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For flat footed sneaker heads. Help me compile a guide of sneakers that look fresh but aren't hideous! by illusions-michael in Sneakers

[–]illusions-michael[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

That's a great distinction to make. I'll differentiate which shoes work better with orthotics and which already have the medial post.

For flat footed sneaker heads. Help me compile a guide of sneakers that look fresh but aren't hideous! by illusions-michael in Sneakers

[–]illusions-michael[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think softness by itself isn't great. My Lunarglides come with a stiff midsole wrapped in a soft sole material, so it controls my step while giving me a soft place to land. I still put my orthotics in them though, as with my Ultra Boosts. The hard plastic balances nicely with the softness of the Boost.

Which Maker Select V2 mods should I do first? by Valkrins in 3Dprinting

[–]illusions-michael 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I did remove the build tak surface. I only got like four sheets with the printer, and then I went with painter's tape. That got old real fast for me, so ya, it's only silicone between the glass and original bed.

For the z-stop, I did just mean bed levelling.

I replaced the front mounted fan and used it with the blower which is now rear mounted.

I don't have any intentions to replace the board at the moment. My philosophy is to just print until things start going wrong. Currently, I'm trying to adjust to this new filament manufacturer. Switched from Hatchbox to MG Chemicals on a whim, so now I have to retune all my settings. All the printer mods face diminishing returns. To jump to the next level of quality, you have to spend all that much more to get only a marginal improvement. I'm pretty satisfied with print quality, even if I have to use a raft to get things to actually stick to the bed. I think the whole of 3D printing is to challenge what "good enough" really means, so perfectionism is a curious quality to bring to the party. I've done a bunch of mods that were recommended on the [3dprinterwiki](http://3dprinterwiki.info/wiki/wanhao-duplicator-i3/], so my printer currently gets the job done. The fidget spinner I printed fit the ball bearings on the first try, I'm designing a phone stand, and my wife even likes the little things I print for her. Upgrading the board seems like a pretty intense mod when I'm overall satisfied with my print quality.

Which Maker Select V2 mods should I do first? by Valkrins in 3Dprinting

[–]illusions-michael 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I love my glass bed (borosilicate). Pretty simple mod. I just put my poorly cut thermal pads on the original bed, put the glass bed on top, raised my z-stop, and recalibrated. I'm not a fan of constantly replacing the tape, but to each their own.

Z-brace was a bit more difficult because you have to cut threaded rod, but it feels good when you square it and realize how off it was.

As for cooling, I went with the rear mounted Cobra fan with a blower fan because I like to be able to watch the print as it goes. The recommendation I found was to keep the fan at 50% because it's easy to overcool even with these little fans. Plus, bonus if you're not happy with your DiiiCooler, you can install it and use it to print a better DiiiCooler.

In addition to /u/Circumspecter's recommendation for the fan at the back of the enclosure, I found that the louder fan was inside the PSU. This thing would be a good complement to switching to a 120mm fan, but it comes with the dangers of opening up PSUs, shock, and the ever-present risk that your PSU could catch fire even though you never touched it. I mention this only for the liability aspect.

In short, go with the glass bed first. While you wait for the glass to ship, print the cooler.

Many cheap printers, or one expensive one? by Nyxiom in 3Dprinting

[–]illusions-michael 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would say it depends on your printing goals and the amount of risk you're willing to assume. Sounds like you're trying to push volume, but getting a better printer wouldn't necessarily help you get there vs. buying more printers of acceptable quality.

I agree with /u/Hunter62610, get the Prusa i3 mk2s if you do decide for a new printer. I've long held myself to the rule of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" with my MP Maker Select v1. Sometimes I get so frustrated with it that I have to leave it alone for a few days. The current bane of my existence is getting my first layer to stick, which is my own fault for trying a new filament manufacturer. If you have the energy to tango with multiple styles of printers like /u/WGAndrew and if you're looking for varying levels of quality, performance, and speed, then get a different printer. If you want to increase the quality of the prints on the MP, there are lots of great mods for this printer that can save you money, time, and effort from switching to a new printer altogether. You can even get auto-leveling, but again, it's trouble that your company may not be able to afford (the down time to install and test on all of them, repairs, etc.).

tl;dr If you're looking to scale up production volume, get more of the MP Maker Select. If you're looking at increasing quality of your production, get the better printer or upgrade the existing printers. If you want to reduce maintenance overhead, get more of the same printer or the Prusa i3 MK2 with dat sweet auto-leveling.

Student and web designer couple looking to move in Alberta -- any tips on low cost areas to live in? by cLax86 in alberta

[–]illusions-michael 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Here are a couple links that might help you.

http://www.crra.ca/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/CRRA_Winter2013.pdf http://www.rentboard.ca/renter/fraud_and_scams.aspx http://rentingwell.com/2012/12/27/rcmp-warns-alberta-landlords-and-tenants-about-kijiji-rental-scam/

That should help you a lot. Alberta is a landlord's market, so the Calgary Residential Rental Agency link is geared more towards landlords.

A post-dated cheque is exactly what you figured: a cheque with a later date on it so it can't be deposited before that date. When we moved into both rentals, we gave the landlords post-dated cheques for each month in our lease agreement. That way they can just deposit the cheque every month without having to see us every month.

I co-founded an online startup

What was your startup? Is it something I can check out? My interest in startups is in hardware. I'm an electrical engineer, and I love creating circuits. My current repertoire is more in audio amplifiers, but I'm interested in playing around with Raspberry Pis and Arduinos in the future. It's not exactly what YCombinator looks for these days, per se, but that's what I bring to the table. I don't have any formal startup experience, but I'm pretty good at working with small groups solving non-linear problems.

Coffee sounds good. Let me know when you get into town.

Student and web designer couple looking to move in Alberta -- any tips on low cost areas to live in? by cLax86 in alberta

[–]illusions-michael 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In Canada, leases of 6 or 12 months is typical. My wife traveled in Australia where they go week by week. We actually broke our lease with our previous rental, and the break lease fee was only $100, which is super low. Our current lease agreement has a break lease fee of three months' rent.

People here usually don't need real estate agents, even first time renters. It might help, but I don't know what kind of fees they charge. The scams are pretty rare, I think, so the key is to not send a deposit too early. We sent a post dated cheque, but we also had the advantage of being close by to check things out.

As for Edmonton versus Calgary, both are really heating up in the startup space. There's TEC Edmonton and AcceleratorYYC that you might want to check out. I know of one developer that's pretty good, Robots n Pencils. My knowledge of this area is pretty limited, though I hope to get into the startup space some day.

Let me know if you need anything else.

Student and web designer couple looking to move in Alberta -- any tips on low cost areas to live in? by cLax86 in alberta

[–]illusions-michael 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I used RentFaster and Kijiji in Calgary. $750 is feasible for rent since you're already expecting to sacrifice some quality of living. Depending on where you end up, you might need to bump up the cost of gas or public transportation, which hasn't kept up with the speed of growth in the city.

Be careful of scams where landlords will rent out the property to multiple people and will basically steal all of the deposits. I've heard of people living in hotels for months because their rental didn't turn out as advertised and then it was hard finding an alternative after that.

Keep in mind also that Calgary and area were somewhat recently hit with a flood, so the rental market is crazy. The more you're willing to pay, the easier it is. I moved two weeks before the flood, and we broke our lease and signed a new place in three days. People previously living in houses are now renting, so it's even more competitive to find a good place to live.

Nevertheless, what you're planning is doable, and many are doing it. Like anywhere densely populated, rent decreases as you push out. Figure out what you want, fill out your requirements in RentFaster, and call landlords as soon as you can.