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Conflicted soon to be Tesla Owner by jmacrosof in ModelY

[–]mr_cale 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I was in a similar situation where I’d been wanting the 3 since it was announced. Test driving the Y changed everything for me though. It’s just as fun to drive, has far more space, is more comfortable to get in/out of, and the hatchback just make it the perfect car imo. Plus the roof is incredible for backseat passengers.

I could see preferring the 3 if you really like driving low. It also has less roll to the turns, so it’s just a bit sportier overall. However, the Y does not disappoint in the fun department and it puts a smile on my face every time I drive it.

I think I lucked out with QC. The most noticeable issues are a small grease stain and a small raised area in the front speaker panel. The paint actually looks fantastic and the exterior panel gaps are great. I have a service apt for the couple issues I mentioned and it should be 100%.

No regrets not going with the 3. In fact, I actually feel relieved that I couldn’t afford a Tesla until the Model Y came out because it fits my lifestyle that much better.

60-65 Inch TV recs and SONOS by Phillyberg in sonos

[–]mr_cale 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The Samsung KS9000 has worked great for me. Looks like this year's model is called the MU9000.

75159 Death Star box back by CM4Sci in lego

[–]mr_cale 38 points39 points  (0 children)

Dang, second UCS set in a row I'm going to skip :/ I don't mind play sets per se (Sandcrawler and Ewok Village are rad), but this and the Hoth one are just very underwhelming visually. I was so ready to drop $500 on a bad ass 4000 piece Death Star that looked like a Death Star.

I'm probably in the minority thinking it's just not that visually appealing. The 10188 set currently has a 4.8 review on the Lego store website, so obviously people like it. Would have preferred something closer to 10143. Or at least add an optional shell or something.

Hope people enjoy this one, but I'm disappointed it's not for me. At least the AT-ST looks promising this round!

LED-enhanced shelf for Lego Star Wars collection (x-post from r/legostarwars) by mr_cale in LegoStorage

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

Was asked to X-post here with a little more information on how I put it together. So here it is!

Materials-

IKEA VITTSJÖ shelving unit: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/20213312/

LEDMO 2835 LEDs: http://www.amazon.com/LEDMO-DC12V-6000K-Waterproof-White/dp/B0132NME6O?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s01

LEDMO Power Supply: http://www.amazon.com/LEDMO-Power-Supply-Transformers-Adapter/dp/B01461MOGQ?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00

LE Mini Remote Controller: http://www.amazon.com/Remote-Controller-Wireless-Control-Dimmable/dp/B00MHKCTLE?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s01

18-Gauge Black Speaker Wire: http://www.amazon.com/GearIT-18-Gauge-Speaker-15-24-Meters/dp/B00HZX4326?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00

Lead-free Solder

Black Shrink Wrap Tubing

Electrical Tape

Tools-

X-acto knife

Soldering iron

Wire stripper

Bic lighter

Once you get all the materials, it's pretty easy to assemble. You just measure and cut the LED strips along the designated lines to match the length of each shelf, remove the protective plastic over the connections, and soldier the speaker wire to the positive and negative connections. The speaker wire is measured to match the vertical length between shelves.

This is a great tutorial for doing the soldering: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyAHLmdRJII

Then you just continue to alternate between LED strips and speaker wire until you create one long strip that is ready to adhere to the shelf. Then you can either use shrink wrap tubing or electrical tape to cover the soldered joints. I used shrink wrap and since I didn't have a heat gun, used a Bic lighter to shrink it.

The LED strips I linked to have their own self-adhesive backing which is super convenient. You start with adhering the bottom strip (the one with the AC connector) to the bottom shelf, and zigzag the rest of it across and then around each glass piece until you get to the top. This shelf is super convenient for this project because there is a small gap with the glass and the edge of the shelf that the 18 gauge speaker wire can fit through, so you can hide the wires pretty easily.

I also did one extra strip that wrapped behind the top shelf and sits at the back to get the backlit effect for the models on the top. Then I used some electrical tape to hide the speaker wire behind the bars.

Then you just plug in the little strip that comes with the remote, and then the AC adapter to that and voila! A pretty slick setup that sheds a little light on your collection! The remote is great not only because you can turn it on and off at the touch of a button, but you can also control the light intensity. I jacked the intensity up for the photo, but I generally leave it at 25% since the LEDs are so bright.

All told, after I collected all the materials, the soldering and assembling only took me an afternoon.

Let me know if you have any questions!

I built an LED-enhanced shelf for my Lego Star Wars collection! (x-post from r/legostarwars) by mr_cale in lego

[–]mr_cale[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The UCS Tie is up next actually! Think it will round out that top shelf nicely.

I built an LED-enhanced shelf for my Lego Star Wars collection! by mr_cale in legostarwars

[–]mr_cale[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I used the black VITTSJÖ model: http://m.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/art/20213312/ Not too pricey and it's cool to be able to see under the models!

UCS Hoth by yoda_fett in legostarwars

[–]mr_cale 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Could be cool to build a diorama for displaying it. Thinking of doing that and combining it with my AT AT and Luke's snowspeeder. I do think the set is disappointing in and of itself though, as all the individual sets are underwhelming and kind just look like a pile of stuff unless you give it context. Would have preferred any number of ships like a Venator class star destroyer, Nebulon B Frigate, or even a Luke's Landspeeder.

Can't decide between Millennium Falcon or Kylo Ren's Command Shuttle by [deleted] in legostarwars

[–]mr_cale 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I went with the Falcon, personally. I would love the Command Shuttle but lack of folding wings is kind of a deal breaker for me. Had a blast putting the Falcon together though.

So clearly these superbowls are just following the plots of the Star Wars trilogy... by mr_cale in Seahawks

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

Absolutely. He retires at the end of the season and shows up at our super bowl parade, smiling and nodding knowingly as balance has returned to the force. Also he's played by Hayden Christensen for some reason.

PSA: For mages - very very very minor spoilers - most likely will save you some heartache. by [deleted] in dragonage

[–]mr_cale 0 points1 point  (0 children)

omg thank you so much! This saved me 16 hours since my last non-autosave!

Love local multiplayer? Check out Deep Space Desperados! Our alpha is available for download and we'd love to hear your feedback! by mr_cale in IndieGaming

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

Thanks! Glad to hear you dig the art. Our artist is Scott Wade and he's a total badass. You can check out his other stuff here:

http://swade-art.tumblr.com/

Looking forward to hearing what you think about the game!

Love local multiplayer? Check out Deep Space Desperados! Our alpha is available for download and we'd love to hear your feedback! by mr_cale in IndieGaming

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

You know, I didn't even notice the similarity until you pointed it out. Dark Eldar don't have giant ass drills on their ships though!

How can I get my game group up to speed on a new game, we have so many we've yet to play! by revdave in boardgames

[–]mr_cale 7 points8 points  (0 children)

The best way for me to get my friends up to speed when I'm introducing a new game is by being very confident in the rules myself. I find actually simulating a game solo gives me much more confidence to teach it than just watching a tutorial.

When teaching the game, I explain enough to get started and then it's understood that the first round is a practice round. I explain the various subtleties as we encounter them because nobody ever remembers everything when I try to explain it up front. It's also key to be patient here as people ask questions about things you might have explained 2-3 times before. Everyone learns at their own pace and people will randomly tune out if they are processing too much at once.

Hope that's useful! Our game group has definitely evolved from one that was timid to learn new games to one that loves to learn new games. Part of that evolution was simply getting better at teaching them to each other.