Always Measure Twice

I got the code to cut a circle pocket leaving a central cylinder working correctly.   But when I measured the interior of the PVC tube in which this part will go, I recorded it as 2.853".  I should have immediately remembered, "No it is about 2" ID."  I was cutting out of a 3" x 3" workpiece so I should have had plenty of room.  I have two more pieces of acetal which will be not pretty but you still make a serviceable part. One of these is a 3.2" x 3.2" x 1/2" piece that i abandoned when I realized that my outer cut would have to go through the vise jaws.  But I was trying to that with a 1/2" diameter end mill.  With a 3/16" end mill this will work.

Suddenly, It's the State's Fault

 1/20/26 CBS News:

The Trump administration has justified its ongoing immigration crackdown in Minnesota by citing a need to curb fraud and pointing to a widening scandal involving members of the Somali American community. Yet prosecutors say the mastermind of the state's biggest fraud scheme to date was not Somali but a White woman — 45-year-old Aimee Bock.

In an exclusive interview from her jail cell, Bock defended her conduct, admitted regrets and argued that state officials who she worked with should bear some of the blame. It was the first time Bock spoke publicly since she was arrested for her role in what prosecutors say was a $250 million COVID-era effort to defraud a federal program to feed hungry children....

During a five-week trial last year, prosecutors alleged Bock signed off reimbursement claims for millions of meals that were never served. She was also charged with collecting bribes. Together, she and the meal site operators were accused of stealing tens of millions of federal dollars and spending it on luxury cars, real estate ventures and vacations.

"That money did not go to feed kids," said Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick at the time. "It was used to fund their lavish lifestyle."

A jury convicted her on all counts. She's now awaiting sentencing and faces up to 33 years in prison. Evidence submitted at trial included text messages where Bock compared Feeding Our Future to the mob....

Bock told CBS News she was neither mastermind nor mob boss.

"It was heartbreaking," Bock said, describing the moment she heard the verdict. "I believe in accountability. If I had done this, I would've pled guilty. I wouldn't have gone to trial. I wouldn't have put my children and my family through what we've been through. I've lost everything."

Criminal conviction is a high standard.  It is hard to imagine that she ended up with a right-wing jury in Minnesota.

Last month, a judge ordered her to forfeit more than $5 million in proceeds from the scheme.

Unless she had a stupendous salary at Feeding Our Future, from where will that money come? 

I Accuse Piers Morgan of Self-deprecating Humor

 1/19/26 Entertainment Week:

"Piers Morgan accident leads to hip replacement, fractured femur: 'I blame Donald Trump'"

Not Thinking This Through, Are They?

 An X post where anti-ICE activists buy salt at Target and then return it to ask Target to stop letting ICE arrest Target employees. 

1. What is Target going to do? Call out its SWAT team? Launch air strikes on DHS HQ?

2. How does this injure Target, other than wasting time of their Customer Service workers?

As leftist agit-prop, it may get the Theater Kids high marks, but what realistically does it do? It does not get anyone killed or protect the child rapists that Minnesota government is trying to protect. Hey, at least they are not threatening the lives of government workers.  I guess that is a win.

Besides, don't they know that you buy salt to melt ice?  Probably not. Their illegal alien staff do that job.

Using Thicker End Mills

Thin end mills let you cut very small features (think slots) and waste less material when doing coarse cuts.  The downside is that they are weaker by i think the square of the change in diameter.  

I was cutting circles with 1/8" carbide end mills.  If you get the feed rate too high--snap and there it goes.  The 1/4" end mill seems pretty darn solid at every feed rate.

A while back, I bought some 3/16" end mills when I was still planning to cut my own setting circles.  (Before I discovered a website that lets you create them, download, and print them.)  The great difficulty was finding an endmill holder for the Sherline that holds 3/16" end mills.  Sherline sells one that is supposed to do so.  I ordered one from a retailer of their end mill holders and it was clear too big.  In retrospect, I wonder if that particular one was defective.   It makes no sense to make a holders that precludes centering the endmill right in the center.

In the meantime, I realized that while not quite as perfect from a runout standpoint, I can use a 3/16" endmill in a drill chuck also.  Even if less than perfect, it is probably good enough for my purpose. 

The Mailing Handguns Act Appears to be Unenforceable

Assuming post office updates their regulations before I move, this should simplify the move.  The post office already allows you to mail long guns to yourself in other states.  I was a little concerned about using an FFL because I would have to be a resident of Tennessee to receive a handgun from an FFL. So directly from airport to Tennessee DMV to get a driver's license.  This way I can just mail everything to me c/o a postal service.  When I arrive, no need to go through background check.

Grok Smart

 I was battling with some code to make my circle pocket program do sort of a revere pocket--clearing an annulus around the center column.  It is embarrassing how much capacity I have lost these last ten years.  I asked both ChatGPT and CoPilot to rewrite the annulus clearing section.  Neither got it right but CoPilot managed to create an incomprehensible piece of C, although not quite to a level suitable for the International Obfuscated C Contest.  (Are you old enough to remember those?)

Grok got it right first time!