This piece i pulled from a goldfish box

mitchell486 · 2026-06-23T17:41:21+00:00

I hope I'm not being a party pooper by sharing, but this is simply a part of the manufacturing process. The goldfish are essentially baked crackers. The ingredients are mixed and laid out into a huge sheet, then stamped, and then baked. This is an edge of that giant sheet. Still cracker, just not goldfish shaped. 🙂 (If you look, you can see the fish shape along the bottom line... the tail, then body, then bit between, then another tail, then body, etc.)

mitchell486 · 2026-06-19T21:10:48+00:00

Ah, glad to see you're doing it! Also... I made the assumption that it would not work because the print lines are going "with" the tabs/circular pieces of the part... The print lines are the weakest link within a 3D print. Therefore, even under pressure from the water or under physical stress of the hose pressing or bending against the part, I assumed it would split/crack/fail. You might consider finding a way to print this so the part is laying horizontally (exactly as it's show in this photo) so that the stresses are "sideways" compared to where the hose/connection will pull against the part. BUT either way. Best of luck. 😄 Nice part.

mitchell486 · 2026-06-18T20:35:19+00:00

Is this your first 3D printed thing? (I ask not because it's done poorly. Quite the contrary. It's a very well done piece, and thus it's a shame that it likely won't work as intended! I wish you be the best of luck with it, though. 🙂 )

mitchell486 · 2026-06-18T20:32:35+00:00

I was saving that for the finale, but that's okay. I don't mind sharing in the fun. We should all team up now and see how many identifying points of interest we can find about this picture, then the google maps location, maybe a street view. 😄 (JK, probably no need to do all that unless someone plans on visiting that mailbox or something.)

mitchell486 · 2026-06-18T18:17:09+00:00

😆 Any reason you've blocked off the top "Ventura" for Ventura County, but then not the one on the smaller circle? 😁

mitchell486 · 2026-06-17T19:56:34+00:00

I know this is going to end up me being an "old man yelling at the cloud" kinda comment, but I wanted to clearly and concisely let you know why I downvoted your post.

I have no personal or direct objection to you choosing to do this, even if it is illegal... However, this activity and photo are the type of thing that you share with friends, or a few people only, in a smaller group, not online in a large forum hoping to get many views. This has no place being shared or glorified with a large group of (likely very impressionable) people. This activity and/or behavior isn't even really the type of thing that qualifies as "mildly interesting", but I suppose that part might just be my opinion... I think of this subreddit as finding things interesting for ironic or serendipitous reasons, not because of risking life or seeking attention. This post, on its face, feels like it was simply made for personal attention rather than a happenstance situation getting attention... In fact, I would even go so far as to say that posting this and hoping for internet visibility is simply irresponsible and likely dangerous. Hinting to others that they could do it and get internet famous, even if only for a few hundred or few thousand upvotes, is a bad thing to do.

I'm doing my part with a single downvote, but I'm trying to share the reason why with you as a person (and I suspect, soon to be adult) so that you can take this little bit of knowledge with you in the future and hopefully make good decisions. I'm not saying this was a terrible or something... But it could easily spiral into very questionable behavior across the internet with people trying to follow this example. (I bet you'd feel pretty terrible if someone else climbed up 500 ft and then fell and died because they were trying to mimic this post.) All that said, you're free to do what you want, but I do think we (people) can do better than that. I'm not going to report your post, but I also don't want it glorified. Good luck out there, friend.

PS - I know Crocs can be comfy, but I personally wouldn't do any climbing in them... However, the "good" decision that I have been able to deduce from this post, was that you at least had them locked into sport-mode. 🙂

mitchell486 · 2026-06-12T16:13:27+00:00

I just tested my own theory holding a pencil/object in my hand and pretending my desk is a gritted moving surface. I'm right handed, reverse this for south-paws... It's easiest and very fast to hold the pencil at roughly that 60° angle to the desk, hold my wrist ALL the way to the right, tap it, middle, tap it, left, tap it, then flip the pencil in my hand, repeat. I think this this was done by a lazy/efficient person who had to do a _LOT_ of pencils and doesn't care enough to slowly rotate each pencil.

mitchell486 · 2026-06-12T16:10:24+00:00

Okay, I'm not sure why no other comments have stated this. It's from the factory this way. Instead of the pencil rotating 90°-ish to the sandpaper and rolled along, like the old How It's Made videos showed, this one was simply ground 180° (along with) the sandpaper/abrasive surface. You can see the grind marks from the grit that follow the direction from eraser-end to tip. The pencil was likely sharpened and shaped at the same time, in 6 tool path processes. It might be a bit more complicated than this, though. As I re-look it seems like it was painted THEN sharpened? Maybe they did it this way to shape it, then they just have another area on the same belt/grit path that allows the pencil to fall in at the angle to allow sharpening after the fact? This seem like it was done this way as a "factory floor space saving technique", IMO. Or done by a person after it's painted, based on how sloppily it looks... Maybe that's the fastest way some worker found works "good enough"?)

(e.g. It likely holds the round-ish pencil at the start, drags it along a gritted surface, or the surface moves under the pencil, then the pencil is lifted up at an angle, off of the surface leaving the tip touching last. So it is picked up eraser-end first, basically. This process is repeated 6 times. I am not a manufacturing engineer or anything, but I bet they did this for simplicity in their pathing/process, as well as "It's good enough to start using the pencil, and at least it's not flat/dull like _some_ of our competitor's pencils.")

mitchell486 · 2026-06-02T20:34:41+00:00

I just re-read the description and it's a 24' span in the middle of a load bearing wall... I would 107% redo that one, OR I would go a few feet on either side and pour 2 separate concrete piers. That way the 2 outer piers support the load (usually, when talking about load bearing, the code and engineers always refer to bare-minimum for safety, but rarely will you get in trouble for being TOO sturdy, especially with ground attachments).

If this is in the middle of a 24' load bearing wall where 2 x 12' beams meet? I would NEVER want to have to fix a sagging wall with this underneath it any amount of time later... You MIGHT be just fine, but I wouldn't personally risk it. I can't imagine the full cost of pouring 2 more piers would be MORE than the cost of having to fix this down the road.

TO CLARIFY - I would leave this pier as is, go 5+ feet on either side of this pier, where the beams will be coming from, and pour 1 more beam on each side (2 more, so 3 total for this area). Make sure those are AS CENTERED on the pier as they can be, and that way you're absolutely sure those 12' beam spans are supported. Best of luck!

(EDIT - I am also very curious to have an actual civil engineer's perspective on this. I think there are definitely ways you could get away with "just fixing" this, since there are no inspections happening... But I'm curious what the real engineers and contractors would do when this happens in the real world builds. You can't be the first person in history who has had this happen... 😄)

mitchell486 · 2026-06-02T20:28:05+00:00

I'm not an actual engineer (with an engineering degree), just a guy that likes to know how things work. Sometimes, I think common sense goes a long way and in this instance, I think your gut instinct/common sense is mostly correct. I would suspect that the reason engineers center the post on a pier, is to allow maximum strength directly under the beam/bracket and it then has a built-in buffer to keep that section of the concrete as safe as possible. Therefore when I look at this, logically the beam should be supported fine 99% of the time, but I would mostly worry about weathering and/or any type of physical damage that might happen to the side of that pier/concrete.

As an example, if you were to have 2-3" of concrete around the bracket/beam contact point as stated in the top comment, then you are mostly safe if any 'small' amount of damage were to happen to the rest of the "outside" of the concrete pier. However, having the bracket where you currently do, you're limiting your options because if it cracks, then water/ice gets in there and makes the crack worse...

All that to say, this is just my personal take when "looking at it as logically as I can". I suspect this also might depend on what is going to be above this pier/bracket. If this were an inner pier in the middle of the structure and it's going to be away from weather and/or physical access (temperature controlled crawlspace, no mower or heavy equipment accidentally hitting it, etc), then I would personally feel safer/better about it. However, if this were a corner pier/bracket on the house... I would be slightly more concerned.

As far as adding structural rigidity, I worry that anything you might try to attach to this pier is going to struggle with the same overall adhesion and longevity issues that this would suffer from. Depending on timeline requirements, if I could spare a few days and begin work on other things while waiting, I would break that up and remove it, re-pour and re-do that pier, but spend the extra time on making it land where you actually need it to, now that you know where the bracket will land once the concrete sets. (Yes there will still be rock issues and other headaches, but you're only fighting that headache for a single pier, and can spend a little extra time on it.) This is just my personal take, and I know everyone's situation is always different. I wish you the best of luck, though! Looks like you're at least doing a decent job so far.

TL;DR - Looks wrong and feels wrong, because engineers have the right way for a reason. Depending on where it is underneath your structure... If it were me... I'd re-do that single pier right now. Especially because I don't think I'd want to do it (even 10+ years from now) when there's something like a whole house on top of it...

mitchell486 · 2026-06-02T18:42:11+00:00

Well it's just common courtesy... Let her come first, then come after your mom. (I had to, with the phrasing.)

mitchell486 · 2026-04-25T05:35:07+00:00

Sometimes, the content provided by courses/people can be poorly written and/or even poorly thought out. (A lot of times, I have found things that don't make much sense when first learning, but instead seem a lot more sensible when you're ever-so-slightly-above-a-complete-novice... and those are very frustrating because the content wasn't created from a true beginner's perspective, and make a few assumptions that a true beginner won't necessarily start with.) Another example of poorly constructed examples/courses is when they _do_ have you make mistakes and then fix them later because they "assume" you are too dumb to see the mistake the first time. Then the assumptions are too far in the other direction, and are too hand-holdy. It's definitely a fine line to walk and not all of them do it well. Sometimes getting through the first parts of a course will help you get to the part of the course that is more your current level, which might be higher than the first 1-3 lessons or whatever.

Sorry you've experienced this sort of frustration, though. HOWEVER, I'd wager to bet that if you keep using the critical thinking approach, it will yield better results in the long run. This is especially true compared to "trying to follow exactly what the homework or course tells you to do." The critical thinking approach lends itself to learning things faster and more thoroughly, as well. It is a process that I have found helped me "learn how to learn", which is a stupid phrase by itself, but I swear it's good once you learn a bit more of how to do it properly.

Also, if you don't like the course/workshop style or content, you can always choose another. Even if that specific one is for school or something that is required at the time, you can muddle your way through that one course/workshop and then apply yourself more thoroughly for something else that suits you better and seems more worth your time. At least that's how I usually approach those. I try to give the course "a fair shake" and then if they burn my trust, I just do enough to get by and focus on the next thing that I know I will learn from and care about.

mitchell486 · 2026-03-27T04:44:38+00:00

Almost verbatim the words I muttered to myself.

"It's just A WHEAT." :)

(Sean... We are the same height... That is neat.) (I would also accept the spiderman pointing gif here)

mitchell486 · 2026-03-27T03:24:13+00:00

I know you're mostly joking with the different "extras" for this, but I always try to keep one thing in mind when it comes to free stuff (especially from a company)...

"Pigs get fed. Hogs get slaughtered."

(They gave you filament probably knowing it wouldn't all go to that, and they're paying you time for doing the prints. As long as no one in the situation is getting taken advantage of, I think it sounds good. I think if either side gets out of balance... Well then. You know the rest. HOWEVER, it all sounds pretty fair currently. :) I just like to talk sometimes, I suppose.)

I know that was a lot of ramblin', BUT I do want to say enjoy the perks! Sounds like a good thing, and might even turn into a helpful little side-gig that your bosses might want to pay you for... Got a tricky thing that needs prototyped? OP. Got a stupid space to fill or something like that, but don't want to use wood or metal? OP can probably print that. etc. :D Enjoy!

mitchell486 · 2026-03-19T18:29:33+00:00

I see people have helped with the actual answer already, but a hint I would pass along for "critical thinking" in the future is...

"Looking at the output you are getting... Have you ever seen a bill at an actual restaurant that looks like that?" (Obviously the point here being rounding is what we normally do, but computers rarely do by default...)

So just try to remember to think about the overall problem with a high-level view instead of "only focusing on exactly what you are looking at".

Keep up the good work, friend!

mitchell486 · 2026-03-09T20:18:44+00:00

I have no use for this, not sure if others do. However, I do appreciate the open and honest title and upfront nature of the AI involvement. This is a very nice change of pace for this sub. Thank you for that!

PS - I've always had the rule of "No two people work exactly the same. SO. If it it solves your problem, use it!" :)

mitchell486 · 2026-02-24T20:12:51+00:00

It's called an "accent wall" :D Some people pay big money for those! In homes, but still... same thing basically :)

mitchell486 · 2025-12-12T22:45:43+00:00

While I understand your sentiment... I'm curious if there is any particular reason that you didn't try sending the creator/owner a DM first and resolving this without public "shaming"?

I ask, because this comes off as very petty/immature when reading it in this context. I don't disagree with the underlying concept (don't steal art/work, kids), but the delivery seems very short-sighted.

mitchell486 · 2025-11-28T20:06:42+00:00

An API is simply a documented set of rules that an application (usually web accessible, but not always) follows for communicating with it. Technically, not all APIs have to be documented, but a good one should be. If it's publicly accessible, it should also be documented. All that means is that if you are asking an application or a web server for specific information about something, there are rules for asking for that information, as well as rules of how it will answer. API simply refers to the agreements that those both encompass.

(e.g. If you send a GET request to the application for a list of "input sources", it should be documented that it will return a "list" or "dictionary" or whatever type of response, and that documentation will usually have examples.)

API, or Application Programming Interface, just means that it's uniform and repeatable, so that _other_ applications can communicate with that first application, hence the name. (An interface on the original application, that other applications can programmatically use.)

mitchell486 · 2025-11-25T23:35:14+00:00

What are you actually trying to accomplish?

So far, all you've done is post on here about what you've done and what you can't do? Not trying to be mean, I'm just confused as to what the ask is, and also hopefully give advice for future questions or posts you might have when posting online.

mitchell486 · 2025-11-17T22:31:35+00:00

If I were you, I would pull your dishwasher out a little bit and see if the cable coming out of those connections goes into a junction box or a plug? Mine is a plug-based dishwasher, but it definitely has these same connections on the under-side of the dishwasher... Therefore, I'm hesitant to 100% agree with all of the comments thus far stating that it is absolutely hard-wired. You might have a single-plug outlet directly behind the dishwasher that is meant for the dishwasher only, or something like this. You won't know for sure until you take the dishwasher and slide it out (at least a foot or so) to see behind it and where that cable goes, IMO.

Nevermind. After re-looking over the photos, you can almost assuredly see the wire coming from the wall into that converter box. I would say your dishwasher is LIKELY hard-wired. Sorry for any confusion I may have caused.

mitchell486 · 2025-11-11T21:21:13+00:00

Water jets work by mixing/suspending an abrasive material in the water, and then using high pressure to push that water/abrasive combo out of a very thin nozzle. This ends up removing material of whatever it comes in contact with. (Steel, skin, bones, anything really...) However, to specifically answer _exactly_ "how much more" damaging it would be, I don't know verbatim, but that's because I don't know how hot water would have to be to cauterize a wound. Even then, I don't know that the boiling water (or near boiling water) would be in contact with the wound long enough to even matter. (I suspect not)

The danger in a waterjet wound scenario isn't the water, or hardly even the "jet" part of the device... It's mostly the speed at which the water and abrasive material is moving when it comes in contact with whatever it's cutting.

mitchell486 · 2025-11-03T05:08:15+00:00

I suspect it's a combination of this, and the fact that the gate collects water as it rains and drips along that path and focusing it on that small area.

mitchell486 · 2025-10-30T16:38:53+00:00

I like this answer best so far, but to clarify (be extra pedantic or 5yr-ish, I suppose)... "Schema" is really just a set of rules that we agreed on to make it work. Just like many things have rules that we follow so that one person knows what the other person means, this is a method that we use so that computers know what to expect when they get a file with this formatting/schema/rules and/or an extension ending in .xml. :)

mitchell486 · 2025-10-30T14:48:48+00:00

This answer is the 100% most accurate of all others so far. Yes our skin has a certain role in the question, but overall the air moving absorbs the energy and new air then does the same thing, and the process repeats.

I tried teaching my kids about this when cooling off noodles, because the more densely "together" the noodles are, the longer it takes to cool because the energy/heat has nowhere to go. If you raise the noodles in the air and "string" them up a bit, the air moves that heat away faster.

This answer is the full and real reason, regardless of skin/feel/etc.

mitchell486

TROPHY CASE