In the "they can't all be winners" category: this print using PETG Carbon Fiber failed at about 30mm. Not sure what happened - the model printed using PLA just fine. I'm wondering if our storm influenced the PETG-CF but I didn't notice a power glitch. The temp and humidity did fluctuate. Maybe a reminder to consider an enclosed setup (Core One šŸ™ƒ?).

Trying it again with standard PETG šŸ¤žšŸ»

It is bucketing down rain, nearly 2ā€ an hour, and all I want to do now is sleep šŸ’¤

I may not have upgraded my printer (yet?) but I did upgrade my dryer this week. I have been using a Sovol SH01 dryer the past couple of years. It was still working but with a max temperature of 50C it was inadequate now that I use a wider range of filament types. Actually not even adequate to properly dry PETG.

This Creality dryer looks cool with nice presets and goes up to 70C. Still not enough for PC CF, for example, but it is close enough for me (I think).

I had expected to order a Prusa Core One by now yet Iā€™m procrastinating. My MK4S is such a reliable workhouse I find I have a bit of an emotional attachment to it. It has been like a loyal friend. Kinda crazy.

My first 2 amateur radios were Yaesu and Iā€™ve had 3 total. Didnā€™t keep any because the Icom UI suited me better and seemed easier to deal with in emergency conditions.

Since then Yaesu has improved their UI and their more recent radios seem really nice. Iā€™ve actually looked into potentially replacing my ID-5100. I really wish Icom would refresh some of their venerable models.

Based on both reviews and recommendations I decided to get the Logitech MX Vertical mouse to try to alleviate/reduce the pain in my wrist and arm. My initial impression is positive. I programmed a couple of its buttons to move to my virtual desktop to the left and right which is something I do constantly with my Magic Mouse (I routinely use 4 virtual desktops).

Pulled a 3 year old spool of Prusament Transparent PETG out of storage and was surprised it printed well without drying first. It has a reputation…

Iā€™ve had some medical treatments where I would have loved to have one of these.

VR is helping to make daunting medical treatments more bearable for patients engadget.com/ar-vr/vr-is-helpi engadget.com/ar-vr/vr-is-helpi

My Synology NAS is getting near my planned replacement date and with the shenanigans regarding requiring Synology disk drives Iā€™m not considering simply replacing it with a newer box. But I think their Surveillance Station software is great and Iā€™m wondering what Linux options there are.

Anyone have a favorite software package for home use? Iā€™ve searched around and there are a lot of conflicting opinionsā€¦

Reminder to self: donā€™t take electricity, specifically the grid, for granted.

Also, I know nothing but Iā€™m pretty sure the grid is supposed to prevent this kind of thing from happening. The post mortem will be an interesting read (if it is an honest one).

Huge power outage paralyses parts of Spain and Portugal | Reuters reuters.com/world/europe/large

Iā€™ve been using kagi.com for search for over 2 years marking me as an ā€œEarly Adopterā€. Iā€™m thoroughly pleased with the speed, cleanness and accuracy of results plus the ability to weed out source sites I donā€™t like.

They recently made the AI Assistant available to all users and Iā€™m successfully using it in place of ChatGPT.
blog.kagi.com/assistant-for-al

Consider giving Kagi a try. It is one of the only products/services I feel like recommending.

This iFixit device opener is my absolute favorite tool for removing organic/tree supports from 3D prints. A #1 grade.
ifixit.com/products/jimmy

I really like the concept behind this.

First time buyers might like the ability to start barebones and upgrade components over time.

Slate Auto unveils its US-made barebones electric pickup costing just $20,000 engadget.com/transportation/ev engadget.com/transportation/ev

I am not going to pre-order a Nintendo Switch 2. I think we qualify for their email purchase invitation so I registered interest that way. They said the invites would start in May.

I went that route when the PS5 came out and it was a low stress way to avoid scalping prices. I would never pay above retail.

I heard Switch 2 demand in Japan is well above Nintendoā€™s forecast/supply so Iā€™m wondering what the invite schedule will look like. Not in a hurry so it just at the ā€œidle curiosityā€ level.šŸŽ®

Our kitchen faucet started to leak from the base so my wife picked out a new one in a box that claimed it was ā€œeasier to installā€. Iā€™ve installed a kitchen faucet before so decided to give it a try. What a nightmare. The hose contraption that needed to pass from the top through the countertop was too large for the existing hole. Granite is finicky so to play it safe I limited myself to a metal file and a masonry bit on a drill. It worked, after a long while, but my hands and arms are shot. šŸ˜”

Lots to be thankful for on Easter. And Iā€™m treasuring that once again both our kids could be with us for dinner. Our daughter is over 21 now so it is especially precious.

Adafruit is doing an admirable job of sharing what they can glean from all the tariff changes. mastodon.cloud/@adafruit/11433

Over time as I've upgraded from one 3D printer to another I've ended up with quite a surplus of nozzles. I have three .6mm Nextruder nozzles and three .4mm Nextruder nozzles all in great shape and several of which are new. These will never be used and are squirrled away in a drawer and not even next to the printer (which has 5 nozzles of its own).

The surplus is mainly due to switching to a high flow printer and also the use of materials requiring hardened nozzles.

We drove out to a pine forest for a hike today. Should I be embarrassed that my first thought upon seeing these giants was ā€œwhat a great ham radio antenna I could put in themā€?

Busy on the bands: 106 confirmed digital mode QSO in April so far including a few new countries. Wish I had more operating time while the getting is good. Spread across 40m, 20m and 10m.

Also after being stuck below 200 POTA parks hunted for a long time I shot up to over 220 in the past couple of days.šŸ‘šŸ¼

I pulled a 2+ year old spool of Amolen wood filament out of its vacuum storage bag and put it straight through the printer. Looks great and that light burned wood smell is TDF.

Nintendoā€™s Direct today announcing the Switch 2 was a big hit with our kids. Main downside for us is the battery life is apparently markedly shorter than the current Switch. That wonā€™t deter the kids - theyā€™ll just pack a battery.

Still learning about my PC Carbon Fiber filament. Something I didnā€™t expect based on my readings is that thin-ish prints, like 3-4mm, print fine without warping - that is until they cool off and warping kicks in. Taller/thicker models, so far, arenā€™t doing this.

Maybe needs an enclosure? IDK

The Switch 2 announcement is this morning and I told my 16 yo son Iā€™d wait until he is home from school to watch it. Gonna be pretty hard to avoid ā€˜spoilersā€™ though. Hoping for some pleasant surprises.

FT8 from Texas to Europe was frustrating most of the day - lots of busted QSOs. Finally toward the end of the day snagged Wales and South Africa to boost my DXCC count.šŸ‘šŸ¼