phlyingpenguin's recent activity
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Comment on Anyone using Meshtastic/LoRA radio? in ~hobbies
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Comment on Bluejeweled in ~games
phlyingpenguin LinkWell, this caused me to install Bejeweled Classic on my phone again. Now I'm basically an addict again. So many clean years down the drain.Well, this caused me to install Bejeweled Classic on my phone again. Now I'm basically an addict again. So many clean years down the drain.
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Comment on What are some good YouTube channels/shows/series related to travel? in ~travel
phlyingpenguin Link ParentBut we're not here to see any of thatBut we're not here to see any of that
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
phlyingpenguin LinkI just ran through Hypnospace Outlaw and cannot be more pleased with it. The intricacies they wove into the game really capture what the late 90s/early 00s felt like to be online as a youth. I'd...I just ran through Hypnospace Outlaw and cannot be more pleased with it. The intricacies they wove into the game really capture what the late 90s/early 00s felt like to be online as a youth. I'd advise anybody interested to be careful not to get frustrated and look up answers. The fun is existing in the space, not bussing straight through to the ending. I can't wait to run through again to find all of the little easter eggs.
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Comment on Omnivore alternatives? in ~tech
phlyingpenguin LinkHoarder is another self-hosted option along side Wallabag. It also has a mobile app, and caches the contents of articles. I'd skip the AI tagging stuff, personally, but it's an ok feature.Hoarder is another self-hosted option along side Wallabag. It also has a mobile app, and caches the contents of articles. I'd skip the AI tagging stuff, personally, but it's an ok feature.
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Comment on Should I go for a fun convertible I can drive every day to work, or a classic weekender? in ~hobbies
phlyingpenguin Link ParentI think as long as you don't want something low miles, it'll become more reasonable before too long. Setting expectations helps. They're all old now, and stock survivors are just going to become...I think as long as you don't want something low miles, it'll become more reasonable before too long. Setting expectations helps. They're all old now, and stock survivors are just going to become rarified. And of course, ignore BaT's crazy auctions on unicorns.
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Comment on Should I go for a fun convertible I can drive every day to work, or a classic weekender? in ~hobbies
phlyingpenguin LinkNot in the exact same boat since I don't have the safety and child requirements, but here's what happened to me to have a garage queen: About 8 years ago, I bought a low miles S2000. They were...Not in the exact same boat since I don't have the safety and child requirements, but here's what happened to me to have a garage queen:
About 8 years ago, I bought a low miles S2000. They were cheaper back then, and with miles/age/wear it's still worth about what I paid for it on the used market. I suspect they're out of the price range for a toy. That said, I did daily the car for a few years. Eventually, I had use for a small truck and bought a 1st gen Canyon (5 on the floor). That's my daily. The S2k is an awesome car for many of the same reasons people like Miatas. It's also dead reliable. I can tell you the next five things that will break due to owning a 17 year old car simply because there's a fleet of folks keeping them on the road.
I'm personally much happier with the fun weekend car and boring (but still manual) daily. I also highly advocate that your weekend car be reliable. When stuff breaks, it's never the weekend car that gets priority in budgeting.
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Comment on Looking for a good, cheap VPS for a VPN in or around London in ~comp
phlyingpenguin LinkMaybe not directly useful, but check out Algo and the hosts it supports. You can easily just set up and tear down that way and try any of them out as you like. Personally, I usually use...Maybe not directly useful, but check out Algo and the hosts it supports. You can easily just set up and tear down that way and try any of them out as you like. Personally, I usually use DigitalOcean for things outside of my free box on Oracle.
I do not highly recommend Oracle because OCI is incredibly obnoxious to configure, but you can't beat their free-tier resources for ARM machines. They are also known for straight deleting free-tier accounts for no obvious reasons at seemingly random times.
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Comment on YouTube tests harder-to-block server-side ad injection in videos in ~tech
phlyingpenguin Link ParentThe problem is that while yes they do get some shared amount from premium subscribers, as a premium subscriber you are a paypig for YouTube's shovelware. I don't want YT music. I don't give a shit...The problem is that while yes they do get some shared amount from premium subscribers, as a premium subscriber you are a paypig for YouTube's shovelware. I don't want YT music. I don't give a shit about downloading videos for offline use. I just want the ads gone. The price is just too high for that. I'd rather spend $14/mo on the creators directly, thanks.
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Comment on 3D printing - A beginner's observations and some practical applications in ~creative
phlyingpenguin LinkI've got an Ender3 S1 at home, and a Prusa Mk3 S+ at work. I'm a university comp-sci instructor, so the work machine is available to students, but also a tool in one of my courses that's sort of a...I've got an Ender3 S1 at home, and a Prusa Mk3 S+ at work. I'm a university comp-sci instructor, so the work machine is available to students, but also a tool in one of my courses that's sort of a freshman potpourri for computer science to get them interested. I've got a nice intro to printing slide deck that they get on the second day of class.
An aside: I tend to push students away from Bambu. I know a lot of folks are happy right now with them, but their marketing tactics and social media pushes are just plain gross. No shade to folks that have bought them and are happy, but there are a lot more choices out there!
- If you have a 3D printer, how deep in the rabbit hole are you? Are you making your own CAD files?
Yes. My Ender is probably not reasonably considered an ender anymore. The work machine is augmented with a print server to make it accessible to students (and "control" access, even though they could certainly shove an SD card in). I use a mix of OpenSCAD and Fusion 360. I tend to find that any object I really want to customize probably needs to be in OpenSCAD, as Fusion's step-by-step building process tends to lead to messy models. My original models are all on Printables.
- What’s your favorite print? If you don’t own a printer, what’s a cool 3D print that stands out in your mind?
Like OP, I'm a "see a need, fill a need" kind of person. My prints are mostly utilitarian. Daily-use wise, I use my pill sorter the most. If you were to enter my house, you'd probably find a 3D print doing some job in every room. I'm particularly happy with my shaving caddy.
- What’s a problem in your life where you think you could 3D print a solution?
The first thing I was after was actually a car part. I didn't know about the limitations of PLA at the time, so those parts are long gone. I needed the stopper that the brake and clutch sensors hit for my car. It's a Honda S2000, and a lot of the plastic is starting to degrade after 17 years. I ended up buying some but the print got the car started again. I still use a PETG stopper for the brake since it's both easier to replace, and I had a hell of a time getting the official part squeezed into the hole.
I've done a lot since then though. Shelf pins, little cups to stop my wife's wheeled tables at work from wandering around, pistachio bowls, mouse risers for ergonomics, laptop stands, PS5 feet, a soap/sponge caddy for the kitchen sink, and the list will just keep going on.
I have calipers at the ready and any time something annoys me, you'll find me taking measurements and disappearing to CAD for a while.
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Comment on What AI tools are you actually using? in ~tech
phlyingpenguin LinkI generally do not want something speaking on my behalf, so they do not get used much. Occasionally it's convenient to generate an image instead of looking through stock images. The only other...I generally do not want something speaking on my behalf, so they do not get used much. Occasionally it's convenient to generate an image instead of looking through stock images. The only other thing I've seriously used it for is as a "template" for a particular item that I intend to replace 100% of the contents. I generate assignments for my CS students this way. It would be just as effective to use some other assignment as a starter.
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Comment on How do you keep your home smelling nice? in ~life.home_improvement
phlyingpenguin Link ParentSeconded. Cat Genie is great. The one downside: their plastic pellets will end up being everywhere.Seconded. Cat Genie is great. The one downside: their plastic pellets will end up being everywhere.
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Comment on Blogging recommendations? in ~tech
phlyingpenguin LinkFree: Best is probably github Cheap as heck: omg.lol for $20/yr with a ton of other useful services Either way: Do not use any service without also getting a domain. They're cheap, and they'll... -
Comment on Experiences with low FODMAP diets in ~food
phlyingpenguin LinkWhat I can say is that my wife did it to figure out what her trigger foods are. It is not a good idea to go on as a permanent solution, but something to eliminate the potential problems and then...What I can say is that my wife did it to figure out what her trigger foods are. It is not a good idea to go on as a permanent solution, but something to eliminate the potential problems and then figure out what does and doesn't work by slowing adding foods back in one by one. The diet itself is hell, but you can surmise that by the vast number of things that it restricts.
All that said, it did work for her in finding what causes problems. She figured out she has particular problems with apples, and a few other already known items. Now, she mostly eats a normal diet but keeps away from a few of the trigger foods. Some things can be a bit surprising. Most "fruit juices" in the US are primarily apple, particularly if they are "100% juice", for example. I'm sure it's no revelation that trigger foods hide in all kinds of packaged items.
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Comment on What are you 3D printing now? What setup do you have? What issues are you running into? in ~hobbies
phlyingpenguin Link ParentYeah. I think it's interesting to hear how it sort of plugs in at all levels too. Even at the university freshmen level, I doubt more than one or two will have done it in the past. We'll also be...Yeah. I think it's interesting to hear how it sort of plugs in at all levels too. Even at the university freshmen level, I doubt more than one or two will have done it in the past. We'll also be able to go a little deeper and do parametric modeling. But in the end, it's all the same hook.
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Comment on What are you 3D printing now? What setup do you have? What issues are you running into? in ~hobbies
phlyingpenguin LinkEnder 3 S1. I mostly do organization and wall mounts. My garage shop tool wall is incredible. Coming in the fall, I’ll be using a Prusa in a course that is more or less an encouragement for...Ender 3 S1. I mostly do organization and wall mounts. My garage shop tool wall is incredible.
Coming in the fall, I’ll be using a Prusa in a course that is more or less an encouragement for college freshmen in computer science.
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Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp
phlyingpenguin Link ParentIt truly is very hard. You nicely highlight one of the particular challenges here in that we certainly can't cater to everybody. Thanks for the thoughts. I'm not sure if much automation is going...It truly is very hard. You nicely highlight one of the particular challenges here in that we certainly can't cater to everybody. Thanks for the thoughts. I'm not sure if much automation is going to hit with the demographic since they barely can operate their own computers at this level, but there may be some adjacent ideas there.
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Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp
phlyingpenguin (edited )Link ParentAutomation is certainly a good hook for already technically competent people, but these won't be. One of the surprises in education is how many entering students can do things that only give the...Automation is certainly a good hook for already technically competent people, but these won't be. One of the surprises in education is how many entering students can do things that only give the illusion of being technically competent. I keep being told about (local) kindergarteners using Scratch and high school students learning Python, but have yet to encounter an group that retained any of it. Conversations about automation work very well with students in later courses and less well in the early ones.
But on top of that, I can't scaffold a thing that makes each individual student annoyed, and anything these students do will require quite a lot of scaffolding. I could see doing some kind of API slurping as the webtech section of the course, but would have to find an example that caters to everybody. That could be something along the lines of price tracking or home automation via API.
I 100% agree with both replies that games aren't a thing that quite everybody cares about. They are something that can grant instant gratification, and that's more of the point here.
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Comment on Likely the last Mod post that I'll make in /r/videos. We're shutting down in ~tech
phlyingpenguin LinkThe idea has been floated to turn r/mead into a notebook fan reddit and disallow alcohol discussions. I kind of like it, but I don't intend to be very active on moderation going forward.The idea has been floated to turn r/mead into a notebook fan reddit and disallow alcohol discussions. I kind of like it, but I don't intend to be very active on moderation going forward.
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Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp
phlyingpenguin LinkNot sure if it totally counts as a technical project, but I'm designing a gentle introduction to computer science course at my university. The idea is to give students a 2 credit (small course)...Not sure if it totally counts as a technical project, but I'm designing a gentle introduction to computer science course at my university. The idea is to give students a 2 credit (small course) gentle introduction to a few topics that are likely to get them excited enough to do the hard work. It will consist of some pre-made projects that they just have to take over the finish line to feel a sense of accomplishment.
Right now, I'm definitely doing about a third of the course on 3D printing using OpenSCAD as the "computer science" part. My thought there is that they will exit the course with a physical object, which will be hard to forget. I have a Prusa printer all set to go so that they can print out whatever creations they make. The only trouble I'm coming to is what specifications I need to make to ensure that their objects are both possible and interesting. I don't expect to get into very complicated geometry using OpenSCAD and don't want to allow Fusion/etc because that defeats the programming aspect.
After that, it'll be a game and likely some sort of website. I haven't nailed down the game libraries or genres, but I think I'll give a side scroller starter and make an RPG starter. They can do whatever as long as new logic gets added. Not 100% sure what for the website yet, but still probably pretty basic.
I'd be interested to hear ideas for such a course. What would get you interested in CS if you were a stone cold beginner?
It's not really on any kind of trajectory towards #2 though. It's a low bandwidth communication method that's useful for something more like a text-based equivalent FRS. The average public mesh is 90% "is this thing on?" messages and then a smattering of gear posts. I could see #3, but probably only for a few years until they do have to deal with the modern world.
There's no tipping point. This stuff is as niche nerd as they come. That said, it is fun.