I've talked to some friends about it, but honestly it's probably ground I need to tread with a therapist. I thought I had a good handle on it but this year has been particularly tough for some reason.
Honestly, not really. I experienced something traumatic on Christmas eve of 2017 and have never completely recovered. I'll probably never get back to where I was before that.
It really used to be my favorite day of the year but now it's just raw and awful and I have to keep up appearances so I'm not a miserable person to be around. I really don't want to be that way, I'm generally a pretty easygoing, easy to get along with kinda guy so I hate the shift that I make.
It isn't illegal. They're a private enterprise and can take payments in whatever form they choose. They can demand to be paid in roosters and it would still be legal.
I read through all of your comments in this thread. I'm going to ask you a few questions, more for my own curiosity than anything. Feel free to answer or not, but I've been studying conspiracism for the past few years and I think I may be one of the most open ears around. I would say at a minimum that I have some understanding of your worldview. Not a perfect one, but some.
Are you experiencing economic instability in your life? As in, finding it difficult to pay for things that you need?
Do you feel lost or disconnected from others? Is it hard to form connections with people because your worldview is so different?
Is there some other unmet need in your life? If so, can you articulate it or is it difficult to put into words?
I'm not asking these questions to be patronizing. I'm asking them because they're humanizing and help me get a better understanding of the person on the other side of the screen.
In a similar vein, any time I get a small cut, I reach for the isopropyl alcohol. I skip over the hydrogen peroxide for the simple reason of "I like the way the alcohol stings"
If you're concerned about durability, you could potentially add in some bolts to use as a slip-in rigid spine to further reinforce the design. I'm thinking something similar to how concrete is tensioned to provide rigidity and strength.
I'm spitballing ideas to see if I can spark something workable for you.
No need to get a purpose built dryer actually. Your heated bed will actually do exactly what you need. Flip a plastic container upside down over the bed with your filament underneath, set the bed to ~50-60C for PLA, and let it go for a couple hours.
I got a manual for a few reasons, but the big one in my mind was fewer moving parts, and something that I can actually maintain myself. I've actually rebuilt a transmission before, and while it's not the easiest thing to do, I already have the tooling required to pull a transmission and disassemble it.
I'm not redlining my 2002 v6 pickup truck so it's not a performance thing. It's just something I like. I like the engagement even if it's a pain in the ass sometimes.
I'm just getting into cycling and I'm super lucky to have gotten my dad's old tri bike for free. He had it all kitted out and it's pretty well perfect for me. It was in pristine shape until I wrecked it a couple times. One of them requiring 24 stitches.
So I guess that's the most expensive hobby I've had - not in terms of financial cost, but definitely in terms of blood drawn!
Protip if you're not used to race bikes: they can be a lot twitchier than you might be used to!
Being right and being an asshole aren't mutually exclusive. One is what you're saying, the other is how you're saying it.