Weekend Off-topic thread

Submitted ⁨⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩ by ⁨DaveWave94@sub.wetshaving.social⁩ to ⁨wetshaving@sub.wetshaving.social⁩

Hello folks!

Given that we haven’t had a Free Talk Friday thread in the last time, I now take it upon myself to post our Off-topic thread for the weekend. I always enjoyed reading these threads so I don’t want this tradition to die.

Here you can post:

what’s currently happening in your life
what you’re currently reading, watching or listening to (book, movie and music recommendations)
Any cool projects you’re working on atm
Jokes, Memes and other funny stuff not fitting elsewhere.

So, I hope everyone has fun over here. Stay safe, stay healthy! ✌🏻

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walden@sub.wetshaving.social ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
One of my recent projects/hobbies has been the solar setup in my shed. I started with a single 100w solar panel from Harbor Freight, and I’m on my 3rd charge controller after getting the bug (twice) to upgrade.

The location of the shed gets a lot of partial shade and I wasn’t getting much juice out of the single panel. It was enough to get by, but I had to be mindful of how much I drained the battery. I figured if I added a 2nd panel, at least one of them would have sun at any given time, more than doubling the output. I hooked up the second one yesterday, and sure enough today I more than doubled my previous record for watt-hours! Very impressive improvement.

Another bonus… Harbor Freight mailed me 2 panels for the price of one. They’re typically over $100 each so that was very nice of them. I’m a member of an RC airplane club and they have solar panels so people can charge their RC airplane batteries – I’ll likely donate this extra panel to them if they’re interested.

I also got a bunch of little goodies in the mail to improve the wiring. A big DC circuit breaker and some fuses for safety (and the ability to quickly disconnect things if I need to) – some bus bars to make the wiring nice and neat, and some better wire to run outside to the panels. I’m looking forward to reworking everything and getting it nice and neat.

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- gcgallant@sub.wetshaving.social ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  Very cool project. I also fly RC (well, used to). Your solar power project is a natural offshoot of the types of tinkering involved with the RC hobby.
  
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  - walden@sub.wetshaving.social ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    It’s a great hobby, isn’t it? Wood, adhesive, engines, motors, electronics, linkages, radios… and that’s all before you even go flying!
    
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- DaveWave94@sub.wetshaving.social ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  Really interesting project! Sounds like it’s working great so far.
  
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gcgallant@sub.wetshaving.social ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
So, most people of my generation smoked. Mostly cigarettes. And most of us gave this up; at least here in the states. I enjoy the aroma of fine tobacco, though, like that used in pipes, cigars, and the occasional shaving soap. It occurred to me that the harmful effects of reasonable tobacco use would catch up with me long after I have shed this mortal coil. So, I took up cigar smoking; smoking hand-rolled premium cigars. I’m enjoying it. Goes quite well with a beverage and an audiobook. In yesteryear, I smoked very cheap cigars at campsites while hiking. The purpose of this was to ward of tiny biting bugs. This works, but there’s no great enjoyment in it. I’m happy to leave that experience in the past in favor of this new one.

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- DaveWave94@sub.wetshaving.social ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  Oh, that sounds very nice. I actually also enjoy the scent of pipe/cigar tobacco a lot. Given that I used to be an occasional smoker until my consumption of tobacco and nicotine got way higher than I wanted, I actually switched to vaping in October 2022. I haven’t smoked a cigarette since December 2022, so it has actually helped me to get off cigs for over a year and switch to a less harmful alternative. I know vaping isn’t without it’s harmful side effects either, but like your cigars it has turned into somewhat of a hobby for me too. I have lots of gadgets, coils and I still enjoy nicely tasting and smelling tobacco liquids (especially those extracted from real tobacco plants). I am perfectly fine with knowing that I won’t get off of nicotine; we’re all going to die one way or another and since it gives me enjoyment, I see no reason to quit fully. So continue to enjoy your premium cigars, at least you’re off cigarettes 👍🏻
  
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  - gcgallant@sub.wetshaving.social ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    
    I haven’t smoked a cigarette since December 2022, so it has actually helped me to get off cigs for over a year and switch to a less harmful alternative.
    
    I gave up cigarettes in the late '70s. I am fortunate in that the byproducts of smoking (ash everywhere, tobacco film coating everything, etc.) annoyed me so much that I had personal motivations for quitting that were prioritized over the health benefits. I enjoyed smoking, but became disgusted by everything else about it. This made leaving it pretty easy for me and that’s uncommon. I do have some of the same issues with cigar smoking, and am working towards managing them.
    
    I am perfectly fine with knowing that I won’t get off of nicotine; we’re all going to die one way or another and since it gives me enjoyment, I see no reason to quit fully
    
    I know there are downsides to it, but nicotine does allow you to operate normally in doing typical day-to-day activities. It is quite manageable in that way.
    
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