CAD is a bit like programming, there’s a lot of ways to do any given task. That can make it tricky if you are doing some tutorials that use one workflow, and then start doing tutorials that use a different workflow.

If you want to learn it, do yourself a favor and take time to find a tutorial that goes from start to finish doing the type of project you want to do so you don’t get frustrated when you get midway through.

Like others said, if you are used to doing something in a different CAD software, you might find that the same workflow is clunky in FreeCAD, but if you start out with a workflow that works well in FreeCAD, you are fine.

Chest freezer with an aftermarket temperature controller. Commonly called a “keezer” in the homebrewing community.

I hear you on the streaming sticks. 10 years ago, you could throw a Chromecast in your suitcase, plug it into a hotel TV, and cast anything you wanted from your phone. Now, if you try to do that, you have to set the Chromecast up through the Google home app, tell it what “room” it’s in, but then you can’t cause you arent at your “home”, so you have to set up a new “home”, and then that doesn’t usually work, so you just quit and read a book instead.

Seems like a lot of great changes

My dream is to one day have a setup like this. Like others said, humidity and heat in a greenhouse are 2 big concerns. They make all kinds of automated systems for opening vents, etc.

If your primary goal is growing in a contained area to keep pests away (vs. needing to really keep the space warm in winter or something), you best bet could be a hoop house. Basically you can drive rebar or fence posts into the ground, and then arch something (pvc pipes commonly) from one side of the space to the other. You’d then pull plastic sheathing overtop. Those are commonly used to get growing started in early spring and extend growing in the fall. When it’s warm enough, they basically roll up the material. You could do something similar but still have a structure of chicken wire or netting or something to keep animals away.

If you actually want to keep the space warm to grow in the winter, you might want more permanent walls with better insulation, like double walled polycarbonate.

Another thing to consider is water. If you have a greenhouse next to your house, you don’t want rain that falls on it to direct water to your house’s foundation.

Searching around, it seems like stucco and high humidity may not work well together. Personally, I’d be a little concerned about algae/moss growth on my walls if I had high humidity on stucco.

I love the look of repurposed windows/doors for greenhouses, and I’ve even seen them advertised for that purpose at resale shops, but it’s really important to be careful about lead paint if you want to do that. Lead was the primary white pigment for a long time, and since windows/doors are often trimmed white, if they are older than 1978 (in the US, EU was 2003, though many member states had their own laws previously), it could be lead. Lead testers are fairly cheap if you want to go this route.

The right side is where people farm and the left is more ranching. Obviously, there’s farms everywhere, but out west, it has to be irrigated, which can only be done cost effectively in certain locations.

If you know where to look, you can even make out rivers. The Platte river crosses the great plains to Denver (the big blue area).

In case you aren’t American, that line is the Great Plains. It’s basically the dividing line between where it historically gets enough rain to farm, and where it’s dry enough that farming gives way to ranching.

Does anyone have specific recommendations for a light to use as a lantern?

I have a good headlamp for hiking/camping/etc, but I’d like a little flashlight to use as a backup/as a stationary lantern around camp. I’ve never used a diffuser on a flashlight, so I’m not sure if they are all created equal, or if some are better than others. Momentary brightness isn’t that important to me, but decent efficiency, a red light, and light weight are important. Bonus points for using 18650 since that would make it compatible with my headlamp.

As a non Australian, I didn’t know wittenoom, but I’m pretty sure I know of it from the old videos of asbestos shoveling competitions that went around a few years back.

I think the smallest Australian town I know is oodnadatta, but I don’t know why I know it. I also had to look up if “nullarbor” was a city, or just a place name, so idk if that counts.

Oregon trail, yes, Oregon city, no. I remember learning that it went from independence Missouri to the Willamette Valley. If I had to guess where I thought it ended, I would have said Portland.

Without trying to be gate-keepy about espresso, $100 is really too cheap. Since you just have a blade grinder, you’d have to get your coffee ground at the store/coffee shop. That makes it difficult to get the pressure/flow rate right without a pressurized basket.

If I were you, I’d stick to trying to make “espresso-style” drinks (especially if you want milk drinks) with your aeropress, or maybe getting a cheap mokapot, and if you want to spend some money to improve your coffee, spend it on a burr grinder.

If you are set on trying to get up and running with “true” espresso, look for used manual lever machines like a Flair or a Rok, and get coffee ground at the store, and get a pressurized basket.

It depends on the freezer. Some are “garage rated”, so they are designed to operate in a greater temperature range, while normally, they should only be used at room temp (plus and minus reasonable swings). Check your manual to see if it gives an operating range. I suspect that the more important factor is when it’s too hot outside for the level of insulation and compressor to keep up with, but too cold could be a problem

Do you use one that is actual chain, or braided wire? I’ve used the braided wire saws, and I like how tiny/light they are, but I’ve never used one of the chain style saws to see if the weight/volume increase is worth it.

I think there’s only 2 ways to actually kill a cast iron pan. Dropping from a height that causes the brittle metal to break, or putting lead in it. Obviously no one puts lead in their cooking vessels, but small pots are/were used to melt lead to pour in bullet molds, so if you find an old used pot, it’s good to check for lead.

Also, ceramic linings can get chipped.

You can mistreat bare cast iron horribly, never seasoning it, washing it in the dishwasher, or whatever, and it won’t get irredeemably damaged.

It’s a real baader-meinhoff phenomenon: once you notice them, you notice that every gym has them.

They keep coming out with fancier models, but the 5200 still reigns supreme. Who needs programs on a blender?

Weather is global, so agencies like the NOAA collect data from satellites, weather balloons, weather stations, buoys, etc. all over the world. NOAA’s data is a bit like GPS: paid for by US taxpayers, but used for the common good across the globe. Shutting them down wouldn’t just hurt weather prediction in the US, it would hurt everyone. Other developed countries can absolutely predict their own weather, but if they can’t include the volume of data generated by the US, their accuracy will suffer (and obviously likewise if the US couldn’t use EU data or whatever).

On the weather front (lol) one of project 2025s goals is to break up the NOAA. They want to do it specifically to hamper the ability for anyone to show the ongoing effects of climate change. If anyone thinks this is a conspiracy theory, it’s an actual conspiracy, and here is the direct quote from project 2025.

Together, these form a colossal operation that has become one of the main drivers of the climate change alarm industry and, as such, is harmful to future U.S. prosperity. This industry’s mission emphasis on prediction and management seems designed around the fatal conceit of planning for the unplannable. That is not to say NOAA is useless, but its current organization corrupts its useful func- tions. It should be broken up and downsized.