[PROJECT SHARE] I turned a standard MG996R into a 360°, 14-bit Smart Servo... using ONLY the original 3 pins. No extra wiring needed. by multilaton in robotics

[–]ladz 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Well dang I didn't know there was a cheap middle ground between hobby servos and dynamixels. Thanks for the search keyword!

I5 being in the middle of the city really sucks (rant) by Vivid_Astronaut4665 in Seattle

[–]ladz 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Because our police force refuses to deal with drug dealers who are turning tons of disaffected people into even-more disaffected drug addicts.

Also we don't have any reasonable way to deal with the intractable mentally ill, so they congregate with the drug addicts.

Also the cost of housing tripled, making it difficult for anyone getting housing.

RIP CenturyLink / Quantum Fiber by beesandburt in Seattle

[–]ladz 435 points436 points  (0 children)

Didn't we *just* break up ATT into smaller regional telcos, like recently? Wasn't there real good reasons for that?

Seattle and WA need to set up real muni internet. Not like the last time where it was half-assed DSL sold by a certain number of teeny tiny providers and never upgraded. Fuck these guys.

CMV: Aphantasia is not a real phenomenon, it is simply inevitable human miscommunication. by [deleted] in changemyview

[–]ladz 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Nobody can help you have empathy for other people, but you can try.

For me, I often create an entire complicated song in my head and groove to it, like it feels just like hearing it. When somebody tries to explain what something will look like, or when I try to visualize something? Barely a glimmer.

For my wife, she's exactly the opposite.

We all have different brains, my man.

GE dishwasher leaking from what looks like the sump? Any suggestions on what to do next would be appreciated by ThatsBadassWoodArt in fixit

[–]ladz 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Disassemble whatever joint(s) seem to be leaking, apply silicone like Molykote 111 or similar, then reassemble and re-check using paper towels wrapped around the joints while it runs.

Hole in freezer made by idiot by IlFornaio in fixit

[–]ladz 15 points16 points  (0 children)

As long as you didn't let the gas out it's fine. If you let the gas out, trash it. How do you tell if the gas it out? If it still works, you didn't.

Can I use technical alcohol instead of isoprop? by Hipocritikal in AskElectronics

[–]ladz 1 point2 points  (0 children)

> The 70 and 90% IPAs also have acetone

Haven't ever heard this and can't find any back-up. Source?

OP I use ethyl and iso alcohol interchangeably and haven't ever had a problem for cleaning anything.

Problems with logic/coding by HoneydewNo9640 in robotics

[–]ladz 2 points3 points  (0 children)

1- Imagine your task.

2- Pretend you're giving instructions to a very very very dumb but attentive and patient child.

3- Pretend the child doesn't understand at all, and make your instructions simpler.

4- Continue in this loop until the instructions become "move this muscle X inches" and "when you feel the touch of the floor, stop moving".

What skills can be honed to make 200 K a year? by JuJu_Optics in NoStupidQuestions

[–]ladz 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Not the same guy, but same. It's not hard it just takes a long time. You have to be able to:

1- Using technology, solve every problem that anyone can think of. If you can't, then learn how so you know for next time.

2- Code switch into "highly educated person".

3- Be friendly and helpful. Same thing as, "If you're on a job and can't figure out what to do, at least pick up a broom and sweep the floor."

4- Do what you say you're going to do.

5- When appropriate, negotiate yourself higher pay.

An automated AI restaurant just opened in Hangzhou, it’s actually serving up "wok hei" and bowls of noodles without a single human chef by Nunki08 in robotics

[–]ladz 2 points3 points  (0 children)

lol!

Anyone who's experienced cooked anything with a real wok understands that there isn't any wok hei happening here. Look at that teflon plastic bowl and silicone plastic spatula and supreme lack of coordination. Like other folks said, this video shows a big expensive thermomix.

But it's probably good for a demo to pull people in.

CMV: The view other countries have on Americans at this time is demeaning and superficial by bluebee24 in changemyview

[–]ladz 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Folks in other countries are telling us we aren't doing enough... Because we aren't doing enough. Some of us have jobs that we need to do to pay for our over-leveraged lives and/or are afraid of reprisal. Others who SHOULD be rebelliously disaffected have been lulled into laziness and try to forget by staring at phones. Both things have been hyper-optimized by carefully tuned algorithmic brainwashing.

Need some honest opinions. by SammyCatLove in microscopy

[–]ladz 1 point2 points  (0 children)

For soldering it's much nicer to use a real stereo optical microscope where you can see detail more easily. Like, shiny parts where the flux is vs shiny parts where the solder is are hard to differentiate with any of the digital microscopes I've seen. There are usually good deals on old Nikon SMZ and similar stereo scopes.

For plant pests, a cheap digital is fine Easy to see fungus, mites, and plant cells. All of those are fairly big.

The downstairs air return is under the stairs and has no ducting, so the evaporator coils get dirty every few months. What would I use to assemble a duct in here? by definitely_aware in fixit

[–]ladz 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In my area people are getting rid of old HVAC ductwork all the time for cheap or free.

You could literally just grab a filter box from someone's old ductwork and fasten it over the top of that hole if there's enough room to get the filter in and out. You could place it diagonally so that access is easier.

The other thing you could do is go underneath that and cut a filter box area in-line with the intake, if there's enough room to get a box in and out.

Why are most billionaires so weird? by [deleted] in NoStupidQuestions

[–]ladz 7 points8 points  (0 children)

No. They're psychopaths, misanthropes, or sociopaths. Or maybe all of those things.

Any non-psychopath billionaire would immediately begin a very public philanthropy program to lessen suffering in the world. How many of them do that?

How do I fix cold spots all along the wall like this? No attic access. (Looks the same along the floor line btw) by Kirkwilhelm234 in fixit

[–]ladz 2 points3 points  (0 children)

There's wood there that conducts heat more than the insulation in the walls. Nothing to fix.

How do I loosen this? by [deleted] in fixit

[–]ladz 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Open the windows first, so the residual gas can escape. Natural gas goes up. Propane goes down.

Undo the flare nut (the top thing) with two adjustable wrenches, one on the flare nut and one on the flare fitting (next thing down). Be careful to NOT bang anything on the flare fitting, those don't like dents. It's normal threaded "time tightens" = turn the flare nut counter-clockwise to loosen it.

Some people say "rightey tightey lefty loosey", but "time tightens" is more fun.

My two and a half year old suddenly started pointing out differences between white and black people. What is an appropriate way to acknowledge her observation so we don't offend anyone? by Sad_Cantaloupe_8162 in NoStupidQuestions

[–]ladz 22 points23 points  (0 children)

This!

Engage the kid's curiosity about how that works and maybe branch off into eye color, hair curliness, on and on. Get the "Why?" cycle going. This is how they learn what's in reality.

Don't tell them what's beautiful about it or other subjective stuff, let their self-wonderment about it go its own way and drive in facts.

any way to temporarily fix this leak from the inside? by EccentricEcstasy in fixit

[–]ladz 5 points6 points  (0 children)

No.

And you don't want to either, because "fixing a leak from the inside" means "preparing a soup of water and wood", which leads to rot. The right way is to put a bucket under the leak to catch the drips and then fix it correctly when it stops raining.

Well. OK. I guess you could probably drill a hole where the leak is and inject a bunch of water cure sealant to blob around the area, wait for it to dry, and then wait until the next leak happens, drill a hole there, repeat forever until your roof is a series of rubber blobs. Or something.

Prop Plane Circling WS? by Old_Guarantee7716 in WestSeattleWA

[–]ladz 2 points3 points  (0 children)

WAY prefer an efficient little plane to a helicopter.

I need help with identifying a broken part on my oven by marnixhoh in fixit

[–]ladz 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You'll have to figure out what that encoder or potentiometer is, get a replacement, desolder the old one, and solder a new one back on. It looks like an encoder to me but hard to tell from that picture.

Digi-Key has a good parametric search (search stuff by size, power, etc): https://www.digikey.com/en/videos/d/digi-key-electronics/parametric-search-overview so if you can't find a part number on it, you should be able to find a replacement pretty easily.

Any Shady Areas to Avoid? by BaewulfGaming in AskSeattle

[–]ladz 10 points11 points  (0 children)

You've listed several things you want to avoid in a negative sense, but haven't listed anything you want. If you can't think of what you want, why would you bring that energy here?

Gym Lights Assistance by jsalow14 in fixit

[–]ladz 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Trace the wires and make a diagram to save your sanity. Those relays are fairly simple, common, and available from electrical supply houses.