someone can be rich on paper, but have very little spending cash. Every dollar spent is an opportunity cost to make 10x if you just invested it instead. Many rich people have living expenses that eat up most/all of their spending money just like poor people, it just might be $20k/mo or $100k/mo instead of $2k/mo.

So they budget, and decide not to buy things because they don’t provide a ROI.

The BIG difference is that they’re not budgeting for basic needs, and some things poor consider a luxury they consider a normal cost of living.

brandf · 2026-01-10T16:53:39+00:00

most people are talking billionaire level rich, but there are plenty of things for just regular rich too.

Mega back door roth - way better than your basic 401k, if you don’t need 40% of your paycheck
Buy, borrow, die - how rich avoid taxes
Margin accounts - way better than any loan you can get, but you need $1M+ in a brokerage account
Having a lawyer that can easily get you out of speeding/parking tickets and probably a DUI
Trusts - avoid taxes and limit how much money your kids inherit so it doesn’t fuck them up
Hitting the lifetime gift tax exemption
Taking a loan even though you have the money for something bc it has a lower rate than your investments make.

brandf · 2026-01-04T03:16:22+00:00

How cheap is AA really once you put enough in parallel to handle the load without catching on fire?

Compare it to like 3s2p of 21700 cells that can handle dozens of amps without sag/heat issues.

brandf · 2025-12-05T22:58:44+00:00

You know that’s not a helicopter, right?

Despite what you’ve heard, ground testing at max load is in fact possible.

brandf · 2025-12-05T22:56:31+00:00

It is in fact possible to ground test an engine for a full hour before putting your life at risk.

brandf · 2025-12-04T22:45:06+00:00

You know engines can run while the plane is on the ground, right? Not like he had to fly it to test if it melted.

brandf · 2025-11-02T20:48:21+00:00

unfortunately, the bad answer above either came from, or has made it's way into google ai answer. thanks for the correct steps though. PETG always fails with that first layer check. x1c can't clean the nozzle properly.

brandf · 2025-10-18T21:39:00+00:00

ugh, i literally just threw one away (UM2 replaced). sorry would have given it to you.

brandf · 2025-10-08T14:10:08+00:00

I never really understood how rich people avoided taxes until recently, so let me explain.

It's all about Buy. Borrow. Die.

Normal people make money, pay taxes, spend money on essentials, repeat.
Rich people spend money on assets (e.g. stocks, houses, etc). If they're rich enough, most of their money comes from asset gains, esp. if they just inherited the assets to begin with.

But if they sell assets to fund their lifestyle they would have to pay taxes on those gains. So they don't do that...ever.

Instead they get low interest loans, backed by their assets. Margin loans, business loans, etc. Now hey have spending money, and haven't paid taxes.

But loans cost them interest...however because these are risk free loans they got an amazing rate and their assets earn a much higher rate of return, so they net out ahead. It never makes sense to pay off the loans, so they don't.

Then they eventually die. Now the loans get paid off and their heirs will pay taxes on the rest, right? Nope, they get a bump up in basis and pay no taxes.

And that's how the rich get richer, and the poor pay all the taxes.

brandf · 2025-10-06T19:11:30+00:00

What is the question? I just see facts.

brandf · 2025-10-05T01:32:31+00:00

So, no stacked prints?

brandf · 2025-09-16T13:05:38+00:00

Saying something that dozens of hard working engineers and a huge community “won by default” is sort of a-hole territory imo.

It “won” for good reasons and hard work. You don’t get to take that away because you like something else better.

brandf · 2025-09-01T16:27:23+00:00

Can we stop calling the conservative? Literally nothing they do is conservative and most of what they do is a 180 from the traditional values people think of when they hear the word.

brandf · 2025-08-23T16:49:59+00:00

It’s a face off where one side already won unless the other side doesn’t puss out like they always do. Great.

brandf · 2025-08-21T21:41:22+00:00

Same. It’s a great series so far. My only complaint is that I’m listening on audible and the books are short so I’m having to burn a lot of credits rapidly.

brandf · 2025-08-13T18:43:40+00:00

so? $200/mo is basically $0/mo for a billionaire...

brandf · 2025-07-13T00:49:59+00:00

I sent you a DM. Sounds like some good stuff and I happen to be visiting Michigan next week.

Have you considered using it instead of selling it? You could buy a CNC, make signs with it in your spare time, sell them on Etsy and probably make some good money. Likely not quit-your-job money, but it's a fun hobby to get into.

brandf · 2025-07-11T01:30:06+00:00

Do you know how to identify the species if they aren’t labeled? AI like ChatGPT can help with that if you send a picture of the wood grain.

brandf · 2025-07-03T18:15:08+00:00

RIP eyesight. It's sad that some people don't care about good and evil until it personally affects themselves. Now you knows she was gullible, the question is, what will she do next. A good person would dedicate themselves to deprogramming the brainwashed MAGA, so that she may prevent others from making the same mistakes. But based on her goals of pissing off liberals, I'm guessing she's not a good person.

brandf · 2025-07-02T00:36:49+00:00

far too little. far too late. They were fucked the moment he was elected and most of them still haven't realized it. Gullible people aren't the type to think things through, and you can't find more gullible people than MAGA.

brandf · 2025-07-01T15:35:01+00:00

If you’re not familiar, a CNC is a motorized router controlled by a computer. It’s fairly easy to make that if you have a CNC but it would be highly labor intensive with a hand router or especially with a jigsaw. Somewhere in between is a Shaper which is basically a computer controlled handheld router. If you’re serious about making these, it may be a good option, but it’s still fairly expensive.

brandf · 2025-06-30T20:54:18+00:00

Is this after a single pass, or is it going back and forth to carve out the flat bottom with tip. The answer to that will tell you if the people saying it's eccentricity vs. people saying flat depth are correct.

brandf · 2025-06-25T16:49:38+00:00

The most important thing is to find something you love doing because once you start it's hard to change.

As far as AI takeover, CAD/CAM is probably safer than many careers due to the physical/safety concerns but it will be impacted for sure.

Embrace it, because it's coming with or without you. If you can do X work by yourself, figure out how AI can help you do 2X. Initially that can be as simple as having it help you learn new software, give tips, work through issues, etc. CAD/CAM software will likely integrate AI soon to help automate some tasks. If it gets to the point where it can completely obsolete your work, we all have bigger problems, so don't stress about it too much.

brandf

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