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Ask Soylent about laser engravers!

Posted by Runaway1956 on Thursday March 22 2018, @03:19PM (#3093)
19 Comments
Topics

So, I want to engrave some things. Most of these things are going to be iron, steel, or aluminum tools, but I'd also like to engrave some less durable items, such as plastics. I've done a couple searches, and I'm looking at engravers ranging from about $80 (US$) all the way up to about $180,000. I suppose that if I searched, I could find some cheaper, and almost certainly more expensive.

So, I'm looking - and all that I can really see, is how ignorant I am. I have almost zero idea what it is that will make a long-lasting engraver. Will one of those ultra-cheap engravers from China last for ten years of light-to-moderate use? Probably not - but what do I know? Is it necessary to spend thousands of dollars for the same thing? Newegg has a variety of engravers, for less than $400, but the biggest, most powerful among them has a disclaimer:

Engraving Material Note:
1.can engraving materials:wood,bamboo,plastic,paper,leather,bank card,rubber
2.can not engraving material:metal,stone,ceramic,shell,light-reflecting material,transparent material

Seems pretty obvious that I need something bigger, and more expensive, than a $400 engraver. Can engraving metal, dammit!

Does anyone here have experience with non-industrial laser engravers? (Industrial? Quarter million dollars entry level?) Power ratings, sizes, brands, whatever - any information is welcome!

NASA Briefing on TESS Exoplanet Mission, Mar. 28, 1 PM EDT

Posted by takyon on Thursday March 22 2018, @01:05AM (#3091)
0 Comments
Science

NASA to Discuss Upcoming Launch of Next Planet Hunter

Join NASA at 1 p.m. EDT Wednesday, March 28, as astrophysics experts discuss the upcoming launch of NASA’s next planet hunter, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). Reporters can attend the event in person at the James Webb Auditorium at NASA Headquarters in Washington or participate by phone.

The briefing will be broadcast live on NASA Television and the agency’s website.

Scheduled to launch April 16, TESS is expected to find thousands of planets outside our solar system, known as exoplanets, orbiting the nearest and brightest stars in our cosmic neighborhood. Powerful telescopes like NASA’s upcoming James Webb Space Telescope can then further study these exoplanets to search for important characteristics, like their atmospheric composition and whether they could support life.

Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite.

John Oliver's Gay Bunny Book Outsells VP Pence's Daughter's

Posted by takyon on Tuesday March 20 2018, @06:38PM (#3089)
8 Comments
/dev/random

John Oliver’s Gay-Bunny Book Is Outselling the Mike Pence Book It’s Trolling

John Oliver’s Marlon Bundo Book Sells Out In A Day; Another Printing In Works

A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo

Worst Pence bashing since Trump:

“Trump thinks Pence is great,” Bannon told me. But, according to a longtime associate, Trump also likes to “let Pence know who’s boss.” A staff member from Trump’s campaign recalls him mocking Pence’s religiosity. He said that, when people met with Trump after stopping by Pence’s office, Trump would ask them, “Did Mike make you pray?” Two sources also recalled Trump needling Pence about his views on abortion and homosexuality. During a meeting with a legal scholar, Trump belittled Pence’s determination to overturn Roe v. Wade. The legal scholar had said that, if the Supreme Court did so, many states would likely legalize abortion on their own. “You see?” Trump asked Pence. “You’ve wasted all this time and energy on it, and it’s not going to end abortion anyway.” When the conversation turned to gay rights, Trump motioned toward Pence and joked, “Don’t ask that guy—he wants to hang them all!”

Mankind Peaked

Posted by takyon on Monday March 19 2018, @07:59PM (#3087)
7 Comments

If You Have Nothing To Hide, You Have Nothing To Fear...

Posted by NotSanguine on Saturday March 17 2018, @11:31PM (#3084)
23 Comments
News

Isn't that what the government types keep saying?

So why is it that the head of that self-same government doesn't play by those rules? Does he think the law doesn't apply to him?

In my mind, those who are privileged to represent us should be *more* forthcoming and avoid even the hint of any conflicts of interest, illegality or lack of transparency.

Why then does our current administration fear the Mueller investigation? Let's get to the truth and let the chips fall where they may.

Which is why it seems odd that our 'fearless' leader is acting like a frightened animal:

A lawyer for President Trump called on the Justice Department on Saturday to end the special counsel investigation into ties between Russia and the Trump campaign, shifting abruptly to a more adversarial stance as the inquiry appeared to be intensifying.
[...]
Mr. Dowd said at first that he was speaking on behalf of the president but later backed off that assertion. He did not elaborate on why he was calling for the end of the investigation, saying only: “Just end it on the merits in light of recent revelations.”

People close to the president were skeptical that Mr. Dowd was acting on his own. Mr. Trump has a history of using advisers to publicly test a message, giving him some distance from it. And Mr. Dowd’s comments came at a time when members of Mr. Trump’s legal team are jockeying to stay in his favor.

Hours later, the president echoed Mr. Dowd’s accusations of corruption in the theoretical “deep state” that Mr. Trump has long cast as a boogeyman working to undermine him.

”There was tremendous leaking, lying and corruption at the highest levels of the FBI, Justice & State,” he wrote on Twitter.

In the end, the truth will out. Let's hear it. Whether it's that there was no collusion with the Russians or if there was. That's actually less important than making sure we have the facts.

Hawking Meme 2far and Rihanna Blasts Snapchat's Stock

Posted by takyon on Friday March 16 2018, @08:56PM (#3079)
3 Comments

🗳 Very close race in Pennsylvania! 🍿

Posted by realDonaldTrump on Wednesday March 14 2018, @11:18PM (#3076)
14 Comments
News

It's a very close race in the 18th district of Pennsylvania. A VERY SPECIAL election. And we haven't gone through all the legal on that one. Whoever ends up winning, it'll be a hard fought victory. The people of Pennsylvania are great. If they chose Rick Saccone for Congress, he will be much better for steel and business. Very strong on experience and what our Country -- and our 🐘 Party -- needs. We need that seat, believe me. We need more Republicans to continue our already successful agenda! Rick is a great guy. He's always had my TOTAL support. I'm not a lawyer, as everybody knows. I'm a builder. I'm an actor. And I'm a politician. But if there's anything I can do on the legal, anything he wants, he knows where to find me. Rick's a fighter, I know he's going to fight very hard on the legal. And Jill Stein, maybe she'll raise some money to do a recount. Or whatever she does with that money.

But if they chose Conor, they made a great choice too. I'll work with him. And I think we can get some terrific things done. So many Dems do nothing but obstruct. And they talk about nothing but Donald J. Trump. I just came back from San Diego & Los Angeles, they love me there. Tremendous crowds wherever I went. But Dirty Maxine is always going "Trump, Trump, Trump." Instead of fixing some of the big problems in her district -- a very sad situation, totally out of control. Conor's not like that, he's never said anything against me. That's very special. And very smart. I love the way he looks, he's a handsome guy. He supports me on the steel & aluminum tariffs, which I did for the hard working folks in Pennsylvania. He knows Pennsylvania needs them. So we can stop losing our industry there. Have you seen his ads? He has a great one where he's shooting, maybe an AR-15? They're saying it's an AR-15. Very gun-adept guy, very weapons talented, he's part of the 20% with military or special training. Our military needs to be much stronger, so strong that no one will want to get into a war with us. I know Conor wants that, 100%. Hopefully he'll see how important it is to upgrade & modernize our nuclear arsenal. He goes both ways on abortion. Like the guy who left, former Congressman Tim Murphy. That was one of his big issues, probably the biggest. And he decided to go both ways on that one.

The drugs, I love what Conor's been doing about the drugs. As you know he did some great work with the U.S. Attorney's office in Pittsburgh. Where he was a prosecutor. So many drug dealers LOCKED UP because of him. You kill 5,000 people with drugs because you’re smuggling them in and you are making a lot of money and people are dying. And they don’t even put you in jail,. That’s why we have a problem, folks. I don’t think we should play games. And Conor doesn't play. The only way to solve the drug problem is through toughness. When you catch a drug dealer, you’ve got to put him away for a long time. Great job!

Some countries have a very, very tough penalty -- the ultimate penalty. And, by the way, they have much less of a drug problem than we do. A while back I talked to the President of Singapore, President Tan -- they replaced him with a lady now. And I asked him, are you having the same problems we're having with the opioids? And he told me, "we have a zero tolerance policy. That means if we catch a drug dealer, death penalty." Same thing in China, they do executions, they're very tough about it. The Philippines, President Duterte is doing a great job. I don’t know if this country’s ready for it, but I think that's a discussion we have to start thinking about. Probably you'll have some people who say "oh, that's not nice." But we have to do something. And believe me, eventually we'll get something done. Do you think the drug dealers who kill thousands of people during their lifetime, do you think they care who’s on a blue-ribbon committee? We can't just keep setting up blue ribbon committees and all they do is talk, talk, talk.

Some Random Stories

Posted by takyon on Wednesday March 14 2018, @03:31PM (#3073)
4 Comments

God bless the U.S. Marines!✝️🔫

Posted by realDonaldTrump on Wednesday March 14 2018, @01:36AM (#3071)
6 Comments
Topics

It was my great honor to deliver a message at the Marine Core Air Station Miramar to our GREAT U.S. Military, straight from the heart of the American People: We support you, we thank you, we love you, and we will always, always have your back! pic.twitter.com/oCt1nH3DON

All across this nation, we pray for our country and we THANK GOD for our United States Marines! Thank you. God Bless You. And God Bless America! pic.twitter.com/vKXBd0CGH1

Fitbit Versa: You Are Now Fertile

Posted by takyon on Wednesday March 14 2018, @01:25AM (#3070)
1 Comment