Tuesday, December 31, 2024

2024

Wrapping up 2024, and Welcome to 2025!

The image to the left takes you to the index (home) page which lists all major topics.

To search this blog you have to use the desktop version of this blog.

This link will show all 2024 posts.

And in spite of accomplishing nothing, somehow it doesn't feel like a bad year. That's weird...

Countdown to 2025 - #1 - My forever Music Top 3

Countdown + Music

I should write a long and extensive post about the purpose of life, love, the state of the universe and everything. Instead I'm just going to give you my Top 3 in music. And damn, it turns out that that's actually hard!

Monday, December 30, 2024

Countdown to 2025 - #2 - Top 3 of Failed Intentions

Countdown + Column

It's the end of the year, so here we go again... Good intentions.

I have a few... Pretty much the same as last year and I just might fail yet again. But I'm going to try again! I'll tell you next year how things ended up...

Sunday, December 29, 2024

Countdown to 2025 - #3 - Best SF & Fantasy books ever (my Top 3)

Countdown + Scifi books + Fantasy books

You may have noticed that a large part of this blog consists of nothing but SciFi and Fantasy book reviews. I'm 58 now, and I've done nothing but reading SF and Fantasy over the last 40 odd years. There has been the occaisional side trip into other genres, but in the end I always return to my roots 😇 So, what are the best books I've ever read?

Saturday, December 28, 2024

Countdown to 2025 - #4 - The MCU Multiverse versus The Kang Dynasty (and my Top 3 MCU movies)

Countdown + Movie Review + Series Review

In Marvel MCU terms there is little difference between alternate timelines and alternate universes, so I'll group them together.

And - even if you dislike Jonathan Majors - there are some multiverse installments worth watching.

Friday, December 27, 2024

Countdown to 2025 - #5 - Disney+ - The Marvels (and my Top 3 of how humanity will fail)

CountdownMovies Review + Disney+

The preceding show Ms Marvel isn’t that bad, except for an overly short season. This one though… yeah, this one didn’t work. It’s a pity because it had some promising elements, but the end result is a hasty mess.

The verdict? Skip it.

Thursday, December 26, 2024

Countdown to 2025 - #6 - Exploding Kittens (and my Top 3 Christmas Songs)

Gaming + Music

I like board and card games, though I don't play them much. It's one of those things you always plan to indulge in, but rarely do.

But... this year I bought Exploding Kittens. It's (too) expensive but a lot of fun. I just found the rules a little confusing (at first).

Wednesday, December 25, 2024

Countdown to 2025 - #7 - Fixing a Mouse (and my Top 3 repair jobs)

Countdown + Datatalk + DIY

It takes money to replace broken stuff. I'd rather save some money by trying to repair it first. If possible.

Which isn't always possible, but at least I managed to repair this simple computer mouse. Which made me think what else I fixed over time?

Tuesday, December 24, 2024

Countdown to 2025 - #8 - One year of Fahr Vergnugen / driving and modding the MX-5 / Miata (and my Top 3 in Cars)

CountdownCar + MX-5

8 days... and today, Christmas Eve is upon us, and that means talking about presents. The New Year is almost upon us, and that means top-whatever lists. Let's talk about cars then...

Monday, December 23, 2024

Countdown to 2025 - #9 - Netflix - Orphan Black Echoes - Season 1 (and my Top 3 Television Series)

CountdownSeries Review + Netflix

Perhaps not as good as the original Orphan Black (ignoring the nose-dive and recovery near the end of that show) but still quite interesting. I wasn’t expecting the killing of such an essential character near the end though… Was it to attract new viewers, or the original plan of the creators? Who can tell?

Monday, December 16, 2024

Cheating Scribd

Datatalk + Wallpaper

Okay, first of all: don't support piracy! If you like something, then simply buy it!

Now, I can understand you want to preview something before actually buying it, and in that case I'll close one eye and consider a download for preview to be acceptable. Obviously, I expect you to actually buy the product if you like it, and otherwise delete what you downloaded.

Apple TV - For All Mankind - Seasons 1, 2 and 3

Series Review + Apple TV

This is an alternate reality, where space exploration took a bit of a different route, and humanity - for one reason or another - got way more serious about 'way up there' than in our own reality. Add some drama, and you may end up with a great television series.

Tuesday, December 10, 2024

(Onbegrijpelijke) Bandenmaten (Dutch)

Car + MX-5 + Dutch

Recent (nou ja) heb ik een tweede setje banden plus velgen voor m'n MX-5 gehaald, en opnieuw begreep ik helemaal niets van band- en velg-maten. Tijd om me daar eens in te verdiepen.

Monday, December 9, 2024

Amazon Prime - Beacon 23 - Seasons 1 & 2

Series Review + Amazon Prime

I binged Beacon 23. Think of a lighthouse in space, home to lots of double dealings in the current and the past. I haven't read the book(s) but the series by itself is fine and perfectly watchable, and it more or less sticks the landing after two seasons.

Friday, December 6, 2024

Tips voor Jango (Dutch)

MusicDutch

Ik gebruik af en toe Jango om nieuwe muziek te vinden.

En voor de echte Nederlanders onder ons: Jango is gratis 😇

Lees meer...

Monday, December 2, 2024

Linden A. Lewis - The First Sister / The Second Rebel / The Last Hero

Audiobook Review

Linden A. Lewis proves that you should be careful how you title your book. Searching for 'The First Sister' on Goodreads gives more than ten pages of results 😅

After that little aside we get back to the core question: how's the book?

Saturday, November 30, 2024

Past 195/55 R16 onder een MX-5? NC2 (Dutch)

Car + MX-5 + Dutch

Standaard heeft m'n MX5 205/25 R17 banden op Mazda OEM ET50 (55?) velgen.

In plaats van echte winterbanden ga ik deze winter op Four Seasons rijden, dwz. Pirelli Cinturato SF3. De bandenboer heeft 16" bandjes en bijpassende velgen geleverd, en 195/55 R16 op IT Wheels Kira S-114 ET45 velgen gemonteerd.

Monday, November 25, 2024

Road 96 on PS4

Gaming + PS4

Road 96 is an interactive story slash point'n'click adventure. (Or, on the PS4, move-the-pointer-and-sigh-and-click.) Don't expect high speed action, ray traced landscapes, or smooth character animations. It's janky, sometimes illogical, political, and might not be to everyone's liking.

But it's cheap - always a good thing - and it has style and atmosphere. So, why / why not?

Monday, November 18, 2024

Disney+ - DeadPool & Wolverine (2024)

Movie Review + Disney+

Largely entertaining, but not as good as the previous two Deadpool movies. The ending was a bit of a cop-out (with the typical super villain about to destroy the world) and I found the second half of the movie somewhat predictable and boring.

Though it is entertaining...

Saturday, November 16, 2024

(Frontier gebaseerde) goedkope DAB & Internet radio's - Prijzen en varianten (Dutch)

Review (kinda) + Dutch

Een nieuwe golf van DAB+ / Internet component radio's?

Stiekum ben ik best onder de indruk, dus ben ik eens gaan kijken wat er zoal te koop is in hetzelfde formaat met soortgelijke mogelijkheden...

Thursday, November 14, 2024

Bambu Labs X1C / P1P / P1S - Heated Bed 110V vs 230V

3D Printing + X1C + Chamber Temperature

All Bambu's are created equal.

Yes. And that's a problem. Not a real problem, but it poses some interesting questions, especially when it comes to heat-soaking the build chamber. (More about that here.)

Read more...

Wednesday, November 6, 2024

Zoektocht naar de juiste muziek... (Dutch)

Music + Spotify + Dutch

Ik heb mijn favoriete artiesten en muziek, maar soms zoek ik iets nieuws. Er zijn zelfs momenten dat ik iets vind 😂

Lees meer...

Monday, November 4, 2024

Disney+ - Agatha All Along

Series Review + Disney+

There will never be a season 2. But - in a way - Agatha All Along is a kind of season 2, as it is a clear sequel to Wandavision.

And, to immediately get to the point, it's great!


Friday, November 1, 2024

Using Ikea Ivar to store 3D Printer build plates

3D Printing

Plates, plates, plates...

I gathered a rather large number of plates when doing all sorts of 3D Printing experiments, and had to put them somewhere... Now I do have a lot of Ikea in my home, including the versatile Ivar rack.

Friday, October 11, 2024

Getting rid of (some) Bambu (X1C) Purge Lines

3D Printing

Sometimes you may need all the building plate space you can get. Or you have build your own G10 / FR4 plate, and found out you just misaligned the top surface, making it impossible to print the rear purge lines... (Oops 😳)

Here's how to fix that...

Friday, October 4, 2024

Plate Lab - Glass Fiber based Building Plates - Part V - DIY FR4 Plate

I made these tools to fabricate some of my own plates. These 'tools' are made using wood, some PETG bits and pieces, and a router. These made it a little easier to assemble a plate (but there's still a lot of room for improvements).

Plate Lab - Glass Fiber based Building Plates - Part IV - Crap & Danger

3240 can be anything. And stuff sold as FR4 can be outright crap.

So, there's the enterprising Chinese entrepreneur who sells very old FR4 on Amazon... It may once have qualified as FR4, but not today. These plates were old, ugly, damaged, full of scratches, and definitely contain formaldehyde, bromide, and probably tons of other halogens.

Moral of the story: made sure you know what and where you buy!

Tuesday, October 1, 2024

Wallpaper - Who is going to save Humanity? (Part II)

Wallpaper

I can't imagine you haven't seen it, but if you did not then go and watch Person of Interest. This is the counterpart to last month's wallpaper.

I use WallX to keep the upsized background from hurting my eyes...

Thursday, September 12, 2024

Disintegrating PLA - 4 years with limited heat load

3D Printing + Old Filament

This is an electronics housing printed in Innofill FR PLA, and this is what happens after a few years. Note that this is with a heat load of just 4W!

(Click on image to enlarge)

It spontaneously disintegrates. It makes you rethink on the use of PLA in certain applications, flame retardant or not...

Fusion - Turn a Mesh into a regular Solid Body

3D Printing + Fusion

I've seen several videos and explanations that make little sense, no longer work, or only work in commercial versions.

But... the following method (mostly and often) works (for now).

Wednesday, September 11, 2024

Fire Resistant / Flame Retardant / Self-Extinguishing / Non-Flammable Filament

3D Printing + FR Filaments

In the past I've printed some small housings for electronics. Most hobbyists do, and most of the time we're not considering how flammable (printed) filament can be.

I've gathered a few illustrative videos, as well as a list of materials and possible (Dutch) sources. This may lead to a little investigation into the flammability of filament. I might turn it into a YouTube video, yeah! (Pfffff 🙄)

Friday, September 6, 2024

Am I Passive Aggressive? Or just a Slimy Baboon?

Column

The Internet is a weird place. It has allowed people a kind of freedom, a place to express themselves in ways that were never possible before.

On the other hand, its (perceived) anonymity is often used as an excuse to attack every person who has a different opinion.

One of the weapons used is (claiming someone is being) Passive Aggressive. But what does that actually mean? That I'm a baboon?

Tuesday, September 3, 2024

3D Smell... 3D Printing & Air Quality

3D Printing + Air Quality + Carbonmax + Filtermax

The smelly smell of smell...

Go watch this if you're into 3D Printing (and never considered the dangers): 3D printers are worse than I thought by Made With Layers. That's a good video on air pollution, possible dangerous particles, and gasses, when 3D Printing... (And he has a Fornuftig as well.)


Particles, PLA, PETG, VOC, HEPA, air quality and pollution, non-acid washed Activated Carbon... Things might be more complex than I once thought, and my 3D Printer might not be that harmless... Perhaps.


On an inspired side note:

I took the original Carbonmax and created my own (improved?) FilterMax.


Sunday, September 1, 2024

Wallpaper - Who is going to save Humanity? (Part I)

Wallpaper

Can AI save us from aliens, or can aliens save us from AI?

(One day someone is going to make a remake of 'V' that actually becomes a smash hit...)

Wednesday, August 28, 2024

The cheapest filament ever (round 2)

3D Printing + Cheap Filament

Yesterday I found (what I think is) another reincarnation of SMIC Technologies / Nova Technologies / Thomas Chain Discount Shop / ...

Now, the original SMIC never shipped my order, and I think it's a scam. But I like to be fooled twice...

Tuesday, August 27, 2024

Plate Lab - Glass Fiber based Building Plates - Part III - Textured Surfaces

3D Printing + Plate Lab

There's surprisingly little understandable explanation of the impact of texture on adhesion and release on print beds... But we can reason it through. (And steal from the real scientists 😇)

Obviously, texture also applies to PEI, Polyurea, and in fact, every other plate!

Monday, August 26, 2024

The cheapest filament ever (or is it a scam?)

3D Printing + Cheap Filament

I'm still waiting for the delivery of my 10 kg PETG... and somehow I doubt I will ever get it.

So, am I being scammed, and will I ever see a refund?

Monday, August 19, 2024

The cheapest filament ever (and where to find product details on orders on AliExpress)

3D Printing + Cheap Filament

Well, there must be cheaper, but this was the cheapest I ever found so far... 10 kilo of PETG, for  5.17 euro per kilogram, including shipping from Spain.

I've ordered it, and it should arrive tomorrow. When checking my order, I found a few interesting details that have me ever so slightly worried... if a. I'll ever going to get it, and b. what the hell is it?

Plate Lab - Glass Fiber based Building Plates - Part II - (Surface) Materials

3D Printing + Plate Lab

For a change this is all about the surface (of building plates, yes, but ain't it great to be superficial for once?)

I've split the previous page in two, as it was starting to confuse myself, and moved all the material stuff in here.

Plate Lab - Glass Fiber based Building Plates - Part I - The Basics

3D Printing + Plate Lab

This is a boring page. Skip it if you don't care about the materials used in your glass fiber / carbon based Building Plate.

Still with me? Okay. Here we go... Remember: everything in this post is about using glass (carbon) fiber based materials as build plates.

Monday, August 12, 2024

Plate Lab - Textured PEI - Bambu and Third Party

3D Printing + Plate Lab

In the beginning 😇 Bambu Lab was shipping the X1C with random plates. These days they all seem to come with the gold colored textured PEI plate (at least here in NL). A sensible thing, as it's one of the easiest to use 😏

Textured PEI doesn't just make sense for Bambu Lab owners... they make sense for every 3D printer with a heated bed.

Plate Lab - Cleaning Building Plates

3D Printing

How to clean a 3D Printer building plate? It ain't much more than simply cleaning the dishes...

Read more...

Netflix - Rebel Moon 1 & 2

Movie Review + Netflix

Rebel Moon is... a mess. Take Star Wars, add a bit of B-movie stuff like Krull, try to incorporate elements of the different 47 Ronin movies and it's descendants (The Magnificent Seven, Seven Samurai, and even Battle Beyond the Stars).

Next, spend a lot of money on effects, tits, and gross-dom, and call it the 'Director's Cut'...

Thursday, August 8, 2024

Fat Miata / Thic Mx-5 - Why Cupholders Make All the Difference

Column + Car + MX-5 + Wallpaper

People complain my Mazda MX-5 NC2 is fat.

Let me be clear. I'm fat. My car isn't.

Read more...

Wednesday, August 7, 2024

Plate Lab - PEY and relatives - All the holographic stuff

3D Printing + Plate Lab

To be honest, I don't own a single one of those PEO / PEY 'holographic' plates, except the 'PET Carbon' one. Which a. isn't made of carbon, and b. has some very minor texture to it (though I can't feel it). And c. This page is pretty useless 🤣

Read more...

Sunday, August 4, 2024

Disney+ - Shogun 2024 - Season 1

Series Review + Shogun + Disney+

I doubt we'll ever get a second season, and it isn't necessary. And though I've read the book, the ending was still... somewhat unexpected.

The story is complete, the show is done after 10 episodes, and my verdict is short and simple: it's a great watch, all ten episodes long. 

Thursday, August 1, 2024

Plate Lab - Bigtreetech Panda Dual Textured SSS building plate (black)

3D Printing + Plate Lab

Bigtreetech sells a number of products aimed at the Bambu Lab printers, all using the Panda moniker. Marketing-wise it's a great idea. Product-wise the SSS plate is a bit of a disaster.

It looks like PEI (but only at first glance). It isn't though. It might be epoxy, some other unholy coating, or it might be a kind of truck bedliner / oily paint.

Nobody knows, including Bigtreetech.

Wallpaper - Dear Author... (Too Close for Comfort)

Wallpaper

Found this on Penny Arcade, which is either a complete miss, or a spot-on hit. This one goes into the latter category... How does it feel to be an aspiring author?


Wednesday, July 31, 2024

Plate Lab - X1C Aruco codes and all Bambu Lab plates

3D Printing + Plate Lab

The Bambu Lab X1C has an interesting option. It looks for a marker on the building plate, and warns you if the plate inserted does not match the one you've used during slicing. Pretty convenient, isn't it?

The P1S and P1P don't use this code, and many cheaper build plates don't have a code. So what to do?

Monday, July 29, 2024

Anne McCaffrey - The ship who sang / Partner-ship / The city who fought / ...

Book Review

I never know what to think of Anne McAffrey. She has an easy going writing style, and I like her characters and ideas, but I feel some of the stories are simply not challenging enough, and with that I mean it is almost like the author isn't challenging herself.

Still, The ship who sang is a scifi classic.