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Daniel James

@hachyderm.thzinc.com
14 followers 1 following 264 posts

I say things on the internet sometimes, and this is some of it. 🌉 bridged from ⁂ hachyderm.io/@thzinc, follow @ap.brid.gy to interact

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Daniel James @hachyderm.thzinc.com · 15/10/2026
These small moments of irony bring me a strange bit of joy (Received scan of mail in USPS Informed Delivery email)
A scanned envelope with large letters saying "DO NOT BEND OR TEAR" while it is clear the envelope has been smushed and has several creases next to the warning.

The recipient address has been redacted and no sender address is printed, though the prepaid postage indicates it was sent on behalf of Sierra Club.
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Daniel James @hachyderm.thzinc.com · 08/10/2026
Most of my writing lately has been to city council, but I did make a quick stand for a cheap USB endoscope that I think is pretty neat: thzinc.com/2026/10/07/adjustable-st… #maker #3dprinting
Photo of completed stand with endoscope clamped in arm looking at a small circuit board
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Daniel James @hachyderm.thzinc.com · 29/09/2026
If you're a resident of #Pasadena (and especially if you're in the northwest), the city council is planning to approve a valuable and much-needed specific plan for the Fair Oaks/Orange Grove (FOOG) area. HOWEVER, in that same area, the city has concentrated a […] [Original post on hachyderm.io]
Fair Oaks Orange Grove (FOOG) corridor has high concentration of Flock cameras

Pasadena is revising the FOOG Plan to include environmental and restorative justice principles to honor the area's Black legacy and intercultural heritage. It aims to address the historical disinvestment and discrimination of the community.

The excessive policing and surveillance of this community are conspicuously absent from this conversation.

Tell Pasadena City Council:
STOP SURVEILLANCE OF OUR BLACK AND BROWN COMMUNITIES!

[map of Fair Oaks/Orange Grove Specific Plan area overlaid with 24 red dots representing Flock cameras]
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Daniel James @hachyderm.thzinc.com · 17/09/2026
[Orange, EA] @skinnylatte good, good... let them tussle
Mr. Burns (from The Simpsons) with a deviously furrowed brow and templed fingers, standing at his desk in front of his chair and window. A caption reads "Good good...!"
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Daniel James @hachyderm.thzinc.com · 17/09/2026
Just caught it doing a hop between from Eaton Canyon back to Alta Loma/Lincoln
A map showing a trace of N413CE flying from Eayon Canyon on the east to the ravine on the west
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Daniel James @hachyderm.thzinc.com · 17/09/2026
There's been a few helicopter flights around by an aircraft whose registered owner is US BANK NA that have traced the #Altadena burn scar and then landed in the ravine near Alta Loma and Lincoln. It tends to fly low and fast over NW Pasadena (which is why I noticed it).
Satellite image from Google Maps of a dry ravine immediately north of Alta Loma Dr. and east of Lincoln Ave.
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Daniel James @hachyderm.thzinc.com · 14/09/2026
RE: hachyderm.io/@thzinc/11726755271651… Related: this is the #Pasadena/#Altadena region's #ALPR network (mostly #Flock), overlaid on the HOLC areas used for redlining starting in the 1930s. Redlining as a practice was outlawed in 1968, but the […] [Original post on hachyderm.io]
A map highlighting the City of Pasadena, CA, with its surrounding area in shadow. A legend for the map says:

All ALPRs in Pasadena/Altadena region [227]
HOLD areas (Mapping Inequality: Redlining in New Deal America)
- Other (Commercial, etc.)
- A
- B
- C
- D
- E
- F

The map itself shows a red dots for each ALPR in the region. Within the City of Pasadena, the dots are concentrated in the "D" and "C" areas, or within the main corridor of "Other (Commercial, etc.)" areas along Historic Route 66.

A few red dots appear in "B" areas around the Rose Bowl.
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Daniel James @hachyderm.thzinc.com · 11/09/2026
Just noticed that OpenStreetMap has been updated to reflect the structures that are no longer present in Altadena
Map centered on Altadena with darker silhouettes where building outlines once were, effectively diagramming the massive burn scar from the Eaton Fire.
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Daniel James @hachyderm.thzinc.com · 14/07/2026
Decided to open up a recently decommissioned WiFi router to look for a serial/UART console port. Headers added and root console access achieved!
A printed circuit board with three shiny metal rectangles covering radio-sensitive circuits. In the bottom right, a small four-pin header has been added to the board.
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Daniel James @hachyderm.thzinc.com · 06/07/2026
After finding that the cigarette lighter adapter was just a 12v-to-5v buck converter, I made a bit of a hack…
A chain of adapters, left to right:

1. USB-C to USB-A
2. USB-A to serial adapter, with the shell removed showing only the circuit board
3. Serial connector from GPS-18
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Daniel James @hachyderm.thzinc.com · 20/06/2026
Watching the #jellyfish swim is such a vibe that it inspired me to tinker in Garage Band. Feels good to compose a thing, even if it's simple.
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Daniel James @hachyderm.thzinc.com · 19/06/2026
Went to the aquarium today and saw so many cool #jellies #jellyfish
An arrangement of warm brown-orange jellyfish on a dark backdrop that has a similarity to a renaissance painting of action.

There are 32 jellies in full view, many swimming in a downward direction, though several are pointed in other varying directions. There is no central focus or grouping. Instead, the mass of jellies appear to be chaotic while frozen in place. 

These jellies have some tendrils that are frilly, lacy, and bright emanating from the center of each bell, but also a series of thin, wispy threadlike tendrils from around each crown.
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Daniel James @hachyderm.thzinc.com · 28/05/2026
Went to look up a dead link from Flock's own site and ran into this...
Screenshot of the Wayback Machine search for "https://www.flocksafety.com/" showing:

Sorry.

This URL has been excluded from the Wayback Machine.
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Daniel James @hachyderm.thzinc.com · 19/05/2026
RE: mastodon.social/@campuscodi/1166017… Ooh, CueCat-style attack vector!
CueCat barcode scanner and interposer cables with male and female PS/2 connectors

Image and description from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CueCat
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Daniel James @hachyderm.thzinc.com · 27/04/2026
Dragon Sweeper is such a good game with a very catchy soundtrack: danielben.itch.io/dragonsweeper
End screen from Dragon Sweeper. A pixel art silhouette of a caped hero atop piles of rubble in front of a cooling sunset. Below the art:

Nothing but blood in the desolate field,
Echoes of battles the wind has revealed.
Jorge looks up, and a question is posed:
Perhaps I'm not difference from those I've disposed?

Scopre: 365 (Max: 365)
0:14:41

Por Daniel Benmergui - V1.1.18
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Daniel James @hachyderm.thzinc.com · 26/04/2026
Had the realization this afternoon that I've been doing respirator maintenance for more than six years. #P100 #CovidIsNotOver #asthma
Two half-face respirators disassembled in a dish rack after washing each part
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Daniel James @hachyderm.thzinc.com · 15/03/2026
RE: hachyderm.io/@thzinc/11617498493657… After noodling on site design for a couple weeks, I now have a spiffy new coat of paint on thzinc.com!
Cropped top half of thzinc.com with the following content:

Avatar of Daniel James a.k.a. thzinc: an simple illustration of Daniel wearing a half-face respirator.
"thzinc"

I’m Daniel James. I write things here when I feel like it. Find me on the fediverse (Mastodon, et al.), GitHub, LinkedIn, or a myriad of other sites.

Newest post: Mini rack bill of materials (BOM)

- It’s been a full year since I started gathering parts to build my mini rack, and I’ve had it running quietly over the last two months.

Make

- Organizer box slides for Kallax shelves
- IKEA SMÅSNÖRE-inspired flexible LED strip lamp
- Hackaday Superconference 2025 – Days -7 through 1 - Design by contract 

Code

- Solving a kernel panic while booting Ubuntu 24.04 LTS from NVMe on a Raspberry Pi 5
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Daniel James @hachyderm.thzinc.com · 09/03/2026
Gross.
An Instagram ad for Flock Safety that says “Protect Your Congregation With Confidence” above a photo of a church spire.
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Daniel James @hachyderm.thzinc.com · 04/03/2026
Got around to documenting my #MiniRack build. I've had it running smoothly for a couple months and it's been really useful as a home lab Kubernetes cluster. thzinc.com/mini%20rack/2026/03/02/m… One more step toward #SelfHosting...
Photo of completed mini rack showing two rows of 2U Raspberry Pi racks, each with 4 Raspberry Pis, a 1U POE switch, and a 1U brush strip with a USB-C cable emerging from within.
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Daniel James @hachyderm.thzinc.com · 13/02/2026
I realized this morning what local AI agents (OpenClaw, Cowork, etc.) remind me of
Bonsai Buddy, a purple monkey spinning a globe on one finger and holding a banana in the other hand. Around the monkey are the phrases: I Talk! I E-Mail! I Browse! I Laugh! I Tell Facts! I Schedule! I Download! I Sing! I Search!
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Daniel James @hachyderm.thzinc.com · 07/02/2026
Looks like police vehicles are on the freeway based on a Caltrans camera near the area cwwp2.dot.ca.gov/vm/loc/d7/i210761a…
CCTV snapshot looking west along the 210 at Altadena/Corson showinb bright blue lights in the middle of the freeway
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Daniel James @hachyderm.thzinc.com · 07/02/2026
Something's definitely going on around Sierra Madre Villa #Pasadena #adsb
The same 7 vehicles flying tight circles around Sierra Madre Villa near the 210 freeway
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Daniel James @hachyderm.thzinc.com · 07/02/2026
Why are there a whole bunch of county and TV helicopters flying east over #Pasadena, being tailed by a CHP plane? adsb.lol?icao=a97a67
Map showing 6 helicopters and 1 plane  flying east along the 210 over Sierra Madre Villa in Pasadena, CA
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Daniel James @hachyderm.thzinc.com · 26/01/2026
As a form of self care, I've been working on a tool to make interactive "choose your own adventure" stories. (for an eventual fediverse bot) Tracery didn't quite fit what I wanted to accomplish, so I made my own thing. As a part of it, I made a nifty […] [Original post on hachyderm.io]
A user interface that is composed of a navigation section across the top, and on the lower left is a text editor, and on the lower right is a rendered copy of the story.

The text editor shows a section of YAML, primarily composed of a "variables" object and a "chapters" array.

The visible section of the rendered story reads:

Chapter 1

    A story about Blob

    What color is Blob?

Heading: Question

BLOB_COLOR

Buttons for red, black, "breen," yellow, and white

Chapter 2

    *BRR BRR BRR*

    A gelatinous white protrusion slithers from under the sheet.

    *SMACK*

    Slowly, a viscous white slime overtakes the blanket and rises, as if to sit up. Two orbs slowly float toward the top of the slime and a gap forms beneath them indicating a yawn. Blob gets out of bed and pauses–a gurgling gas bubble wriggles in the slime.

    What is Blob thinking about?
     
Heading: Variables at end of chapter
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Daniel James @hachyderm.thzinc.com · 06/01/2026
I bought a USB-C power supply, but didn't realize it used an IEC 60320 C5 cable. Do I know anyone who has a "Mickey Mouse" cable in their Box o' Cords that they would be willing to part with? Ref: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEC_60320#C5/… #BuyNothing #electronics #cables
 IEC 60320 C3 Connector: plug diagram, source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:IEC_60320_C3.svgIEC 60320 C5 connector, source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:IEC_60320_C5_connector.jpg
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Daniel James @hachyderm.thzinc.com · 31/12/2025
Went out for a bike ride in my neighborhood (NW #Pasadena) and spotted several new #Flock cameras. Several appeared to be positioned such that they include sidewalks and views toward duplexes and apartments.
A Flock camera mounted to a city streetlight pole. The camera is a black oblong rectangle with a small sun shade hood. Next to it on the pole is a light grey box with wires between it and the Flock camera.
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Daniel James @hachyderm.thzinc.com · 26/12/2025
New writeup of an old print (that I use daily!) thzinc.com/2025/12/25/organizer-box…
Photo of completed slides installed in a Kallax shelf with six full organizer trays; there is room on the left side where two more differently-sized organizers are leaning against the new slides.
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Daniel James @hachyderm.thzinc.com · 17/12/2025
Sometimes I read things written (ostensibly) by people trying to make a point about a solution they came up with to a problem they had, but the solution seems dubious and the problem is poorly defined (or completely misunderstood) […] [Original post on hachyderm.io]
Excerpt from blog post:

My Obsidian vault contains: → 3 years of daily engineering notes → 500+ meeting reflections → Thousands of fleeting observations about building software → Every book highlight and conference insight I've captured

No human could read all of this in a lifetime. AI consumes it in seconds.
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Daniel James @hachyderm.thzinc.com · 14/12/2025
Whoa, my flexible LED strip lamp models have gotten way more views and downloads on #Thingiverse than anything else I've shared. thzinc.com/2025/11/21/ikea-smasnore… #maker #led #lamp #3dprinting
A bar graph of views and downloads by day from 2025-11-13 to 2025-12-13 showing a significant and sustained rise from single-digit values to ≥50 views per day.

Below the graph are are my top three models with "Flexible LED strip lamp" at 1656 views and 151 downloads. Next is "Orbic RC400L case" with 39 views, 5 downloads. Next is "Flipper Zero Protoboard case/..." with 35 views, 0 downloads. The list appears to continue downward under the crop.
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Daniel James @hachyderm.thzinc.com · 05/12/2025
All I wanted to do was use SendBulkTemplatedEmail, #LocalStack. Now I'm cloning the repo to look at adding it myself...
Section of screenshot showing API coverage of the SESv1 API, filtered to SendBulkTemplatedEmail. It shows it is implemented in the community version of LocalStack.
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Daniel James @hachyderm.thzinc.com · 01/12/2025
Apparently their tagline is "Activate Fundraisers, Ignite Revenue"
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Daniel James @hachyderm.thzinc.com · 01/12/2025
I was looking around for Tiltify fees and came across their LA wildfire relief case study, which ends with this wild call to action: > Ready to ignite your revenue? Like, this is questionable language for a CTA in any context, but feels pretty tone deaf at the […] [Original post on hachyderm.io]
Screenshot of the Tiltify Catalyst case study with the following in view:

3: Every feature of the Catalyst platform utilized, proving its strength in rapid-response efforts

Takeaway: Disaster doesn’t wait—and with Tiltify Catalyst, neither does impact. The LA Wildfire Relief Fund showed what’s possible when communities unite under one cause, and technology meets urgency with action. 

Ready to ignite your revenue?

Join the thousands of other nonprofits that have activated their fundraisers

Book a demo

Catalyst: Activate Fundraisers, Ignite Revenue
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Daniel James @hachyderm.thzinc.com · 01/12/2025
It's really satisfying to have a well-connected set of notes in #Obsidian.
Obsidian's graph view showing a circular arrangement of dots with lines strewn from point to point. There are obvious large clusters of points and a thin ring of points around the outside of the arrangement indicating a less-connected periphery.

Different colors are used to indicate Bibliography, People, Organizations, Zettelkasten, Journal, and Components
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Daniel James @hachyderm.thzinc.com · 23/11/2025
I wrote up the design and build process for my IKEA SMÅSNÖRE-inspired flexible LED strip lamp, which inspired me to create this ridiculous collage. Many words and even more pictures at thzinc.com/2025/11/21/ikea-smasnore… #maker #electronics #3dprinting
Fancam-style photo composition of the SMÅSNÖRE lamp, an illuminated ~80cm arch with round bases on either side
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Daniel James @hachyderm.thzinc.com · 22/11/2025
Hanging out at the antifa monument this morning
My bike next to a plaque at the base of a flagpole that reads: “In remembrance of those who made the supreme sacrifice during Word War II”
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Daniel James @hachyderm.thzinc.com · 21/11/2025
Ooooh, my LED strip lamp is assembled and works great! It produces a nice diffuse arc of light around a work area, and is flexible and movable and dimmable 😁
Photo of LED strip lamp in a 50cm arc on my desk, illuminating a 3D printed section of chain. My desk is cluttered with things behind a keyboard and trackpadCloseup of 3D printed chain with clean diffuse lighting so that the details are clear
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Daniel James @hachyderm.thzinc.com · 18/11/2025
Today was a good crafting day. I printed and assembled the base of an LED lamp I’ve been designing and I finally sewed a lining for a bag my wife knitted and for which she has been waiting patiently. #electronics #3dprinting #sewing
Bottom view of a round lamp housing showing several circuit boards. There is a potentiometer with knob sticking out one side.
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Daniel James @hachyderm.thzinc.com · 04/11/2025
My wife finished up the paint and rhinestones on these Elt-hen John glasses and I think they're absolutely incredible! #3DPrinting #EmotionalSupportChicken #knitting
A colorful knitted chicken wearing large, rhinestone-covered glasses frames in the style of Elton John's famous glasses.Side view of a colorful knitted chicken wearing large, rhinestone-covered glasses frames in the style of Elton John's famous glasses.
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Daniel James @hachyderm.thzinc.com · 01/11/2025
Today was a great first day of #Supercon! Excited for this weekend! thzinc.com/2025/10/31/hackaday-supe…
Photo of work area on folding table at conference. The badge is shown without its rubber keyboard sheet, so there's just an array of silver dome switches. A screwdriver set is nearby with a collection of recently-removed screws. Two cardboard boxes complete a border around the work area, one labelled "Parts" and the other "Tools."
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Daniel James @hachyderm.thzinc.com · 25/10/2025
Successuflly printed 49 out of the 50 attempted (broke one while removing it from the build plate) My super janky rigging test is very promising. The lighting is nice and diffuse without casting shadows. #3dprinting #maker #led
49 chain links drying on a sheet of paper towel after being cleaned of their build plate glueCrudely secured LED strip in a section of assembled chain making an arch over the desk. Under the light are several additional chain links sitting among other desk things like my keyboard and trackball. Closeup photo of chain links under the LED light arch. The objects are illuminated clearly and show the detail well, even despite the chain links being printed in black.
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Daniel James @hachyderm.thzinc.com · 25/10/2025
I printed out a set of three links to test fit and play with, and wow! These are really satisfying to bend and fiddle with. The LED strip fits well, the chain links connect to each other well and the tolerances between the moving parts are snug but comfortable […] [Original post on hachyderm.io]
Photo of three chain links connected to each other in a zig zag.Photo of three chain links lying flat with an LED strip laid inside for referenceScreenshot of Cura showing a rendering of a build plate with 50 chain links arranged. The time estimate says "23 hours 16 minutes."
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Daniel James @hachyderm.thzinc.com · 25/10/2025
This week, I encountered the SMÅSNÖRE (www.ikea.com/us/en/p/smasnoere-led-…) light at IKEA and fell in love with the bendy half-desk toy, half configurable work area light. (Think soldering, assembly […] [Original post on hachyderm.io]
A detailed engineering diagram of a single chain link. Each link is 10.5mm tall, 31.5mm long, and 16.8mm wide. The diagram highlights the the chamfered pin and its through hole and through holes for zip ties in the base of link. Another callout indicates the link is constrained to a total of 120° of rotation around its pin. The link is designed to fit the width of a 10mm LED strip.3D rendering of a chain link with a half link on either end demonstrating 60° rotation in either direction from the plane of the link.
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Daniel James @hachyderm.thzinc.com · 23/10/2025
Ahaha, this is fantastic! #3dprinting #EmotionalSupportChicken #knitting
Photo of flamboyantly-large glasses frames on a brightly-colored knitted chicken
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Daniel James @hachyderm.thzinc.com · 23/10/2025
I always enjoy when my wife makes a #3dprinting request. She knitted an "Elt-hen John" #EmotionalSupportChicken, but wanted some appropriately-flamboyant glasses for the chicken to wear. Now I'm just waiting for the print to complete so I can hand these to her for bedazzling... #knitting #maker
British singer-songwriter Elton John wearing a pair of his flamboyant trademark spectacles, 12th September 1974. (Photo by D. Morrison/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Source: https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/british-singer-songwriter-elton-john-wearing-a-pair-of-his-news-photo/11375379343D rendering of glasses frames that are similarly proportioned to the previous photo. The frames are about 40mm around each eye and feature an offset inner diameter that leaves room for extra rhinestones around the outer edges of the frame.
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Daniel James @hachyderm.thzinc.com · 23/10/2025
I made a beautiful loaf of chocolate banana bread and I am being SO patient right now while it cools 🤤 #baking
A beautiful loaf of banana bread topped with melty chocolate chips. The loaf is still in its glass dish sitting on the stovetop under the warm yellow light of the range hood.
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Daniel James @hachyderm.thzinc.com · 14/10/2025
I had some fun designing a weird little mounting bracket for my LED goggles: thzinc.com/2025/10/13/battery-mount… #3dprinting
Schematic of battery mount; the design is a 28 x 23.5mm rectangle with through holes in each corner for heat set inserts; callouts note the sloped thickness from 4.08mm to 5.07mm across the short edge, and a top view highlights the different radii of the side to be glue to the inside of the eye cup; a note indicates the flat side is to be mounted to the battery holder
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Daniel James @hachyderm.thzinc.com · 10/10/2025
Having some fun with #WeirdWebOctober2025 by making dumb little games. I borrowed some inspiration from the Observation Duty games for today's "Blink" prompt: thzinc.com/2025/10/09/weird-web-oct…
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Daniel James @hachyderm.thzinc.com · 08/10/2025
#Obsidian Bases is such a power tool. As a part of my note-taking around writing and #maker stuff, I also keep track of electronic components, their data sheets, and other notes. Using Bases to pull these notes together is fantastic! The fact that it's all […] [Original post on hachyderm.io]
Screenshot of my "Components" list, which is a large spreadsheet of 108 components with the following columns: function, manufacturer, file name, part number, in stock, quantity, salvaged, data sheets, links.
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Daniel James @hachyderm.thzinc.com · 07/10/2025
I 3D printed a total of 17 iterations on a card design and wasn't happy with any of them, but I did learn some stuff. thzinc.com/2025/10/06/close-but-not… #3dprinting #fail
Diagram of card design with with annotations of specific dimensions; The card body is 85.6mm x 53.98mm with 3.175mm radius rounded corners. The design is centered around the text "daniel@thzinc.com" with callouts indicating "daniel", "@thzinc", "thzinc.com", and "daniel@thzinc.com" as the relevant parts of my identity. There is a side view that shows the text is 0.1mm thick sandwiched between the card body that is 0.7mm thick in total.
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Daniel James @hachyderm.thzinc.com · 04/10/2025
Doing a battery longevity test and these are still quite reasonably bright after over 24 hours on the same pair of CR2032s. I’m quite impressed! #maker #electronics
Selfie with me wearing the illuminated LED goggles. I am grinning with a closed mouth and the look is goofy.
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