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See that purplish glow?

That's the flower's ultraviolet signal to bees. They can see very well in that spectrum.

This entry was edited (3 months ago)


This entry was edited (3 months ago)

Chris Huck reshared this.

in reply to Michael K Johnson

#OpenSCAD advantages that I care about:

  • Code. git diff is more meaningful (though it's possible to make it somewhat meaningful for FreeCAD)
  • Affine transformations (wow I miss this sometimes in FreeCAD!)
  • The OpenSCAD Cheet Sheet — if you think in code and CSG, OpenSCAD is remarkably easy to get started with. When I first started with my 3D printer, this got me up and running in minutes.

2/3

in reply to Michael K Johnson

Why not both‽

  • The #FreeCAD #OpenSCAD workbench lets you mix and match. A friend sent me an OpenSCAD model of a part he wanted me to machine. I used the FreeCAD OpenSCAD workbench to show his model and then used TechDraw to make a drawing to work from.
  • FreeCAD's Part workbench is basically a similar CSG workflow to OpenSCAD, with boolean operations on shapes that take parameters, so a preference for working that way, or problems that fit that model, shouldn't drive a decision either way.
  • Actually, design-as-code works in both OpenSCAD and FreeCAD. FreeCAD has been a Python library and allowed you to write custom code driving basically anything in it in Python forever; I've written custom macros for multiple purposes. And in recent development builds, OpenSCAD added the ability to use Python as well as its bespoke language.

/fin

in reply to Michael K Johnson

I'm really wishing that any of this stuff was a functional clone of Acad 9,10 dos/unix

used that simple command structure, etc

I suppose it's because I was literate enough in it, to write autolisp routines,libraries, etc
&
I was never able to make that jump to mouse+'windows' stuff

summagraphics (or cheap clone tablet) kbd,txt display, graphics display, not convinced it ever improved.

3D modelling? Sure, I concede. but x,y,z like the olden times worked pretty well for long time

in reply to cpm

@cpm Not clones, but you might appreciate some of the other open source CAD packages out there. In case you aren't aware of any of these, here are some actively-developed ones today.

  • LibreCAD is at least more like that experience
  • BRL-CAD (the brlcad.org web site is broken at this moment, sadly) might interest you
  • SolveSpace definitely not like that experience, but more typing-driven than FreeCAD.

There probably aren't very many developers today eager to pour their lives into precisely cloning exactly one particular CAD implementation from a few decades ago.

@cpm
in reply to Michael K Johnson

Hehe

thanks kindly.

I get it

I know I'm pining for lost glory days of youth, lol!

&

yeah, seriously obsolete stuff, I know

Feeling the need to shake my cane & shout at clouds

(modern CAD does clouds a lot better)

in reply to Michael K Johnson

Your post hints at possibilities for me. I have a desire to print replacement drum type chart recorder grids. I have a Temperature Humidity recorder and it would be nice to print calibrated charts. This would allow me to modify the recorder to operate in the T, H and t ranges I want. Also there are many recorders that are obsolete and exact replacement charts are not easy to source. Also they are often only sold in large quantities. Adjusting for language and locale, branding would also be handy.

I was wondering if you could offer an opinion on what free CAD software would be the easiest to use for parametric type drawing with repetitive curves.

I don't use CAD regularly and the bait and switch Dassault did has soured me on closed source completely.

A version for circular charts would also be handy for those who use them.

sksato.co.jp/en/7210-00/

in reply to KalleMP

@kallemp I don't have experience with parametric open source 2d CAD so my advice wouldn't be much use.

I have done work using FreeCAD to lay out text and index marks, but I can't imagine its sketch solver handling thousands of constraints.

Sorry!



McConnell warns of future headline: ‘Russia wins, America loses’

semafor.com/article/03/28/2025…

#news #politics #uspol #uspolitics #GOPCult #trump #ethics #corruption #russia #putin

in reply to Frankie ✅

Mitch, you miserable shit. You bear primary responsibility for creating this monster. You cannot fake a late-life return to decency to salvage your tattered reputation. You failed your country at every opportunity when you could actually make a difference.




Hey look, not “the” cool crab, but “a” cool crab, and “Macs” Headroom, from an anonymous customer at #WOzFest HQ #GlobalTalk Print Shop.


28 March 1926 | A Czech Jewish girl, Edita Spitzová, was born in Kolín.

She was imprisoned in Theresienstadt Ghetto on 8 February 1942 and deported to #Auschwitz on 26 October 1942 together with her mother Anna (b. 1893) & father Eduard (b. 1886). None of them survived.




#ScribesAndMakers Mar 29: What is your proudest or best moment with your creative endeavor this month?

I got a little distracted and ended up making a thermal camera for myself. It has 3 modes: thermal, video and overlay. I just finished printing a nice retro-looking case for it.

reshared this

in reply to Steve DeGroof 📚🛸

Nice camera. I made a laser crafted sign to go outside the laser room at my local maker space.
This entry was edited (3 months ago)



Summer is the perfect time to hit one of the many beaches in Busan! Busan has the best beaches in South Korea. Here is more information:
#travel #beach #traveltribe #Busan #SouthKorea backpackandsnorkel.com/Busan/


🦌 Low Poly Baby Deer Puzzle • 3D files
➡️ Download 3D print model: cults3d.com/:2860400
💡 Designed by ManabunLab



In which Tesla shamelessly tries to defraud Canada of $40 milllion and gets caught.

nytimes.com/2025/03/27/world/c…

reshared this



Trump pulled the plug on Voice of America and Radio Liberty, and now a court has ruled the move was illegal, and these organisations have had their money restored.

Wannabe dictators are just that: Wannabe.

thehill.com/regulation/court-b…

in reply to Randahl Fink

Let us just hope that one day he and his bunch will stand trial for their destructive and criminal behavior.

It is ether Trump, or the rule of law. Danger ahead.

in reply to Randahl Fink

As far as I know they have not yet received their money. VoA site has not been updated for two weeks. RFE/RL continue to work but are said to have laid off freelancers.
This entry was edited (3 months ago)



If you are in the UK then your local bat population will be waking up around now (end March/early April): bats.org.uk/about-bats/a-year-…
Get out there are listen to them wake up with 20% off our DIY bat listener kit for the next month:
curiouselectric.co.uk/collecti…

reshared this




The #CDC buried a #measles forecast that stressed the need for vaccinations - arstechnica.com/health/2025/03… utterly irresponsible - people will dies because of this #trump #rfkjr
Unknown parent

mastodon - Link to source
Glyn Moody
@MissGayle but tragic for the children involved
Unknown parent

mastodon - Link to source
Glyn Moody
@MissGayle and getting worse under trump


Teleskop und Kamera folgen brav der Sonne und ich darf sie nicht stören!

Darum ein Foto über mein Smartphone solange:
#Sonnenfinsternis



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Sensitive content




I can see the ability to use other messaging apps to communicate with #WhatsApp users within the EU (thanks to the #DMA) is going to become popular quickly, once #Matrix and others have finished implementing it… #interoperability
From: @alderik
eupolicy.social/@alderik/11424…


🚨 New publication!

I am very glad that my article on Open-Source Software under the Cyber Resilience Act has been published in JIPITEC. The article delves into the (widespread) discussion surrounding the regulation of cybersecurity for open-source software under the CRA.
Working in open-source software and eager to know more about what the Cyber Resilience Act means? The article is, very much in the spirit of "open source", available in open access in JIPITEC now!

jipitec.eu/jipitec/article/vie…

This entry was edited (3 months ago)


I've taken a while to think about what to say about this since yesterday

quaker.org.uk/news-and-events/…

What I'd like you to notice is that it's not the law or government policy to raid Quaker meeting houses to arrest people for talking together.

Notice it was a choice made by police who wanted to do it, and knew they wouldn't be held to account for it.

And I can't stress enough how much you do NOT want unaccountable police making up public policy. There's a name for that kind of country.

reshared this

in reply to Rachel Wright

@virtuosew Of course. I forgot to quote the exact legislation(s) that the police used. You might want to include this (see the original article for details).

Cheers



Hegseth brought his wife to sensitive meetings with foreign military officials wsj.com/politics/national-secu…

in reply to Extreme Electronics

don't worry, that's just a star destroyer and a death star in front of the sun



Turns out a colander works pretty well for eclipse spotting.
#SolarEclipse


Preventing Bird Collisions Webinar:
April 1 19:00 (7pm) Eastern Time

"Each year in Canada approximately 25 million birds die from building collisions. This is not only heartbreaking to witness but is a significant loss to biodiversity and the role these birds play. The good news is that there are solutions! Join the Canadian Wildlife Federation on Tuesday, April 1 at 7:00 p.m. ET to discover effective ways to prevent bird strikes at home, work or at the cottage. Our guest will be Michael Mesure, a founding member and Executive Director of Fatal Light Awareness Program (FLAP) Canada. Michael will speak about the work of FLAP Canada, how human-made structures threatens birds and offer solutions for mitigating building collisions. This will include examples of both effective and ineffective collision deterrent methods and some background on bird-friendly building design guidelines, policies, code and law. We hope you can join us!"

Register here:

secure2.convio.net/cwf/site/R?…

#birds #birding #EllieKPosts ##WildlifeProtection



"OAG...said advance bookings for routes between Canada and the United States from April through October are down by roughly 70 percent."
Airlines Cut Seats to the U.S. as Canadians Stay Away nytimes.com/2025/03/28/world/c…



In Your Face: The Brutal Aesthetics of #MAGA - motherjones.com/politics/2025/… great @motherjonesmag piece; frightening too: "today’s tweaks seem intended to signal membership with Trump, a man notoriously obsessed with the literal pageantry of beauty"
This entry was edited (3 months ago)


Absolutely glorious and thrilling to see the solar eclipse today in London ☀️🌕🌙🌞🔆 ☀️🌕🌙🌞🔆 ☀️🌕🌙🌞🔆 ☀️🌕🌙🌞🔆

Made a solar projector using a colander! And also watching the Greenwich live stream: rmg.co.uk/whats-on/online/sola…



Brits to build #ExoMars landing gear after Russia sent packing - theregister.com/2025/03/29/mar… "responsible for systems including the landing structure, the large propulsion system that provides the final braking thrust, and the landing gear to ensure the lander is stable on touchdown." #mars


This is what the opposition did in the Hungary Parliament when they passed the Pride ban. May we have congresspeople with an ounce of the courage.
in reply to Erin Reed

If you are curious what is going on in Hungary, please read our article we wrote on this today, it's absolutely insane. And please subscribe to support our journalism. www.erininthemorning.com/p/ai-surveil...

AI Surveillance to be Deployed...



This deems delusional.

Did I miss some groundbreaking discovery about low back pain that discovers that it comes from an infection in our spine?

Because it’s kind of terrifying if they think low back pain comes from an infection that could be cured with antibiotics, so they think everyone with low back pain is walking around with a festering bacterial infection?

This sounds delusional.

theguardian.com/society/2025/m…

#ChronicPain #grifters

in reply to Maggie Maybe

I can't evaluate whether this is bs, but chronic bacterial infections that don't fully clear on their own or with most (all?) known antibiotics are definitely a thing, and awful. It seems at least vaguely plausible.

in reply to makkin thing

Nice! I do that as well with one side of a pair of binoculars. This was from the previous eclipse.
in reply to NedMan 🚀

@NedMan You're getting a bigger image than I was too! Reading up on it afterwards I think the 90mm reflector telescope is a bit risky - there's a chance of overheating the secondary mirror! Better to put a filter on it to protect the optics.


Recreating the Analog Beauty of a Vintage Tektronix Oscillator

hackaday.com/2025/03/29/recrea…