Some model trains operate on a system called DCC, or Digital Command Control. As an alternative to DC, or Direct Current-driven models, it’s a commonly-held misconception that DCC runs on an AC, or Alternating Current circuit. In reality, it’s still using direct current, but combining it with PWM, or Pulse Width Modulation, to embed digital signals at slightly higher voltages than the regular operating voltage. These signals can be used to address individual models and send commands that allow for a model to have more functions than a DC model would be capable of, such as more sophisticated lighting, finer motor controls, sound features, consists, speed matching, automation, and a lot more.
Wow… I love electronics but I’ve never dabbled with model trains, had no idea they’ve gotten that sophisticated. I thought it was all about the miniature making etc. lol, PWM in the tracks is amazing.
Oh DCC has been around since the 80s, I think, but nowadays we can use Arduino boards as base stations in place of the more turnkey units that cost a lot more.
“I would now like to present my theories on Dark Souls lore, and why Vaatividya is wrong about nearly everything.”
I know that Patches is circumcised. Don’t ask why I know that.
Wait… Can I clip the camera through his pants and confirm this? 🤔
This is relevant to my interests…
For real, I hate that I didn’t meticulously document everything day 1 on Elden Ring because there were some bits of text that existed the day it came out that have since been removed and they would have completely changed a lot of what the story is believed to be in that game.
You can still download any old version of Elden Ring from Steam
I took physical notes… Played completely blind and tried to figure everything out on my own. Probably not too many item descriptions though.
I am particularly proud that I noticed the Katamari Damacy reference in the item description for the Graven Mass talisman.
The primeval current is a forbidden tradition of glintstone sorcery. To those who cleave to its teachings, the act of collecting sorcerers to fashion them into the seeds of stars is but another path of scientific inquiry.
If you haven’t played Katamari Damacy: The game is about rolling random crap up into a ball to turn it into a star because your dad got drunk one night and accidentally ate them all, so you need to fix it. The graven mass enemies are those balls of sorcerer heads you see once in a while and they were being used to make stars. 😂
Hell yea. I love hearing about other peoples passions.
Ok for a moment I thought she meant people from Appalachia
It’s funny because the people who are like ‘no one wants to hear it’ will launch into a diatribe about garden hoses or something like they don’t realize that is a niche interest. I had to catch a relative out about that. I think she’s gotten a bit kinder since.
What if they’re flat earthers?
User name.
What?
Existence of FET doesn’t disqualify approval of passion, to point out FET in this context might be considered as a NegativeLookBehind.
On point.
It depends. I wouldn’t listen to Andrew Tate, no matter how passionate he may be. I’d rather try to understand flat earthers than him.
Understanding the flat earth “theory” is hilariously fun, understanding Andrew Tate is just a sad perverse fascination with brain damaged insecurities.
Yeah like at least they’re creative about it you know?
Exactly. I have never seen Tate(to be fair I have only seen clips) make models or perform experiments to support their argument like the flat earth people do. They also provide supporting evidence, Tate just says “trust me bro”. Flat earthers have conventions, Tate just has convictions.
Well, Tate is a self confessed rapist who needs to play make belief to appear a billionaire to impress young boys. Don’t ever watch him, really.
Not impress, to swindle and brainwash.
If you can put the damage hes causing aside. Hes an interesting specimen. Completely brain broken and hilarious. Unfortunately people listen to him.
other than that one needs to do opposition research.
On the other hand I’d listen about him since I had no experience or awareness of him since I’m not on social media. Behind the bastards did a good podcast episode on him.
So, you know how most Australian mammals are marsupials (the ones with a pouch)? Well, the fossil record suggests marsupials first arose in the Americas and later went on to reach Australia around 50 million years ago, probably just one lucky small species that later would become kangaroos, koalas, tasmanian devils and a bunch of other fun dudes. The thing is, as far as we’re aware, the timeline of events means they got to Australia after it got separated from the rest of Gondwana with two interesting implications:
First, that they got there through rafting, which means a couple individuals crossed some expanse of ocean on top of some floating vegetation or whatever and ended up being lucky enough to survive till they landed on a new continent. Interestingly, that’s also the main theory on how (non-human) primates got from Africa to South America.
Secondly, that they migrated from South America to a not-yet-frozen-Antarctica and only then to Australia, which means all their friends who lived on Antarctica and were lucky enough to not end up in the middle of the ocean on top of some floating tree trunk ended up unknowingly condemning their descendants as the continent slowly drifted southwards and completely froze up around 10 million years ago.
Huh…if marsupials first arose in what is now the Americas, why are modern day American marsupials so…just opossums? I would expect a greater variety where they originated than where they migrated to. Competition from placental mammals not present in Australia?
Yup. As far as I know the placental mammals on Australia arrived there much later so the marsupials had already filled most available niches at that point.
That is SO COOL! Thanks
It’s very depressing to ask someone about their weekend and the answer is always nothing more than TV and sleep.
I know somebody who maintains a gas powered go kart that his son races with. I don’t know much about it, and I’d never be into it, but at least hearing about what he is up to is interesting.
To be fair, sleeping is awesome and TV shows have had 100 years of continuous improvement.
We’re in a golden age of TV. Film level production and writing quality. A list actors. Planned story arcs instead of serial garbage.
I have been lucky enough to watch every season of the Simpsons since 1989 as it increased and slowly decreased in quality. I have seen Seinfeld, The Office, Breaking Bad, The Wire, Friends, Anime like Neon Genesis Evangelion/Berserk,One Punch Man/Death Note, countless documentaries featuring David Attenborough. Top Gear, The IT Crowd, Mr Robot, The Walking Dead and even all six seasons of Game of Thrones.
You’re right, we are very fortunate and it is a golden age.
That’s the unfortunate part of modern society. Many people are barely able to make a living to get by that when they do have time off, all they want to do is sleep and do nothing. It’s not that they are necessarily lazy or unmotivated, it’s that they are tired and need the rest.
People don’t create, or get into a hobby unless they have enough free time and money.
If all your free time is spent on trying to get a bit more money to live … any bit of time you have to just sit will be spent either sleeping or watching TV.
I don’t have any energy to do anything else. I hate being asked about my weekend. Why do I have to entertain? They can just tell me about their own weekend instead and I’ll offer my own information if I have something to tell.
I don’t assume people are asking for their own entertainment. I think they are trying to connect. Conversation is one of the way people connect to each other. If it’s just for entertainment It’s so much easier to just get entertainment from a phone rather than go the effort to interact with people.
What’s ironic is that so many are doing TV and sleep on their weekends because they are depressed and exhausted from the week, with only two days before starting it over, less in many cases
This was me for a while. I’ve found that when I’m depressed, taking the first step out the door can feel like an insurmountable task.
Also related, I’m actually in a conversation with a discord friend right now about how hard it is to feel connected to something as we get older. It’s still possible, but it takes a concerted effort. Add things like depression and exhaustion to the mix, and you’ve got the ingredients for a downward spiral.
There are so many people out there who I’d love to give a big mental hug. So many people hurting.
Right on the nose with the insurmountable task.
The thing is, is that if somehow you get the energy to get out the door, whatever you have planned is (nearly) always a good time. It’s just so hard to remember that when depression takes hold.
I find even taking a step out the door to walk around the block can help improve my mood.
Speaking of which I think I will go do that right now! I could use it :)
Did you make it?
Shit I forgot. Ok going now. Bye :)
This has been my experience as well. I feel this every time I have something social planned, and even moreso when depressed.
I can be totally aware of what I need to do to feel better, and still get hung up on that first damn step. The psychological struggle is real.
I can definitely relate, then my dog has to stay on routine …. I love her almost like another kid and am so happy she can share our family. I’ll spend as much time as I can, etc, etc. but there are weekend days when I. Just. Need. Sleep. but she has to make sure we all get up in time as if it were work/school
I would like to learn of the connection between the compass and the atomic bomb.
The history of the compass started more than 2000 years ago during the Han dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD).
According to wikipedia, so I doubt there to be a connection
The compass may have indirectly lead to our understanding of electromagnetism, which eventually helped inform our understanding of atoms and subatomic particles?
I’m wildly speculating but that’s the best connection I can make.
ChatGPT said the same thing. The closest Iink I could get was electromagnetism being an important component of nuclear physics which followed the invention of the compass
Being autistic, this post hits home. Sometimes I feel too much anxiety about my passion, but then I see something like this and know that it’s okay. It’s cool when people love stuff.
I said it a few times already, and I’ll say it again:
Being passionate about something makes a person so, so much more attractive. It’s so cute, it genuinely gives me the butterflies.
I love it so much. Go ahead, be nerdy, infodump about that cool thing you’re into. I wanna hear it <3
Since. You asked for it, here you go:
Hey, did you know that in terms of male human and female Pokémon breeding, Vaporeon is the most compatible Pokémon for humans? Not only are they in the field egg group, which is mostly comprised of mammals, Vaporeon are an average of 3"03’ tall and 63.9 pounds. this means they’re large enough to be able to handle human dicks, and with their impressive Base stats for HP and access to Acid Armor, you can be rough with one. Due to their mostly water based biology, there’s no doubt in my mind that an aroused Vaporeon would be incredibly wet, so wet that you could easily have sex with one for hours without getting sore. They can also learn the moves Attract, Baby-Doll eyes, Captivate, Charm and Tail Whip along with not having fur to hide nipples, so it’d be incredibly easy for one to get you in the mood. With their abilities Water Absorb and Hydration, they can easily recover from fatigue with enough water. No other Pokémon comes close with this level of compatibility. Also, fun fact, if you pull out enough, you can make your Vaporeon turn white. Vaporeon is literally built for human dick. Ungodly defense stat + high HP pool + Acid Armor means it can take cock all day, all shapes and sizes and still come for more.
this post is my spirit animal
Reading this thread reminded me of my mother often ignoring what I said as a child. And one specific time when she said she didn’t want to hear about a video game I was excited about.
Not huge injuries, there is certainly far worse that can happen. But it does shape who you are to be shut down like that. Shit parenting, as gen x is used to.
I hope I have never done that to anyone. Just listening without criticizing is not difficult.
Those injuries are worse than many people realize, I think. Dismissing your kid’s enthusiasm basically sucks the joy out of their life. Kids literally need recognition and validation from parents. Encouragement is a big deal. When you share exciting things and get shot down, you either stop sharing with anyone, stop being excited, or both.
If we can’t ever be enthusiastic about anything what’s supposed to be the offset to all the misery life throws at us, periods of numb ennui? Lol
My parents often responded to any enthusiasm with some kind of negativity. I don’t recall any shared excitement. I’m also gen x, if you couldn’t guess lol.
I got to admit it is difficult pretending to be interested in whatever K-Pop thing is going on, I have daughters. Do make an effort. Bet you didn’t know that Black Pink broke up.
“Well, whatever, never mind.” --Kurt Cobain.
When you were a child did you only ever talk about video games? Just curious.
No. Why would you think that?
Yup. ’shut up’ was the parenting of the 70s.
I think there was some sort of anxious period where people thought if they are sitting down and listening to someone they saw it as a ‘waste of time’ rather than quality time to connect with someone.
So they dropped 2 fun facts that can be interesting stories.
When I think of someone telling me about their special interests I think of someone telling me about their Roblox loot for 20 minutes straight.
Yeah good point. People who over share rarely have this many interesting topics. I can only bear so much of someone going into great details every day about a game or some fantasy setting I haven’t and probably will never experience myself. Geeking about stuff is fine but a lot of people aren’t great at summarizing to laymans.
The trick is to use layman’s terms and try to get the person you are talking to to follow along and get interested only to reveal In nineteen ninety eight the undertaker threw mankind off hеll in a cell, and plummeted sixteen feet through an announcer’s table
I am sure I have bored the shit out of a few people like you (yay ADHD /s).
Far better to say too little than too much and embarrass myself and watch others slowly back away lol
Fact is most people are interested in things I find boring and vice versa. I guess that’s why most conversations are so superficial.
I’m fascinated by this woodworking tool called the Festool Domino. It’s got the form factor of a biscuit joiner, but it’s a router instead of a circular saw, so it cuts a deep, short, wide mortise to receive a loose tenon they call a Domino.
This tool is still protected under patent by its inventor, it’s brand new. But the type of joinery it’s for - loose tenons - are older than writing. Prehistoric wooden structures have been found held together with loose tenons. Some 8,000 years we’ve been making mortise and tenon joints, and the technology is STILL under development.
How’d the prehistorics make them? Drill two holes and chisel out between? Or did they pre-date drills and chisels?
Behold the world’s oldest intact wooden structure. The frame of a well dated to 7,000 years ago found near Lake Constance. I don’t think it is known for sure how it was made, but the linked article talks about experimental archaeology using stone axes and adzes and chisels/gouges made of bone and antler. I’m not sure drills were invented yet.
By the time of the ancient Egyptians they had gotten remarkably sophisticated. Even by the pre-dynastic period some 5,000 years ago they had copper saws, chisels, axes and adzes, and bow drills. Egyptian ships were often constructed with mortise and tenon joints which would be secured with through-holes and dowel pins to lock them in place. They would use mortise and tenons to build furniture, examples found in tombs survive today. These would be glued with hide glue and often reinforced by lashing with cordage. The oldest varnished wood pieces are ancient Egyptian. A third kingdom coffin contains the oldest known plywood.
Few other activities connect me to ALL of human history quite like woodworking. My workshop is full of tools that are made of glass reinforced nylon and aluminum, driven by digitally controlled brushless DC motors powered by lithium polymer batteries, turning tungsten carbide blades and bits…and I use these state of the art 21st century tools to create wooden joinery older than horseback riding.
Bone and antler chisels. TIL
Per the article I linked, you’d have to look around for suitable stone, but hunting or herding means you’ve always got bones around.
Oh that’s very cool.
This reminds me of how for many years, we didn’t know how Roman Concrete was so strong. The Romans knew it was super strong, and part of why buildings like the Pantheon have held up so well is that Roman concrete incorporated what we now refer to as Pozzolans - alumina or silica containing binders that, when used as an additive to concrete, makes the concrete stronger over time due to reactions with water. Original Roman concrete used volcanic ash from near the city of Pozzuoli, hence the name.
