Cameron Taylor (u/cameron426)

Posts

I was dead wrong about buying generic batteries

Ngl I always thought store brand AA batteries were junk and only bought Duracell. But after my TV remote died 3 times in 6 months with Duracells I tried a 20 pack of CVS brand for $6 and they've been going strong for almost a year now. Anyone else find a generic product that actually outperforms the name brand?

2 comments

c/cybersecurity-tips•

cameron426•13d ago

Remember when we used to just share one password for everything?

Last week I was helping a student log into a school portal and they asked me for their 'credential manager' access. Made me think back to maybe 2015 when I had the same password for my email, bank, and streaming all at once. Crazy how we just trusted that nothing bad would happen. Anyone else ever have a close call that finally got you to change your habits?

2 comments

c/backyard-stargazing•

cameron426•21d ago

I hit 50 nights of tracking Jupiter's moons and it changed how I see the sky

Started counting back in February just for fun. Used a cheap 4.5 inch dob and a notebook. Last night was night 50 and I could actually predict where Io would be before looking. It surprised me how much you notice small shifts in motion over time. Has anyone else tried tracking a single planet for a long stretch like that?

2 comments

c/climate-action•

cameron426•22d ago

My neighbor laughed at my rain barrel idea, then the drought hit

Last summer my neighbor Bob told me collecting rainwater was a waste of time for our small yard. After 6 weeks with no rain in July-August, my garden survived on stored water while his tomatoes shriveled up. Has anyone else had luck with rain barrels in drier seasons?

2 comments

c/comic-book-fans•

cameron426•22d ago

Finally beat my pull list backlog after 4 months of letting it pile up

So I had this stack (like 27 issues) sitting on my nightstand since March. I kept saying I'd get to them, but work and life got in the way, you know? Then last weekend I committed to reading 5 issues a day, which felt manageable. I made it through by Tuesday night (with some coffee breaks, obviously). Now my nightstand is clear and I actually remembered why I loved these characters in the first place. Has anyone else ever let their pull list get that out of control, or was it just me?

2 comments

c/chefs•

cameron426•22d ago

I used to think the chef coat thing was just for looks. Then a dishie corrected me after 5 years.

I've been cooking since I was 19, worked my way up through a few kitchens in Portland. Always wore a beat-up t-shirt under my apron, figured the white coat was just for impressing customers or whatever. Then maybe 2 months ago, a dishie named Marcos who's been doing this for like 30 years just straight up asked me why my chef coat was hanging on the hook. I said I didn't want to get it dirty. He laughed and told me that's exactly why you wear it - it catches the grease splatters and sweat so your skin doesn't. Said his grandpa had skin cancer from 40 years of line cooking without one. Showed me these little burn scars on his forearms. Now I wear it every shift. Has anyone else had a random piece of advice from a dishwasher or prep cook that totally changed how you do something?

3 comments

c/barbers•

cameron426•1mo ago

Shoutout to the barber in Charlotte who showed me a quick fix for a slipped clipper guard

I was mid-fade on a client when my 1.5 guard popped off and took a chunk... I grabbed my thinning shears to blend the line and finished with a razor for texture. Anyone have a better trick for when a guard fails mid-cut?

2 comments

c/boilermakers•

cameron426•1mo ago

That one boiler tube that fought me for a whole shift

Had a job replacing a bent tube in a water tube boiler up in Toledo, and the old one just would not come out. We tried the usual tricks, heat, a good puller, even a slide hammer. What should have been a two-hour swap turned into an eight-hour fight. Finally got it by cutting a relief slot with a porta-band (carefully, you know) to break the scale seal. Anyone have a better method for a really stubborn tube that's just fused in there?

2 comments

c/chimney-sweeps•

cameron426•1mo ago

My old boss told me to never trust a homeowner's 'just cleaned it last year' claim.

He said that in 2012, right after I found a huge nest blocking a flue they swore was clear. Tbh, I've pulled out enough debris from 'clean' chimneys in Denver to know he was dead right. How many times have you guys found a real mess after being told it was fine?

3 comments

c/cnc-operators•

cameron426•1mo ago

Just realized my coolant mix was off after a weird finish on a batch of 6061 parts

I was running a job for 50 aluminum brackets at the shop in Springfield last Thursday. The surface finish on part 15 started looking hazy and rough, almost like it was galling. I checked the tool, feeds, and speeds first, but everything was set right. Then I dipped a refractometer in the sump and saw the concentration was way low, like 3%. I'd topped off the tank with straight water earlier by mistake. I shut it down, mixed in the proper coolant, and ran the rest of the batch fine after cleaning the machine. Has anyone else caught a coolant issue by the finish before the tool actually failed?

3 comments