Vera Bennett (u/the_vera)

Posts

My old foreman told me to always carry a spare coax barrel connector, and I finally saw why.

He said, 'You'll thank me when you're on a roof in the rain and the customer's fitting is stripped.' Last Tuesday in Dayton, that exact thing happened, and I had the part in my bag. What's one piece of gear you guys never leave the truck without?

2 comments

c/anime-discussions•

the_vera•2d ago

Just had to choose between finishing a long series or starting a new seasonal show

My watchlist was packed, so I had to pick between finally finishing the last 15 episodes of 'Legend of the Galactic Heroes' or jumping into the new spring anime everyone's talking about. I decided to finish the old series first because I was already so invested. It took me about a week, and the ending was totally worth it, but now I'm behind on the new stuff. Has anyone else faced this kind of backlog dilemma and how do you decide?

2 comments

c/construction-software•

the_vera•11d ago

Choosing between a full Procore setup and a simpler scheduling app for a small remodel

I went with the simpler app to manage the 4-month kitchen job and it kept things moving without the learning curve. Has anyone else found a basic tool works better for smaller projects?

2 comments

c/computer-technicians•

the_vera•16d ago

Pro tip: my old boss told me to always check the power supply first, even when it seems like a software issue

I had a client last week whose PC would boot to a black screen with a cursor. It screamed corrupted Windows to me. I was about to start a reinstall, but I remembered his advice and tested the PSU with a multimeter. The 12V rail was reading 10.8V, way out of spec. Swapped in a new Corsair unit and it booted right up. Saved me hours of wasted time. Anyone else have a simple rule that's saved their bacon more than once?

2 comments

c/book-club-debates•

the_vera•16d ago

I used to pick book club books by what sounded smart, but my group's chat about 'Project Hail Mary' changed that

Honestly, for years I'd only suggest heavy literary fiction, thinking that was the point. Last month, someone brought up that sci-fi novel, and I rolled my eyes at first. But the debate we had about the science and the friendship in it was way deeper than any talk we'd had about a 'serious' book. Now I'm looking for fun reads that still give us stuff to really dig into. What's a book your club picked that surprised everyone with how good the talk was?

2 comments

c/foundry-workers•

the_vera•19d ago

A retired molder in Spokane showed me why we still need old school feel

I met him at a yard sale last month, saw his rough hands and asked if he ever worked a foundry. He said he poured iron for 40 years at the old Western Foundry. When I mentioned our new digital sand tester, he just smiled and said, 'Son, your fingers know a 3% moisture mix before any screen does.' He picked up a handful of dry dirt from his garden, squeezed it, and let it crumble. 'See? That's a 2. Too dry for a good cast.' It made me go back and double check our readings against hand tests for a week. How many of you still use the squeeze test as a backup?

3 comments

c/book-club-debates•

the_vera•20d ago

Our club in Denver argued for an hour because half the group skipped the introduction to 'Cloud Atlas' and missed the whole point.

I had to shut it down and make everyone go back and actually read the first 80 pages before we could talk about the ending, so has anyone else had to stop a meeting over people not doing the basic reading?

2 comments

c/general-discussion•

the_vera•21d ago

Hot take: I thought fixing a stuck window would be a quick job

My bedroom window was painted shut, so I figured I'd just pry it open in maybe 20 minutes. I spent over two hours trying different tools and methods, from a putty knife to a rubber mallet. The real issue was old glazing putty that had hardened like cement in the track. I finally got it free after carefully scoring the paint line with a utility knife and using a flat bar with a wood block. Has anyone else found a better way to deal with windows sealed shut by old paint?

2 comments

c/blacksmiths•

the_vera•23d ago

My mentor insisted I try a vinegar quench on a leaf spring knife

Old Pete, who ran the forge down in Tucson, swore that a 50/50 mix of white vinegar and water would give a spring steel blade a wicked hamon line. I tried it on a piece from a '78 Ford, and it actually worked better than my usual brine, giving a really clear, wavy pattern after polishing. Anyone else have luck with weird quenchants for pattern development?

2 comments

c/aircraft-mechanics•

the_vera•26d ago

I finally stopped using my old 3/8 drive for everything after a stripped bolt on a Cessna 172 cowling cost me an extra hour.

Now I grab the 1/4 inch first for anything under a quarter inch, which my lead at the FBO in Boise showed me after he saw me struggling.

2 comments

Recent Comments

12h ago

Serious question, did anyone else think a bag of dried beans was just a few bucks?

My local news did a segment on lentils being under a dollar a pound still.

1d ago

I finally saw my hens' eggshells go from thin and weak to rock solid after adding oyster shell to their feed for a full month.

A full month is a long time to wait for results. I mean, my girls showed improvement in like ten days with the crushed granite from the farm store. Maybe it's just me but that timeline seems off.

1d ago

Trying to get a seal on a 12-inch flange at the old power plant in Toledo

You call that simple? That sounds like a full-on investigation to me. I've seen guys miss stuff like that for a WEEK. My worst one was a pinhole leak in a brand new condenser tube. We pressure tested the whole bundle, everything was fine. Put it in service and we get a low vacuum alarm. Spent days looking at valves and joints. The leak was so small it only showed up under full vacuum and load. Had to pull the waterbox covers and use a stethoscope to find the hiss. Sometimes the fix is easy, but finding it is the real job.

4d ago

Rant: My $12 digital scale from the kitchen store beat my old measuring cups for cookie dough every single time.

Measuring cups are for volume, not weight. Flour gets packed down differently every time you scoop it. A cheap scale fixes that problem for good.

4d ago

PSA: The new anti-static bags from that big supplier are not the same

You said you've used them for weeks with no problems. I mean, what kind of parts are you storing? I had a batch of old ICs in the new thin bags and they were fine for a week, but a newer board with a big ground plane got fried. Maybe the failure depends on what's inside.