SwampNut

A Chinese man goes to see an eye doctor. After the exam, the doctor says, 'I know why you're having trouble.' The man asks, 'Why?' The doctor says, 'You have a Cataract'. Chinese guy says 'No, I have a Rincoln Continental.

Doc says I may have 20/20 or 20/30 vision if I pay out of pocket for an upgrade, which would be fucking awesome. My other eye keeps getting ridiculously worse every year.

Doctor said I have a cataract. Likely surgery in six weeks ish. Yay.

I hate waste, I'm happy to have things get used, and also would be interested in what you think about it. Maybe I'm just a finicky bitch. (Yes, we know the answer) I don't have your address, please PM.

I'll send you whatever bluetooth thing I have, it's ok, and always annoying to use (all of them are I think). I now have a wired one with a display and won't go back to the wireless. If you only rarely need it, probably stupid to own. I got a deal and I was needing to scan something deeper (ABS or something that was specialized). But seriously I'll mail you the one I have and you can see what you think.

Well, before the import taxes. But yeah, high precision and reliability have become super affordable.

I really don't know. My gut says that the sensors Joe is talking about are either Hall effect or otherwise non-mechanical, and they could be all over the place. Is there a voltage input? Or does it generate its own voltage through motion and induction? I don't think I've ever used the hold/min/max on that meter. Like you, I expect that it should be captured at any voltage, but would have to set up a test to know.

Everything prints fine at low speeds and simple objects. Going faster or making more complex things brings out problems in filaments. Colors actually print differently, and the silks are yet another big challenge. But I have no idea if there are specific colors that are good/bad, I've never done side by side testing of a color in the same brand on the same object, except that white Creality Hyper as more problematic than black (but a different model). The hardest to print PLA I own is a custom color from a high end structural brand, $45. One of the easiest PLAs I've used lately is the absolute cheapest shit I could find on Amazon, under $15. It seems to be related to pigmentation; the "good" stuff is extremely opaque and the cheap stuff is somewhat translucent. Elegoo Pro *may* become my default, it's winning me over with consistency even if not always running the fastest (but very fast). There is SO much to consider. These have all been quite good. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CD15GTRF?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_6&th=1 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CRZ29BYD?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_1&th=1 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CT8TBV69?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_3&th=1 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CB7TW3XC?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_16&th=1

Shit. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000KIMHRQ

I miss that bike. Loved it.

I hadn't thought of this... This was a massive experiment that proved that most prescription drugs shouldn't be limited to prescription. From this article: https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/the-ozempocalypse-is-nigh

Ok, then yes, you want to measure max/min, not peak. Not to be overly pedantic, but peak in electrical terms implies the top of the AC curve, which is around 170v for a 120v nominal RMS circuit. That automotive meter I linked to is just a fantastic, all around, do-anything meter. It came with a clamp, thermo probe, and other shit. It's meant to do everything around a vehicle.

They offer a really horrible single-bit holder to buy. At least half of mine are too loose and shit falls out. The other half are too tight and you need pliers to get the bits in/out. The best one is the one that's impossible to use by hand, but also drops bits out under impact usage. Special.

I'm trying to understand the peak voltage thing. I thought you meant the peaks of AC power, instead of RMS. But now it's a DC talk. So do you mean that you want the meter to read and hold the highest DC voltage it has seen? Anyway, I've had this for a few years and every time I use it, I wish I'd bought it much sooner. Fantastic for auto/bike work, and just as good for household. I bought the extra lead kit and use a few of them regularly. It has min/max hold function, though I've never used it. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B7H2ZBW Goddammit. A "few" years. When I went to find the link...bought in 2017. Feels like last year. Jesus.

Yes. The tunes are locked to a VIN, but in my experience with a few of these, using it as a reader is safe and works fine.

Which is why I can re-program them to be human-friendly. Duh.

That's an understatement. Phillip, you should do what Oscar did.

"The African Handshake": This one’s a contender if "Squeeze" wasn’t quite it. It’s a sly, tongue-in-cheek phrase that refers to the act of slipping a bribe—usually cash—into someone’s hand under the table, often disguised as a friendly gesture. It’s not as widely documented in academic literature, but you’ll see it in travel blogs, expat forums, or even X posts from people recounting their run-ins with petty officials. Picture a customs agent at a border crossing giving you a big smile while palming a $20 note—that’s "The African Handshake." The humor’s in the politeness of it all, like corruption’s just good manners. "The African Tax": Another gem, this one’s more explicit. It’s not an official tax, of course, but the extra "fee" you’re expected to pay to cops, clerks, or local bigwigs to get permits, avoid fines, or just move along. It’s been called this in places like Kenya or Uganda, where the grift is so baked into the system it feels like a shadow levy. The nickname’s funny because it’s absurdly accurate—everyone knows it’s not going to the government, but good luck getting through the day without paying it. "The African Way": Okay, this one’s broader and not always about bribes, but it sometimes gets looped into the grift conversation. It’s a catch-all for the informal, often cash-based workarounds that define life in some African bureaucracies. Need a license? There’s the official fee, and then there’s "The African Way" fee—wink, nudge, and a few bills later, you’re sorted. The humor here is in the shrugging acceptance; it’s less a nickname for the bribe itself and more for the whole dance around it.

Please explain to me how the fuck this is political. As you know my meter is broken on that, but truly can't even guess at how. It won't stop unless we go another conquest war and upend the entire system there. It's so ingrained that they even have more nicknames for bribes than Eskimos have for ice. Also this tends to suggest that you think we should go ahead and let TB flourish until we figure out how to be World Police.

Should the US be "responsible" for global problems? Probably not for wars, or expeditions of foreign conquest, but what about health that eventually comes back to US (both us, and US)? Microbes don't need passports and don't respect borders. The United States was a major funder of tuberculosis programs. Now hundreds of thousands of sick patients can’t find tests or drugs, and risk spreading the disease. The whole system of finding, diagnosing and treating tuberculosis — which kills more people worldwide than any other infectious disease — has collapsed in dozens of countries across Africa and Asia since we cut funding on Jan 12. The United States did not pay for ALL of the TB care in Kenya, but it funded critical pieces. Things like simply paying a guy $1 to move a sample or a drug to/from the patient. And when those funds were frozen, it was enough to bring the entire system to a halt. Even if someone else funded the drug or test, what good is it if we were covering the transportation? If TB begins to spread unchecked, people throughout the world will become at risk. Make America Breath Again

This isn't a smartass answer, but... Who is "they" because some are leaning that way. Because you still have to continue to weigh cost and benefit. Cost meaning dollars, side effects, and potential risk. Most people won't stick themselves with a needle without motivation, though studies show that needle phobia is WAY down because of Semaglutide. We don't yet have a specific regimen and dose rate for general life sustainment. Semaglutide has different protocols for diabetes vs weight loss. Tirzepatide doesn't, but they still had to go through a process to decide that, and then still called it a different brand name. Foibles, processes, (and justifiable) rules. Edit to add: Thanks to AI we are discovering an astronomical number of proteins suddenly and there are at least 20 but maybe 100 peptides related to this in testing now. Peptide therapy is taking off hard, and we're just at the beginning. Meeting up with a new subject tonight and mixing up a pen. Oh, yeah, these are easy to make and easy to use, no visible needle.

Oh, if you drop the drivers on their ass end, off the blind wand, they immediately eject the end of the motor which is barely held on by a couple of barely-folded tabs. Glad I got four. So now I have one. One was Moriah's fuckup, second was me doing exactly what she did, and the last was wind. New design incoming.

You've seen the quality of this stucco.

https://www.wsj.com/health/wellness/ozempic-weight-loss-drug-aging-health-benefits-d93a22f8 https://12ft.io/https://www.wsj.com/health/wellness/ozempic-weight-loss-drug-aging-health-benefits-d93a22f8 Key Points What's This? GLP-1s, including Ozempic, show promise in preventing age-related conditions like Alzheimer's, osteoarthritis and certain cancers. GLP-1s work by suppressing appetite and reducing inflammation, potentially contributing to their preventive health benefits. While promising, more robust studies are needed to confirm the causal effects of GLP-1s on longevity and healthspan. Very low risk, and seemingly high benefit.

Oh, that's my grackle buddy! We have a lot of them, but that one joins me on most mornings. I've started putting out seeds and stuff. He's the only one that stays when I walk around the yard. Not within touching distance, but the rest of them fuck off as soon as I walk around. Being a blackbird they do the crow thing of befriending people, in some cases. Their call is more ... ? Er, shrill, or almost creaky metal? Makes me realize, I haven't seen any crows or ravens here for a while. Wonder if the grackles and other blackbirds "own" territories? We've had waves of grackles lately, 100 or so at a time. Did you ever see the photos and videos of my hand-tame buddy, Dan Quail? I've also got a nearly hand tamed hummingbird now.