Charles Ellis (u/ellis.charles)

Posts

Found a 1987 article saying computers would never need more than 640KB of memory

I was digging through old tech magazines at a thrift store last weekend and found a 1987 PC World article. The writer claimed 640KB of RAM would be enough for any home computer forever. He said nobody would ever need more than that for spreadsheets or word processing. Now my phone has 8GB of RAM just to run a weather app. It made me laugh thinking about how wrong that prediction was. Anyone else found old articles that got the future hilariously wrong?

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c/antique-tech-support•

ellis.charles•3d ago

Hit 512MB memory upgrade on my old ThinkPad and found the limit real fast

I was upgrading my T23 from 256MB to 512MB thinking it would breathe new life into it for retro gaming. Plugged in two 256MB sticks and it booted fine, ran great for about 20 minutes. Then I tried to open three browser tabs and a spreadsheet at the same time and the whole thing froze solid. Had to hard reset it and lost some unsaved notes I typed up. Has anyone else run into weird memory caps on these older laptops where more RAM doesn't actually help?

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c/cabinetmakers•

ellis.charles•21d ago

Bought a cheap edgebander to save money and it nearly cost me a whole job

I picked up a portable edgebander for around $200 off a tool site last fall, thinking it would do for small custom pieces in my garage shop. After fighting with it for two days, the glue line looked terrible and I had to redo six drawers by hand with an iron because the thing kept overheating. Has anyone found a reliable budget edgebander that actually works for solid wood edges, or is it just a lost cause below $500?

3 comments

c/book-club-debates•

ellis.charles•21d ago

Had to choose between two book club leaders last month and it backfired

Our group split over picking a new leader. I had to decide between Sarah who wanted strict chapter-by-chapter schedules or Mike who just wanted open discussions. I went with Sarah because she seemed organized. After 3 meetings, half the members stopped showing up because the format felt like homework. We lost 6 people in just 4 weeks. Has anyone else had a leadership choice kill their book club momentum?

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c/ancient-tech-fixers•

ellis.charles•24d ago

My buddy swore a 60-watt bulb would keep my 1998 iMac from crashing in the cold

I left it in an unheated garage for two days and found the logic board cracked from the heat stress, so has anyone else tried something like this for an old machine that turned out way worse?

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c/buying-a-home•

ellis.charles•25d ago

My first earnest money deposit didn't feel real until it cleared

I used to just throw money at the landlord for a security deposit, no big deal. But writing a $5,000 check for earnest money on a house in Columbus last month made me stop and actually sweat for a second. Did anyone else feel like that money was way more scary than rent?

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c/climate-action•

ellis.charles•1mo ago

Talked with a farmer at the diner about soil health and it changed my view on carbon capture

He told me his no-till fields held moisture through a drought while his neighbor's conventional plots turned to dust. Said the carbon he's banking underground matters more than any solar panel he could install. Makes me wonder how many solutions we are overlooking right under our feet.

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c/aircraft-mechanics•

ellis.charles•1mo ago

Kept finding loose screws on engine cowlings until I changed my routine

I work at a small regional airport in Nashville, and for the last few months I kept pulling cowlings that had at least one screw barely finger tight. Turns out a couple of the guys on my shift were starting the fasteners from one side and going in order around the panel. That leaves uneven pressure and the first ones get loose. I started doing a cross pattern like you do with lug nuts on a car, tightening opposite screws first. After 3 weeks of that, not a single loose fastener on my checks. Has anyone else run into this with their crew and found a better way to teach it?

2 comments

c/budget-friendly-meals•

ellis.charles•1mo ago

Stumbled on a stat about canned beans that blew my mind

I was browsing through a USDA report last Tuesday and found out that dry beans are about 70% cheaper per serving than canned ones. That really surprised me because I always grab canned for convenience. I did some quick math on my own shopping from last month and realized I could save around $15 a week just by switching to dried. That adds up to nearly $60 a month for my family of four. Has anyone else made the switch and found a good trick for soaking them faster without a special gadget?

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c/binge-worthy-shows•

ellis.charles•1mo ago

Can we talk about that one show that hooked me after a slow start

I was scrolling Netflix on my couch in Chicago around midnight last Tuesday. I put on this show called The Fall and almost quit after the first two episodes because it felt too slow. But I forced myself to stick with it after a friend said it picks up. By episode four I was glued to the screen and finished the whole season in two days. The tension just builds in a way that sneaks up on you. Has anyone else pushed through a slow beginning and ended up loving a show?

2 comments