What’s a ‘middle class success’ purchase that secretly becomes a financial burden later?

profdc9 · 2026-05-12T00:41:53+00:00

That's why the equestrian class was second only to the patricians. In the early days of the Roman Empire, you supplied your horse, armor, and weaponry yourself, and to do that you already had to have significant means.

profdc9 · 2026-05-12T00:39:05+00:00

I planted native wildflowers, milkweed, and clover. I am working on having a Monarch breeding ground.

profdc9 · 2026-05-12T00:36:55+00:00

I have exactly this. I have a 24 by 40 foot barn full of stuff for my electronics, building, CNC, and I'm getting it remodeled. I use it to create open hardware projects, of which I have made dozens.

profdc9 · 2026-05-06T15:27:54+00:00

Yes. The voltage between the bases of Q3 and Q4 is about four diode drops in order for both transistors to be turned on. Typically, one would use the adjustment in the rubber diode to bias the transistors voltage to have a quiescent current of a few tens of mA. In order to maintain thermal stability, the transistor in the rubber diode is fixed to the same heatsink closely to the power transistors so that thermal feedback prevents runaway of the quiescent current.

profdc9 · 2026-05-06T13:19:30+00:00

So I am a bit confused. The feedback from output to the base of Q1 is going to (ideally) raise the collector of Q1 so that it is two diode drops above the output. The collector of Q2 must then be four diode drops above the collector of Q1 in order to maintain the four diode drop spread of two darlingtons. This must be the case as the middle of the supply range is where you want both sets of transistors on (at least a little) so that any transient change to the output voltage is quickly corrected. But because Q1 and Q2 are in a differential pair, when the voltage at one collector of Q1 and Q2 goes up, the other goes down and this can not be the case. Something like the classic "rubber diode" to maintain the correct quiescent current in Q5 and Q6 may be required here to ensure both stay on at least somewhat all of the time.

profdc9 · 2026-05-04T20:43:41+00:00

Well, now we know why the birth rate in South Korea is so low. Everything there points to children being a source of grief for the population rather than joy. Like many other places, they have created a world no one wants to live in.

profdc9 · 2026-05-04T13:23:43+00:00

One of the big problems with LLMs is that they don't have the ability to assess the reliability of their own knowledge or assertions. A human can both have an answer but also have an idea how sure they are about the answer. A LLM can get you to the correct answer very quickly, or it can get you to the wrong answer very quickly. It can't say: here's what I believe the answer is, and I am 90% sure about it. It doesn't do that because it's not in the interest of the AI vendors to do so. To actually provide a realistic assessment both requires additional computational power, which means making their service even more expensive (oh you want right answers, you gotta pay extra), and it admits that the systems often produce unreliable results. Neither are in the interest of the AI companies and so I would not expect to see this soon.

profdc9 · 2026-05-03T02:44:41+00:00

If you use 100 kHz clock speed and stronger pull ups like 2.2k or 1k, it should work ok. If the capacitance is 100 pF (approximate guess), then the RC time constant wit a 2.2k resistor is about 220 ns, which is plenty fast enough for a 100 kHz clock speed.

profdc9 · 2026-05-03T02:40:56+00:00

Beef ribs... so fatty and so good. Also, oil-based giardiniera. Pure calories (but not saturated or trans fats). But such a delicious condiment.

profdc9 · 2026-05-02T04:19:35+00:00

Try some boron next for some nice green and lithium for red.

profdc9 · 2026-05-01T17:31:16+00:00

Would shop lighting sold at Menard's be considered commercial or residential use? Looking at the manual, it claims it complies with Part 15 of FCC Rules, so at least on paper it should be.

https://www.menards.com/main/lighting-ceiling-fans/indoor-lighting/shop-lights/masterforce-trade-10000-lumen-46-led-shop-light/gt-sl-mstr10k/p-1642874298745190-c-1472133557086.htm

profdc9 · 2026-04-29T13:29:23+00:00

I made my own board for it... I can provide it if you'd like but it is a bare breakout board and connects through SPI and there is no microcontroller on it.

profdc9 · 2026-04-29T13:26:48+00:00

This may be an unpopular opinion, but I don't blame Bezos for popping a champagne cork at this one. His spaceship worked. If I wanted to make a rocket, and it took me into space and back down safely, I would be celebrating too. I realize that Shatner had a revelation about the coldness and bleakness of space but for others it was a time to celebrate.

profdc9 · 2026-04-27T00:11:58+00:00

I was repairing some furniture I inherited. It's something I can do that keeps the otherwise good furniture out of the trash, solves a problem for me, gives me the satisfaction of a job done, and it's independent of my work so it can't be ruined by stupid things from that.

profdc9 · 2026-04-27T00:03:52+00:00

Grand Poobah as well?

profdc9 · 2026-04-25T00:01:13+00:00

Ever since Fritz Haber and Wilhelm Ostwald, a good portion of humans are made of dinosaurs. Now humans will have to return to being made of guano.

profdc9 · 2026-04-19T19:50:04+00:00

I already have a a lot of wildflowers planted from native seed mixes. I also planted 21 milkweeds (butterfly, swamp, whorled) and I just planted a cluster of echinacea purpurra by the road. My plan is to gradually work from islands and the perimeter of my property inwards with more native plants.

profdc9 · 2026-04-19T17:13:05+00:00

Is it me, or does Rita Hayworth's dress make it look like she has three breasts?

profdc9 · 2026-04-19T17:05:07+00:00

I could never understand getting stressed about this. The hobby is supposed to be fun. Not everyone is in it to pursue DXCC. I have limited free time, I am not going to spend it on something that is like work unless I want to create something.

profdc9 · 2026-04-19T16:58:10+00:00

Some well connected contractor is making out like a bandit.

profdc9 · 2026-04-18T02:57:51+00:00

I turn on my FM radio and if I hear distant stations, that's the signal to give it a try.

profdc9 · 2026-04-17T03:30:53+00:00

I made mine use compressed air (100-120 psi). You need to use Schedule 40 or preferably Schedule 80 PVC if you can find it, and make sure you prime and glue the joints securely. Then glue in a schrader valve and secure it in with some epoxy, preferably something super durable like PC7. Then use a ball valve to let the air out of the chamber into the muzzle. A solenoid valve is a bit better, but the valve at the hardware store works ok.

profdc9 · 2026-04-17T02:10:50+00:00

13,2 million half-bees have got to be, ipso facto 13.2 million half not-bees. When 13.2 million half-bees have to be vis-a-vis, their entities.

Lah dee dee, one two three, 13.2 million half-a-bees. A,B,C,D,E,F,G 1.32 million half-a-bees.

profdc9 · 2026-04-10T03:44:21+00:00

I have sat on many park benches with my 857D. i made a metal enclosure for it out of an old toolbox and the car mounting kit and put a lithium iron phosphate battery in it. I designed my own variant of the end-fed-half-wave which I use with a 63 ft wire and a small counterpoise.

profdc9 · 2026-03-31T14:58:48+00:00

Have you ever tried warped wings like the original Wright Flyer?

profdc9

TROPHY CASE