I've been thinking about dipping my toe in the homelabbing waters. Some parts have price history charts on sites like Camel Camel Camel and PC Part Picker, but I don't know of any similar tool for used marketplaces like eBay, so I did my own manual data mining. Side note: If anyone knows of a more graceful way to conduct such searches, please let me know. I'm aware of web scraping tools such as Beautiful Soup, but such tools have always been just beyond my skill level to use on a whim like this.
I was looking specifically at US listings for the Lenovo ThinkCentre M720Q Tiny PC w/ i3-8100T or i5-8400T. I excluded "Or Best Offer" listings b/c I don't think eBay shows the actual value of the offer that was ultimately accepted, they only show the original list price (somebody please correct me if I'm wrong about this). I only went back to the last couple days in July.
Figured I'd post the results of my research here in case it helps anybody else and as a sort of historical benchmark to compare against down the road.
Original post: Is it just my shitty internet connection or have the servers been extremely laggy lately? Toggling server location between Automatic and North America doesn't seem to make any difference. It's not all the time, but it's gotten to about two or three times per raid where my character can't move due to significant rubber banding for a good 10 to 15 seconds.
Resolved: Switched from wifi to ethernet, and it's been smooth sailing ever since.
Your tentative alliance with the Nomads is progressing by the day. Nomads wander the streets of Speranza, bringing stories, valuable information, and loot to trade. As the ARC presence Topside ever increases in scale, making reliable friends has never been so important.
The 1.36.0 update has just dropped, bringing bug fixes, QoL updates, matchmaking tweaks, new Expedition and Trials Season, and a crossover outfit from the virtual gameshow world of THE FINALS!
We’re happy to announce that the 1.29 Road to Badlands update is entering the experimental phase on Steam and Xbox.
Before we go further, let us clarify what the Road to Badlands is. Simply put, it’s an additional update to 1.29, where selected assets from DayZ Badlands are made available for you to enjoy ahead of its release. You may have noticed that this update is still an update to the 1.29 version. This is because we have already allocated the 1.30 version for DayZ Badlands and its accompanying main game update. But rest assured that Road to Badlands contains an amount of content and fixes that’s comparable to many of our regular game updates. Hence, the update has been dubbed "Road to Badlands".
The article's a week old, but as I'm still new-ish to the ARC scene, what I've gathered so far is these expeditions are a tool for those who long for the experience of a "wipe" without forcing wipes on the entire playerbase, which seems logical to me. I'm curious - what do other raiders think of these expeditions?
Excerpt from the article:
The fourth Expedition is almost here, and it’s bringing some exciting changes. Each Expedition we run, we learn something new and look for ways to make improvements. This time around, that means shaking things up with an updated reward structure.
Complete your fourth Expedition to earn the first level of the new Zenith Outfit. Prove yourself with the Expedition Challenge and instead of Skill Points, you’ll earn Blueprints to jumpstart your Topside adventures and Raider Tokens to keep you looking sharp every step of the way.
TIMING
The departure window will be open between the 7th of July 1pm CEST/11am UTC/4am PT and the 21st of July 10am CEST/8am UTC/1am PT. You will have 14 days to sign up and complete the requirements and all players who have signed up will depart automatically.
As with all previous Expeditions, completing your Caravan does not count as signing up for the Expedition, you still have to sign up during the window. The ‘last call’ feature will also be active during this Expedition in case you miss the window.
Expeditions are a personal progression that players complete in order. The Caravan can be completed in between Expedition windows but finishing the Expedition can only be done during the scheduled Expedition window.
Background: I sowed my first batch of tomatoes on April 4th on those transparent 12-grid trays w/ domes that are supes trendy right now, potted them up on May 4th & 5th into 3-inch transparent pots (which I now understand may not provide the ideal darkness for their roots, live and learn), and I would like to transplant them outdoors soon.
Questions: One concern that I have (and I'm not sure how concerned I should be) is potentially introducing outdoor wildlife into my indoor environment during the hardening off phase.
Do other gardeners worry about this or am I over thinking it? Is it basically set them on a table (not on the ground), don't leave them out there for too long, and hope for the best?
What other steps can I take to keep my indoor environment as sterile as possible while hardening off some plants when they're ready?
I saw some tips around sowing multiple seeds per cell so at least one seed germinates in each cell, and then one either thins the weaker seedlings or carefully separates them while potting them up. I'm still very early in my gardening education, so I thought that's cool, I'll take this approach for my cucumber starts b/c hey why not, and since the thought of thinning seedlings kinda kills my soul, I'll just carefully separate them when I pot them up; however, everything I'm now reading about cucumbers is that they don't transplant well and they're more sensitive to root shock than other crops like tomatoes and peppers. Is thinning each cell down to one the way to go for these cucumber starts or is there hope for my soul? Not that I even have enough pots to move them all into anyway, but where there's a will there's a way...
I do believe I'm very late to begin fertilizing as it has had virtually zero nutrients so far and I'm now over a month in. I plan to provide the first dose of diluted fertilizer today. I had been holding off b/c the initial potting mix was already super saturated (boiling tap water, no fertilizer), and I was afraid of over watering. Is lack of nutrients the most likely cause for yellow leaves on this tomato plant? There are other tomato plants from the same group as this one w/ yellow leaves - not all of them, but some.
Good news: My cukes have sprouted after three days!
Bad news: I must not have saturated the mix enough to kill all the fungus gnat eggs b/c this morning while inspecting my cucumber sprouts, I spotted what I assume to be a fungus gnat flying around inside the humidity dome.
Advice/Next steps: Is it time to head to the store and pick up some mosquito bits? What other approaches for treatment and prevention have worked for people of c/gardening?
Hello, c/plumbing, I'm back for another round of troubleshooting and need your help again, please.
Background: Yesterday my water heater stopped putting out hot water. Since I own my home, I decided to troubleshoot on my own before I call a professional plumber.
Ninja Edit 1 (additional background): Yesterday when we first noticed a problem, we were getting room temperature water, just warm enough to shower but still somewhat chilly, like the temp you get when you're about to run out of hot water. As of today, our "hot" water isn't even room temperature anymore, it's the same as our cold water (noticeably cooler than it was on Day 1).
(back to the original post)
What I've tried so far: With power turned off, I removed the cover panel and checked the reset button on the top thermostat, but it was not tripped (no click), so today I picked up a multimeter and tested resistance and continuity on both heating elements as demonstrated in this video. Both elements passed both tests - the resistance tests read between 12.7 and 12.9 ohms, and the continuity tests beeped. I also did a ground test, which read no resistance. So far, so good.
Where I'm stuck: At the electric panel I flipped the power back on for my water heater so I could do a voltage test at the thermostats and heating elements as demonstrated in this video. Even though my no-contact voltage tester detects hot wires (first photo), with the multimeter probes touching the topmost screws on the thermostat and/or the two screws for the heating element (second photo) my multimeter reads 0.0 volts in AC voltage mode (third photo). I've tested the multimeter on an electrical outlet and confirmed it reads 124 volts as expected (fourth photo), so I think the multimeter itself is functioning properly. I tried switching the probes, which made no difference (as expected b/c AC).
Any pointers on what I should try next? Since the multimeter doesn't read any voltage at the top thermostat, I'm not sure if this indicates an issue w/ the thermostat or if my testing process is flawed. Thank you!
Photos:
Ninja Edit 2 (more photos from my original testing):
I've also touched the multimeter probes to the screws on the heating element even though I originally only posted photos showing me testing the thermostat - here are the two additional photos that I should've included in the OP:
Edit 3 (terminal-to-ground tested each terminal individually + more photos):
I went back out there and re-checked each terminal individually (terminal to ground) for the top and bottom thermostats and heating elements. In all cases, readings came back between 124 and 126 vac.
I appear to have reached the limit for image uploads on a Lemmy post, but I also terminal-to-ground tested the other terminal for the top heating element and repeated these same tests for the bottom thermostat and heating element, and all of them show between 124 and 126 vac.
Where to go from here:
From these tests I believe I can conclude that all of the components (both thermostats and heating elements) are at least receiving power from the grid, although I am perplexed as to why when I connect both multimeter probes to both terminals at the same time, the multimeter reads 0 vac, which seems different from the second video that I linked above (here's that link again).
Given these latest test results and the fact that both heating elements passed earlier continuity tests w/ the power off and wires disconnected, any ideas what to check next? Is it time to just replace all four components and see if we get our hot water back?
Edit 3.1:
I'll look again for a rogue light switch and check the individual wires and if necessary the conduit cabling as suggested in the comments, then I'll report back. I do have an appointment that I need to scurry off to at the moment, but I'll get back to this in a few hours. Thank you!
Edit 4: After testing the individual wires at the top thermostat, there appears to be a fault somewhere between the top left wire and the circuit breaker. I tested at the circuit breaker and measured normal readings (125.4, 125.7, and 250 vac), so my next step is to investigate under the conduit on top of the water heater like Cataphract suggested. I want to thank everyone for getting me to this point. Your support has been amazing, truly beyond words. I'm about to call it a night tonight, then tomorrow I'll pick up where we left off and continue updating this thread. Thanks again!
Edit 5 (Tuesday, May 5th - after being visited by the electrician):
On Saturday w/ the power off and both wires disconnected from their respective terminals at the circuit breaker and the water heater, I checked for breaks in the wires between the circuit breaker and the water heater, which are about 20 feet apart (ordered some extension leads specifically for this test). In resistance and continuity modes the multimeter shows open line for the white wire and good line for the black wire, after which I'd reached the limits of my ability/desire to continue troubleshooting, so I called and scheduled an electrician to come out on Tuesday (today).
Fast forward to today (Tuesday), electrician comes out, I explain that my multimeter reads 0 vac at the thermostat and detects an open line on that white wire, so I believe it to be a power supply issue. He disagrees w/ my diagnosis, thinks a bad element could cause 0 vac reading at the thermostat, and recommends sending a plumber. The plumber is under the same roof as the electrician, and this company has decent ratings on Yelp, so despite my skepticism I accept his recommendation to have the plumber come out and take a look.
So the plumber is coming out later this afternoon. I'll explain the situation to him and if he agrees w/ the electrician that it's likely an issue w/ the thermostat and/or heating element, I'll let him do his thing and then either we'll have hot water (hallelujah) or we won't (boo).
Stay tuned...
Edit 5.1: Holy shit, we back, baybee let'z gooo!
Okay, so while the electrician was here, he inspected the wire connections on top of the water heater and noted that the wires were not braided, so he re-did them for me and put the caps back on. I fessed up to having disconnected them and putting them back wrong during my troubleshooting adventures. Keep in mind that at this point, I had thought the issue was with the white wire itself, and he thought the issue was one of the heating elements, so neither one of us thought to test the hot water after he tweaked that.
Fast forward 90 minutes, I go wash my hands in the bathroom, and after 10 or 15 seconds I notice the water's getting warm. I immediately run upstairs to test the shower, and holy shit, it's working! She's alive!
Literally me:
I must admit that I'm still perplexed b/c I thought I had ruled out that connection point as a possibility when I tested each end of the white wire from the circuit breaker to the top of the water heater for continuity, but if there has ever been a time when I'm glad to be wrong, this is it.
I would like to once again thank @[email protected] and @[email protected] for their invaluable advice and support. And I would be remiss if I didn't also thank my gf for her patience while we rode this out - in Cataphract's words, an absolute saint! 😘
So I'm on my way to the store to pick up a voltage tester b/c our showers have been noticeably room temperature today. We own our place so I'm attempting some basic DIY troubleshooting steps before I call a plumber. Found this 4-minute video guide to resetting an electric water heater. At 2:30 into the video, right after the plumber removes the cover plate and insulation, the white plastic cover in the video has two holes, and the top hole supposedly has a bright red button to reset it.
I’ve already flipped off the circuit breaker and removed the metal cover plate. The problem is, on mine the white plastic covering on the thermostat only has one hole, there is no big red reset button on my thermostat. Any tips on where else to look for the big red reset button? If it makes any difference, I am located in the US, and I believe the brand of my water heater is State Select, model number ES652DORT 210.
Side question - should I take steps to protect myself against the outer insulation wrapped around the overall water heater? I kinda just went in there guns blazing and didn't think about gloves, masks, etc.
Photos:
Thanks in advance for everyone's help!
EDIT: Today I learned there are two thermostats, and the big red reset button is on the top one! Unfortunately, pressing it did not click like I was hoping. This leads me to believe I have a bad heating element as suggested in the comments. My next step is to get a multimeter so I can check continuity, resistance, and amperage. Thanks to those who have weighed in so far.
So I'm on my way to the store to pick up a voltage tester b/c our showers have been noticeably room temperature today. We own our place so I'm attempting some basic DIY troubleshooting steps before I call a plumber. Found this 4-minute video guide to resetting an electric water heater. At 2:30 into the video, right after the plumber removes the cover plate and insulation, the white plastic cover in the video has two holes, and the top hole supposedly has a big red button to reset it.
I've already flipped off the circuit breaker and removed the metal cover plate. The problem is, on mine the white plastic covering on the thermostat only has one hole, there is no big red reset button on my thermostat. Any tips on where else to look for the big red reset button? If it makes any difference, I am located in the US, and I believe the brand of my water heater is State Select, model number ES652DORT 210.
Side question - should I take steps to protect myself against the outer insulation wrapped around the overall water heater? I kinda just went in there guns blazing and didn't think about gloves, masks, etc.
Photos:
Thanks in advance for everyone's help!
EDIT: Today I learned there are two thermostats, and the big red reset button is on the top one! Unfortunately, pressing it did not click like I was hoping. This leads me to believe I have a bad heating element as suggested in the comments. My next step is to get a multimeter so I can check continuity, resistance, and amperage. Thanks to those who have weighed in so far.
Her rationale for starting her seeds in potting mix is when she uses seed starting mix, she eventually transplants them to potting mix anyway. She acknowledges that not all potting mix is suitable for starting seeds - for example, one of the specific products she tested was very chunky, which significantly hindered those seeds' germination and growth. That said, she claims that some potting mixes are "fluffy" enough to work well enough for starting seeds.
She tests Chinese noodle beans, sunflowers, and zinnias w/ six products:
Vermont Compost Company Feed the Soil Fort Vee All Purpose Compost Based Potting Mix (the one she used in 2025)
Miracle Gro Potting Mix
Promix Premium Moisture Potting Mix
Fox Farm Ocean Forest Potting Soil
Black Gold Natural & Organic Potting Mix Plus Fertilizer
Espoma Organic Potting Mix
Not accounting for price, personally I'd rank the performance as follows:
Vermont Compost Company Feed the Soil Fort Vee All Purpose Compost Based Potting Mix (the one she used in 2025)
Miracle Gro Potting Mix
Fox Farm Ocean Forest Potting Soil
Promix Premium Moisture Potting Mix
Black Gold Natural & Organic Potting Mix Plus Fertilizer
Espoma Organic Potting Mix (performed the worst, although she acknowledges in her video that this particular product is very chunky and this company has a seed starting mix on the market)
What do people of c/gardening use for starting their seeds? What are your thoughts on this test?
I'm not an expert, but I get the vibe that for canning purposes, determinate varieties are preferable so that there's enough fruit ready to harvest at a specific point in time to make canning worthwhile; however, while browsing tomato seed catalogs, I see indeterminate canning/pasting varieties such as Amish Paste ("Amish heirloom variety produces paste-type fruit with an oblong oxheart shape; 8 ounce tomatoes are solid with an outstandingly good, sweet flavor; indeterminate; 85 days") and San Marzano ("Excellent for canning, tomato paste, or puree; rectangular pear-shaped, 3-1/2 inch long fruit with mild flavor and meaty texture; bright red color; indeterminate; 80 days."). I like the idea of indeterminate tomatoes for things like salads and sandwiches so I can pick whatever is ready throughout the season, but is there something else that I'm not thinking of for these indeterminate canning and paste style tomatoes?
Update 1.29 is finally out across all platforms. We are extremely grateful for your patience during the extended experimental period and the delays. Despite its initially minor scope, update 1.29 has shaped up to be a larger update, with new platform support, a good amount of new assets, and a lot of technical debt addressed. Prime examples include overall improvements to server stability and the native release of the game on Xbox Series X|S. Find the complete patchnotes here for PC, Xbox, and PlayStation.
Typically when I'm trying something new on Linux, I search for an online guide that doesn't assume I'm already an expert and looks like it should be easy enough for a pleb like myself to follow. Whatever it is I'm trying to do, it usually takes me multiple tries to get it right. Sometimes, when I'm venturing into new territory, I'll derp around in a VM so I can take snapshots and then revert to the last good snapshot when something inevitably goes wrong. This approach works well for me most of the time.
But every now and then, I don't want to use a VM, I want to use a spare laptop that I have lying around, "bare metal" if you will. It just feels more... authentic? My hesitation w/ practicing on spare laptops is that when I mess it up, the only way I know how to start over with a clean slate is to reinstall the OS and try again. This approach is not ideal b/c I mess up a lot - this is a fact of my life - and reinstalling the OS after every mistake takes a lot of time, to the point that I just stop persuing whatever project I was working on.
Question:
Is this a good use case for btrfs? How easy is it for a pleb like myself to take snapshots and then roll back to the previous state after jacking up a config file in /home or /etc or something?
