canadian_tired

Agreed. There is a bunch reasons we are still reliant on chemical rockets, and this silly thing does not solve for any of them. There are so many things that can go wrong here. The vacuum they need to pull in that HUGE chamber is not trivial. Even if they could... I want to see how they propose the exit. What are they planning to use that is strong enough to hold the vacuum, and yet can be punched through by the projectile? And even if they manage that... the aero forces around the exit will be insanely turbulent. Snake-oil. Again. A shit-load of money spent on not much more than a movie set.

Oh wow. I fondly remember DesqView (no /X) and being completely amazed. I think around that time the larger buzz was around SCO Unix.

YES! Agreed!

Canadian here, so I had my turkey fix earlier this fall. And it was not dry. What is "dry" anyway? For meat: Mostly the lack of water and fat. Water and fat provide flavor and improve texture...so without them, turkey is basically poultry leather. We want hot, juicy, tasty turkey, right? I tried "wet brining" which for me, sucks. That's it. And Yeah...it was a juicy turkey...but watery mush juicy. If soft, pillowy, flavorless turkey is your goal, go for it. For me? Nope. (read up on what Kenji Lopez-Alt has to say...he is spot on!) Dry brine is much better. Anyhow, my method is simple: Slow, longer cook... 300F.. in a Big Green Egg. I usually go until it is 140F or so inside and hold it there for 20 min or so. This does take a few hours, but it works every time. Always delish. Most dry birds are overcooked. People start the oven at 450, toss the bird in, and leave it until the inside is 180. If I am doing it inside? Spatchcock or otherwise break the bird down for more even cooking... and then in a slowish oven.

Dang! Just saw this. Agreed!!

Wood is renewable when you can grow it, cut it up into useful shapes, then at the end of its useful life, compost it. As soon as you add a shit load of processing and plastic and other stuff it's not "wood" anymore than gasoline is a dead dinosaur. As for things like plywood that use glue for the laminations...glue is the most expensive and important part of the product. Not the wood so much. Replacing steel? I don't think so. Yes, steel is a dirty thing ecologically... but steel things last a long time... and require, in general minimal processing...unlike this hardened wood proposal. If steel showed up today as a new material, it would be lauded for all its technical properties. But it is now old and not so sexy.

Fantastic job. Your analysis and documentation is spot-on...great to see.

Well said.

Exactly. I can't speak for laser, extruders, knives or such, but for subtractive work (i.e. milling / drilling operations with some form of rotary tool) this design would be an exercise in frustration. Typically, you would have encoders on each axis to tell the machine where things are happening. These encoders are excellent, but any flex/slop in the chassis or moving parts is not caught by the encoder... so the software will not know that the cutter is in the wrong place. Thus, crappy parts. Any reasonably useful CNC design takes rigidity and backlash prevention seriously. Take a look at PocketCNC for a good (and yes, expensive) design.

My bad. What I should have said was "Edward Tufte's books. They contain beautiful diagrams". LOL...Didn't know about "Beautiful Evidence" until you mentioned it.

I know exactly what you are feeling trying to get that One Thing. It's what separates the good stuff from the great. I don't try to show everything on one diagram... even if it fits contextually. If you force people to have to think too much when they try to unpack your diagram, they lose interest. Draw, edit, adjust. After many years, I have a few "general starting points" in my head, and go from there. I still need to edit a lot...but I get there faster these days.

Doesn't that feel incredible? Just one win like that can make a whole month or more of happy thoughts for me. I benefited from a manager like this early on...never forgot. Now, when I can, I pass it on.

Happy to help...at least a bit.

I get angry too. I also struggle with it. I have found that thinking of myself as an Observer as well as a Participant has helped. Two very different hats. For example, when you are "in the shit" you can easily get angry. But if you consider yourself (if even for a moment) as just "watching the shit", you can gain a sense of impartiality and calm. It may be enough to get off the anger train. The second thing I do is to convince myself that I need not get angry at people. It's the process that I should be angry about. Don't get mad at people...assume positive intent. If people are doing what looks like a Dumb Thing, then perhaps there is no process/rule that allows them to do Smart Thing. I get mad at dumb processes, or the lack of smart ones. This is a lot less personal. No one wants anyone mad at them...but getting mad at a process story is a lot more freindly. It goes without saying...don't get mad at the people responsible for processes. Just illustrate, in as neutral as possible a fashion, what you perceive the gap might be. Empathize. Enable. Entrust.