Random thing you love right now that doesn't deserve its own thread

Home safe.

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/vr3wod7.jpg)

@NS Mike I literally did a spit take and burst out laughing at my desk. That was awesome.

@Dr Incurable So glad you're home safe! Hoping for a speedy and complete recovery!

PaladinTom wrote:

I just fixed an issue with my iPhone where the connector seemed loose and cables would not stay and in charge it properly. Turns out there was TON of pocket fluff down there. Thanks Internet!!!

I suspect I have a similar problem with the micro-USB end of my Xbox Play & Charge kit. I plugged it into a brand new Xbox controller, and it wouldn't charge, or even connect to my PC. I have no idea how to get something in that tiny connector to clean it out, though. I tried an old toothbrush without success.

Use your air blower, if you have one.

BadKen wrote:
PaladinTom wrote:

I just fixed an issue with my iPhone where the connector seemed loose and cables would not stay and in charge it properly. Turns out there was TON of pocket fluff down there. Thanks Internet!!!

I suspect I have a similar problem with the micro-USB end of my Xbox Play & Charge kit. I plugged it into a brand new Xbox controller, and it wouldn't charge, or even connect to my PC. I have no idea how to get something in that tiny connector to clean it out, though. I tried an old toothbrush without success.

I used a tiny flathead screwdriver from an eyeglass repair kit. Scraping around down there didn't feel so good. I would've preferred to use tiny tweezers.

Robear wrote:

Use your air blower, if you have one.

I tried compressed air, but the lint was super packed in because I had been jamming a lightning cable down there every day.

Worth a shot though.

I saw (I think on a YouTube video) somebody use a very specialized miniature vacuum cleaner to clean out a tiny connector port. I plugged in my big old floor cleaning vacuum. Used the hose with that narrow flat attachment and sucked away. It worked.

What I do now is use the electric toothbrush. I’ve saved an old brush head that I use solely for cleaning out tiny crevasses. It works perfectly. You can use it dry, wet, damp, or even with rubbing alcohol if necessary. This is by far the best way I’ve found.

I just used some tweezers. Worked fine. There was a lot of lint packed in there!

Wooden toothpicks work best to clean lint out of USB C! Roughness of wood grabs lint easy unlike something metal, and it's soft, so it won't scrape up the pins like a bent paperclip.

tuffalobuffalo wrote:

Wooden toothpicks work best to clean lint out of USB C! Roughness of wood grabs lint easy unlike something metal, and it's soft, so it won't scrape up the pins like a bent paperclip.

This is what I usually end up using.

I always buy cases with port covers now for this exact reason. By the time I discover the problem, the lint is so packed in there that digging it out safely is really difficult.

tuffalobuffalo wrote:

Wooden toothpicks work best to clean lint out of USB C! Roughness of wood grabs lint easy unlike something metal, and it's soft, so it won't scrape up the pins like a bent paperclip.

Use flat instead of round, too.

Round are ground, flat are cut. So round are smooth and flat have natural roughness. That roughness will grab the lint.

Same logic apples to using toothpicks to check cake-doneness, flat is a more sensitive gauge.

NASA will let you put your name in to have it etched onto a microchip for the next Mars Rover.

https://mars.nasa.gov/participate/se...

bbk1980 wrote:

NASA will let you put your name in to have it etched onto a microchip for the next Mars Rover.

https://mars.nasa.gov/participate/se...

...why?

bnpederson wrote:
bbk1980 wrote:

NASA will let you put your name in to have it etched onto a microchip for the next Mars Rover.

https://mars.nasa.gov/participate/se...

...why?

Why do nasa do it? I think it must be good for the public engagement with science. It would be interesting to know what metrics that it produces. I think they did it for the curiosity rover so it must work.

Why do I love it? Because I love space and it got me talking about it with one of my boys. We did the name thing and I got to show him the planned robot. The fact that it will hopefully be carrying a helicopter this time got it bonus 4 year old points.

bnpederson wrote:
bbk1980 wrote:

NASA will let you put your name in to have it etched onto a microchip for the next Mars Rover.

https://mars.nasa.gov/participate/se...

...why?

Because it's free PR.

Don't cost them anything to offer, gets eyeballs. Job done.

The New York Jets. They're such a clown car of fun to watch and read about. Glad I'm not a fan, just a fan of schadenfruede. Shadenfroud. Shadenfreud... fan of their bad luck.

The Arctic Monkeys. The catchiness of their music is such a great antidote against having the Paw Patrol or Frozen theme songs stuck in my head all the time.

dejanzie wrote:

The Arctic Monkeys. The catchiness of their music is such a great antidote against having the Paw Patrol or Frozen theme songs stuck in my head all the time.

You need to Let it Go.

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I don’t start work for several hours. The kids are at school. The dog has been walked and fed. The air is cool and crisp. Time to pour a cup of hot coffee and play Control. If that objective still won’t spawn then I’ll switch to the new Plants vs Zombies shooter.

I love Arctic Monkeys!

Submitted a research manuscript to a journal And now we wait...

The latest episode in series 9 of Taskmaster. A joy from start to finish.

Ruby Gloom.

Groucho Marx. Probably could get his own thread, but I'm lazy .

MaxShrek wrote:

Groucho Marx. Probably could get his own thread, but I'm lazy .

I just yesterday picked up "Duck Soup" from the library. Now to get my teenager to watch it with me. She's randomly watched other old movies on her own so I don't expect it to be too difficult.

This might eventually deserve its own thread:

Neil Gaiman’s Sandman series coming to Netflix

Japan beat Ireland in rugby!

It may not sound like much but it's never happened before. And Ireland is currently #2 in the world (or was before today anyway). While Japan was #10, rugby is a sport where there's a pretty big gap between, say, #4 and #8 or so.

Anyway it's a really big deal for JP. Bummer for Ireland, who looked dreadful (I think a key player was injured but I'm not sure).

I have no skin in the game but it'd make me happy if Japan do well.

Japan is hosting the world cup, so there's a lot of interest. I haven't done the math but it looks like we're likely to advance to the second round, which has also never happened before. But just this win is enough for us to be doing well, by any standard!

No skin in the game either, but I was really happy for Japan.