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Joined 12 days ago
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Cake day: April 16th, 2026

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  • Machine screws / bolts with a # sign are sized by gauge, not the major diameter of the screw. The gauge system for screws is weird and dumb, but we still use it for small stuff.

    Per fastener direct, gauge can be converted to diameter using the following formula:

    Diameter (inches) = 0.060 + (Gauge number × 0.013)
    

    A #6 machine screw has a 9/64" or 0.138" (approx 3.6mm for our metric friends) major diameter and is offered in standard pitches of 32, 40, 48, and 80 threads per inch (At least, that’s what McMaster Carr stocks. The 80tpi is likely for a specialty application.).

    I’m fairly certain that the unified screw spec stops around 3 or 4" , so 6" is well into custom/non-standard sizing.






  • 8gb of ram shouldn’t necessarily be an issue in and of itself, although it’s on the low end these days. The memory is also old enough that it may just be failing.

    Some searching suggests you could use something like Memtest86 to run diagnostics on the memory.

    If it isn’t a hardware issue, you might have luck trying a Linux distro on it. Linux generally runs better on older machines than windows, and some distros are specifically designed to be lightweight and consume as few resources as possible.












  • Not exactly what you’re looking for, but this reminds me of The Quiet Year:

    The Quiet Year is a map game. You define the struggles of a community living after the collapse of civilization, and attempt to build something good within their quiet year. Every decision and every action is set against a backdrop of dwindling time and rising concern.

    The game is played using a deck of cards – each of the 52 cards corresponds to a week during the quiet year. Each card triggers certain events – bringing bad news, good omens, project delays and sudden changes in luck. At the end of the quiet year, the Frost Shepherds will come, ending the game.

    The game occupies a niche somewhere between a ttrpg and a board game.