Sage Torres (u/torres.sage)

Posts

That $150 kitchen scale I bought for precision baking actually threw off my cookies because it was too sensitive to small movements

I spent $150 on a high-end digital scale thinking it would fix all my measurement problems, but now I'm debating whether cheap scales with less precision are actually better for home bakers since mine picks up every little tremor from the counter and drives me nuts - has anyone else found that more expensive gear can sometimes make baking harder instead of easier?

1 comments

c/cnc-operators•

torres.sage•1d ago

Old timer at a shop in Detroit showed me why my inserts were chattering

I was running a job on a Haas VF-2 last month at a small shop near Detroit. An old guy who's been running machines since the 80s walks over and watches me for a minute. He points at my tool and says 'your stickout is wrong, kid, that's why you're getting that noise.' I had about 3.5 inches hanging out for a 1/2 inch end mill. He told me to drop it to 1.5 inches max. I did it and the chatter went away almost instantly. I always thought the extra reach would help with clearance but it was just killing my surface finish. Has anyone else had an old timer call them out on something obvious that you just never thought about?

2 comments

c/bad-job-rants•

torres.sage•4d ago

Spent $45 on a standing desk mat and now my back hurts worse than before

I work a retail stockroom job where we're on our feet all day, so I figured a cushioned mat would help my knees and lower back. Grabbed one from an office supply store for $45, thought it was a good deal. After three days of using it, my hips started aching in a way they never did on the concrete floor. Turns out the mat was too soft and made me sink in weird, throwing off my posture. I tossed it in the closet and went back to standing on the hard ground, and the pain faded in a week. Has anyone else had a mat backfire like that?

3 comments

c/digital-nomad-life•

torres.sage•4d ago

Overheard a coworking space owner say remote workers are killing coworking

I was grabbing coffee at this spot in Chiang Mai and the owner was complaining to someone that digital nomads just buy one day pass and camp for 8 hours using up all the outlets. I mean I never really thought about it from the business side before, but now I make sure to buy a monthly membership when I stay somewhere more than a week. Has anyone else changed how they use coworking spaces after hearing staff talk?

2 comments

c/abq-home-maintenance•

torres.sage•5d ago

My neighbor swore by swamp coolers, I'm all in on mini splits now

I was chatting with Mr. Garcia from three doors down after his July AC repair, and he told me swamp coolers are the only way to go because they cost half as much to run. But I just spent $1,200 on a mini split install in my garage workshop and it dropped temps by 20 degrees in dry heat. Who's got the better bet for an Albuquerque summer, the old school evaporative guys or the new compressor crowd?

2 comments

c/diesel-mechanics•

torres.sage•13d ago

The moment I learned injector timing is everything - and why I was dead wrong for 5 years

I used to just slap injectors in and hope for the best with timing. Then a guy at a shop in Denver pointed out I was missing by 3 degrees on a 6.7 Powerstroke, and the thing ran smooth for the first time ever. He showed me the smoke test vs a proper timing light - night and day difference. Have you guys ever had to eat crow on a basic thing you thought you had down?

3 comments

c/chimney-sweeps•

torres.sage•17d ago

Finally picked polypro over steel for my first full brush set and it actually worked out

I've been using a 8 inch steel brush for like 3 years now on my residential routes and kept debating if I should try the polypro ones. Last Tuesday I had a job in a house with a really tight flue on a wood stove insert over in Arlington, so I grabbed a 7 inch polypro from the supply house just to see. Honestly it flexed way better through that first bend and I didnt scratch anything. The soot came off just fine too. Has anyone else made the switch and noticed less callbacks for scratches or is it just a preference thing?

3 comments

c/bullet-journaling•

torres.sage•18d ago

My friend said to stop using washi tape as page markers, she was totally right

Last month my buddy Jen from my local meetup in Denver told me washi tape would wreck my journal pages over time, but I thought she was being dramatic. After 6 weeks the tape left sticky residue on 4 months of my weeklies and ripped the paper on two spreads when I tried to peel it off. Has anyone else found a repositionable tape that actually holds up for months without damaging the page?

2 comments

c/date-night-disasters•

torres.sage•21d ago

Tried the whole 'let them pick the place' approach vs planning it myself. Total disaster.

I let this girl from Bumble choose the restaurant for our first date last Friday in Austin. She picked some overpriced fusion place downtown where the lighting was so dim I could barely see her face. My go-to is a solid Mexican spot on East 6th where I know the menu and the margaritas are $8. Never letting someone else pick again. Anyone else had better luck taking control of the date plans?

3 comments

c/digital-art-showcase•

torres.sage•21d ago

Overheard a pro artist say they ditched their Wacom for an iPad Pro and it made me think

I was at a coffee shop near my studio in Austin last Tuesday and two illustrators were talking about how they switched from traditional tablets to iPads because the screen latency was way lower. One said they cut their workflow time by about 30% after the change. It hit me that I have been using my old Cintiq for 5 years and never questioned if there was something better out there. Has anyone else made that switch and noticed a big difference in their speed or quality?

3 comments