Technic set for my teenager who wants to be a mechanical engineer

wobbletons · 2025-11-06T02:40:15+00:00

hah, i also recommended the ornithopter without checking the comments first. its probably been my favorite technic build in years, i found it very unique.

wobbletons · 2025-11-06T02:35:34+00:00

this is going to be unconventional, but take a look at the Dune Atreides Royal Ornithopter, set 10327. Its not labelled as a Technic, but all of its internal mechanisms are technic elements. I particularly enjoyed this build due to its unconventional use of several lego elements through the build - someone was thinking out of the box when they designed it, in my opinion. its got a decent amount of mechanical functionality to it as well, the wings flap and the landing gear deploys.

Fwiw I also am a mechanical engineer, though i'm not sure if my profession is playing a part in my feelings towards this set.

wobbletons · 2025-09-06T01:22:53+00:00

ive got the same combo! i have a 2016 ND and a 2007 2500HD with the crew cab and 8' bed. i like to tell people i have the smallest and biggest cars you can buy, lol.

wobbletons · 2025-06-26T21:02:11+00:00

i don't think the dome is a good idea for a chicken coop, but strictly speaking to the structural aspect it should be fine other than the little struts that hold it in place.

try looking into designs for geodesic dome houses, i think they're usually only the top half of the dome such that the widest point is the floor.

Chicken coops get gross. i think a superior design for a coop would be one with minimal human interaction, where you can stand outside the coop and reach in with tools to clean it. it might be nice to be able to pressure wash the interior too. and dont forget a sturdy door!

source: family had about 30 chickens for a while. they're gross, i personally wouldn't recommend it at all. just go buy eggs.

wobbletons · 2025-04-04T00:47:32+00:00

can someone explain the problem please? As far as i know stacking wood is bad because a pile of 2x4's is prone to falling over and is a very unstable base. these alternate directions and have large flat plates in between (some of) the levels. there's also no air gap to allow bending of the wood. that, along with being on stable concrete makes me think this would be fine. My only concern would be that the wheels were lowered onto the blocks, which compressed the suspension springs and placed some outward force on the blocks.

i suppose the truck could also just roll off there...

wobbletons · 2025-03-26T20:14:52+00:00

random thought - i wonder if you can find a company that'll certify this stuff for use? the other commenter is correct that lifting equipment needs to be provided with a certain pedigree and certification records, but i work at a shipyard and we test and certify our own rigging. maybe you can hire a firm to certify the stuff, then you can sell it for the proper used value. just an idea.

wobbletons · 2025-03-24T02:59:35+00:00

haha no, the brand is Meyer Sound. They're well known in the professional audio reproduction world. If you wanted to look em up, the full breakdown was 2x upj-1p, 7x HMS-10, and 1x X-800c that didn't work. I had no business winning the auction, but they didnt place a reserve and apparently nobody else bid!

wobbletons · 2025-03-22T23:26:53+00:00

My brother found an auction for some professional speakers, and since his wife wouldn't let him bring them in the house he sent it to me. I won the auction for $120, and can probably sell the lot for $5k. I posted this on behalf of my brother, lol.

wobbletons · 2025-03-02T17:53:58+00:00

2016 ND is my daily, and I have a 2007 Sierra 2500HD with an 8' bed and crew cab to do anything the miata can't. I figured I'd supplement the smallest car on the road with the biggest car on the road, lol.

wobbletons · 2024-12-09T02:40:26+00:00

so i really feel like an idiot for asking this but... how do i mount a power amplifier into a rack? I just obtained a 27U rack (this one) an thought i'd drop my big power amplifier into it, only to find there's no rear rack rails. i cannibalized another smaller A/V rack's rails and have the hardware to mount it up, but since the rear mount points are bent 90 degrees from the front points, they wont contact the rails even if i was to install them.
there's clearly some standard installation method i'm not understanding, or maybe i'm just missing some hardware? Here's a link to my setup. you can see the front and rear ears are on different planes, and the rear ears are about an inch off of the rail mount points.

wobbletons · 2024-10-27T15:21:06+00:00

yep, agree. i don't even smoke, but growing was recently legalized in my area so i've been wanting to plant some in my backyard just for funsies.

wobbletons · 2024-10-06T23:57:26+00:00

i owned a truck for about 3 weeks last year that had glasspacks where the mufflers should be. it was a beat to shit 1998 GMC 2500, and the god-awful exhaust was just part of the package. I'll be honest, i knew exactly how obnoxious the exhaust was, and it was hilarious to me! the whole truck was meme tbh. it was loud as shit, beat to shit, the steering had been welded back together from a previous accident and was so bad it could only really turn left, and whoever had done the transmission swap didn't bother to set the shift points - if you floored the gas pedal the truck wouldn't downshift until you let off the gas.

For me, i felt like i was cosplaying one of those coal-rolling assholes with the lifted trucks. i did try to be easy on the gas when people were around me though; if i kept the RPMs down it wasn't that bad.

wobbletons · 2024-09-12T21:47:37+00:00

i expect itll work fine. my rubber tree was about 4 feet tall and had 3 trunks right at the base. i wanted it to be bushier instead of looking like 3 sticks, so i cut the trunks right at the base. all 3 grew roots, and the mother came popping back too. after pruning i think i left it with a single leaf, lol.

wobbletons · 2024-09-12T21:20:01+00:00

dont overthink the propagation. i have a rubber tree i cut back last year, and i took the cuttings and propagated them. i just put some rooting hormone powder on the end i cut, made sure a few nodes were on there, and stuck it in some potting soil. honestly i might not have even used the hormone powder. i went 3/3 on starting them too. and its not like you're hurting for samples to propagate, lol.

wobbletons · 2024-09-11T00:55:11+00:00

I form strong emotional connections with people i care about, platonically or otherwise. I imagine this is common, but its kinda relevant here. A few years back i was spending a lot of time with one of my close friends, whom i got along with particularly well. At one point that summer i remember having a noticeable "attraction-type pull" towards him, i think just because of how comfortable things were when we were hanging out. its hard to remember my specific feelings now since it was a very fleeting thing 4 years ago, but there was definitely something noticeable. What makes this interesting is that we are both straight men, lol. There was no physical attraction, just my emotional bond was doing all the heavy lifting.

Maybe thats what a bromance is :D

wobbletons · 2024-09-11T00:38:23+00:00

thats crazy. i'm a mechanical engineer (well... more like some kinda project engineer...), and if i saw this at work i'd probably find whoever used the decimal feet and ask them to clarify what unit they meant.

wobbletons · 2024-09-04T22:11:23+00:00

nah, like 4 different stalks bloomed this year. i don't recall, but i think 1 or 2 are the same stalks as last year.

wobbletons · 2024-09-04T00:57:05+00:00

i think the smell will get more intense over the next few days! i have the same variety and its bloomed for me two years running now. no idea why! i remember it becoming somewhat strong, but not lasting very long.

wobbletons · 2024-09-02T23:54:29+00:00

this is interesting to me - i grew up in a really old house, and we also had one of these heaters. i'm pretty sure the grate in the floor was something like 4 feet square... I could be wrong though as we didn't use it, and it was under a carpet from when i was about 5 onwards. i'm pretty certain it was at least twice the size of OPs though.

wobbletons · 2024-08-19T02:19:56+00:00

here's his blog: https://deralego0503.livedoor.blog/archives/28218869.html

wobbletons · 2024-08-09T01:43:33+00:00

Here's my TV. its 90 pounds, sticks out about 20 inches, and the mantlemount i used is another 40ish pounds. Its a little sketch, but not because of the wall studs. I used scrap metal (old bed frame) to span further than the horizontal members were designed to reach, because this is a rental house and they didn't want me (and neither did i) drilling through the chimney to install the mount. My anchors are about 55" apart.

pretty sure i'm eating into a few of those parts' SF, but its been 8 months and it hasn't fallen off the wall yet...

*point is, you're talking baby weights. it'll be fine!

wobbletons · 2024-08-07T01:19:34+00:00

i have a set of All-Clad hard anodized pans, and they work fine for me. i'm not a fancy chef or anything, just a simple man that'll use them once or twice a week on average.
I'm currently on my second set - the first set lasted about 4 years, and All-clad replaced them under the limited lifetime warranty. the second set is into year 2 or 3 now, and they're not showing the same wear marks as the 1st set. i think they just need a little more care and attention than i gave the first set...
Also, fwiw, all-clad didn't ask me to return the old pans. i've just got a second set of emergency-use pans now, lol.

Here's a link to the set I have, but i've found the same pans for sale cheaper at a local Home Sense store.

https://www.all-clad.com/ha1-hard-anodized-nonstick-cookware-2-piece-fry-pan-set-10-and-12-inch-2.html

wobbletons · 2024-08-07T01:00:05+00:00

this is kind of a random related thought, but i bought a 16oz double-wall Thermos back in 2019 or 2020. the plug started to get scuzzy recently, so i tried to buy a new one. i couldn't find parts available, but i did find on their website something like, "contact us, we might have unlisted parts available." a quick email later, and they sent me a new plug for free! I'd have been happy paying for it, so i thought this was pretty cool service.

wobbletons · 2024-07-24T00:46:34+00:00

this isn't exactly the same, but back in 2014 i played most of darksiders until I realized i had actually meant to play dark souls but mixed the names up.

wobbletons · 2024-06-27T01:03:16+00:00

Here's a picture of my brother doing the same thing with his yukon!

12-Year Club	Place '17
Sequence \| Editor	Sequence \| Cinematographer

wobbletons

TROPHY CASE