The lifestyle, hobbies, and fun thread.

[Antifragile]

Does anyone own an electric bike? Any brand recommendations?

My wife has a

SPECIALIZED TURBO VADO​

It's a lot of fun. Highly recommend.

 

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[REV5028]

This past weekend we took a trip to Bandelier National Monument in northern New Mexico. The site is located in a beautiful canyon and protects Ancestral Puebloan petroglyphs, cave dwellings, and masonry structures. Really neat to see a glimpse of how people lived hundreds of years ago; very thought provoking.

 

[heavy_industry]

This past weekend we took a trip to Bandelier National Monument in northern New Mexico. The site is located in a beautiful canyon and protects Ancestral Puebloan petroglyphs, cave dwellings, and masonry structures. Really neat to see a glimpse of how people lived hundreds of years ago; very thought provoking.

Damn, imagine being a pizza delivery boy in the year 1200 and having to climb that ladder.

 

[BizyDad]

Ironically most of the stuff in this thread can be enjoyed for free.

Hahaha. I noticed that.

I saw Bruno Mars in Vegas two Saturdays ago. I was going to share a picture of that, but Bruno kidnapped our phones and sang a happy little song about doing it to.

I ate dinner at a restaurant at the top of Mandalay Bay. I took a picture of my overpriced filet, but shrinkflation means I received a petit filet not worth bragging about. Look at this funny little thing. Tasted good though.



And the show was amazing. Dude actually had me dancing, and Bizydad don't dance.

Here's the view from the bar. I was too busy watching the sunset to snap a pic, the thought to take this came a few minutes later.



Anyways, the real reason I am posting is because of this:



I just got out of my signing. Finally set up a family trust. Feels like I leveled up an achievement in the gamification of life. Am I finally a grown up?

Probably not, I'm still giggling like a kid about doing this.

More than anything it feels good to not be putting life on hold anymore because of a lack of time/money/energy/commitment.

We only get one shot at this folks. Make your moments count Fastlane Fam.

 

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[REV5028]

Finally set up a family trust.

Congrats on your achievement!

 

[JAJT]

Here's a fun little project I put together recently.

I've always been pretty big into retro gaming - I own a bunch of old systems but almost never break them out anymore due to the inconvenience and upkeep required. I've tried PC emulation in the past but I never liked sitting in front of a monitor to play games and hooking a computer up to the TV just felt awkward. I've looked into raspberry pi options in the past but there were questions about performance that always left a bad taste in my mouth.

Recently I stumbled across an open source project called "MiSTer FPGA" that piqued my interest. FPGA stands for "Field Programmable Gate Array" which is essentially a chip that can be programmed to mimic other hardware configurations. So instead of running software on a computer to emulate a Super Nintendo (for example), it uses the FPGA to mimic the hardware configuration of an SNES directly - no software running at all. The only software in the whole setup is essentially the minimalist menu system.

The result is I can now play thousands of classic games from dozens of different systems on any TV over HDMI. It takes up less room than a tissue box so it travels easily. It's probably one of my favorite entertainment purchases I've ever made.

I put together a rather janky video to demo it to some friends of mine, so forgive the quality/production:

View attachment Mister Demo-1.mp4

Photos of the device "naked" and with it's case:

 

[Ocean Man]

Here's a fun little project I put together recently.

I've always been pretty big into retro gaming - I own a bunch of old systems but almost never break them out anymore due to the inconvenience and upkeep required. I've tried PC emulation in the past but I never liked sitting in front of a monitor to play games and hooking a computer up to the TV just felt awkward. I've looked into raspberry pi options in the past but there were questions about performance that always left a bad taste in my mouth.

Recently I stumbled across an open source project called "MiSTer FPGA" that piqued my interest. FPGA stands for "Field Programmable Gate Array" which is essentially a chip that can be programmed to mimic other hardware configurations. So instead of running software on a computer to emulate a Super Nintendo (for example), it uses the FPGA to mimic the hardware configuration of an SNES directly - no software running at all. The only software in the whole setup is essentially the minimalist menu system.

The result is I can now play thousands of classic games from dozens of different systems on any TV over HDMI. It takes up less room than a tissue box so it travels easily. It's probably one of my favorite entertainment purchases I've ever made.

I put together a rather janky video to demo it to some friends of mine, so forgive the quality/production:

View attachment 49301

Photos of the device "naked" and with it's case:

View attachment 49319View attachment 49320
View attachment 49321

Pretty cool! Does it save progress?

 

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[AmazingLarry]

Here's a fun little project I put together recently.

I've always been pretty big into retro gaming - I own a bunch of old systems but almost never break them out anymore due to the inconvenience and upkeep required. I've tried PC emulation in the past but I never liked sitting in front of a monitor to play games and hooking a computer up to the TV just felt awkward. I've looked into raspberry pi options in the past but there were questions about performance that always left a bad taste in my mouth.

Recently I stumbled across an open source project called "MiSTer FPGA" that piqued my interest. FPGA stands for "Field Programmable Gate Array" which is essentially a chip that can be programmed to mimic other hardware configurations. So instead of running software on a computer to emulate a Super Nintendo (for example), it uses the FPGA to mimic the hardware configuration of an SNES directly - no software running at all. The only software in the whole setup is essentially the minimalist menu system.

The result is I can now play thousands of classic games from dozens of different systems on any TV over HDMI. It takes up less room than a tissue box so it travels easily. It's probably one of my favorite entertainment purchases I've ever made.

I put together a rather janky video to demo it to some friends of mine, so forgive the quality/production:

View attachment 49301

Photos of the device "naked" and with it's case:

View attachment 49319View attachment 49320
View attachment 49321

That's sweet! Does you just use USB controllers?

I think I would miss blowing in cartridges and chalky N64 joysticks though.

I still have my Sega Genesis and N64. I play my N64 more than xbox. Can't beat Mario Kart with a few friends.

 

[Guest-5ty5s4]

My two main hobbies are swimming and playing guitar. I've been back in the pool this summer and trying to hit some best times. Recently got back under 30 for my 50 breaststroke haven't done that since club in college - this is yards. We have a meet in meters next month.

Home lap pool is a dream goal..

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Every summer my county puts on a luxury home show and my neighborhood always has 3 or 4 houses being featured. This one is about 12,000 square foot and had a man cave -- if I ever bought another exotic car, I would just use it as ART like this.

View attachment IMG_2840.MOV

 

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[ZackerySprague]

Here's a fun little project I put together recently.

I've always been pretty big into retro gaming - I own a bunch of old systems but almost never break them out anymore due to the inconvenience and upkeep required. I've tried PC emulation in the past but I never liked sitting in front of a monitor to play games and hooking a computer up to the TV just felt awkward. I've looked into raspberry pi options in the past but there were questions about performance that always left a bad taste in my mouth.

Recently I stumbled across an open source project called "MiSTer FPGA" that piqued my interest. FPGA stands for "Field Programmable Gate Array" which is essentially a chip that can be programmed to mimic other hardware configurations. So instead of running software on a computer to emulate a Super Nintendo (for example), it uses the FPGA to mimic the hardware configuration of an SNES directly - no software running at all. The only software in the whole setup is essentially the minimalist menu system.

The result is I can now play thousands of classic games from dozens of different systems on any TV over HDMI. It takes up less room than a tissue box so it travels easily. It's probably one of my favorite entertainment purchases I've ever made.

I put together a rather janky video to demo it to some friends of mine, so forgive the quality/production:

View attachment 49301

Photos of the device "naked" and with it's case:

View attachment 49319View attachment 49320
View attachment 49321

That's Cool!

 

[ZackerySprague]

Every summer my county puts on a luxury home show and my neighborhood always has 3 or 4 houses being featured. This one is about 12,000 square foot and had a man cave -- if I ever bought another exotic car, I would just use it as ART like this.

View attachment 49339

That classic car!

 

[Runum]

Near Idaho Falls in 2021, we spotted this osprey nest on top of the pole and stopped to take some pics. I got the long lens out and we start walking toward the pole. The mom took off from the nest and began flying toward us. I stopped to get a action shot and Kathy kept walking even though I warned her. The mom kept flying toward Kathy. Fortunately the bird turned away from Kathy, I thought she was a goner for a few seconds there. The mother osprey did find something for her young ones to eat besides my wife.

 

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[GuestUser4aMPs1]

Getting an itch to write more music soon. Here's something from 6 months ago:
https://soundcloud.com/caribecowboi%2Fencindio View: https://soundcloud.com/caribecowboi/encindio

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Another house on the luxury home tour, this one had a full basketball court complete with ball return, automatic hoop leveling, and an upstairs gym. Hard to fathom this is in a house.

View attachment IMG_2842.MOV

 

[Antifragile]

Chasing views on my bike.

I think every person has something that bring genuine feeling of happiness. It’s hard to explain how or why, but I feel so happy, relaxed, joyful when I’m on my bike. It’s not just the exercise, as I don’t get same feeling from running, swimming or golfing etc. Only cycling! So much joy … and views are a bonus you earn by climbing up hills and mountains.

 

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[Sirrom]

Does anyone own an electric bike? Any brand recommendations?

I have a Van Moof. Design is great

 

[Yula]

Does anyone own an electric bike? Any brand recommendations?

Van Moof and Cowboy are both fantastic e-bikes. They’re both Dutch brands so I’m not sure if they deliver to the US.

 

[Sirrom]

Van Moof and Cowboy are both fantastic e-bikes. They’re both Dutch brands so I’m not sure if they deliver to the US.

They do. They are scaling at an insane pace right now.

 

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[JAJT]

Pretty cool! Does it save progress?

Depends what you mean.

Any game with the ability to save will allow you to save like you would normally be able to on original hardware.

But not every "core" (what they call the various systems) has the option to do what's called a "save state", which would be like an instant save regardless of what the game originally allowed. The NES core allows save states, but the SNES core doesn't for example. It's very core specific.

One reason for this is because most core designers care deeply about accurate reproduction of the original hardware (which don't have save states). Another major reason is because it isn't always feasible - some cores are absolutely massive and take up just about 100% of the available FPGA capabilities with no room left to spare for such a feature so you'd have to give up some aspect of accuracy to implement it. Also, and this is more of a technical issue, hardware is harder to snapshot than software (hardware runs things simultaneously while software does everything in order).

Does you just use USB controllers?

Yup.

Some people even use "USB to SNAC" adapters to allow them to use original hardware with the MiSTer (like a light gun, running pad, an original controller etc). You can also get bluetooth and 2.4ghz wireless controllers working through a USB dongle - which is what I use with my various 8bitdo brand controllers.

 

[biophase]

Another house on the luxury home tour, this one had a full basketball court complete with ball return, automatic hoop leveling, and an upstairs gym. Hard to fathom this is in a house.

View attachment 49367

I see pickleball lines on the court! Been playing a lot of it lately. That’s my goal to have an indoor ball court. Doesn’t need to be full court like that one.

Been playing a lot of pickleball lately.

Btw side note, if you want to meet/network with a bunch high net worth individuals. Go play pickleball in an expensive neighborhood.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Been playing a lot of pickleball lately.

Just got home from playing with the wife! I love the game and I challenge you on your next visit!

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

That’s my goal to have an indoor ball court.

Just make sure the house you buy has the right surface.

Our indoor basketball court uses some type of plastic laminate for the surface (not wood) which is common in sub-basement basketball courts. When pickleballs land on this surface, they often don't bounce correctly and just flat die. My wife and I can't really play decent pickleball on our indoor court because of the floor surface, so we have to go to the public parks.

 

[biophase]

Just make sure the house you buy has the right surface.

Our indoor basketball court uses some type of plastic laminate for the surface (not wood) which is common in sub-basement basketball courts. When pickleballs land on this surface, they often don't bounce correctly and just flat die. My wife and I can't really play decent pickleball on our indoor court because of the floor surface, so we have to go to the public parks.

That's good to know. I will make it a pickleball court first and basketball court second.

I play here at the grammar school gym which is a basketball court in the basement. The ball bounces decent on it. If you aren't getting enough bounce try using an outdoor ball inside.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

try using an outdoor ball inside.

We tried that, including alternative balls like tennis balls, racquetballs, nothing really bounced right (for pickleball). The outdoor balls are the best, but for ever 6 or 7 balls hit, 1 will just land flat and not bounce at all.

 

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[Kak]

Favorite brunch spot for Father’s Day.

Nice G550 made an appearance.

 

[biophase]

We tried that, including alternative balls like tennis balls, racquetballs, nothing really bounced right (for pickleball). The outdoor balls are the best, but for ever 6 or 7 balls hit, 1 will just land flat and not bounce at all.

Damn, I would probably redo the floor. I guess it depends on how much usage you'd get out of it. I would imagine many neighbors would love to come by and play during the winter.

Today I played pickleball with a retired guy. He used to be a builder and I asked him about building an indoor pickleball court at my new house. He mentioned that it would be really good for resale, just due to the demographic that plays. and that purchases homes in the neighborhood, older, wealthy people.

He was developing his own paddle in his shop. Wanted me to test it out next time we played.

 

[Private Witt]

That's good to know. I will make it a pickleball court first and basketball court second.

I play here at the grammar school gym which is a basketball court in the basement. The ball bounces decent on it. If you aren't getting enough bounce try using an outdoor ball inside.

I remember back in 93 when I took a pickleball class in university and than did intramural pickleball and everybody on my dorm floor laughed at me. Now they have pickleball malls.

Picklemall hopes to bring pickleball to a mall near you

Picklemall aims to respond to the struggling retail real estate industry and the increasing demand for pickleball by transforming vacant mall space into indoor courts.

finance.yahoo.com

 

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[REV5028]

A few weeks ago I upgraded my goldfish tank. This new tank is 75 gallons (284 liters) and they still make it look small! They're all between 8 and 9 inches in length (~20-23 cm), and I've had two of them for ~4.5 years and one for ~8 years.

 

[WillHurtDontCare]

kayaking at silver springs state park, FL