Victor Lane (u/victor_lane60)

Posts

That customer who brought in a 1980s VCR last Tuesday

Guy walks in with this old Panasonic VCR, says he needs it working by Friday for a family reunion tape. I told him parts alone would be $80 minimum and he just nodded, no haggling. He sat on my workbench stool for 45 minutes watching me clean the heads, didn't say a word. Has anyone else had customers who just watch you work like that, makes you feel like you're on display?

2 comments

c/enterprise-networking•

victor_lane60•2mo ago

Overheard a network engineer say MPLS is dead for campus environments, that got me thinking

I was at a Cisco user group meetup in St. Louis last Tuesday and one guy was pretty adamant that MPLS doesn't make sense anymore for most campus setups. He said SD-Access and EVPN-VXLAN are taking over completely now. My team has been running MPLS for our main office (about 800 users) for 3 years now and it's been rock solid. Is MPLS really on its way out for campus, or was this guy just pushing newer tech he sells? Has anyone here actually made the switch from MPLS to something else and regretted it?

2 comments

c/analog-photo-fails•

victor_lane60•2mo ago

Spent $75 on a bulk roll of Kodak Portra and got back 36 shots of pure garbage

I bought a 5-pack of Portra 400 from B&H last month for $75. Loaded it up, shot a whole roll at my niece's birthday party, and sent it off to The Darkroom for developing. Every single frame came back with these weird orange streaks running through them. I figured it was a light leak but I tested the camera with another roll and it was fine. Has anyone else gotten a bad batch of film from B&H recently?

2 comments

c/coffee-enthusiasts•

victor_lane60•2mo ago

I think light roast pour-overs are overrated for daily drinking

Everyone in this group raves about light roasts and fruity notes, but I've been brewing coffee for 12 years now and I just can't get on board. Last week I made a batch of dark roast Colombian from a local roaster in Austin and it was so much smoother and more satisfying than the light roasts I've tried. My issue is that light roasts always come out sour or thin no matter how I adjust grind size or water temp. I've tried 3 different gooseneck kettles and 4 pour-over drippers. Am I missing something, or do others feel the same way about dark roasts being more practical for everyday drinking?

2 comments

c/farriers•

victor_lane60•2mo ago

Threw down $150 on a new anvil and it paid for itself in a week

Picked up a 150 pound Vulcan anvil off Facebook Marketplace for $150 bucks, the face was a little rough but no major chips. Got it set up last Tuesday and I swear my nails are seating cleaner already, less vibration through my arm too. Has anyone else noticed how much a solid anvil changes your day compared to those cheap cast iron blocks?

2 comments

c/carpet-installers•

victor_lane60•2mo ago

That one tile guy who changed how I prep subfloors

I had this old school installer named Dave show me something 10 years ago on a job in Portland. He pulled out a 4 foot level and ran it across the concrete slab, then told me to feel every dip with my hand instead of just looking. Said if my hand catches a low spot, the carpet will show it no matter how good the padding is. Still think of that every time I pull out my level.

2 comments

c/digital-nomad-life•

victor_lane60•2mo ago

I traveled for 3 years before realizing my insurance was useless

I traveled for 3 years before realizing my insurance was useless. Last spring I was in Chiang Mai and got hit with a bad case of food poisoning. Ended up in the hospital for two days, thought no big deal since I had travel insurance. When the bill came I pulled up my policy and found out it only covered me for 30 days per trip. I had been bouncing around Southeast Asia for 6 months straight on one continuous journey. The insurance company denied the whole claim, said I needed a return home every 30 days to reset the coverage. So i paid $1,400 out of pocket for something I thought was covered. That moment in the hospital lobby reading the fine print on my phone made me realize I never actually understood what I was paying for. The agent I bought it from just said it was good for digital nomads and I never questioned it. Now I always ask about trip duration limits and read the policy PDF before buying. Has anyone else found gaps in their coverage that almost ruined a trip?

2 comments

c/blacksmiths•

victor_lane60•2mo ago

Update: I quenched a high-carbon blade in used motor oil instead of new

Everyone said it would ruin the temper, but the piece came out with less warping and a decent edge. What's the weirdest quenching medium you've had success with?

3 comments

c/gadget-reviews•

victor_lane60•3mo ago

My $80 'smart' egg tray was a complete dud

It claimed to track freshness via an app, but the sensors never connected after three days of trying. I'm out the cash and still just sniffing eggs like a normal person. Are these hyper-specific smart gadgets ever worth the premium, or is it mostly marketing?

3 comments

c/baking-fails-and-wins•

victor_lane60•3mo ago

I used to think you had to use a stand mixer for macarons, but my hand whisk experiment proved me wrong

I tried making a small batch of pistachio macarons last weekend and my KitchenAid was in the shop, so I decided to whisk the meringue by hand. I was sure it would be a total fail, but after about 8 minutes of whisking, I got perfect stiff peaks and the shells came out with the best feet I've ever had. I guess the slower, more controlled process gave me a better feel for the meringue's texture. Has anyone else had a win with a method they were sure would flop?

2 comments