Unfortunately Dell pulls some shit with their PCs. Their boards are usually almost standard as @catloaf points out. I had a Dell Optiplex 990 that had a board advertised at ATX… but a few of the mount points were a few centimeters off. I thought I might be able to make do without a few mounting screws until I realized the cooler was actually designed to hold the board in place and would not be transferrable. I thought about getting a new cooler but the board was designed so the CPU was too near the edge of the case to fit most standard coolers. Not sure if they do this on purpose to make their parts ecosystem essentially closed or if there is some cost benefit reason but it blows either way.

I love that dock. I had four HDDs in two of these docks connected to one of my servers for a bit. Same experience. A bit slow for large transfers but fast enough for HD streaming. I think the space between the drives allows for enough natural airflow to keep them relatively cool. I think the hottest they got was 63 degrees Celsius during a large transfers. Usually stayed a bit below 60. In my janky homebrew NAS I see temperatures around 50, give or take 5 degrees. The use case should really determine the build so that may be the best option for many, especially with budget constraints.

The power supply probably won’t spin those drives and you may have some difficulty with thermal management. I used a SFF PC case with a SATA extender running outside to a few HDDs for a while. The drives got really hot until I got a fan running over them. This was a super janky setup though. Made a lot of dust. If you’re looking to stay low budget and don’t need RAID or SMART reporting then I would get an enclosure for those drives and just use USB. Otherwise see what you can Frankenstein from what you have. I built a NAS using my janky setup’s HDDs, CPU, and RAM. Got a cheap full size tower, old motherboard off eBay, basic cooler, and power supply for much cheaper than a new build. Still janky but upgradable with a lot of internal space for storage/GPUs.

What form factor is the m710q? I have a tiny FF so I’m imagining you trying to squeeze two HDDs into that… I was in a similar situation a while ago and broke down and bought a new case and transplanted my CPU and RAM. The options are only limited by your budget and needs when building

Thank you!

Got a recipe to share with us?

This right here. Since you can’t really configure the ISP router (1), DMZ is the way to go. The DMZ feature on home routers usually allows you to select a specific device or devices to add to the DMZ so make sure to reserve/set a static IP on your router (2) and configure the DMZ on your ISP router (1) to include only that specific IP. DMZ essentially forwards all ports to that device.

I love this so much! It’s both functional and beautiful.

Sorry, I wasn’t trying to correct anyone, I had to look this up and that’s what my translator returned. I’m agreeing that this should be the de facto slogan for the White House (and most of Congress).

Stultitia et imperitivae = stupidity and ignorance. Couldn’t agree more with the spirit of this post.

Classy af

Environmental changes such as blackout curtains, a humidifier (at least in dry climates), complete silence/soothing music (depending on your personal preference), weighted or warming blankets have helped my son who is on the autism spectrum.

This is a great reply! Good sleep habits can be hard for everyone, neurotypical or autistic. My son was having trouble sleeping due to a medication he was prescribed by his doctor. We reviewed this at a recent med check and the doctor changed the schedule so the meds would wear off a few hours before bedtime and he’s sleeping much better now. He has fewer headaches, fewer nightmares, better emotional regulation, and better focus. It’s hard to parse which of these are due to the medication change and which are due to better sleep, but better sleep is always a good thing.

This is very a very important distinction, thank you for this reply. Melatonin in high doses administered for a long time has also been loosely correlated with delayed puberty. There are no clinical studies I am aware of that prove this but something I have been concerned about for my children. It’s scary giving any type of medication or supplement to my kids, even those that have decades of research. I’m not advocating for anyone to start or stop taking melatonin but it’s good to be informed about the possible effects. Here’s the journal article I read: Could long-term administration of melatonin to prepubertal children affect timing of puberty? A clinician’s perspective

No, I would not say it helped with his anxiety. He does not have clinically diagnosed anxiety. Although he does have anxiety episodes now and then. He’s also taking a stimulant for ADHD and that seems to help regulate a lot of his ADHD/impulse control/anxious behaviors. He has an inverse reaction to stimulants like many on the autism spectrum.

Aside from melatonin or other supplements/medications, have you tried any type of therapeutic activities? Brushing, deep pressure, exercise like lifting weights, or joint compression have helped my son when he has an anxiety episode or is feeling very hyperactive.

My son takes it and says it helps him sleep much better at nights.

Not visible for me on the Voyager app

Thanks for the info. I’ll have to try one out!

How is this scrubby better than others that are available? I’m curious because I can’t say that I have ever used one, but I have seen in several stores.

Interesting to hear that you’ve never owned a garbage disposal. It’s quite the opposite for me. I’ve never lived anywhere without a garbage disposal in the kitchen sink however, I’ve always used the garbage disposal as more of a preventive tool. Composting kitchen scraps (or feeding my chickens kitchen scraps) has always been my preferred method of organic waste disposal. I’ve been raised, and I’ve raised my children to use the garbage disposal to grind food waste that is not suitable for composting, and would otherwise simply fill my bin with methane and other unpleasant decomposition by products. For example, we feed our dogs boiled chicken. Inevitably, some of the pieces of chicken get stuck to the bottom of the pot and have to be scraped off while washing. I wouldn’t feed my chickens anything with soap on it nor would I compost this as the soap may have a detrimental effect on the microbes that are breaking down my compost.