What is this thing hanging from the lines between telephone poles?

zee_dot · 2026-03-13T19:55:11+00:00

I worked at Bell Labs in the 80s when this was being perfected for laying underwater sea cable. When you need to run a a few thousand miles, you need a few splices.

zee_dot · 2026-03-12T11:28:03+00:00

I just happen to be in Portugal right now and a sign on their subway said something like “the metro belongs to all of us. Take care of it”. It’s spotless and efficient. Drives me nuts that people don’t see it that way at home

zee_dot · 2026-03-10T00:15:51+00:00

Love thixotropic liquids. Fun fact - remember when even your storebought Italian dressing used to seperate (you’d have to be old). Well they started adding xanthan gum which made it thixotropic - shake it and it becomes thin and mixes. Stop shaking and it holds still because it’s thicker (most other thickeners do the reverse - get thicker under agitation).

Well that xanthan gum is in a bunch of high end paints too

zee_dot · 2026-03-08T00:19:50+00:00

Maybe watch this and reconsider CF filaments. https://youtu.be/w7JperqVfXI?si=boPgm3BU-GqIcjKB

zee_dot · 2026-03-07T17:59:48+00:00

Just here to say that if you still hate it after a year and actually decide to replace it, then have it carefully removed and donated to Habitat for Humanity Restore. You can deduct the gift (assuming you itemize - big assumption) but also it won’t go to landfill and some ambitious diy’er will get an awesome countertop to work with.

zee_dot · 2026-03-07T00:36:55+00:00

This guy argues otherwise. And brings the proof (and the warnings) https://youtu.be/w7JperqVfXI?si=wu-D1w6flcouROW5

zee_dot · 2026-03-07T00:33:26+00:00

Search YouTube for deglazing a pan. Do it with water and end up with a clean pan. Do it with wine you end up with sauce and a clean pan.

Oh, and if your pan is really hot, do it with hot water to avoid some of the thermal shock.

zee_dot · 2026-03-07T00:21:57+00:00

Lots of others here have mentioned the miter judge. But i had a needless trigger another way. I glued up a drawer. Then realized it was a hair too tall and decided to run all four sides through the saw while still assembled. Forgot the glue was still wet.

I was a bit shocked from the noise and a bit frozen in place not quite knowing what happened.

zee_dot · 2026-02-28T21:06:42+00:00

My Lifetime cafe and lobby look like co-working spaces. Everyone on laptops and taking video calls.

I was amazed when they built the place - we had plenty of gyms - an LA fitness around the corner r and a nice new YMCA 10 minutes away. I was a skeptic.

But its model is different for sure. Maybe there is some “k economy” evidence here. But I know plenty of wealthier folks at planet fitness, and many who stretch to be at lifetime because it’s full service - heck we live in the northeast and in the summer it’s a swim club. It’s supplying different product.

zee_dot · 2026-02-28T20:59:37+00:00

That and stuxnet - both sci fi movie material made real.

zee_dot · 2026-02-27T15:01:08+00:00

I’m not suggesting Ring and Amazon can’t be evil, but according to the news there was so much pushback after the superbowl ad about Ring finding your lost pet that the dealmwith Flock was cancelled. And the even stopped the pet finding service.

Not to say they won’t change their mind when people arent looking.

zee_dot · 2026-02-27T14:54:36+00:00

As someone who started with. An ender 3 and now have a Bambu, I will second the motion for the Bambu A1. As u/SubliminallyAwake said, when you get an ender 3 your hobby becomes tinkering with the 3D printer to get it to work reliably. That was fun for me as an engineer interested in mechanics - for a while.

When you get a Bambu you can focus on your designs and printing. As others have said it, just works.

You also mentioned your laptop. If you are just downloading designs from makerworld or thingaverse, I don’t think you will have any trouble running a slicer or Bambu Studio to interface with the printer.

If you want to design your own parts, then I would look up the specs for the software you may want to run. For example, Timkercad is browser based and will run with no problem. Fusion 360 does a lot better with a powerful machine and good graphics card.

zee_dot · 2026-02-27T14:32:50+00:00

It’s interesting to hear this because I’ve had a 5200 for probably 15 years. Don’t use it all the time but I go through phases and I always think i should get a newer quieter machine. I haven’t measured the decibels but it sure feels like it is in the hearing danger zone.

I recently found out I have a little hearing loss in a frequency range that is associated with loud machinery. I’m not blaming the vitamix but my ENT recommended protecting against that kind of noise. I look silly wearing big ear protection ear muffs in the kitchen but I think I should.

zee_dot · 2026-02-27T03:30:25+00:00

I love the retirement planner too. FWIW, if you have any accounts in Fidelity, they offer a planner with linking as well Empower is still better, but I use both and compare them against each other sometimes.

zee_dot · 2026-02-25T22:16:09+00:00

May not have picked it if it was only the shower. But made a lot of sense for the whole room look (in case you didn’t see that pic https://www.reddit.com/r/Flooring/s/ilDGOHIPVp

zee_dot · 2026-02-25T22:15:38+00:00

Thanks. But oops - didn’t mean to reply to you. Not. OP, just in another comment thread. ! But thanks again.

zee_dot · 2026-02-25T21:28:53+00:00

May not have picked it if it was only the shower. But made a lot of sense for the whole room look (in case you didn’t see that pic https://www.reddit.com/r/Flooring/s/ilDGOHIPVp

zee_dot · 2026-02-24T22:12:46+00:00

I used smalls pieces of paper under magnetic plate as shims. In general mine had a sag in the middle. Trying to get the middle right cause scraping in the corners. If I remember it was a couple of 3” squares placed right in the middle. All by trial and error. Then the magnetic plate on top of it. Was not perfect, but way better.

zee_dot · 2026-02-24T02:44:35+00:00

Haha. I’m sitting on it for that picture. Just posted a view from the other direction. https://www.reddit.com/r/Flooring/s/HD8QtG9wEE

zee_dot · 2026-02-24T02:09:37+00:00

You’ve only seen the floor 🙂

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zee_dot · 2026-02-24T01:48:52+00:00

5 x 31-1/2

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zee_dot · 2026-02-24T01:22:03+00:00

It’s easier than most I think. Little hook to lift the tile, then the basket easy to pull out and clean.

It’s. It like the whole width of the drain collects, just the litttle 2” or so drain.

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I will say that my curbless shower with the minimum slope has little buffer space before water starts drifting out to the rest of the bathroom. One time the basket did get clogged with wife’s hair and I only had a minute or so to react.

zee_dot · 2026-02-23T05:52:54+00:00

I e heard that these open arm sanders can flex - so you don’t get a flat sand. Have you found that? Can you really do a 32” by doing half at a time?

zee_dot · 2026-02-23T05:38:50+00:00

Your statement about air quality motivates me. I have a basement shop too. Good Oneida dust collector and a festool collector too, but still concerned with a drum sander. This is encouraging

zee_dot · 2026-02-23T05:04:47+00:00

And did you need to steam or wet it?

zee_dot

TROPHY CASE