What happened today that you liked?
- Thread starter SuperDave
- Start date
I prefer it in the original German: "O mein Gott! Es gibt ein axt im meine kopf."
Got delivery today of a sexy new cube - a Gan 11m Pro frosted magnetic adjustable speed cube. Its sooo smooth and sexy!
Haven't you been paying attention to the ex-president's tweets and "truths?"
Those are how we're handling elections from now on.
I received the transfer from the social security service for my paternity leave. I panicked for a while, because it's definitely too much money for the mandatory six weeks leave. Then I found out that they pay the amount corresponding to the gross salary, but it's tax free. I love living in a socialist country!
Got delivery today of a sexy new cube - a Gan 11m Pro frosted magnetic adjustable speed cube. Its sooo smooth and sexy!
Ooh, I saw a reddit vid of some kid on an airplane who was solving one of those. I was wondering how he could flip the cube so quickly without losing control.
For me, of course, the inner workings of the cube are not the deciding factor in solve time. I never could remember how to finish the bottom face...
First you peel off the stickers....
Ain't no stickers hehe.
Its definitely way quicker than I can control if I were trying to solve like these speed cubers who are flicking with wild abandon - at best, I would be a sub 1 minute solve, 45 seconds if I fluked lucky final positioning.
For me, its just nice and smooth and quiet and quick and light - and kinda a zen relaxing thing. For yourself @Technarch, if you can solve a top layer clean, there is only one repeated move needed for getting the top 2/3rds (with awareness of what is in what position), one repeated move once turned upside down to solve what was the bottom (with awareness of what is in what position), one more potential move to change a couple corners (awareness of positions again) and then one more move repeated move no more than twice to solve.
I ordered the 4x4 I didn't know they made with the magnetic corners last night. Much trickier in terms of needing to pay attention initially but essentially becomes a 3x3 once you solve centers and middles.
Not today, but over the weekend. My sister-in-law reached out to my wife to show her the new puppy she got last Thursday. He was adorable, and because he was a mix of Cavalier King Charles Spaniel like unto Mr. Finnegan (our current 7-year-old puppy), my wife was immediately enamored, and we just absolutely had to get eyes on the litter. Only problem was, they were in Boise, and we live in Las Cruces.
BUT! I had Friday off, and she is slowly winding her business down to the point where she is not working as much, so we booked plane tickets and a rental car for Friday morning. We flew up to Boise on Friday afternoon, met with the people who were selling the puppies, handed them a wad of cash for two of them. I may make a thread about this, but there are two new additions to Clan Foolery, a female and male cavichon puppies. I think that is right, they are allegedly a mix between two cavichon, which is Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and Bichon Frise mix.
Actually, it makes me happy today, too. They are so sweet.
BUT! I had Friday off, and she is slowly winding her business down to the point where she is not working as much, so we booked plane tickets and a rental car for Friday morning. We flew up to Boise on Friday afternoon, met with the people who were selling the puppies, handed them a wad of cash for two of them. I may make a thread about this, but there are two new additions to Clan Foolery, a female and male cavichon puppies. I think that is right, they are allegedly a mix between two cavichon, which is Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and Bichon Frise mix.
Actually, it makes me happy today, too. They are so sweet.
Got bloodwork results back which align with adoption of my rebuilt healthy living plan. A1C from 8 to 6.3 and LDL from 3.4 to 2.2. Now, the LDL did get a boost from a statin, but a comparable from when I did it all alone I took it from 3 to 2.7. So I guess I am onboard to get below 2.0, and continue the statin.
I learned that this mug existed, and I ordered one*. I'll be happy when it's here next week.
*technically I ordered an unbroken one, but we'll see what the USPS actually delivers
*technically I ordered an unbroken one, but we'll see what the USPS actually delivers
While I realize it was an anomalous event, I really want to adopt a rescue similar to Ty, our previous adoption. A chocolate Lab (50%), Chow (17%), German Shepard (11%) and the remainder what they call Super Mutt. I desperately miss her still. Our Beagle is my buddy, but I miss the happy go lucky nature of Ty when it was just us.
They figured out what's wrong with my car! I have never been so thrilled to have an impending car repair bill.
It's a whole different feeling when a mystery becomes a solvable problem.
That's one of my favorite episodes of This American Life.
Nah - it was marzipan not Latin that was injected into those Stollen.
The tailgate release button on my Elantra GT disintegrated (more ammunition for the anti-Hyundai/Kia post elsewhere). The replacement part arrived from Amazon today ($24) although I could've got it from Ebay for $19 if I had been patient enough to wait 3 weeks. Removing the broken part and replacing it took less than 1 minute. The estimate I got from the local Hyundai dealer a few days ago was $90 for the part and $225 for labor. I know everyone expects dealers to overcharge, but that estimate was absolute price gouging and "gouging" is probably not a strong enough word. Anyway, today I liked not being ripped off for an additional $291.
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@yd I got two 3x3 cubes today:
and
Now, after being burned by a garbage-grade Rubik brand cube I avoided them like the plague for years, but in the last year or so I received a great feeling Rubik with heat-sensitive stickers (gimmicky but I like it). Then I bought a Rubik that has color-changing lenticular stickers - and it’s a great premise but very poorly executed (colors bleed and it’s just a problem to solve).
So I went for two more Rubik branded cubes. The crystal cube is pretty and has okay feeling action (but not like @yd’s magnetic speed cube which I’m sure is fabulous feeling and great action). This crystal is a touch smaller than standard Rubiks and it’s good enough and pretty enough that I’ll solve it from time to time.
The Disney cube had promise because the stickers are slightly holographic/shimmery, but alas Rubik’s poor execution makes it a forgettable cube. If you look at the image above, I can see that the cube likely has a misprint on the sticker above the 100 center face (it’s different from the manual and it messes up the pattern slightly). Also, the artwork is a bit of a fail because there are big gaps between the stickers, and the zoomed in choice is awkward - crucial details missing, eyes cut off on edges of stickers…great face designs but maybe they could’ve done something that was friendlier to the cube sticker format. At least this cube’s action is okay/good, certainly better than the crap of the last decade where I was so unhappy I began my habit of purchasing Chinese speed cubes from Amazon (super awesome cubes mostly that blow away the official Rubik cubes).
Edit for typos and to add:
Also, for whatever reason I’m not a huge fan of cubes where one has to do a final step to rotate/solve the centers (typically artwork faces but also distorted 3x3 puzzles where the centers have a shape and two colors to them.
Also, I’m disturbed to see from my amazon history that my cube collection habit dates back to 2014! #disturbing
Now, after being burned by a garbage-grade Rubik brand cube I avoided them like the plague for years, but in the last year or so I received a great feeling Rubik with heat-sensitive stickers (gimmicky but I like it). Then I bought a Rubik that has color-changing lenticular stickers - and it’s a great premise but very poorly executed (colors bleed and it’s just a problem to solve).
So I went for two more Rubik branded cubes. The crystal cube is pretty and has okay feeling action (but not like @yd’s magnetic speed cube which I’m sure is fabulous feeling and great action). This crystal is a touch smaller than standard Rubiks and it’s good enough and pretty enough that I’ll solve it from time to time.
The Disney cube had promise because the stickers are slightly holographic/shimmery, but alas Rubik’s poor execution makes it a forgettable cube. If you look at the image above, I can see that the cube likely has a misprint on the sticker above the 100 center face (it’s different from the manual and it messes up the pattern slightly). Also, the artwork is a bit of a fail because there are big gaps between the stickers, and the zoomed in choice is awkward - crucial details missing, eyes cut off on edges of stickers…great face designs but maybe they could’ve done something that was friendlier to the cube sticker format. At least this cube’s action is okay/good, certainly better than the crap of the last decade where I was so unhappy I began my habit of purchasing Chinese speed cubes from Amazon (super awesome cubes mostly that blow away the official Rubik cubes).
Edit for typos and to add:
Also, for whatever reason I’m not a huge fan of cubes where one has to do a final step to rotate/solve the centers (typically artwork faces but also distorted 3x3 puzzles where the centers have a shape and two colors to them.
Also, I’m disturbed to see from my amazon history that my cube collection habit dates back to 2014! #disturbing
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Our year+ long drought ended rather abruptly two nights ago. We’ve gotten several inches of rain and the vegetation across our farm is visibly verdant today. Lovely water.
Unfortunately, the storm that brought this moisture with it popped our main living area’s skylight again, a nemesis of mine if you will, however I was able to get two layers of Visqueen over it and tightly bound with a ratchet strap before limping off of the roof to soothe my busted spine. Just had another heavy rain and no leaks!
TTPMO is that the bandaid repair that I did will biodegrade even in winter sun, so meh. At least the house isn’t flooding so that is really nice for now.
Unfortunately, the storm that brought this moisture with it popped our main living area’s skylight again, a nemesis of mine if you will, however I was able to get two layers of Visqueen over it and tightly bound with a ratchet strap before limping off of the roof to soothe my busted spine. Just had another heavy rain and no leaks!
TTPMO is that the bandaid repair that I did will biodegrade even in winter sun, so meh. At least the house isn’t flooding so that is really nice for now.
@yd I have to factor in “wife acceptance factor” so a $40 is probably too rich for my cubing habit, but maybe some sleight of hand and judicious use of my florist would work.
From the outside, I think my cube hobby appears weird/crazy (I think there’s a recent thread here about Ars nerds‘ obsessions).
Like you I prefer to cube at a leisurely pace, but I can briefly move too quickly and a low-end cube will occasionally break or pop apart. Also to the poster above who mentioned moving the stickers…when I was a kid my favored solving method was popping the cube apart with a screwdriver (you can also do it tool-free but that tended to destroy 1980s cubes after a while).
To keep with the thread’s title, I would add that I saw a notification that I was mentioned in a thread, and then I remembered yesterday’s happy event (new cube puzzles!!!!). I think I shall go forth and start a thread. There are others here.
From the outside, I think my cube hobby appears weird/crazy (I think there’s a recent thread here about Ars nerds‘ obsessions).
Like you I prefer to cube at a leisurely pace, but I can briefly move too quickly and a low-end cube will occasionally break or pop apart. Also to the poster above who mentioned moving the stickers…when I was a kid my favored solving method was popping the cube apart with a screwdriver (you can also do it tool-free but that tended to destroy 1980s cubes after a while).
To keep with the thread’s title, I would add that I saw a notification that I was mentioned in a thread, and then I remembered yesterday’s happy event (new cube puzzles!!!!). I think I shall go forth and start a thread. There are others here.
It's been a big day for stuff I work on, or work adjacent to.
Deep Space Optical Comm Demo achieved "First Light" (first optical comm) on Tuesday morning. https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasas-deep-space-optical-comm-demo-sends-receives-first-data
The ILLUMA Terminal (ILLUMA-T) was installed on the ISS on monday and has been going through early activation. It is an optical communication terminal which will communication with LCRD, the Laser Communication Relay Demonstration.
Deep Space Optical Comm Demo achieved "First Light" (first optical comm) on Tuesday morning. https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasas-deep-space-optical-comm-demo-sends-receives-first-data
The ILLUMA Terminal (ILLUMA-T) was installed on the ISS on monday and has been going through early activation. It is an optical communication terminal which will communication with LCRD, the Laser Communication Relay Demonstration.
Two days ago I cancelled my Prime membership because stupid expensive. Turns out well, we rely on Amazon far more than I’m comfortable with but nobody can compete with them, so today I resubbed but managed the SSD purchase compulsions successfully to only buy essential spices for the pantry. Phew!
Also, my wife came home ill which is very rare and in an even more bizarre development she allowed me to care for her instead of kicking away tea and Tylenol. She must be messed up for that to have happened due to her anti-pill-anything bad attitude. She does have a decent fever so I’m happy that she’ll likely have that broken before I fall to sleep and get some rest as a result.
Also, my wife came home ill which is very rare and in an even more bizarre development she allowed me to care for her instead of kicking away tea and Tylenol. She must be messed up for that to have happened due to her anti-pill-anything bad attitude. She does have a decent fever so I’m happy that she’ll likely have that broken before I fall to sleep and get some rest as a result.
Yeah I've come to the same conclusions about Amazon and I'm not happy that it's kind of a monopoly. Especially now that it's been enshittifying over the last few years. I do try to get my money's worth out of it, Prime Video and Prime Music don't suck.
Does Penzey's charge an arm and a leg to get stuff out to HI? Every now and then we order giant bags of our frequently used spices, but it's infrequent enough that I don't know if we wait for free shipping deals, or if there's a minimum spend in the lower 48, or if whatever "toss it on a truck and it'll arrive in a few days" option is just cheap enough when there's not an ocean in the way.
pre-submit edit: I checked their shipping page and it looks like shipping to AK or HI starts at $12 but can easily be much more. Bummer. (For the rest of the states, it's a $40 minimum spend for free shipping, though there's currently a promotion that knocks it down to $20)
More often it's not a question of what it costs to ship out here, it's whether the vendor will ship outside CONUS at all. I try to go around Amazon where possible but countless times I've been burned by going through all the trouble of navigating yet another random ecommerce site, put in my contact info and address and PCI, and only then am I told that this vendor doesn't ship to Hawaii or Alaska. It's fucking infuriating, and then it's infuriating again when I start getting spam from that company. Or reminders that I forgot something in my shopping cart.
Other times places will ship here for like $70, which is not better.
Not that Amazon is blameless for this. Something like 5-10% of the time something in my Amazon cart won't ship here. There's no fucking logic to it either. Sometimes I can buy batteries, and sometimes I can't.
It’s weird in that volumetric weight often won’t stop …voluminous orders from qualifying for free shipping then blam, what’s that, you’d like to pay $400 to ship you $30 product? Click —tab closes— and the eBay scouring for sellers who disregard overzealous limitations begins.
Amazon has a fairly refined overall mass limitation that invokes the “sorry, this item cannot be shipped or your selected delivery address” red text of denial. You’re likely seeing third-party sellers skirt that or hazmat limits such as those deadly cr2032 batteries ROFL.
Re: CONUS dumbfuckery I’ve had really good luck with simply talking with a CSR and letting them know that USPS gets here faster than FedEx. If it’s again, voluminous or remotely hazmat then no, no joy either way. Paradise tax kicks in.
I mean, CR2032 is a limit just because it's a lithium metal battery, and not eligible for air transport, so if the APIN you pick doesn't have stock in a local FC, they can't deliver it. You may have better luck with SR type batteries, as being silver oxide, they don't have the same limits as lithium metal, and are generally allowed for air freight. Plus SR batteries are more stable over time, and IMO better (I hate putting lithium cells in my micrometer or calipers, because they don't last as long and are more likely to fail rather than just die), even if they are more expensive.
There are plenty of good dogs, Hap! I hope that you and Mrs Hap decide to give it another go. Those adorable traits in the Lab mix that you two adopted are prominent in most of the family dog breeds, and “super mutt” is great for longevity via introduction of genetic diversity. Sadly, many breeders who’ve tried keeping their lines pure have inbred so many times that said breeds have become associated with common ailments ranging from cancers to the more visible problems like dysplasia. Anyhow, greyhound rescues might also surprise you for their family affinity and goofy personalities, and a GSD-dominant mix will be forever loyal, while bringing some home defense chops to the table as well. I would t shy away from some of the older hunting hound breeds either, such as Catahoulas which should be easily found in your parts. They are extremely loving dogs.
Right, high-explosives. We go through a lot of cr2032s here so I just find different retailers and buy 24+ at a time. Never had an issue going all the way back to DOS days.
It's rare that whatever I'm buying is worth attempting to contact a CSR (who is usually in a faraway timezone). And when I do it's frankly unusual to find one who'll do more than just parrot back their no-shipments-to-CONUS policy.
The volumetric issue is pretty funny, when I ordered the running board for my truck the 6' running boards cost $40 to ship and the 7' boards cost $550 to ship.
For a really fun time try ordering a kayak online...