u/Thandius

Hey!

When my wife and I are traveling together with her SD she gets anxious with confrontation etc. So when people ask questions (allowed questions or otherwise) she prefers me to handle those discussions when possible.

Especially when they are asking things they are not supposed to ask, or getting pushing back when there shouldn't be.

For example we went to dinner the other day at a restaurant we have been to many times, but they had a new front of house host who clearly didn't have training on the ADA or service dogs.

So he kept saying "we don't allow pets", "I explained he was a task trained service dog required for a disability and was not a pet". He said "but we don't allow pets" a couple more times, I then took the opportunity to simply answer the second question "his tasks included, anxiety and panic alerting, DPT, and crowd mitigation" and each time I calmly and politely stated, he is not a pet, he is a task trained service dog. I realize he wasn't trying to be a pain, It was quite clear he just didn't know and was trying to uphold legal requirements on animals in restaurants, so I wont hold that against him. More than anything I think the managers failed in getting required training for front of house staff. But he wasn't mean or short with me or anything, was just a calm discussion.

Eventually, I think he got the idea when I said that he was a service dog and essentially was the same as medical equipment and that he had come with us to this restaurant before. He asked us to have a seat in the waiting area for a moment while he went and checked with a manager, when he came back we were then seated as normal without further issue.

This would be quite difficult for my wife with her anxiety and issues with confrontation, and in fact Rusty did alert on her while we were sitting there waiting so she was able to do some grounding, so even when she isn't involved directly it is quite stressing for her.

So I was wondering if it is normal when possible for a spouse to act as intermediary and handle these situations. Or if others have a similar arrangement with the one more comfortable dealing with these things handles it. Or if anyone has had issues with people trying to talk directly to the other person when one of you is clearly the one handling the discussion.

So I am considering getting started in laser engraving/cutting.

To start I would like to be able to engrave wood & leather as well as to be able to cut both (so I can cut patterns from leather).

Speed is not a concern as this will simply be hobby (at least to start).

as I would like to cut patterns out of leather I likely need a larger rather than a smaller area. I have a large dedicated space and am comfortable with safety procedures with glasses etc. So an open model would be fine.

I am also ok with tinkering and adjusting if there is a good option there...

based on my research I think with this outline I am looking at a 20w laser? with air...

I am hoping there is something that will fit my needs around the $300 mark but if there is something that is just a little more but fits all the needs it would still work.

With all of that in mind what are the community recommendations!

and thanks in advance!!!

Looking at getting a multi chan receiver for local theater use.

hoping to get about 8 chans so we could in theory mic up 8 actors (I already have a Shure Digital with an SM58 for announcer / narrator).

The Shure systems are SUPER expensive, this is community theater and I am getting this personally so cost is a huge factor... that said transmission delay and other such issues would also make it unusable for actors, just as much as it would for musicians.

So I just wanted to see if anyone is familiar with the brand, and or the unit.

see if people have any info on the battery life and durability of the packs etc.

Hey,

So to get it out the way I know Bluetooth is not the BEST option for music input. That said I am getting myself setup in a space to rent out/offer sound setup & mixing etc for local events, as it seems that there is currently a hole in the local market for it (that and I do stuff with local theater, weddings etc). And for most people having the ability to just use the playlist from their phone is invaluable, and fine enough for the type of event.

I have my new Mixer on the way (Behringer XR18) and am looking at adding an XLR Bluetooth receiver...

I wanted to see if anyone here has experience with any and have any recommendations.

I am looking at units like

AK-M1 XLR Bluetooth Receiver

Also if there are any specific things to look out for E.G. Battery Vs Phantom power, range, size of unit blocking other inputs etc.

Would I be better off just doing something like connecting my laptop with USB to 1/4 Jack and having them bluetooth to my laptop? (need to investigate if that is even an option).

thanks in advance!

Hey!

has anyone managed to setup Graphify with LM Studio (Qwen 2.5 code or similar) and Visual Studio Code (Continue extension).

struggling to get the install working and I don't see visual studio code / LM Studio listed as supported platforms on the Git repo...

So just wondering if I am barking up the wrong tree before I keep pushing.

Unsure if its a windows update or one of the more recent versions of VSD Craft But the application is crashing fairly regularly, every few hours...

I did a full uninstall, reboot re install on latest version but has not corrected the issue.

here is the event from the most recent crash

I checked C:\Program Files (x86)\VSD Craft\log\ but there were no files in there...

Faulting application name: VSD Craft.exe, version: 3.10.200.423, time stamp: 0x69fd5f95
Faulting module name: ntdll.dll, version: 10.0.26100.8328, time stamp: 0x0022b8e0
Exception code: 0xc0000409
Fault offset: 0x00000000000a1162
Faulting process id: 0xB2B0
Faulting application start time: 0x1DCEA0119A5568E
Faulting application path: C:\Program Files (x86)\VSD Craft\VSD Craft.exe
Faulting module path: C:\Windows\SYSTEM32\ntdll.dll
Report Id: d957a8d1-d25d-47f7-bda8-6c0495a18280
Faulting package full name: 
Faulting package-relative application ID:

So like most things, the more times you do something the more chance of something not going quite right.

They didn't do anything wrong but apparently my vein was being squirrely this morning and they had to go digging.

normally I am in and out in 15 minutes, feel fine immediately following and just leave.

But when they go digging, it's about the only thing that makes me feel faint, and I have to have someone just talking to me during to keep me distracted.

well it was close but the donation did end up being a success (it was going slow for a while).

But my arm is quite sore and I know its going to go all kinds of fun colors in the next few days.

aside from iburprofen and cycling hot and cold packs.

Any other advice for coping with this till its healed up?

this is more a vent post to help me ignore the discomfort lol (Again they did nothing wrong, can't go perfect every time).

Hey, so about 7 years ago I picked up an inexpensive PA system for speaking events and background music at weddings for friends and such. For value and ease of transport etc I ended up with Gemini ES-210MXBLU-ST 600W 10" Portable PA System. I know its not even really a mid tier system but it has done what has been needed of it so far.

I now have a really nice shure wireless mic system (Shure SLXD24/SM58 Digital Wireless Handheld Microphone System - J52 Band) based on past recommendations and that has been great for officiating weddings and announcing at events.

I am trying to figure out what the next upgrade would be as we have quite a bit of speaker equipment going up in our local used marketplace for good prices. And one of the community theater groups I help with is starting to ask to borrow my kit.

I am thinking short term to get better and longer cables for the speakers... and perhaps some type of powered sub woofer? which I think I could send a signal from one of the line outs on the mixer...

probably give me the most immediate improvement... however I know powered subs can go for about twice what I paid for the whole PA system...

But I also realize upgrading the speakers will likely mean upgrading the mixer too, would love to keep all the features If I go that way, bluetooth connection etc.

Hoping to upgrade a piece at a time rather than just replace everything in one go... hoping to spend $200-$300 at a time (which in some instances in the local market means I could get a set of 2 X 15" peavy speakers and 3 X floor monitors with an amp)

I was also wanting to ask about the wireless system with regards to connection. again with a mind to the theater group, with the mic system I have the receiver has 1 XLR out... but I believe multiple mics can connect to the same receiver... I am guessing there is no way to separate signals to control volumes of individual mics with this setup as it is...

If I wanted to setup for multiple mics (say I have 6 actors that we end up getting face mics and shure transmitters for - this would be way down the road as it is cost prohibitive at the moment, but doesn't hurt to keep it in mind now)... how would I best plan for that in the future, so we can control each actors volume individually?

This is all out of pocket and I am not really making money from these events, I am doing weddings for friends, volunteering at conventions and bringing it with me to help, and the community theater is essentially a non proffit, so cost is a big factor for any recommendations.

Finally I do hobby voice acting at home with a Scarlett 2i2 and an AT2035 setup with a sound proofed space, if any recommendations can pull double duty to improve that setup too then it is a definite bonus!

Thanks in advance!

So I need to replace the alternator on my 2016 Chrysler Town and country.

After research and checking it looks like I will be going with a Denso Re manufactured from Parts Geek. (https://www.partsgeek.com/catalog/2016/chrysler/town_-ar-_country/engine_electrical/alternator.html?filter=brand%3Adenso)

I was wondering, I have 86,000 miles on the van and I believe the serpentine belt is original, as I have to un tension and remove the belt from the alternator any way.... should I just go ahead and replace the serpentine belt at the same time as preventative maintenance?

My understanding is they should be replaced when you are getting close to 100k miles...

So I am getting to the point where I have enough vocab and conjugation under my belt that I am beginning to spot when translations don't line up exactly with what is being said.

This makes me happy that I am hearing the spoken words and understanding the meaning!!

I spent some timing thinking over some of these and it made me realize that in a lot of those cases, they were not just translating but "localizing" changing the technical 100% meaning to something that is essentially the same but fits in with English sayings or standards.

I have had this quite a bit lately but an example from this morning, watching Anime (Reincarnated as the 7th prince) and a character shows of their new sword.

The name of the sword - maken (magic sword) majingoroshi (magic person (demon) killer)

which was translated as Deamon Bane.

Deamon Bane is surely a concept and a name that would be applied to a sword in English.

But the term bane has additional connotations over just "Killing/Killer"

So I can see how great care needs to be taken with these kinds of localization as you can accidentally change the original intent of the work without realizing it (and with the best intentions).

Also curious about the translations of majin to demon vs sorcerer as majin in theory just means a person with magic and we have oni and other terms for actual demons. So starting some cultural and additional research down that path.

So yeah, just wanted to share and allow for public comment in case I am missing something or got something wrong :)

So just had to replace the battery on my Chrysler Town & Country 2016 (86,000 miles).

And i keep having to jump it, I went back to autozone and they did another test and said the Alternator is also bad....

I am going to try and follow some videos on checking for a parasitic drain just in case (It seems I just need to connect my multi meter between the black cable and the battery and ensure everything is turned off. Then if I see a drain I pull fuses till it drops?).

If I do need to change the Alternator, it looks like I need to go in from the wheel arch (jack the van up and remove the tyre)

then I can lower something, and detension and remove the belt to get the old one out.

It sounds like something I can handle but will be a Pain in the ass....

I don't currently have the $1,000 quoted by local garage, and looks like Alternators run around $200 - $500

my question is, what price point should I be looking at? I am strapped for cash at the moment (especially after a $300 battery).

so want to save what I can, but I also want to make sure this is not a task I need to do again as it is probably going to take up either a whole afternoon or a whole saturday.

thanks in advance!

Hey!

So my wife is working towards releasing the first novel in a series, we are local in the NRV and I am essentially doing her marketing (along side the editing/publishing company).

So trying to gauge local interest, contact local book stores about stocking her book (once it's available).

So aside from Blacksburg Books, & Barnes and Nobles in Cburg what other book shops in the local area do people think it would be worth contacting to see if they will stock her book.

Additionally if I was able to organize a book signing at Barnes and Nobles is that something people think they might be interested in?

Hoping I can count on support for a local author :)

So I have seen a number of posts lately about people who have trouble sleeping due to their ADHD medication.

And I started getting curious as for myself, stimulants of pretty much any kind have never prevented me from sleeping

2c ans of monster? Heart palpitations but no problems drifting off an hour later.

40mg vyvanse. Also does nothing to keep me awake, helps my memory, focus, and task paralysis, but doesn’t stop me taking a nap at lunch time

It’s actually to the point where I have serious problems staying awake when I need to when I’m tired….

I always thought this was a factor of my ADHD causing the stimulants to not affect me the same

But seeing others with ADHD saying they have sleeping problems from medication just made me curious about how this part of things affects others and possible reasons.

Hey,

So we are looking at trying to work with a company to help with a re publish of a book we tried to do by our selves some years ago through Amazon. Unfortunately Covid hit, and our plans of going to conventions and similar forms of advertising kind of were not feasible any more.

Based on what we have found Publishing Push seems like a good fit for us with their marketing, editing options etc.

We will need to publish through Ingram Spark if we work with them.

So wanted to see what peoples feelings are about them both, if anyone has worked with one, or both.

Hey,

So I am hoping to start some leather working projects, with EVA foam prototyping...

from some initial research it looks like using a laser engraving machine could potentially cut both materials and engrave on the leather (not sure engraving on the foam would go well, and its not really needed as its just for prototypes) ...

and as I am working from patterns, provide a precise and uncomplicated way to cut the patterns from the mediums.

Additionally for the leather versions, adding cool designs to the parts before assembly would also be simplified and remove issues with my poor art skills...

So I just wanted to see if people here are doing anything similar, if you have any thoughts on if this is a good application. Recommendations for laser engravers (I am looking at articulated Armour pieces so will need to be able to do medium / large areas).

We have a local prototyping lab that is free at our local library, so I will likely be doing some test runs on the laser engraver there... but I understand it is in high demand and waiting days / weeks for engravings / cuts wouldn't be feasible long term.

I am continuing my research but was hoping for some opinions from people on my specific scenario as well.

thanks in advance