Vera Nelson (u/nelson.vera)

Posts

Our book club spent 4 meetings arguing over the ending of 'The Road'

I thought we'd wrap it up in one session, but people kept bringing up Cormac McCarthy's other books and debating if the boy actually found safety. It turned into this whole thing about hope vs despair in post-apocalyptic fiction. Anyone else's group get stuck on a single book for way too long?

3 comments

c/coding-for-beginners•

nelson.vera•1d ago

Warning: My first attempt at a Python script deleted a whole folder of vacation pics.

I was in my home office trying to automate renaming some files, but I messed up the path in my os.remove() loop and wiped my '2023_Trip' directory instead, so now I'm asking if anyone has a solid backup method for new coders before they try file operations?

3 comments

c/cable-installers•

nelson.vera•2d ago

Unpopular opinion: I think the push for wireless everything is making our jobs harder, not easier.

I was doing a new install in a big house in Tacoma last month, and the homeowner told me, 'I don't want any wires at all, just make the Wi-Fi perfect everywhere.' I tried to explain that a few well-placed Ethernet runs would make his whole system way more stable, but he just wouldn't hear it. How do you guys handle clients who think wireless can magically fix everything?

3 comments

c/book-club-debates•

nelson.vera•2d ago

Our group in Portland argued about 'American Dirt' for three hours straight

It was at Beth's house last fall, and the talk got so deep about who gets to tell which stories. Half of us felt the book was wrong, the other half said it opened a needed door. We ended up making a new rule: for any tough book, we bring in one outside article to share before we even start. Anyone else try something like that to keep talks from going in circles?

3 comments

c/deepfake-drama•

nelson.vera•4d ago

My cousin showed me a fake video of our grandpa at a party in Chicago last summer.

He said 'you can't trust anything you see anymore' and now I always check the source before believing any wild clip online. How do you guys verify stuff before sharing it?

3 comments

c/arborists•

nelson.vera•6d ago

Warning: my old climbing line was way too short and I didn't know it

I was working on a big oak in Springfield and had to make a weird reach. My ground guy said, 'You're pulling your rope tight every time you move, man.' I was basically choking my tie-in point. How short is too short for a main climbing line?

3 comments

c/bad-movie-appreciation•

nelson.vera•8d ago

My husband and I watched 'The Room' last month and then again last night, and the second time we actually started to appreciate the bizarre sincerity of it all.

The first viewing left us baffled, but after reading about Tommy Wiseau's genuine, if misguided, passion for the project, we spent last night laughing with the film instead of at it, and I'm curious if anyone else has had a movie 'click' on a rewatch like that?

3 comments

c/cabinetmakers•

nelson.vera•10d ago

My wife asked me why I never build anything for our own house.

I was finishing a custom walnut vanity for a client in Springfield, and she just looked at our old laminate one and said, 'You make beautiful things for everyone else.' It hit different because she's right, I'm always too busy or tired from the shop. Do you guys ever get around to making stuff for your own homes?

3 comments

c/dredge-operators•

nelson.vera•13d ago

Remember when we had to guess the silt density on the Columbia River?

I was on the 'River Queen' near Astoria in 2012 when a new sensor gave us a real-time readout, and we cut our pump time by almost an hour. Anyone still working a dredge that doesn't have that kind of gear?

3 comments

c/chefs•

nelson.vera•14d ago

I just realized I've been dulling my knives for years by using a cheap ceramic rod.

A stage chef in Portland pointed out the tiny metal shavings on my board after a 'honing' session, which meant I was actually grinding the edge away, not straightening it.

3 comments

Posts

Our book club spent 4 meetings arguing over the ending of 'The Road'

Warning: My first attempt at a Python script deleted a whole folder of vacation pics.

Unpopular opinion: I think the push for wireless everything is making our jobs harder, not easier.

Our group in Portland argued about 'American Dirt' for three hours straight

My cousin showed me a fake video of our grandpa at a party in Chicago last summer.

Warning: my old climbing line was way too short and I didn't know it

My husband and I watched 'The Room' last month and then again last night, and the second time we actually started to appreciate the bizarre sincerity of it all.

My wife asked me why I never build anything for our own house.

Remember when we had to guess the silt density on the Columbia River?

I just realized I've been dulling my knives for years by using a cheap ceramic rod.

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