Vera Foster (u/vera_foster36)

Posts

Can we talk about the time a joke I made at a company picnic in Boise got me reported to HR?

It was a dumb comment about the potato salad, but the formal meeting changed how I think before I speak at work. Anyone else had a small thing blow up like that?

3 comments

c/diy-backyard•

vera_foster36•12d ago

My neighbor in Phoenix swore by painting his cinder block wall white to cool his patio

I thought it was just a weird look, but he showed me his temp gun reading a 15 degree difference on the shaded side of the wall compared to the old grey one. Now my whole west-facing wall is white and my evening hangouts are way more comfortable. Anyone else try something simple that made a huge difference with heat?

3 comments

c/electricians•

vera_foster36•17d ago

Bought a $400 thermal camera for a panel check and it found a hot leg I would have missed

I was doing a routine service call on a 1980s split-level. The panel felt warm, but all the breakers felt fine by hand. I used the camera to scan the bus bars and saw one phase connection at the main lug was glowing at 140 degrees. It was tight, but the aluminum had degraded. Without the camera, I'd have just logged it as normal. Has anyone else caught a hidden fault like this with thermal imaging?

3 comments

c/banned-ideas-exchange•

vera_foster36•17d ago

Okay so I looked into that '15 minute city' thing everyone was calling a conspiracy

I saw a video saying it was just about traffic control, but then I read the actual Oxford city council planning docs from 2022. They literally talk about dividing the city into zones and limiting car travel between them. It's not just about walkability, there are proposed permits and cameras. I was totally ready to dismiss it as nonsense until I saw the official paperwork. Changed my whole view on how these policies get framed vs. what they actually say. Anyone else dug into their own local plans and been surprised?

3 comments

c/board-game-geeks•

vera_foster36•20d ago

My friend in Seattle said my game explanations were 'a confusing info dump'

We were setting up Root and I launched into my usual 15 minute rules lecture. He stopped me and said to just explain the goal and one turn, then start. I tried it last game night and we were playing in under five minutes. Has anyone else found a better way to teach a complex game?

3 comments

c/bbq-pitmasters•

vera_foster36•23d ago

Watched a pitmaster in Austin go from 'good' to 'legendary' over one competition season. The change was his fire management, specifically how he builds his initial coal bed.

3 comments

Recent Comments

10d ago

My first real project crashed and I had to start over from scratch

Totally agree about branching for every idea. It feels like a safety net, so you can try wild stuff without fear. Naming branches clearly helps too, like "add-photo-filter" instead of just "new-stuff". That way you remember what each experiment was for later.

15d ago

PSA: People keep asking the same basic questions without searching first

My gym tried a similar thing with towel returns and people just started taking pics of random towels from home.

17d ago

Question about quenching oil temperature for a spring steel knife

That exact thing happened to me with some 1084. My Parks 50 was cold from the shop overnight and I got a warp. I started warming my quench tank to about 120 degrees before I start, just using a scrap piece of hot steel dipped in a few times. It made a huge difference for me. Warping can come from other stuff, but cold oil for sure can do it. What's the coldest you've run your oil without issues?

18d ago

I finally tried a budget for my groceries and it actually works

You're right about the physical money making you more aware, but I've found it also changes how you shop before you even get to the register. When I know I only have that envelope, I start doing mental math in each aisle, putting things back before they're in my cart. It stops impulse buys at the shelf, not just at the checkout. The limit forces a kind of focus that a card never does. You plan meals around what's on sale that week, not what you're craving. It turns shopping into a strategy session, not just a spending trip.

21d ago

I think we're too quick to call something 'common sense' when it's really just learned experience.

Four hours is nothing. My neighbor spent three weekends chasing a leak around his porch before finding a squirrel had stashed acorns in the soffit, blocking the drainage path. What was the specific sealant they used that failed in your climate?