jsheradin 6mo ago • 100%
Prey (2017) hit such a sweet spot for me; absolutely loved it. Was really hoping we'd get a sequel. I was never able to get into Deathloop and I've only heard negative stuff about Redfall.
According to Bloomberg, 70% of the staff that worked on Prey were gone by the time Redfall was released. Real shame to see a studio fall from grace and end up shuttered whether it be management decisions or lost talent.
jsheradin 6mo ago • 100%
Not for everyone but I'm a big fan of this remix: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKpPJ6RXZqE
jsheradin 6mo ago • 100%
Even if I'm only presenting a handful of slides I'll slap some blank ones on the end just to make everyone sweat over "Slide 1 of 83". Everyone is pretty darn quiet and glad to help speed things along most of the time.
jsheradin 8mo ago • 100%
The authorities allege that he was doing it to obtain vaccine batch numbers needed for making fraud proof-of-vaccination documents.
jsheradin 9mo ago • 90%
Although I'm sure the headline is true, at least with my industry it's a little misleading. All we did over the past few years was cut in Mexico as middle men.
There's no cost effective domestic source of a particular raw material so it's traditionally been purchased from China and turned into a product in the US. With various tariffs and labor costs it's now cheaper to purchase the same raw material from China, turn it into components in Mexico (thus a Mexican product), and then do final assembly in the US. On paper we're importing things from Mexico but the majority of the money still ends up in the same place.
I'm curious if that's the case for other industries.
jsheradin 9mo ago • 92%
jsheradin 9mo ago • 100%
The LLV is all chunky aluminum panels, chunky switches, overbuilt engine, beefy drivetrain (especially when it only needs to handle 90hp), etc. They're far from efficient or well packaged but they're basically indestructible and if something does break it's a piece of cake to swap it out.
The Canoo is pretty much the opposite. It makes way better use of materials and packaging but as a result it's not overbuilt to the same degree. It's almost certainly designed around being a passenger car which only need to survive ~100k miles before things are allowed to start falling apart. With everything being so tightly integrated you can't be as granular in replacing components. Whole assemblies/modules will need to be replaced in one expensive swoop.
I'm really curious what the longevity of these things will be. There's fewer moving parts and regenerative braking to help with the mechanical side of things but electrochemically there's way more going on. I hope they work out but even if they don't Canoo should get some really good real world test info they can use to learn and improve.
jsheradin 9mo ago • 100%
jsheradin 10mo ago • 100%
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QKcprQD0zc
It's a fancier version of the electric dog collars. If you go over a perimeter line it'll turn on a parking brake for that one wheel.
jsheradin 11mo ago • 100%
- Get in
- Start car
- Connect up bluetooth for tunes
- Wait for startup high-idle to finish warming the cats or whatever
- Drive
jsheradin 11mo ago • 100%
There was a prototype that popped up on ebay out of nowhere back around 2011. Seemingly made it pretty late into development before the idea was canned.
jsheradin 11mo ago • 100%
jsheradin 1y ago • 100%
He broke records for youngest WDC, pole sitter, podium, race winner, etc. I fully expect he's going to set records for oldest.
jsheradin 1y ago • 85%
It's pretty common for a CMM to be in its own climate controlled room. Parts will be placed in the room and allowed to reach reference temperature for a several hours prior to measurement.
On production lines you usually skip the absolute measurement of a CMM and use go/no-go gauges. One should fit, one should not. They'll be made of a material with similar thermal expansion coefficients as your parts. As long as they've both been sitting around for a while they'll be at the same temp. They'll have expanded or contracted the same amount from reference so their relationship of go/no-go will still hold true.
The whole field of metrology is a never ending rabbit hole - really interesting the more you get into it.
jsheradin 1y ago • 94%
10 micron (0.01mm) is pretty reasonable tolerance for a lot of stuff. The laminations in Tesla's motors will be held to somewhere around that, possibly even tighter. Things like motor winding insulation coatings will be far tighter.
For something like body panels or plastic interior pieces it's utter overkill and a waste of resources.
jsheradin 1y ago • 94%
The dead silence when the Fallout title came on screen is pretty telling. Everyone was rolling through the possibilities in their heads about just how mediocre, unimaginative, and unmemorable this will be after it doesn't get renewed for a second season.
jsheradin 1y ago • 100%
Crazy that nearly every culture on earth has a name for it that's somehow related to animals getting married.
Wonder if they all stem from the same ancient folk tail or if it's just somehow convergence.
jsheradin 1y ago • 100%
Tangentially: Microsoft Teams and SharePoint web infuriate me daily. All the functions that should be separate programs are rolled up into one inseparable window forcing you into a single task workflow.
Want to have two folders open at once that you can drag between? Want to copy a file to your desktop? Read a message from a colleague while looking at a planner item? Pretty much any basic task that Windows 95 can handle with ease? You're screwed.
These are all things that should be separate programs handled by the OS and a samba share. The MS Office ecosystem has regressed massively over just a few short years thanks to teams.
jsheradin 1y ago • 100%
Is "blasts" worse than "slams"? Where does "roasts" fit in?
jsheradin 1y ago • 100%
There's a station I use regularly that has to have some sort of commercial plan. I regularly see cop cars, UPS trucks, and one time a yellow cab filling up there.
This is an industrial keyboard from around 1983 manufactured by Honeywell. It features an extremely rare tall stem variant of the Microswitch SC series switches. They're clicky tactile and utilize a capacitive sense system similar to the IBM Beamspring or Model F. The tactility is achieved with a spring over buckling plate setup similar to Alps SKCP. Everything about the board is brutally industrial. Caps are thick, case is thick, cable is thick, etc. It should easily survive a nuclear winter without missing a keystroke. I'm only aware of one other of these in existence. It seems to be in a museum and displayed alongside its original system (which I sadly don't have). [https://all-andorra.com/modicon-584-hmi/](https://all-andorra.com/modicon-584-hmi/) Fortunately this board shares some similarities with other Honeywell boards made around this time. Although none of them use tall stem SC switches, they shared a protocol so a QMK port from MMcM worked with barely any modification. [The board](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsheradin/kb_adventures/master/Gould%20(CT-64)/IMG_20220420_173219.jpg) [Keycap removed](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsheradin/kb_adventures/master/Gould%20(CT-64)/IMG_20220420_173341.jpg) [Connector](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsheradin/kb_adventures/master/Gould%20(CT-64)/IMG_20220420_173427.jpg) [Case is 5-10mm thick cast aluminum](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsheradin/kb_adventures/master/Gould%20(CT-64)/IMG_20220420_173629.jpg) ["Engineering Keyboard Prototype"](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsheradin/kb_adventures/master/Gould%20(CT-64)/IMG_20220420_173651.jpg) [Controller](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsheradin/kb_adventures/master/Gould%20(CT-64)/IMG_20220420_194751.jpg) [Dirty switches](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsheradin/kb_adventures/master/Gould%20(CT-64)/IMG_20220421_200003.jpg) [Tall stem SC](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsheradin/kb_adventures/master/Gould%20(CT-64)/IMG_20220421_200009.jpg) [Monstrous caps](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsheradin/kb_adventures/master/Gould%20(CT-64)/IMG_20220421_203133.jpg) [Backing and capacitive membrane removed](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsheradin/kb_adventures/master/Gould%20(CT-64)/IMG_20220422_202615.jpg) [Buckling plate (think hair barette)](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsheradin/kb_adventures/master/Gould%20(CT-64)/IMG_20220422_202629.jpg) [USB bulkhead I printed](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsheradin/kb_adventures/master/Gould%20(CT-64)/IMG_20220421_193013.jpg) [Nice and sturdy](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsheradin/kb_adventures/master/Gould%20(CT-64)/IMG_20220421_193220.jpg) [Simple converter](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsheradin/kb_adventures/master/Gould%20(CT-64)/IMG_20220421_200343.jpg) [Anemic port in comparison to the original](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsheradin/kb_adventures/master/Gould%20(CT-64)/IMG_20220421_205526.jpg) [Cleaned and good to go!](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsheradin/kb_adventures/master/Gould%20(CT-64)/IMG_20220421_205457.jpg) The conversion to USB/QMK is reversible should I ever come across an OG system.
This is my IBM 4979 terminal. It's part of the IBM Series/1 minicomputer ecosystem which launched in 1976 although my terminal was made 1979 or 1980. It features a 66 key IBM beamspring that was unfortunately suffering from the usual material degradation. The CRT was also non-functional with an apparent HV issue. [Before](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsheradin/kb_adventures/master/IBM%204979/IMG_20220914_175359.jpg) [Dirty internals](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsheradin/kb_adventures/master/IBM%204979/IMG_20220915_152807.jpg) [Keyboard](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsheradin/kb_adventures/master/IBM%204979/IMG_20220915_222054.jpg) [Triple shot keycap](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsheradin/kb_adventures/master/IBM%204979/IMG_20220916_195104.jpg) [Cap backside](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsheradin/kb_adventures/master/IBM%204979/IMG_20220916_195109.jpg) The terminal was available in a number of different languages with many of them having extra keys for an extended alphabet. Mine being a boring US English model had several blank caps with blockers underneath the switch to prevent actuation. Fortunately the blockers can be removed and the switches are fully functional. [Blockers](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsheradin/kb_adventures/master/IBM%204979/IMG_20220917_221847.jpg) I went about the cleaning and rebuild as normal for a beamspring. [Silicone pad leeching oil](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsheradin/kb_adventures/master/IBM%204979/IMG_20220917_222247.jpg) [PCB backside](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsheradin/kb_adventures/master/IBM%204979/IMG_20220917_222307.jpg) [PCB front side](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsheradin/kb_adventures/master/IBM%204979/IMG_20220917_222329.jpg) [Dirty switch array](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsheradin/kb_adventures/master/IBM%204979/IMG_20220917_222427.jpg) [Plastic degradation with glass fiber exposed](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsheradin/kb_adventures/master/IBM%204979/IMG_20220917_222917.jpg) [Spacer foam turned to tar](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsheradin/kb_adventures/master/IBM%204979/IMG_20220917_223524.jpg) [Disassembled](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsheradin/kb_adventures/master/IBM%204979/IMG_20220918_004119.jpg) [Cleaned plate and new foam](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsheradin/kb_adventures/master/IBM%204979/IMG_20220918_105836.jpg) [Dirty stems](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsheradin/kb_adventures/master/IBM%204979/IMG_20220918_102625.jpg) [Cleaned stems](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsheradin/kb_adventures/master/IBM%204979/IMG_20220918_112617.jpg) [Ready to assemble](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsheradin/kb_adventures/master/IBM%204979/IMG_20220918_113954.jpg) [Assembled stems](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsheradin/kb_adventures/master/IBM%204979/IMG_20220918_120522.jpg) [Cleaned switch grid](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsheradin/kb_adventures/master/IBM%204979/IMG_20220918_133525.jpg) [Keyboard sans caps](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsheradin/kb_adventures/master/IBM%204979/IMG_20220918_134310.jpg) [Keyboard sans caps 2](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsheradin/kb_adventures/master/IBM%204979/IMG_20220918_135001.jpg) [Keyboard good to go](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsheradin/kb_adventures/master/IBM%204979/IMG_20220918_140600.jpg) I won't go into too much detail about troubleshooting and repairing the CRT unless anyone asks. Short story is that some resistors didn't age well. Some fresh modern ones and it's good to go. [Open resistor](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsheradin/kb_adventures/master/IBM%204979/IMG_20220916_163052.jpg) The protocol is a pretty basic parallel bus with a secretarial caps lock handled by the keyboard logic. I was able to whip up some QMK code and a converter to speak to it. [Reverse engineering](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsheradin/kb_adventures/master/IBM%204979/IMG_20220919_180304.jpg) [Captured waveforms](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsheradin/kb_adventures/master/IBM%204979/unknown-1.png) [Matrix logical layout](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsheradin/kb_adventures/master/IBM%204979/IMG_20220920_174611_579.jpg) [Quick and dirty converter](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsheradin/kb_adventures/master/IBM%204979/IMG_20220919_215514.jpg) [Internals cleaned](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsheradin/kb_adventures/master/IBM%204979/IMG_20220922_111046.jpg) [It's alive!](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsheradin/kb_adventures/master/IBM%204979/IMG_20220922_112601.jpg) Absolutely no modifications were made to the terminal other than cleaning, repairing, and replacing aged materials with archival grade equivalents. Conversion was done entirely with a plug and play connector that interfaces with the terminal as if it were a real Series/1. Right now it's plugged into a Raspberry Pi, boots up to a login prompt, and works perfectly! This is without a doubt the best way to experience a text adventure game if you ask me.
This is my Nixdorf 8850 keyboard which came out in the mid 1970s (although I think mine is a later 80s version). It dates from an era where computer design was still the wild west. There were no standard or correct ways to do anything so every manufacturer made it up as they went along. This keyboard is an excellent example of siloed design. Absolutely every aspect of it is complete bonkers and over-engineered to the extreme. It was in quite good condition aside from the grime. I gave it a thorough inside and out cleaning along with a light sous-vide retro-bright just to take the edge off of the yellowing. It features the *real* OG Nixie switch, none of that Cherry stuff. The switch sensing is done via inductive coupling. Each stem contains a magnet which changes the saturation of a ferrite core with the position of the key. The matrix scanning is done in analog using what's effectively an old school FPGA. The matrix driver requires about 20W of power and around 24V input. After a bit of use, some chips will get up to about 40C. I spent quite a bit of time trying to convert the protocol to USB. Best I can tell there needs to be some sort of serial handshake to initialize the protocol. Eventually I turned my attention to the internal card edge connector on the board. I'm not sure what its original use was, probably factory testing. The important thing is that it sat on a parallel bus which the two main chips used to communicate. After a bit of sniffing I was able to decipher it: * 10 data lines total * 8 bits are a parallel address for each key * 1 bit is the press state of the key at that address * 1 line is a rising edge clock signal * Board is NKRO * Matrix data whizzes by at about 16kHz I whipped up some QMK code which utilized raw port IO to read the bus in real time. The keyboard works perfectly over USB. It is completely reversible should this board ever be used with an 8850 terminal in the future (if any exist). [https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsheradin/kb\_adventures/master/Nixdorf%208850/IMG\_20220512\_180917.jpg](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsheradin/kb_adventures/master/Nixdorf%208850/IMG_20220512_180917.jpg) [https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsheradin/kb\_adventures/master/Nixdorf%208850/IMG\_20220512\_195208.jpg](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsheradin/kb_adventures/master/Nixdorf%208850/IMG_20220512_195208.jpg) [https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsheradin/kb\_adventures/master/Nixdorf%208850/IMG\_20220512\_200151.jpg](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsheradin/kb_adventures/master/Nixdorf%208850/IMG_20220512_200151.jpg) [https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsheradin/kb\_adventures/master/Nixdorf%208850/IMG\_20220512\_204612.jpg](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsheradin/kb_adventures/master/Nixdorf%208850/IMG_20220512_204612.jpg) [https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsheradin/kb\_adventures/master/Nixdorf%208850/IMG\_20220516\_230352.jpg](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsheradin/kb_adventures/master/Nixdorf%208850/IMG_20220516_230352.jpg) [https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsheradin/kb\_adventures/master/Nixdorf%208850/IMG\_20220930\_224716.jpg](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsheradin/kb_adventures/master/Nixdorf%208850/IMG_20220930_224716.jpg) [https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsheradin/kb\_adventures/master/Nixdorf%208850/IMG\_20220930\_224908.jpg](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsheradin/kb_adventures/master/Nixdorf%208850/IMG_20220930_224908.jpg)