vturner

Similar story here. I got RIS 2.0 after it had been out for awhile, but my parents couldn't justify the cost. Finally, Toys R Us had a beat up box sitting on the shelf and marked it down. I wandered over to that aisle every time we went in. Then it showed up one Christmas.

I learned Java because of leJOS too. I wanted to display something on the screen. The rest is my career.

Thank-you!

Wish I could offer more than best wishes, but I am in a similar boat: pondering some product ideas while working as a SWE.

This line caught my attention - "I also love learning about mechanical engineering and manufacturing"

How do you go about that? Have you found any good books, YouTube videos, etc. that are accessible for us SWEs?

There is such shortage of skilled contractors. It's unreal, so I've considered getting in via being an electrician.

The starting salaries always stop me though. How can I reset the salary clock 10 years?

Maybe if I had started out at 20 on this route I could do what my father did: carpet cleaning and supported two sons and a homemaker on his one truck operation. We were solid middle class. All the needs met.

It's amazing what quality hard work, calling people back, and time can do.

Better get back writing my self evaluation...

How did you come to have the skills to design and build whatever it is you manufacture? I'm guessing you have a mix of mechanical and electrical background.

I always have ideas for little products (some involve electronics others not) I'd like to build, but how to go from raw idea in my head to working assembly, I'm lost on: choosing motors, control board, mechanical reliability, etc. Maybe I just need to read some ME books, but if they are like math and physics texts, there is gulf between the text how to do build something practical.

A couple years ago I became quite interested in building my own grow lights for starting garden veggie seedlings. The YouTube recommendations surrounding such videos were quite interesting... It turns out another plant needs high power as well.

JsonParser() is Scala syntax. Not sure how you'd accomplish that in Java and as for parse<Book> Java's generics are erased at compile time.

Grondbreaking? Unless this extends to more components, Kia has had this since at least 2009.

Agreed, I'll have to check but I'm fairly confident my 2009 Kia Soul had 10 years and 100,000 miles

The impetus to leave these big tech platforms has gone up at least 40% for me. If I want filtered information, the big news players provide that 24/7.

This is off-topic, but your comment on your user base caught my attention.

Do you think Android app development can be monetarily worth the time investment for individual developers who would be just starting out?

I made two apps years ago and greatly enjoyed it, much more than any development I've done since. At that time, the markets were dominated by the big players. Only the big apps made any $$. Is that still the case making individual development a hobby with the occasional bit of $$?

MIT and Harvard being rather dishonest here. Seems like this is reverting back to what was before?

"Due to COVID-19, SEVP instituted a temporary exemption regarding online courses for the spring and summer semesters. This policy permitted nonimmigrant students to take more online courses than normally permitted by federal regulation to maintain their nonimmigrant status during the COVID-19 emergency."

The assymetric geometry brings back memories. Trying to tie a stack of bricks together with a "girder" vertical across connected with the pegs!

I guess there's upsides and down. I think what bugs me is each brick before was more variable. You could build a corner if you needed to. Agreed not nearly as structurally sound thoughm

Does anyone else find the studless beams and associated pieces much more difficult to build with than the old (very old as in Robotics Invention System) beams and pieces with studs? This was my second year coaching an FLL team. The kids seem to have difficulty building the things they need, and I don't blame them. One has to think in multiple dimensions at once. With the studs, you think vertically up or horizontal at once.

Recently came back to a React GUI at work. Doing the Docker build is almost comical as the npm red text rolls by :). You would think the thing is surely going to explode. Of course, when you run the app React reminds us of all the new best practices which were non existant 6, 8 months ago