u/sidzzz__1007

I’ve been trying to figure out what people actually do to keep their ears clean without causing problems. I get that ears kind of take care of themselves, but at the same time it feels odd to just ignore it completely. Sometimes it feels like there’s buildup, even if it’s probably not a big deal.

I used to just clean the outer part and occasionally go a bit further, but then I started reading that it can actually make things worse if you push stuff inward. That kind of made me second guess everything I’ve been doing.

Now I’m stuck in this middle ground where I don’t want to overdo it, but also don’t want to just wait until it becomes noticeable or uncomfortable.

Maybe I’m overthinking something that’s simple, but I’m curious how other people handle it.

Do you just leave it alone, or is there something you do regularly that actually feels safe?

this is kind of random but I've been trying to do the pomodoro method for like 2 months now and I keep getting distracted by my phone when I use it as the timer. like the whole point is to focus for 25 min but then I pick up the phone to check the timer and suddenly im on instagram for 10 minutes.

so I was sitting at my desk yesterday fidgeting with my power bank (anker prime 220w power bank, been using it to charge my laptop at the library) and I was like shaking it around bc I fidget with stuff when I think. AND THE SCREEN STARTED A 25 MINUTE COUNTDOWN. I thought it was broken or something at first lmao

looked it up and apparently if you swing it side to side 4 times it activates a built in pomodoro timer?? the screen flashes when times up. you press the power button to cancel it.

I know this is such a dumb thing to be excited about but honestly its perfect for me bc its just sitting on my desk anyway and now I dont need to touch my phone at all during work blocks. no notifications no nothing just a little screen counting down next to my laptop

has anyone else found weird hidden features in their random tech stuff? feels like an easter egg lol.

hey all, been running an Ender 3 Pro for quite a while and it’s been fine for basic stuff, but lately I’ve been feeling like I want something a bit more modern. less time tweaking, more time just printing.

originally I was looking at things like the SV06 and Neptune 4 since they pop up a lot, but the more I read, the more they feel like kind of the same “generation” as what I already have. still solid machines, just maybe not that big of a jump in terms of daily experience.

then I started looking at stuff like the SparkX i7 and now I’m a bit stuck. it seems more like an appliance style printer, setup looks easier, less manual tuning, and multicolor is something I’ve never tried before. not sure if that’s actually useful long term or just something you play with for a week and forget.

my main use is functional prints and occasional models. I don’t really care about pushing max speed, I just want something consistent that doesn’t need constant adjustments.

so I guess the real question is… is it worth going for something more “automated” like that, or better to stick with a more traditional machine that’s proven but maybe requires more hands-on work?

would be good to hear from people who made a similar jump, especially if you came from older ender-style printers.

Full disclosure – sharing this because of the gift card campaign going on, but the thoughts below are my real experience after a week with the i7.

Just wrapped up about a week with the SparkX i7 after using an Ender 3 Pro for quite a while.

Biggest change is speed and overall workflow. Things feel a lot more “hands-off” compared to what I was used to.

Even without tweaking much, prints are coming out faster and more consistent. Haven’t pushed max speed yet, just testing stability first.

Multicolor was something I wanted to try, and so far it’s been interesting. There’s definitely a learning curve with purge amounts, but once adjusted, results look pretty decent.

What I printed: Small toolbox, transitions looked better than expected Small mechanical part, tolerances were solid No major issues so far. Still experimenting with settings, working out TPU prints and seeing where it starts to struggle.

If anyone else is running the i7, would be interested to hear what settings or profiles you’ve found reliable.

https://preview.redd.it/3ol7lidp9dvg1.png?width=959&format=png&auto=webp&s=fd5f8819a98fa39561ac74a07572d0c391eadc76

https://preview.redd.it/q04s5nrs9dvg1.png?width=1280&format=png&auto=webp&s=9647a776280cb946f4d0666bee6ab60364abe518

My wife wants to go camping next weekend but the night temps here are still dropping into the low 30s. She hates being cold and refuses to sleep in a mummy bag. We have a nice canvas bell tent but I really don't want to mess with setting up a hot tent wood stove and worrying about sparks burning holes in the fabric. I just bought the Anker Solix C2000 Gen 2. Can I just run a king size heated blanket off this thing all night?