Last night I played sand volleyball. It’s been close to a month since I played last and this is only the third time I have played in 7 months plus. Things went surprisingly well. My team went 5-1 and my play was solid all around. Although I was tired by the end of the night overall my endurance felt improved over the last time I played. Most importantly other than some mild soreness I feel pretty unaffected physically from two plus hours of sand volleyball, a big positive in my mind.
My weekend is looking pretty full. I hope to play pickleball tomorrow morning and then have to go into the office Saturday afternoon to get some server work completed. I would love to get the gutters cleaned and the leaf guards installed. I also have the new AMS 2 system that I want to install on my X1C printer to address load errors I am getting from one of the slots. I will make sure to allocate some time to just chill, hopefully.
It was a stormy evening last night. Elsa is terrified of rain, lightning and thunder but surprisingly I got her to go outside and do her business after work as I held an oversized umbrella over her head. It was a good night to get stuff done around the house. It looks like I am selling one of my Prusa Mini’s to one of my YouTube subscribers. I worked on getting the printer ready by updating the four year old firmware and calibrating it. The firmware was so old that I could not just install the latest and greatest. It had to be a two stage process where I installed an intermediate version before I was able to jump to current.
I then turned my attention to the bench where the two Bambu printers reside. The area was just too cluttered with tools and accessories that are used to maintain the printers. Doing something as simple as changing the filament on the AMS or emptying the poop bucket often resulted in me knocking something else over. I dumped everything out and reorganized and relocated a number of items that were not needed. I have like 7 or 8 years of various tools associated with my 3D printer hobby, a number of them were no longer needed.
By the time I was done the bench top looked 100% better to me. When things that initially are chaotic become organized and orderly it brings me a sense of accomplishment and peace that I never tire of. To be honest I need to do a sweep throughout that entire room to get rid of things I really don’t use or need. When I moved in and found a place for everything I had I felt it was good enough but now it needs to enter phase two of clean up where anything that has not been touched since I moved in needs to get tossed.
The hard rain last night emphasized my need to attend to the gutters and leaf guards that I have sitting in a box. The water in certain areas was just pouring over the gutter sides due to debris. Last time I cleaned the gutters it only took me around an hour. I need to get that done soon before daily downpours is a reality.
I got out to see Ballerina last night which is meant to be a prequel to the John Wick series. The main character has all of the killing ability of John but in the package of a petite female. It definitely met or even exceeded the original movies in terms of action and methods that somebody can be eliminated even including the use of flame throwers, fire hose and ice skates, yes ice skates. I mean it was entertaining if you are care only about the action and little about much else. It felt very predictable and silly at times although I didn’t realize that John himself would be appearing in the prequel as much as he was. I’d give it a B.
Last night I wanted to set aside time to work on the X1C printer. I have been frustrated that I have not been able to utilize the printer fully since I got it with odd issues. I took several steps last night to correct it. I had a brand new hot end that I just received yesterday. I installed it but before I did I also removed the extruder and cleaned it. I also removed the PTFE tube to verify there were no blockages. While I was in there I also replaced the cutter blade. None of this was an extreme measure however I took an additional step.
I decided to buy the AMS 2 unit (the thing that holds the four different filaments) that comes with Bambu’s new printer, the H2D. It has a number of improvements and is backwards compatible with the X1C. Was this step necessary? Probably not but I plan to use this printer heavily so I could justify the new AMS in my head. I can sell the old AMS hopefully to offset some of the expense. I did a small three color print after all of the work and it came out fine, the first multicolor print to do so. Hopefully I soon can start doing a lot less trouble shooting and more printing on the X1C.
Friday evening I offered to take some friends of mine over to Miami to attend a concert. I once again heavily utilized Tesla FSD to make what could have been a white knuckle driving experience much more pleasant. Concert parking is not cheap nowadays, $60 for the privilege is the going rate. I just hung mostly in my car for the duration although a few times I walked around outside where I could hear the music pretty clearly. The people watching opportunities were top tier. FSD was again a big help on the return trip as it does not get drowsy as I do when driving at 1AM.
Saturday I did something I had not done in a very long time, change the oil in my Tacoma. I change the oil in the truck consistently every 5000 miles. The thing is nowadays it takes a long time for me to accumulate 5000 miles on my 2016 Taco. The last time I changed the oil was February of last year. The work went fine with me wearing a bunch of oil during the process which is normal.
I also did a test run on my generator since we are now getting back into hurricane season. There is nothing worse than needing a generator and having it be dead. I was pretty busy all Saturday afternoon just tending to stuff that needed to get done. I did some more testing on my new X1C and again ran into issues doing a multi-color print. I am going to start throwing some spare parts at the problem. The parts were included with the printer so I may as well give it a go.
My significant event on Sunday was doing a range test on my new Nosfet Aero. I heard others mention getting around 25 miles of range so I expected something in that ballpark. It was very warm Sunday afternoon but I sweated through a 32 mile ride. The wheel exceeded my expectations significantly. It’s been a long time since I have done a ride of that duration/length and my body felt it. I woke up with very sore calves the following day. It was a great ride that took me all over my local stomping area.
I stayed up late editing the footage from the day before passing out somewhere around midnight.
Yesterday I tried my first multicolor print on the X1C. Things appeared to be going great until the 50% mark where it had to load black filament for the first time. It failed. I tried to just do an unload and reload manually but the color did not load to the hot end. I am not sure if there is a blockage in the hot end or something else but it was too late at night for me to worry about it. I’ll have to dig deeper this weekend.
Speaking of weekend it will likely be a busy one. I have three projects that I need to get done sometime soonish. The oil in the Tacoma needs to be changed, a task I do far less often than I once did. I also bought leaf guards for my gutters that I want to install at strategic locations. Of course before installing those I need to clean out the gutters first. Finally I need to refresh the mulch in the landscaped areas around the house, a laborious but simple process. It would be nice if I get at least one of those tasks done over the weekend.
Yesterday the shocking news, to me at least, that Elon and Trump are now engaged in all out warfare, was all over the internet. Somehow just now Elon found out just how full of shit the new budget bill is and is angry about it. Things quickly escalated to personal attacks on both sides with Elon claiming credit for Trumps victory as well as accusing him as being prominently mentioned in the Epstein files. I believe this morning I heard he also called for Trump’s impeachment. Trump said Elon was just mad about the EV mandate being revoked and made direct threats to various connections/support Elon’s companies receive from the federal government.
Just last week Elon was in the White House getting his ass kissed left and right by Trump, even being given a golden key to the capital. To have things reverse so quickly is pretty crazy even by today’s standards where insanity is the new norm. Both men are certified egomaniacs and I don’t see either choosing to back down. Where this escalation leads nobody knows. The irony of it all…
I have mostly separated myself from the circus which is now the US political system. It’s corrupted to it’s core and I can do nothing to change it. I try to keep things I have no control over from having a significant impact on my day to day happiness and quality of life.
I had a very productive night, not only working on tasks related to getting back from the trip but a number of other things as well. One of those things was getting the X1C set up in the office. To make room I did a printer shuffle which included moving one of my Prusa’s to the guest bedroom. Setting up and calibrating the X1C took some time.
My first test print messed up so I think I have some more tweaking to do yet. I also set up my Prusa Mini for the first time in over a year just to make sure it still works. The printer has been collecting dust on a shelf for quite awhile. My plan is to sell that printer and possibly two more. If I am not using them, why keep them.
I also unboxed a sand art device that arrived while I was gone. I ordered it over a month ago. I have seen these for years and always wanted one. It utilizes a small metal ball with a magnet underneath to draw patterns in fine white sand. When combined with the RGB lighting it sets a very chill vibe. I really like it.
When I was doing the set up of the X1C I was having an issue seeing well because the lighting in the office is less than fantastic. I remembered another box that came while I was gone, a head mounted light device.
This thing is fantastic. Sure you look a little ridiculous but man does it light up whatever you are working on. No more need to try to awkwardly use your phone light as the head mounted option lights up whatever you are looking at. I’m not quite sure how I have managed to go this long with out one.
When I finally retired to bed it was with a feeling of satisfaction for making my Tuesday evening especially productive.
I returned last evening from a long road trip to Texas to attend my niece’s graduation ceremony. It was a very condensed trip over 5 days which included a total of roughly 48 hours of driving, yes 48 hours. I will get into some details about the drive in a bit.
I had not seen my sister or her family in around two years. In that time period the kids, especially Griffin have grown like crazy. I am pretty sure he has sprung up at least 7 or 8 inches since I last saw him.
I got to see their dog and my good buddy Ozzy who of course was beyond excited. Their house was looking great. Damon had completed a number of projects since I last visited. I have always wished I had the same degree of construction expertise as he has. He has the ability to build an entire house himself, if he wanted to.
Emily’s graduation ceremony was very cool, held in a big ballroom. The event included dinner, the ceremony itself, and music/dancing afterward. It was very well done. Afterward we headed back to their house where the kids kicked my ass in some video games, one of their favorite things to do with Uncle Shawn. We also went out for a dinner and a couple big breakfasts while there, the last of which was Sunday morning, the day I pulled out. It was really nice to see everyone and made me wish that 1400 miles was not always between us.
The drive back was just as long of course but thanks to the Tesla full self driving feature it was way less stressful than it could have been. FSD was nothing short of amazing.
If I were to guess the car drove itself for 95% of the trip and it did so pretty flawlessly. This was not a case of just allowing it to take over in wide open highways. I allowed FSD to navigate crazy busy Dallas rush hour traffic and the car did not flinch. It handled people cutting in and out, squeezing over to get to the correct exit and every other scenario you could imagine without issue. It totally changed the stress level of the journey.
Of course I could drive in that traffic but it requires your head being on a swivel as you are limited to your maybe 145 degree field of vision as opposed to seeing 360 degrees in real time as the car does. Being able to just pick a destination and have the car do the heavy lifting is a real game changer when it comes to being able to tolerate long drives such as this. In addition the seats are so comfortable that even with that amount of saddle time my ass or back was never in significant discomfort.
Charging the car was easy as well as it automatically routes you through superchargers as necessary. Most of the charge stops were 15 minutes or less. People view having to charge more often than filling up your car with gas as a huge hassle. It’s not in reality, at least for me. Each driving segment is normally between one and a half and two and half hours in length. After that period of time getting out to stretch my legs, use the bathroom and grab a drink or snack is welcomed, not annoying. To me the Tesla gets an A+ for it’s performance during this trip.
I am tired today as I did not allow myself an additional day off to get things back in order with this trip but I will survive. It was a good experience in every aspect and I’m glad I did it.
Yesterday I was on Facebook marketplace when an interesting listing popped into my face, a used Bambu Lab X1C printer. Until a few months ago this was the top of the line printer that Bambu produced. A lot of them have been for sale because people are wanting to buy the newer and bigger H2D model. I have been looking to snag one of these deals and last night I did.
I told the guy I really needed to do the transaction last night as tonight I will be busy prepping for my road trip. He was very agreeable and said he needed time to clean the printer up for me. He asked if 10PM was ok. I never have done a transaction at 10PM but I said sure, why not.
I pulled up a little early and got a tour of his 3D printing operation. It was a geek heaven with printers in not one but two rooms. He prints and sells some of his stuff on Etsy. It was such a cool set up which gave me immediate envy, and ideas that I could possibly utilize myself. He was very generous with his time and was happy to tell me about various parts of his process. The printer I was buying looks great. He also threw in a bunch of accessories and spare parts in the deal which I appreciated.
The cherry on top came when he opened his garage door after seeing my Tesla, revealing his Cybertruck. As if we didn’t already have enough stuff to geek out about, we then talked Tesla for quite awhile. It was really a cool experience. Unfortunately I will have no time to dig into the printer until I return next week so it will have to just reside on my Workmate table for now. I am going to have to do some significant reorganizing in my office to come up with a workable lay out.
As mentioned tonight I have to prep for my road trip to Texas. I would like to have things all ready to roll as my plan is to depart very early Thursday morning to try to get a jump on some traffic. I have reenabled FSD on my Tesla which will make the many, many miles much easier to deal with. It’s been two years since I have seen my sister and my family so it will be good to see them. It’s going to be a very brief visit but surely packed with all sorts of memories along the way.
Saturday morning I was up with the alarm to load up Elsa to head 175 miles north in my Tesla. The destination was PEV Connection in Clearwater. I was going up there to drop off and pick up a wheel. I have documented here the discomfort I have been having with riding the the F22 due to the steep dihedral angle on it’s pedals. Well I came up with an unconventional solution, get rid of the barely one month old wheel.
I made arrangements to trade my F22 for a Nosfet Aero, a very cool small form factor suspension wheel that recently came out. In terms of dollars the trade was definitely not in my benefit however in my reality it was. The Aero will fit my needs just fine where as the F22 was basically not being ridden because it caused me pain to ride it.
I met Rob who is one of the owners of the store. Despite being in the hobby for roughly nine years I had never been in a brick and mortar PEV store. He seemed like a real good guy and his shop had a little bit of everything. I got a chance to not only ride the Aero I was picking up but also two different Nosfet Apex which I never rode before. I hung at the store for roughly an hour before reversing direction and heading home with my new wheel in hand. I never had a situation where I got rid of a new wheel after roughly a month. Hopefully I never have to do so again.
Saturday afternoon I worked on getting my A1 printer functional once again. I bought a new filament detection sensor to replace the one I damaged trying to clear a jam. The repair/replacement had some tedious aspects to it but I was able to get the printer functioning once again after a few headaches.
Since I did not get to play Saturday morning I decided to head to the pickleball courts Sunday morning to get some games in. I did not get there until after 9:30 so the heat and humidity was already ramping up. I played seven very sweaty games but managed to win all of them. I feel nervous about jinxing myself but I am playing better because my IT band issue has been feeling much better. Hopefully it continues.
After eating lunch I grabbed the painting supplies the HOA president had dropped off for me the previous day. The two large signs at the entrance to our community needed some attention. The grey trim portions of them was badly faded from the sun. Instead of paying someone to do the work I volunteered to do it to save the HOA a few bucks. The work was hot and sweaty but not awful. I got the first coat on in about 90 minutes. I did the second coat the following day.
Sunday night I did a short live stream where I talked about my F22 for Aero transaction. I then headed for a late night showing of the last Mission Impossible movie at 10PM. As always the movie had tons of action but overall I thought it was sort of dumb and silly. The villain was laughable as his lines and actions were just incredibly corny. The depiction of the Entity was dumb as well. You would think Tom Cruise could kick Superman’s ass by the end of it. I’d give it a B. However the movie itself was almost secondary to the sideshow that was sitting next to me.
In that seat was an old man, an old man that apparently never ever breathes through his nose. He was a mouth breather and a very loud and annoying one at that. Whenever the sound from the movie died down you heard this guy breathing, that is unless he was eating food or sucking on one of the several lollipops he brought. It was unbelievable either the lack of self awareness this man had or the deficit of fcks he had if he annoyed everyone sitting around him.
If all of this wasn’t bad enough he had one more annoying habit. He was one of those people that isn’t able to keep his thoughts in his mind. Instead he was speaking his thoughts as the movie went along, it was just nuts. I should have moved but the theater was rather full, in retrospect I still should have relocated. The movie was long, almost 3 freaking hours so I did not get to bed until the wee hours of the morning.
My Memorial Day was good. I got a bunch of small tasks done around the house. Later in the day I got out for my first substantial ride on the Aero. The 10 miles went by quickly and I enjoyed not being in pain while riding it. I’m happy with my trade.
I have a short week ahead of me as I leave Thursday for a long road trip to Texas for my niece’s high school graduation. I’m sure it will be quite the adventure.
