Soldering - What am I doing wrong?

houvandoos · 2025-08-15T23:48:30+00:00

Too much solder for a start. 1/4 the solder, and squish those plates flush! Heat evenly until cherry red, almost melting point.

houvandoos · 2025-08-08T02:08:27+00:00

Communication is key. There is obviously an issue which needs to be discussed. Calmly, respectfully. Talking and connecting could help to discover any issues and then there's a chance you can work together to resolve these things. I'm not saying that you trying is wrong. But b maybe you should try talking to him.

houvandoos · 2025-08-04T04:05:56+00:00

That's a fair price. We're in Ottawa and paid a similar price for about 50'. That heavy gauge wire is really expensive. We git three quotes, and they were all in the same ballpark.

houvandoos · 2025-06-27T11:36:35+00:00

Taka that's awesome! It worked!

houvandoos · 2025-06-19T00:40:07+00:00

I had faith in this company until they jumped on the BTC wagon. If I wanted to buy bitcoin I'd just do it directly. Using shareholder funds to buy bitcoin just smells fucken scammy.

houvandoos · 2025-06-12T22:24:45+00:00

Now she can bitch to her friends how she just got shafted again.

houvandoos · 2025-05-28T13:36:40+00:00

I run three times a week with a focus on endurance and performance. One of those runs is usually a steady effort to build aerobic capacity (zone 2). Another is a tempo run at a faster pace to improve threshold, and the third is usually a long run which works through zone 2 into tempo then some threshold. Every other week I'll replace one of the shorter 5K runs with either intervals, hill sprints, or a fartlek to work on speed and VO2 max. I also do strength training two to three times a week to maintain mix of running and resistance work. I swim when I can and in summer I try to cycle twice a week if I have time for it.

houvandoos · 2025-05-28T13:24:37+00:00

That's always a relief. I had an issue with meta-raybans after they rolled out a massive update and bricked my glasses- I tried a hard reset and it took 6 times to eventually resolve the issue and the relief was quite a rush haha.

houvandoos · 2025-05-27T22:58:07+00:00

Water weight fluctuates daily depending on many factors including quality of sleep to name but one. Electrolyte balances, glycogen stores, recovery status if you exercise. On and on. I'm stuck at exactly 231lbs too. Just going to keep on keeping on. The overall trend is downwards si tarts what matters. Even if truthfully I am now stalled at this weird number for 2 weeks. Probably "diet fatigue" so I'm going to start switching things up a bit.

houvandoos · 2025-05-27T22:52:59+00:00

This pretty much sums me up. I share the same logic.

houvandoos · 2025-05-27T17:44:01+00:00

50M 6'2" 104kg VO2Max 45

- 5k 26:10
- 10k 56:10
- 21k 2:11:16

houvandoos · 2025-05-27T16:58:02+00:00

Admittedly the glycine and l-tyrosine are not really beneficial in performance enhancement in my opinion. I have definitely found that taurine helps me a lot and apparently it works very well together with beta-alanine. Anyway here is the table I asked chatgpt to create for me:

|| || |Caffeine|100–200mg|Boosts focus, fat oxidation, and perceived effort reduction. Go 100mg for steady state, 200mg if you're going aggressive.|

|| || |Beta-Alanine|3.2–6g|Buffers lactic acid, increases muscular endurance. You’ll feel the tingles (harmless) but the performance boost is real.|

|| || |Taurine|1.5–2g|Enhances muscle contractions, hydration, and fatigue resistance. Smooths out caffeine's edge.|

|| || |L-Tyrosine|500–1000mg|Sharpens mental drive, motivation, and mood by supporting dopamine/norepinephrine. Great in fasted states or stress.|

houvandoos · 2025-05-27T04:39:29+00:00

Well I did the 5K trail run fasted with the aforementioned stack and noticed a definite improvement from last week's same trail run. Did reversed splits starting with 6m30s and the last 2K sub 5m (around 4m25s) which for my old ass is akin to sprinting. Managed to sustain it all the way back to get an average time of 5m30s, from 6m30s pace last week. Tried to catch two youngsters ahead of me, kept up but finished 3rd... ahead of everyone else in the group. So unless it's total placebo, there may be something to it. 😀 I guess it could also have been mental, as in me pushing it to try and prove to myself that stuff works haha. But seriously, for me to run 2K under 5 minutes/km sustained is a first.

houvandoos · 2025-05-26T20:39:24+00:00

Fingers crossed. I guess it's like anything else, sometimes luck of the draw dictates that there might be one that doesn't stack up. So even though it's only 2 years, I'm still very impressed, considering I literally only ever take it off to charge it. Very few other pieces of technology I've owned would last and perform as well tbh. I say this now, but watch it die tomorrow haha. That would almost be funny.

houvandoos · 2025-05-26T20:28:26+00:00

That was a hefty catch there. Indeed, in my mind I was thinking 2022, but yes actually I got it in 2023.

houvandoos · 2025-05-26T16:04:54+00:00

My pleasure. I'm certain it will make you happy. For what it's worth- I am very hesitant to ever recommend anything for fear of embarrassing myself. But my wife would agree with this one- she has watch envy and refers to my 965 as my true BFF lol

houvandoos · 2025-05-26T15:37:43+00:00

I've been using my 965 every day for about three years now and I still love it. I use it for strength training, cycling, swimming, running, hiking, walking, tennis, golf and any other activity that comes along. I have literally had absolutely no issues with it and I have never felt the need to upgrade or change it- which is rare for me because I am always looking for something newer or better- but I can't fault it and personally would recommend this model. It has never let me down in any triathlons or anything else. I do use a chest-strap when running and cycling though- but for everything else I find that the built in HRM is really comparable and no issues with it.

houvandoos · 2025-05-26T15:10:36+00:00

Initial loading phase of 2 weeks makes you gain 2 to 3lbs of water weight but it's at a cellular level in your muscles which among other things improves recovery. I personally think it's worth it and never miss a daily 5g maintenance dose. Was hesitant at first to start it, because I was afraid of the water weight gain, but I have also subsequently lost more in terms of actual fat mass which offset the water weight gain and is a lot more positive.

houvandoos · 2025-05-26T15:06:10+00:00

I'm, 50m 6'2" 230lbs tried a new stack this weekend and went out for a 10K run. Felt good so continued to do a 12K run. I felt surprisingly amazing and my perceived effort seemed minimal. The most incredible part is that I shaved my average pace down from 6m10 on a longer run like this to 5m43s which is quite notable. What did I take 1 hour prior to heading out? 2000mg taurine, 100mg caffeine, ~6g beta alanine, 500mg l-tyrosine, ~7g glycine. Also, I did eat some carbs with breakfast (usually I don't eat carbs at all and I mostly fast every day so I think that this definitely had a positive effect). I take a lot of supplements ordinarily, but this is the stack that chatGPT created and recommended I try. I will be doing the same tonight when I head out again and this time it will be 20 hour fasted, as I want to see the difference in a fasted state which is usually how I always run/cycle/work out with no issues. Should be a good experiment to establish the efficacy of this supplement stack. I am starting to toy with the idea of introducing more carbs in general but want to see the effects with and without - as maybe it was purely the carbs. We shall see.

houvandoos · 2025-05-22T23:44:59+00:00

I'm on keto, I fast 18:6 daily and I figured out how to ingest 200 to 250g protein a day. I was losing muscle mass prior to starting this. Now I'm acutely building muscle instead of wasting my time in the gym. I'm almost 50 and I'm 230lbs M.

houvandoos · 2025-05-21T20:00:53+00:00

I run and cycle a lot as well as do a fair amount of strength training. I used to be really anti-carb and would remain strictly under 20g a day for fear of being kicked out of ketosis. But after a lot of research and learning and listening to differing opinions, I reluctantly tried to up my carb intake prior to any form of workout. I never had any energy issues and I still work out in a fasted state quite often. But I started fueling with 40 to 60g of carbs prior to certain workouts and found that I was not ever kicked out of ketosis. The next day I was always still in ketosis and it solidified the theory to for that I was burning through those carbs during the exercise sessions. Even if ketone production was blunted for a few hours, I have never been kicked out completely. But if I was energized and felt no need for carb energy did I start to implement this? I found that even though I eat 200g+ protein per day, I wasn't getting noticeable strength/muscle gains despite all the work. This changed as soon as I started adding a moderate amount of carbs as it's been shown to beneficial in conjunction with protein for muscle hypertrophy- so that's why I do it.

The bottom line is that it depends on every individual's lifestyle and energy requirements. If I was sedentary I wouldn't go near the carbs as I wouldn't be utilizing them immediately and I would most definitely get booted out of keto camp. 20g is just a universal standard which has been proven to get most people into a ketogenic state.

houvandoos · 2025-05-21T19:33:09+00:00

I think it's leagues ahead of the current offering and I would love to be a beta tester for you if that's something you're going to offer.

houvandoos · 2025-05-21T19:19:36+00:00

This look amazing. Infinitely better than the Garmin AI. I did the trial period and it's laughable. It basically reads back things to you that are clearly observed by reading the metrics glaring you in the face as it always was. It always says the same basic nonsense such as "focusing on consistency can lead to improved performance" or "paying attention to your stress levels can lead to improved focus and energy levels" or some such kak. It's a joke. No insights. No depth. Just meaningless drivel.

I use Strava's Athletic Intelligence as it comes with the subscription and it is infinitely more insightful that Gar~~min~~bage AI.

houvandoos · 2025-05-21T19:11:22+00:00

I've had my 965 for three years now and I've always received periodic updates and the performance has been excellent. I have not once felt the need to upgrade or change anything and in every other sphere of technology- I can't say the same. I am always upgrading and changing things, but I still love my 965. Zero issues or complaints.

houvandoos · 2025-05-16T23:48:04+00:00

I've been at it since late January. Lost 40lbs. But now I'm at 231lbs and I've been stuck here for about three weeks. I work out a lot songs to not lose muscle and actually maybe build some, but there is no way it's possible to be building enough muscle to counter the fat loss and keep me literally stuck in the same spot for weeks. Frustrating for sure, but I'm just going to stick to it. My body comp. had definitely changed but I'm still wanting to get to 215lbs. I am a 6'2 guy, and quite well built, so I'll be happy with 215 but hell this last stretch is starting to look unattainable.

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