ptc075
@ptc075@lemmy.zip
- Comment on A truck bed with a tonneau over it is just an SUV trunk with extra steps. 3 days ago:
I realize OP probably doesn’t care, but I find the differences interesting. Not too long ago, I just happened to park my truck (with grandpa cap) right next to the identical SUV. From the outside, the two looked like twins - same paint color even. And yet, when you peer through the back window, it’s immediately obvious how much less cargo space the SUV has. Even if you took the back seats out, there’s all this plastic trim that devours what should be cargo space. You’d never fit a sheet of plywood back there. And I don’t see why. Airbags & cupholders I guess?
I haven’t been able to even look at new vehicle prices in a while, but back when I bought the truck, it was literally half the price of the SUV. That’s an awful lot to pay for 2 rear seats and less cargo space. And yet, SUVs are everywhere here in America. Go fig.
I guess what I’m saying is that if you want more cargo space for less money - yes, the extra step of buying a tonneau cover or camper shell is totally worth it. Or was, anyway.
- Comment on I get texting and driving being a danger. But back in my day you could eat drink change radio stations etc. Why weren't laws implemented back then? 2 weeks ago:
Mildly related - I vividly remember back in the 90s on my drivers test in Florida, it was illegal to have a screen facing the driver. Period. Now, what they were aiming at was making sure the driver wasn’t watching a portable TV while driving. But the center console screen in modern cars would 100% qualify. Heck, mounting your GPS or cell phone to the dash so that it’s hands free would still be illegal by that law. So I have to assume something in Florida’s driving laws changed. Always been curious what, but I moved away shortly after then, never bothered to follow up.
- Comment on Looking to get my first 3d printer, any suggestions? 3 weeks ago:
FWIW, I bought a new Ender3 as a kit not too long ago, it was $150 IIRC. And by being forced to assemble it, I learned a good bit too. It might be worthwhile to watch their store & see if they put it up for sale again.
The only upgrade I’ve done that I really felt made a difference was buying an enclosure for it. Nothing fancy, it’s a fireproof bag over an aluminum frame. Even more than controlling the temperature, it also keeps it dust free when not in use - that’s probably the biggest win for me.
As for buying the used one - these things do wear down. Start by checking the feed gear & the PTFE tube. If the filament feeds well, then also check the belts, rollers, & nozzle. Those are really the common wear items imo. Perhaps obvious, but make sure the seller gives you a copy of the slicing software (should be free on their webpage) and also the little USB-A to Sim card doo-hickey that you need to move files back & forth.
- Comment on What are the most useful things you've printed? 1 month ago:
I have a second hand little portable vacuum cleaner - we used to call them Dust Busters, not sure if there’s a more generic name for them these days. Anyway, because it was second hand, it didn’t have any of the attachments. Was able to buy a bunch on eBay that were sort of close, then 3D print an adapter to make them fit.
- Comment on People who have been in meetings to determine back to in office policy. What was the discussion like? 2 months ago:
I’m at the very bottom level of management, so I’m not invited to these meetings. But I get to hear the story afterwards. The basic jist is that all the old employees are fine to work remote, however, the new employees are largely getting lost. There’s no water cooler meetings or impromptu hallway discussions or ‘hey Jim, I heard you screaming next door, what dumb thing did your customer do?’. The transfer of tribal knowledge isn’t happening when the new folks are remote. As much as I will make fun of the above, I will admit that I learned more of how to do my job through those impromptu ‘meetings’ with my coworkers than I ever did from any formal training.
So, to your point, how do we get back to working from home again? I’m not sure, but I would starting thinking about how to encourage more connections with your coworkers. Not the forced meetings where you talk about why the wiggly line isn’t going up, more like, “hey bob, whacha been up to today? Oh yeah, that system doesn’t work for me either, the trick is you have to log-in through the other portal…”
- Comment on Can an American go to Europe just for cheaper healthcare? 3 months ago:
This has always made me wonder, why aren’t US insurance companies getting in on this. It would be cheaper for them to buy the plane tickets & fly their patients to another country.
- Comment on [deleted] 3 months ago:
Depends on your expectations. Realize there’s roughly 3-4 guys for every girl. If you don’t standout in some way it will be a very quiet experience outside of the initial joining period (and immediately after the subscription ends if you paid).
Just remember, companies exist to make money. If you’re using the app for free, you’re not the customer, you’re the product.
- Comment on Could wastewater plant simply heat up water past 500C to decompose all chemicals and output clean water? 5 months ago:
At the risk of sounding silly - Instead of focusing on burning the solids, boil the water. Water boils at 100C, at which point the water vapor should separate and leave all the solids behind. Then capture the vapors and condense it back down into clean water. Now, if you later want to incinerate the leftover solids, sure, go for it, fire’s always cool in my book.
I’ll add, simply boiling water is energy intensive. What you are proposing probably won’t work at any scale.
- Comment on Why is it sometimes difficult to start doing what one enjoys? 6 months ago:
I believe it’s a combination of what others here are saying. We live in a world of near instant gratification, getting going on something that requires effort without an immediate payout feels too much like work.
FWIW, I find it helps tremendously to schedule a day / time in advance. For example, I spend the whole week looking forward to “Wrenching Wednesday” so I can go play with my cars. And I actually go do it now, which is something I couldn’t always say before.
- Comment on The weather is definitely changing. 6 months ago:
I was blown away when my die-hard Republican boomer dad said he thinks climate change is real. There’s a pond behind our house, and he can remember how big it used to get in the rainy season and how small it used to get in the dry season. Now, during the rainy season it comes up to the backdoor, and during the dry season it’s not there at all. If he can still trust his own eyes over what the TV tells him to think, maybe there’s still some hope for the world.
- Comment on Meat flavored with a hint of fruit sounds alright. But fruit flavored with a hint of meat sounds gross. 6 months ago:
Came here to mention mincemeat. Good stuff.
For those of you who have never tried it - it’s mostly dark brown sugar, cinnamon, & raisins. But it has that fatty aftertaste you normally associate with bacon as well.
- Comment on More than half of the world’s CO₂ emissions in 2023 come from just 36 fossil fuel companies, report finds 7 months ago:
“This data is used to quantify the direct production-linked operational emissions and emissions from the combustion of marketed products that can be attributed to these entities.”
Holy fuck I wish they’d separate these two categories. There’s a big difference between ‘this company burns a million gallons of gasoline’ versus ‘this company sells a million gallons of gasoline’.
- Comment on What would happen if Punxsutawney Phil comes out, and immediately dies? 7 months ago:
That actually happened this year to the Punxsutawney Phil from… Tennessee I believe? Not the main one, but another groundhog event on the same day.
(A few moments later)
Looks like it was Kentucky. Link is pay-walled, but here it is if anyone is curious: www.courier-journal.com/story/…/72477815007/
- Comment on USA | High-speed passenger train collides with firetruck in Florida, injuring 15 people 9 months ago:
At first I assumed this was the Onion, as we all know damn well there’s no high speed passenger trains in America.
Doing a quick Googling, I see Brightline’s average speed is 69 MPH. /sigh. And folks wonder why we’re so car-centric here.
- Comment on Coca-Cola accused of quietly dropping its 25% reusable packaging target 10 months ago:
I wish we had better tracking for all the times this happens.