HDPE and PP are both challenging to print, and I need to get the quality up - my first PP valve stem has a gap in its rim and nasty distortion at the layer change points. But at first glance this seems viable.
I tried SO hard to buy HDPE filament, but it seems not to be available anywhere for a non-ridiculous price. I almost ordered some from Portugal, until the seller told me they had to use an exorbitant shipping method due to the tariffs. Thanks loads, You-Know-Who.
Closeup of someone's fingers flexing two flat pieces of plastic (a little square of film and the underside of a valve stem) in a way that shows they're stuck together.
A sheet of plastic film with a valve stem sticking up from a little hole cut in the center. The top surface of the film around the stem bears the scars of melting.
Success #2: I do seem to be able to heat-fuse 3D-printed polypropylene with my polyethylene film. Despite being technically different materials, these are a lot more willing to be friends than PLA and PE. #robotics #hydraulics
I've noticed my icky dead skin cells appearing on really dark-colored prints, and once they're stuck in the layer lines it's hard to get rid of them. So I guess it makes some sense?
The bottom of a translucent tube flared into a puddle of plastic and stuck to the underside of a piece of black plastic film.
The tube poking up through the top side of the black plastic film. The film is visibly distorted and tattered by melting.
First try sealing polyethylene film to a polyethylene tube, and it worked out! Besides matching materials, I needed pressure - the heat gun alone won't do it. Had to use the soldering iron behind aluminum foil. #robotics #hydraulics
Unfortunately, I'm afraid yelling at billionaires will always be more popular than taking responsibility for the harms done by one's own diet.
It's too bad I'm missing RMRRF this year, but unrelated business (that I can't disclose yet) has been sucking up too much of my time and energy. I'm not up for a day-trip to Loveland this time around. Whoever's tabling or attending, have fun!
Sweet! I just got mine redone a few weeks ago, and they got the bulk of the work done in just one day (there was some trim board repair before and after). I hope it goes smoothly for you!
BlueSky as a whole is glitchy and having issues today.
Sometimes all you can do is keep trying
"I don't get enough engagement" Do you comment on anyone else's stuff or nah?
That end was something of a sour note; the epic plot arc resolves, but the characters don't reconcile, and their continued unfairness to each other is (IMO) rather ugly. But this book is first in a series, so maybe this is just the sequel hook.
The result is touching awkward loyalty, a lot of teenage banter that mostly stays fun rather than mean, and quiet frustration and indecision on the narrator's part, until the climax when their relationship blows up spectacularly.
The narrator has an interesting dynamic with the other main char, given the odd mix of adoration and jealousy he feels. She's been his only friend from a young age, he's falling in love with her, but she's privileged in every way that he isn't.
The "super-genius" character seemed blatantly unrealistic at first (no matter how good your ideas are, invention simply doesn't go that fast), but her abilities get justified a few chapters in. The fact a big spoiler comes so early illustrates how unexpected and good this book is.
The setting incorporates public-domain Lovecraft, but only references it lightly while building out its own ideas. Notably, the Horrors portrayed here are 1) straight-up evil, not just amoral and 2) not above being punched to death with conventional weapons.
The pacing is excellent; the action starts quickly and then never lets up for long, but there's still plenty of room for imagery and feeling. Mohamed is particularly good at showcasing *smells,* which I found unique and refreshing.
Cover art of "Beneath the Rising" by Premee Mohamed. The background is plain white, and the title text is contained inside a black ring which looks made from splashed or brushed ink. Emerging from opposite sides of the ring are two human faces in side profile; there are also a variety of appendages that resemble tentacles, feathers, and flower stalks.
Read: "Beneath the Rising" (Premee Mohamed). This was fantastic. It's the first good modern treatment of cosmic horror that I've read, and definitely my favorite of the books by new-to-me authors that I picked up to try recently. #AmReading #Books
Last one, the potash test:
Here are the important pages. Unfortunately they're very cagey about what any of the chemicals are. It's all "Sudbury solution #4" or whatever.
A tuxedo cat sitting up on a blanket-covered couch, intently watching a laptop on a nearby coffee table which is showing the Artemis capsule with its drogue chutes out.
My buddy and I watching Artemis come back
A metal toolbox with a bunch of reagent bottles, funnels, test tubes, and other bits loaded into it. The paper on the inside of the lid says "The sure way to a BETTER GARDEN: Sudbury Soil Test. Tender, delicious VEGETABLES ... and more of them." Similar advertising copy is partly hidden behind an instruction booklet titled "How to increase crop yield and improve quality by soil testing."
Shout-out to this ancient (I think it's 50+ years old) soil test kit I inherited from my dad's junk collection. All the reagents still worked. I'm a little low on nitrogen and probably more alkaline than a lot of plants prefer, but the garden is in good shape otherwise.
A bunch of potatoes in those little plastic pots that new plants come in, sitting on a rug in front of a sliding glass door. There is also a sleeping tricolor tabby cat stretched out on another rug just behind them.
The year's indoor potato starts, before I put them out. I also planted some straight outdoors, so this year the two groups can race. #gardening #plants 🌱
Interesting, I've never heard this story.
I want his "I had potential" t-shirt.
They do taste good (sans syrup). Maybe you're not making them with enough oil.
Screenshot of a tweet by @ilanamarnina. "a year ago today i was walking through dc and saw an older white man in a suit walking in front of me so i jokingly said to my friend “senator john hickenlooper lookin ass” and the man turned around. and it was senator john hickenlooper. will never live that moment down." With reply by the OP, "TOO MANY COMMS STAFFERS ARE SEEING THIS. ITS GOING TO GET BACK TO HIM"
I haven't seen "accidentally insulted Senator John Hickenlooper" in this gallery yet.
A 3d-printed "eyeball" with a camera in the center, inside a shroud in which it can rotate. The shroud is mounted inside a larger case that holds the motors and several circuit boards.
Atronach's (second) eye, without wiring. Building up the first one gradually left me without an appreciation of how much tedious effort goes into assembling one of these. Not sure if I can really do anything about that in future iterations or not. #robotics #3dprinting
Sorry to hear that ... what's going on?
Finished a new story today. "Mirepower" is about a trio of alien plant farmers who use their knowledge of the local flora and fauna to kick invaders off their planet. (Yes, the title is a pun.)
Also still working on publication of various others.
#writing #amwriting #writingCommunity