marvia's recent activity
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Comment on A "low-risk" AMA thread for everyone in ~talk
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Comment on A "low-risk" AMA thread for everyone in ~talk
marvia LinkI'm an Aerospace Engineer at NASA. I do structural analysis for the Roman Space Telescope at Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. I've also thru-hiked the Pacific Crest Trail! AMAI'm an Aerospace Engineer at NASA. I do structural analysis for the Roman Space Telescope at Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland.
I've also thru-hiked the Pacific Crest Trail!
AMA
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Comment on Finished project: 32L hiking backpack in ~creative
marvia Link ParentIt's Ecopak Ultra 200 by a company called Challenge Sailcloth. It's a 200-denier woven UHMWPE (aka Spectra or Dyneema) with a plastic film laminated to the back to make it waterproof. So it's got...It's Ecopak Ultra 200 by a company called Challenge Sailcloth. It's a 200-denier woven UHMWPE (aka Spectra or Dyneema) with a plastic film laminated to the back to make it waterproof. So it's got a much higher UHMWPE content by weight than DCF and consequently is much stronger and more abrasion resistant.
I didn't keep track of the total cost but if I had to ballpark it I'd say somewhere in the $250-300 range all told. It's almost never cheaper (at least on a one-off basis) to make your own stuff because of all the extra money you have to spend on components, small cuts of fabric, and tools. I tend to think of it more as its own hobby, complementary to backpacking. I hike occasionally and sew in the meantime.
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Comment on Finished project: 32L hiking backpack in ~creative
marvia Link Parentr/myog is probably the best place, if it ever opens back up again. There's also an active myog community on the Backpacking Light Forum but you have to pay for a membership to post. And you're...r/myog is probably the best place, if it ever opens back up again. There's also an active myog community on the Backpacking Light Forum but you have to pay for a membership to post.
And you're right that planning is everything with a project like this, especially when the fabric costs $40 per yard. I made a full set of construction paper patterns for this project before cutting anything and I also tested some of my planned construction methods on smaller pieces of material. It really pays off when all your pieces fit together perfectly and there's no unexpected misalignments.
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Finished project: 32L hiking backpack
In my infinite wisdom I posted this to r/myog yesterday, just before the blackout started. I'm going to repost it here as a way to gauge how well it fits in on Tildes – this type of post is pretty...
In my infinite wisdom I posted this to r/myog yesterday, just before the blackout started. I'm going to repost it here as a way to gauge how well it fits in on Tildes – this type of post is pretty central to the r/myog community and I am hoping some of us can migrate here.
Goldilocks Pack
In April of 2021, lo these many years ago, Reddit user savvlo posted in the r/myog Swap Thread that he was placing a wholesale order for Ecopak Ultra EPL200 and was wondering if anyone wanted a few yards. I had heard of this material and was eager to get my hands on some; none of the major UL pack manufacturers had started offering it yet and the only way to have an Ultra backpack was to build it yourself. I had the skills (4 or 5 packs already under my belt) and I aimed to be one of the first.
Well, so much for that. I fell out of love with MYOG for a year or so, and by then the project seemed so insurmountable that I didn't even know where to start. I did plenty of designing and redesigning (because that's the fun part) but the truth was that I just didn't really need another backpack, so there was no motivation to start a project that would consume dozens of hours. And then finally, this spring, my trusty old Hyperlite started showing its 4000+ miles and gave me the kick I needed to actually make this damn thing.
You can guess from the title that this pack fills a hole in my lineup – for years my two pack options were my 40L Windrider and my 27L summer pack, and most often I found myself wishing I had an in-between option in the 33L range. The MLD Burn fits right in that pocket and after seeing one in action on a high route trip with a friend I knew that was going to be my model. The overall dimensions of my pack match the Burn exactly; the main modifications I've made are to the pockets, straps, and components. The comments in the Imgur album go over the specifics.
Specs Imperial Metric Weight 13.3 oz 376 g Internal Volume* 2000 in^3 32 L Width 10 in 254 mm Depth 6 in 152 mm Height 29 in 737 mm Torso 19 in 483 mm *this is just my best guess, I don't have a good way to measure volume
Thoughts
I'm from the Midwest and I hate tooting my own horn so you'll know I speak truth when I say that this is, undoubtedly, my finest work. Other than a few trivial mistakes everything pretty much fell together perfectly. This is not normally the case with my projects and naturally it makes me quite nervous.
The one thing I can't get over is this fabric! I can't believe this stuff only weighs in at 3.5 osy. It feels so much tougher than the Hybrid DCF I'm used to working with; it's so hard to cut through even with my sharp sewing scissors. Only time will tell if this pack really is as tough as it feels, but my hopes are sky high. Thanks for reading and looking at my pictures!
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Comment on Any MYOG friends in here yet? in ~hobbies
marvia LinkQuestion from a Tildes noob: Is it appropriate to post new topics in ~hobbies about projects we've recently finished? I'm not sure if that meets the criteria for a top-level post (vis-a-vis...Question from a Tildes noob: Is it appropriate to post new topics in ~hobbies about projects we've recently finished? I'm not sure if that meets the criteria for a top-level post (vis-a-vis discussion), but showing off a finished product seems like it warrants more than just a comment on a question topic like this.
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Comment on Home and garden: Boring “watch grass grow” thread in ~hobbies
marvia Link ParentWow, mine are definitely closer than that! I'm pretty space-constrained anyway, so it sounds like the best course for now may be to trim any runners. I'm also trying Three Sisters for the first...Wow, mine are definitely closer than that! I'm pretty space-constrained anyway, so it sounds like the best course for now may be to trim any runners. I'm also trying Three Sisters for the first time this year and I'd like to keep the strawbs manageable.
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Comment on Home and garden: Boring “watch grass grow” thread in ~hobbies
marvia Link ParentThis is exactly why I'm asking about how much more I might get with this variety. Jam is my favorite thing; I like making it, gifting it, and eating it myself. So I've been de-stemming and...How far did your berries go before being all nom-nom-nom'd? I see recipes for jam, and frozen desserts and such, and it's like, pfffft as if.
This is exactly why I'm asking about how much more I might get with this variety. Jam is my favorite thing; I like making it, gifting it, and eating it myself. So I've been de-stemming and freezing most of the berries as they ripen (eating a few fresh too, of course!) until I have enough to make a batch of jam, and then I plan to eat the rest as they're harvested. The 2 pounds I've got is plenty to make a couple of jars, but if it turns out I have 4 more pounds on the way I may opt to freeze even more.
The plants are still too young to have sent out any runners; I expect they will start that later this season. I hadn't given it a ton of thought but I think my plan was to wait and see how many there are and mostly let them do their thing if possible. I didn't know that could hurt their fruit production – do you have a sense of what a good compromise looks like? One or two daughters from each plant or something like that?
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Comment on Home and garden: Boring “watch grass grow” thread in ~hobbies
marvia (edited )LinkToday I picked the last of my first flush of strawberries (almost 2lb so far). These plants are the Seascape variety, which I transplanted into my raised bed last spring but which I only got about...Today I picked the last of my first flush of strawberries (almost 2lb so far). These plants are the Seascape variety, which I transplanted into my raised bed last spring but which I only got about three fruits from all last season. Has anyone here grown day-neutral strawberries before? I'm wondering how much more yield I can expect until the plants go dormant in the fall - two more flushes would be wonderful!
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Comment on Please post your podcast preferences in ~hobbies
marvia Link ParentThey've been hamstrung by their fanbase, which can get really toxic due to a lot of terminally online people. I also think they've just been doing it too long and the format is stale, but they...They've been hamstrung by their fanbase, which can get really toxic due to a lot of terminally online people. I also think they've just been doing it too long and the format is stale, but they obviously don't want to kill the golden goose. I quit listening when they sided with the mob who canceled their longtime friend John Roderick - that made it obvious to me they're just catering to their loudest fans at this point.
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Comment on What types of content do you want to see on Tildes? in ~tildes
marvia Link ParentYeah, I think it's going to take a while to shake some of those old reddit habits. Karma is such an integral part of the ecosystem over there that it starts to dominate how you interact with...Yeah, I think it's going to take a while to shake some of those old reddit habits. Karma is such an integral part of the ecosystem over there that it starts to dominate how you interact with people. Thankfully the older users here seem to understand that such a transition in thinking isn't going to happen overnight and are willing to cut us newbies some slack.
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Comment on What types of content do you want to see on Tildes? in ~tildes
marvia Link ParentWell, one thing I already love about Tildes is that you can disagree with someone without it turning into a shouting match. You make a great point that one website doesn't have to tick every box;...Well, one thing I already love about Tildes is that you can disagree with someone without it turning into a shouting match. You make a great point that one website doesn't have to tick every box; I think I may just be preemptively mourning the exceptional meme communities on that other site that I'll soon be losing access to.
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Comment on What types of content do you want to see on Tildes? in ~tildes
marvia Link ParentThanks, I think this was the distinction I wasn't aware of. Keeping the posts serious and the comments fun is a good balance, and I'm sure there are occasional exceptions, as always.Thanks, I think this was the distinction I wasn't aware of. Keeping the posts serious and the comments fun is a good balance, and I'm sure there are occasional exceptions, as always.
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Comment on What types of content do you want to see on Tildes? in ~tildes
marvia Link ParentCan you not take into account the effort it requires to become familiar with a particular community to the point where you can make a tasteful, referential joke? I take issue with the claim that...Can you not take into account the effort it requires to become familiar with a particular community to the point where you can make a tasteful, referential joke?
I take issue with the claim that memes are low effort by definition. A high quality meme is art; it blends disparate references and sometimes hides the joke under multiple layers of irony. That takes tremendous effort!
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Comment on What types of content do you want to see on Tildes? in ~tildes
marvia Link ParentSo it sounds more like the problem is low-effort content, which (though I agree) seems somewhat hard to quantify. I just want to stress that memes are an essential part of a vibrant community and...So it sounds more like the problem is low-effort content, which (though I agree) seems somewhat hard to quantify. I just want to stress that memes are an essential part of a vibrant community and not something one should to try to ban.
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Comment on What types of content do you want to see on Tildes? in ~tildes
marvia Link ParentWhen you guys say "memes", are you referring specifically to image posts? Because the word meme as I understand basically just means an inside joke that gets repeated. I can't imagine any online...When you guys say "memes", are you referring specifically to image posts? Because the word meme as I understand basically just means an inside joke that gets repeated. I can't imagine any online community being enjoyable if they banned jokes.
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Comment on Japan will put a wooden satellite into orbit next year in ~space
marvia LinkI'm an aerospace engineer. I analyze structures for a deep space satellite. From this article it's hard to see cases where wood would make more sense than our typical Al, Ti, and composites....I'm an aerospace engineer. I analyze structures for a deep space satellite.
From this article it's hard to see cases where wood would make more sense than our typical Al, Ti, and composites. Material cost is not typically a big driver unless you're talking about really highly specialized stuff that isn't used on a large scale. And we have very stringent acceptance criteria for even well-known alloys and fibers - I don't see wood supplanting those any time soon.
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Comment on New users: Ask your questions about Tildes here! in ~tildes
marvia Link ParentYep, that's how I found it. There have been widespread discussion threads on many subreddits over the last couple of days and there seems to be consensus among veteran Reddit users (10+ year old...Yep, that's how I found it. There have been widespread discussion threads on many subreddits over the last couple of days and there seems to be consensus among veteran Reddit users (10+ year old accounts) that this will be the final straw for us. Tildes has been brought up in many of those threads and is the closest match for that old-school Reddit style; I'm hoping it will be a viable alternative.
Believe it or not I didn't do much of anything in the way of training leading up to the PCT. I started walking more, but I was finishing up my senior year of college and didn't really have time for overnight trips. I didn't even have much prior backpacking experience; the PCT was my third backpacking trip.
I didn't find life as a thru-hiker difficult to adjust to at all, it was coming back that sucked. Thru-hiking is a recipe for happiness – endless exercise, natural beauty, and social fulfillment, and nothing to worry about besides the weather. It's no wonder so many people have a hard time adjusting back to life in the real world.