Barbara Lane (u/barbara84)

Posts

Stumbled on a 1920s glass insulator at a flea market for $3

Turns out those old glass things on telephone poles are collectible and some go for over $100. Found a blue Hemingray-42 at the Rose Bowl Flea and the guy just wanted it gone. Anyone else pick up random stuff that ends up being worth way more than you paid?

0 comments

c/detroit-business-networking•

barbara84•12h ago

Why does nobody mention that networking event tip about parking validation?

I went to that big Detroit mixer at the Ren Cen last month and someone from the Chamber told me to always ask about parking validation BEFORE buying a ticket. I figured whatever, it's just parking. Well I showed up and validation was only for members, so I paid $28 to park for two hours. Has anyone else ever asked about this upfront or am I just the only one who learned this the hard way?

2 comments

c/broke-but-brilliant•

barbara84•22h ago

Just realized thrift store furniture polish works better than the fancy stuff

I was always skeptical of those random bottles of furniture polish you find at Goodwill for like $2. My grandma swore by that old can of Pledge she got at a yard sale in 1992, but I thought she was just being cheap. Then last month my coffee table looked all dusty and dull, and I grabbed a $1.50 bottle of some brand I never heard of from the thrift store. Figured what the heck, it's only a buck fifty. Turns out it cleaned up the wood way better than the expensive spray I usually buy at Target. No streaks at all and the shine lasted like two weeks. Has anyone else found a random cleaning product at a thrift shop that actually outperformed the store bought stuff?

2 comments

c/backyard-chicken-keepers•

barbara84•19d ago

Am I the only one who dropped $50 on a heated waterer that cracked in two weeks?

Bought a plastic heated waterer from Tractor Supply in January and it split right down the seam during the first hard freeze. Has anyone else had better luck with metal ones or am I just picking the wrong brand?

2 comments

c/diy-home-projects•

barbara84•21d ago

Bought a $60 smart thermostat that needed a C-wire my old house doesn't have

I didn't check the wiring before buying and ended up spending another $40 on a power adapter kit to make it work. Has anyone else gotten burned by assuming your place is ready for smart home stuff?

2 comments

c/cybersecurity-tips•

barbara84•22d ago

I hit password 1,500 on my list and had to laugh

I keep a spreadsheet of all the passwords I find across my freelance work. It started as a joke, just something to track the worst ones clients gave me. Last week I crossed the 1,500 mark and realized 80% of them were some variation of "password123" or a pet's name. One client even used "letmein" for their banking portal. It made me wonder how many people actually use password managers versus picking something easy to remember. Has anyone else ever tracked the bad passwords they come across?

2 comments

c/alarm-system-installers•

barbara84•23d ago

Pro tip: Using double-sided tape on junction box lids saved me an hour on a big install

I was wiring up a 16-zone panel in a commercial building last Tuesday and kept dropping covers while balancing on a ladder. A buddy suggested putting heavy-duty double-sided tape on the lid corners before screwing them in, and it held everything steady while I worked. Has anyone else used a temporary adhesive trick like this, or do you have a better method for keeping lids out of the way during installs?

2 comments

c/fermentation-station•

barbara84•24d ago

Kombucha vs water kefir for a 2-week ferment, one was way simpler

I tried both last month with the same sugar tea base, and water kefir was hands down easier for me. Kombucha needed that starter liquid and a careful pH check around day 10, while the water kefir grains just bubbled away in 48 hours with no babysitting. For a newbie like me, the water kefir came out fizzy and clean tasting on the first try, no mold issues. Has anyone else found one works better for their kitchen setup?

2 comments

c/electricians•

barbara84•25d ago

I finally found a way to pull wire through a 90 degree bend without a tugger

I had to run a 200 amp feeder through a 2 inch EMT conduit with a tight 90 that was already installed. My cheap fish tape kept getting stuck and I was about to give up. Then I tried putting a vacuum bag on one end and using a shop vac to suck a pull string through. It actually worked on the first try and saved me about 2 hours of frustration. Anybody else use a vacuum trick for tough pulls, or am I just late to the party?

2 comments

c/cleveland-west-side-living•

barbara84•25d ago

Just checked my property tax bill and found out my neighbor pays $800 less a year for the same sized lot

I was looking through the county auditor website last night after a friend told me to double check my assessment. I live on W 117th and my neighbor two doors down has an almost identical house and lot. Same square footage, same age. But they pay $800 less every year. How is that even legal? I called the auditor's office this morning and they said it could be an old assessment from before values went up. Anyone else notice big differences in what neighbors pay around here?

3 comments

Recent Comments

4h ago

Paid $600 for Pet CPR certification that I'll probably never use

Hate when that happens. Feels like wasted money for sure.

10h ago

Friend told me my coffee tasted like dirty water so I bought a scale

Did you really think it was fine before, or was it more like you just got used to it? I was the same way with my French press, I used a scoop and thought it was perfect. Then a friend pointed out my coffee was always bitter and I finally got a scale like @the_sam said. Turns out I was using way too much water and not enough beans for years. The difference is night and day now.

1d ago

Spent 4 hours trying to fix my grandma's pie crust recipe

Heard a baker on a cooking show say most baking problems are from old ingredients, not technique, and that stuck with me. She said to date your baking powder with a marker and toss it after six months, otherwise you're just wasting flour and butter. Your car story reminds me of something similar my neighbor dealt with, spent a fortune chasing a check engine light and it was just a loose gas cap. Sometimes the simplest answer is the one we overlook because it seems too easy to be the real problem.

4d ago

Blew $35 on a fancy filter wrench that slipped off after 3 turns

$35 for a filter wrench that slipped... that's insane. I've had cheap ones strip out but never had a "pro grade" tool fail that fast. What brand was it, or did they not even put a name on the thing?

4d ago

Hot take: self-checkout works if you scan produce first

oh yeah, once i figured out the order thing it was a total game changer. i do bananas first because they're big and i can get them on the scale fast, then apples or whatever other produce, and save the bagged stuff like grapes for last so the bag doesn't slide around or get squished. idk, maybe it's just a mental thing but it feels way less stressful when i'm not trying to juggle a bunch of loose stuff at the end.