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Joined 1 year ago
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Cake day: June 9th, 2023

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  • Sadly mice aren’t really a BIFL item given their frequent use and how switches have a lifespan before wearing out. You can surely get many many years out of one, though!

    I’ve found the Logitech g502 to be my favorite overall mouse, so much so that I bought one to keep at work. The scroll wheel mode on Logi mice is lovely for precision work (clicky) or fast and smooth; a feature I missed greatly when I tried other mice. My first one started dying after 5 years but that was used for regular gaming sessions on the daily.

    Don’t be afraid of the extra buttons on gaming mice, either. You can always just not use them but I’ve found the buttons on top incredibly useful as an undo/redo pair and makes working in anything so much nicer.

    That being said, the best mouse is the one you find comfortable. Build quality is kinda the same amongst most brands. If you can work with circuits, repair is easy for any mouse. Optical switches and scroll wheels are cool but will need more stringent cleaning (my Corsair M65 had issues regularly because of cat hair somehow sneaking in).


  • Since you mention wanting to filter really well, I would recommend you take a look at chemex. It’s a pour over type of brewer but their smaller model is for a single serving and will be more lenient with the pour method since the chemex filters are so dense. Other pour over brewers will require more of a setup to maintain consistency (but you can also tweak the brew to your exact liking in this regard!).

    Water temp and grind size are somewhat critical for quality coffee but you don’t need it right off the bat of course. I would get a grinder before a kettle, tbh; fresh grounds make a bigger difference than a few degrees difference in water temp. Do work on “calibrating” your water temp in whatever method you use, though. If you microwave the water, figure out how long to let it cool before it reaches 200 or whichever temp you find brews best for your beans.

    Search for local roasters and buy some beans from them. Keep searching until you find a brand you like. Grocery store beans are very mid. (There are many weekly “drop” style bean shippers that are pricey but let you discover online roasters that will ship you beans; it’s been invaluable for me to find really good roasts!)

    As for cold brew, it’s a separate beast entirely and I wouldn’t explore it just yet. I used to make large batches for my nitro setup and did that in a bucket. Definitely super smooth but a bit more work. You can make smaller batches with a French press. I’ve always gotten my presses from IKEA because they’re cheap yet effective. Far from fancy. I would never consider heating up cold brew personally.


  • It depends what you are painting! If you’re looking at smaller models/tabletop minis, you should take a look at setups used in the minipainting communities. Larger models might benefit from different setups. I know I didn’t want to start cheap and have to upgrade later, so I jumped straight for the Iwata HP CS. The dual action is super nice to have (not a must have though). I’d also recommend spending more on a better compressor before a brush (I got a simple 1gal compressor from California Air Tools).


  • The term you are looking for is “parametric”. You might be able to find a design you need through the many 3D printing file sites using that term. FreeCAD and Fusion360 are open used but another is OpenSCAD if you are more programming savvy than modeling savvy. There are plenty of recipes for threads in there to make your relatively simple design request here.

    Tons of good and free options, you just gotta pick which one looks easiest for you.



  • Keep in mind that any hobby printer, especially those under ~$/€1k are subject to needing some level of tinkering to get reliable printing. If speed is unimportant, any of the options you provide will be a good fit. You will benefit from running some basic tuning for each spool of filament to get the best print quality. The speed can be dialed in to reduce failures but not take forever.

    Build plate finish is more of a personal preference when it comes to PLA. Textured plate will provide slightly better grip to prevent the print from popping off mid-print, but it’s a visible and tactile texture to that surface. It would probably be best to have a both a texture and smooth plate on hand long term.

    Enclosure mainly comes into play if you print high-shrink materials like ABS or ASA. If you don’t like to tinker, I wouldn’t try to enclose a prusa or ender and would save up for a design built for it. If you don’t mind tinkering a bit, you can always add the enclosure later.

    Buying a used printer isn’t a terrible option, but I would get eyes on first to ensure it prints as-is, especially since you want it to be plug and play. People sell printers for a variety of reasons such as upgrading, lack of interest, lack of funding, etc.





  • Having had both great and terrible work out days, I found what led to the good, enjoyable days was purely the mindset. HIIT on a stationary bike sucks, but I had some fun sessions when I turned it into a game. Weight lifting routines can be super boring, but changing from rep based to time based and seeing if you can crank out a few more reps without sacrificing form can make it fun.

    It takes a lot to get into that mindset for me, but it’s possible and it makes a world of difference. Gamification of any task can introduce a challenge and give oneself a better purpose in the moment.