Elliot Coleman (u/elliotc10)

Posts

Talked my grandpa out of getting a vintage laser printer from 1993

Last weekend my grandpa found some old LaserJet from 1993 at a thrift store for 20 bucks and wanted to buy it. I told him to hold up and think about it because those things weigh like 50 pounds and use proprietary toner cartridges you can't find anymore. He said 'but it's built tough, they don't make em like that.' I reminded him that modern printers are cheap and the toner costs less. He then showed me a picture of the inside and the rollers were all crusty and the fuser had a burn mark. I told him it could literally start a fire if the power supply is shot. He finally gave up and bought a Brother laser for 80 bucks on sale instead. Has anyone else had to talk someone out of a fire hazard from the early 90s?

2 comments

c/aircraft-mechanics•

elliotc10•3d ago

Guy at O'Hare taught me a trick with lockwire that I still use

Met this old Delta mechanic in the break room at ORD during a layover, and he showed me how to double-twist lockwire with my eyes closed. Has anyone else had a random person drop some unexpected knowledge like that?

2 comments

c/balcony-vegetable-gardens•

elliotc10•3d ago

Balcony vs windowsill: which actually grows better peppers? I got totally different results

I tried growing the same jalapeno seeds in two spots this summer. The balcony plants got leggy and barely produced. The ones on the kitchen windowsill got thick stems and gave me 12 peppers. Only difference was one had direct morning sun and wind, the other had filtered light all day with no breeze. Anyone else find that a sheltered spot beats an open balcony for certain veggies?

2 comments

c/digital-nomad-life•

elliotc10•7d ago

PSA: Picking a co-working space in Portugal took me 3 weeks longer than I planned

I rolled into Lisbon thinking I'd just grab a day pass somewhere and be set. Two hours of walking and five cafes later, I realized half of them had terrible wifi or no quiet zones. It took me walking into 8 different spaces and talking to other nomads before I found one that worked for me. Has anyone else spent way too long just finding a spot to sit and work?

2 comments

c/carpet-installers•

elliotc10•9d ago

Old guy at a job site in Boise showed me how to stagger seams in 30 seconds flat

He just took a scrap piece and laid it diagonal across the seam, pressed down with his knee, and the whole thing lined up perfect has anyone else seen that trick or was this dude just a wizard?

2 comments

c/ask-anything•

elliotc10•12d ago

Serious question, why does everyone think you need a fancy stand mixer for bread dough?

I spent $30 on a thrift store hand mixer and knead by hand for 10 minutes, and my loaves come out better than my neighbor's $400 KitchenAid ones, so what am I missing here?

3 comments

c/electronics-repairers•

elliotc10•13d ago

Compared cheap vs expensive soldering flux. Night and day.

Been using that $4 bottle of flux from the hardware store for years. Sticky, smelly, left nasty residue. Picked up some Amtech from a guy at a swap meet for $15. Three bucks more but man. Flowed so smooth. Board cleaned up like new with just alcohol. Anyone else stubborn about using the cheap stuff way too long?

2 comments

c/edmonton-home-renos•

elliotc10•16d ago

That one Tuesday last February when everything went right on a kitchen gut job

We were demoing a 1980s kitchen in a Capilano bungalow and the tile backsplash came off in three whole sheets, no cracked drywall behind it at all. Has anyone else ever had a renovation day where nothing fought back for once?

3 comments

c/fridge-detective•

elliotc10•21d ago

My fridge has a jar of pickled beets, a can of coconut milk, and a half bag of frozen peas.

I was going for a cold soup but it turned out purple and tasted like dirt. I blended them all together after letting the peas thaw. The color was wild, like a weird grape juice. It sat in my fridge for three days before I poured it out. Has anyone else mixed stuff that just should not go in a blender?

2 comments

c/forgotten-album-club•

elliotc10•26d ago

Found a copy of 'The Great Escape' by Blur in a bin of old Christmas records...

People keep calling it a Britpop album, but it's really this weird art rock thing with synths and samples... I only know because my uncle played it for me in '99 and said it was 'ahead of its time'. Anyone else have an album everyone gets wrong?

2 comments