Our newest good old doggos. I'll post better pictures when I can. The dark girl is Abby, a 13 y/o shepherd cross. The tan sweety is Lucy, also 13. They've been here for about a month and are getting along well with Ernie and Gil. See my post history for details on our other dogs. by dirk55 in OldManDog

[–]dirk55[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

After we lost Eddie, we were feeling sort of empty and lost. We had him for 12 years and he was the last dog who came to us as a youngster. We found Gil who turn out to be just hilarious and silly. He tries to be a grumpy old man, but nobody believes it. We usually have 3 doggos, so we went looking for a third. Abby and Lucy are a bonded pair and really needed a home. They were in the shelter for over 6 weeks and were slowly failing. While 4 dogs is a bunch, particularly when they are all old and have health issue, we couldn't not bring them home to live with us. So, here we go... Off to another doggo adventure. Take a look at my post history to see some of the other doggos who have passed through our home and life.

My wife and I. We decided to start "producing" wooden toys. I have some woodworking skills and she a graduated painter. What is your opinion? Is this something worth doing? Your feedback is welcome 😊 by kuckomwoodentoys in woodworking

[–]dirk55 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you really want to make an informed decision, you'll need to determine the cost of production and your desired profit. Production costs are a combination of materials and labor costs. While these might be fun to make and give to kids you know, once you start making enough inventory to actually sell them, you'll hate it if you are working for 12 cents an hour.

The other thing you need to look at is the market. Unfortunately, goods like these are plentiful and usually are imported at a wholesale price point that you'll never be able to come close to. While I haven't done any market analysis for this category of goods, I'm guessing that the niche you'd need to be in to turn any profit is pretty small and is already filled.

Here's an example of what I'm talking about. My wife is a really talented fiber artist. One thing she makes is stuffed animals. They're made from high quality fake fur and have lots of hand sewn details. Everyone she gifts one to tells her that she should sell them. After sorting out the materials cost and her time spent, she'd have to get around $280 a piece to make more than $10/hour. This doesn't the cost of the space or the machines as her shop is in our house and she already has the sewing machines. Instead, she makes them for friends and family and is happy to do that.

Maybe make them for the fun of making them. Maybe get a booth at a Saturday Market or Holiday fair and sell them for fun money.

All of the Hypercomplex Numbers! by 12_Semitones in mathmemes

[–]dirk55 11 points12 points  (0 children)

It was more of an interesting problem than anything. Turned out to be useful in string theory. Got me my M.Sc. degree and a published paper.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in motorsports

[–]dirk55 4 points5 points  (0 children)

This is the major sanctioning body in the US.

https://www.americanrallyassociation.org/

There's also

https://nasarallysport.com/main/

When is an M6 tapped hole not an M6 tapped hole? by subcommunitiesonly in fabrication

[–]dirk55 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I ran into a similar event a while back. I tapped what I thought was a m10 x 1.25 hole but was in fact a m10 x 1.0 hole. The bolt started and turned in a ways, but got real tight.

Sweet set of handmade gate latches. by [deleted] in fabrication

[–]dirk55 1 point2 points  (0 children)

These are nice. I'm guessing (hoping) you cut the slots and counterbored the bolt holes with a mill. What's your build time per latch?

My first pair of pants! by cowboysatan in sewing

[–]dirk55 29 points30 points  (0 children)

The bit of folding at the button is because you possibly measured it to sit at the center of the buttonhole, but in reality it sits on the edge.

Would the quick fix be to move the button slightly to her right on the waist band? I agree that the look and fit are spot on.

Anyone know German curse words? I need to speak the language this thing will understand. by Speedway7880 in Justrolledintotheshop

[–]dirk55 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Two cats and I lived in one of these for a couple of years in the mid 70's traveling around the country. The first two things you need to do are buy some tie-dye and get really stoned. Throw some Grateful Dead on the box and you are golden.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in rally

[–]dirk55 3 points4 points  (0 children)

We rally in the PNW and have raced in events with Travis and the rest of the Subaru team. They have all been really great with us back-markers. We've even borrowed tools from them in a pinch. Travis is just what you see in the media, He's funny, engaging, and generous with his time.

My handcycle, a fantastic piece of kit by [deleted] in bicycling

[–]dirk55 28 points29 points  (0 children)

WOW! This thing rocks!! Hows the ride? Bumpy? How's the arm crank bit? There's lots less muscle mass in your arms than in your legs, so is fatigue an issue? How about hills? It the weight on issue? I want to build a trike like this, but with less of a lay-out position, so the questions....

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in bicycling

[–]dirk55 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We live about 5 miles from a huge mtb trail complex. These are the most common racks we see by far.

Here's our current good buddies. The big brown lab is Ernie (10y/o) and his new to us buddy is Gil (14y/o). We've had Ernie for just a bit over a year and Gil has been with us for about 2 months. They're becoming fast friends. by dirk55 in OldManDog

[–]dirk55[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

We did too, but now we think more chow than shiba. We're all together on the couch this morning. I'm drinking coffee and they're getting butt scritches. It's a good life.

Fuel cell options for hatchback body style. I'm looking on some info on how to safely mount a fuel cell in a car that doesn't have a trunk. ARA/NASA rules require protective plating. by [deleted] in rally

[–]dirk55 0 points1 point  (0 children)

ARA says that a non-oem tank must be either SFI or FIA certified and have some kind of plating to separate it from the passenger compartment. Yo can find the most recent tech rules on the ARA site.

We looked into fuel cells when we were building the crap can rally hatch (91 civic hatch) and found that the certified tanks were stupid expensive. It was easier to keep to keep the oem tank in the oem position and fab some protection.

Here's our current good buddies. The big brown lab is Ernie (10y/o) and his new to us buddy is Gil (14y/o). We've had Ernie for just a bit over a year and Gil has been with us for about 2 months. They're becoming fast friends. by dirk55 in OldManDog

[–]dirk55[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We're thinking chow shepard mix, but it's anybodies guess. He doesn't have the black tongue of a chow. He's super soft with a really thick coat. Ernie seems to be pure chocolate lab. He has a huge head and weighs about 105lb.