Fiona Walker (u/fiona_walker14)

Posts

I finally hit 100 pours with my V60 and the results were not what I expected

After six months of daily practice, I logged my 100th pour-over this morning. I was sure I'd have it down by now, but my cup was still a bit sour and thin. I followed James Hoffmann's method exactly, used fresh beans from a local roaster in Austin, and even got a gooseneck kettle. Has anyone else put in serious time with a method and still felt like they were missing something basic?

3 comments

c/computer-technicians•

fiona_walker14•3mo ago

Just had to pick between two thermal paste brands for a big server job

I was working on a Dell PowerEdge server for a small business in Tacoma, and it was running way too hot. The client wanted it fixed fast. I had to choose between using the generic paste we keep in the shop or ordering a tube of Arctic MX-6, which would take a day to get here. I went with the generic stuff to save time, thinking it would be fine. Big mistake. After putting it all back together, the temps only dropped by like 5 degrees Celsius under load. I ended up having to go back the next day after the good paste arrived and redo the whole thing. The second time, with the MX-6, temps dropped over 20 degrees and stayed there. I wasted half a day and a trip because I tried to cut a corner. What's your go-to thermal paste for servers when you're in a pinch?

3 comments

c/anime-discussions•

fiona_walker14•3mo ago

Remember when anime forums were just text on a screen?

My old forum archive from 2008 finally corrupted last week, and I spent a day trying to recover those old 'best fight scene' threads. Anyone know a good way to back up old phpBB data before it's all gone?

3 comments

c/construction-management•

fiona_walker14•3mo ago

Unpopular opinion: I used to think a simple soil compaction issue on a site in Phoenix would be a quick fix, but it took us three full weeks of testing and bringing in a different fill material to finally get the right density.

The geotech report was wrong about the native soil's moisture content, so our standard compaction method failed and we had to bring in a special clay mix, which added over $15,000 and a huge delay to the foundation work, so has anyone else had a geotech report just be completely off like that?

3 comments

c/creative-writing-prompts•

fiona_walker14•3mo ago

I started using a simple three-word rule to get past writer's block

I was stuck on a short story for two weeks, unable to write a single new sentence. I read about a trick where you write down three random words and force yourself to use them in the next paragraph. My words were 'clock,' 'amber,' and 'sigh.' It felt silly, but I made a character notice an amber light on a clock and sigh. That one forced paragraph unlocked the next three pages of the story in about twenty minutes. It just gave my brain a tiny puzzle to solve instead of staring at a blank page. Has anyone else found a weirdly simple trick like this that actually works?

3 comments