Comment on Free Talk Friday - January 23rd, 2026

walden@wetshav.ing ⁨6⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

I’ve wanted a 3D printer for years, so I finally ordered one from Prusa. It should be delivered in the coming week and then I’ll have 2 or 3 nights of assembly before I can print anything.


I have a ski trip planned with 6 other people. It’ll be just us – no spouses or kids. 2 days of driving and 2 days of skiing in northern Vermont. We did the same thing last year and it’s so much fun.


I’ve had a solar shed for a while, with some small panels that charge a 300Ah LiFePo4 12v battery which can power a 1000w inverter. It serves me well, but Lithium batteries have a limitation of getting damaged if you charge them below freezing. The battery has a built in temperature sensor to prevent such damage, and in the winter months the capacity gets drawn down as I’m unable to charge… until now! I bought some heating pads to put under the battery that I can switch on and off remotely. If the battery gets too cold I switch them on for a few hours and the battery warms up nicely and starts charging.

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