Evan Roberts (u/evan543)

Posts

Debate: do you call the customer or fix it first when a door sensor keeps acting up?

I was working a service call in a condo building last month in Phoenix and the owner was standing right there watching me... kept asking if I could just bypass the sensor to get the elevator running faster. I told him I couldn't do that, safety first. But part of me wondered if sometimes on a slow day you just tweak it to get them off your back and fix it later. Which side do you guys fall on when the customer is breathing down your neck?

3 comments

c/cult-watch-weekly•

evan543•3d ago

Hot take: I've noticed a before-and-after in how people talk about NXIVM after the HBO doc dropped

Back in 2018 I had a coworker who was super into Keith Raniere's self-help stuff, like legit defending it at lunch. Then The Vow came out in 2020 and now that same guy calls it a cult without blinking. It's crazy how a 7 part documentary flipped the script on what was a fringe topic for years. Anyone else see this shift with other groups like the Twin Flames thing on Netflix?

3 comments

c/bakers•

evan543•4d ago

Can we talk about that bakery in Montreal that uses frozen dough?

I stopped into that famous spot on Rue Saint Paul last month and their croissant tasted like it came off a Sysco truck, but everyone online swears its the best in the city - has anyone else actually noticed the difference or am I just being too picky?

3 comments

c/binge-worthy-shows•

evan543•20d ago

The math on how many times I've seen The Office is actually embarrassing

I was bored last weekend and actually counted up how many full watch-throughs I've done of The Office (US version). I figured it was a lot because my wife always gives me a hard time about it playing in the background while I work from home. Turns out I've seen the whole series from start to finish 17 times since 2018. That is roughly 3,400 episodes or something like 1,500 hours. It really hit me when I did the math that I've spent almost two entire months of my life watching one show. There are episodes I can basically recite word for word like the fire drill one or when Michael leaves. Has anyone else ever actually counted their rewatch numbers or am I just the guy who needs a new show?

3 comments

c/cult-watch-weekly•

evan543•24d ago

Dropped $300 on a cult self-help program that was just group therapy

Signed up for The Ascension Path in March after a friend pushed it hard. $300 for 8 weeks of "inner transformation." Turned out it was just the guy reading from a textbook and making us share feelings in breakout rooms. Has anyone else fallen for one of these online guru programs?

3 comments

c/crane-operators•

evan543•25d ago

That tricky outrigger leveling issue on an RT90 took me 12 hours longer than it should have

I was on a job in a tight alley downtown, setting up a 50 ton Grove crane. The ground looked fine, but every time I set the outriggers and started leveling, the tilt gauge kept showing off by a few degrees. I spent a whole day redoing pads, checking hydraulic fluid, even calling the rental yard. Turns out one of the outrigger foot pads had a worn down bolt that threw off the sensor calibration. Nobody talks about that stuff in the training manuals. Has anyone else run into a dumb sensor or pad issue that ate up way more time than it should?

3 comments

c/chimney-sweeps•

evan543•27d ago

Shoutout to the homeowner who showed me why brush direction matters

Last month I had a job in Austin where this older guy watched me work and asked why I was going top-down. He said his dad was a sweep back in the 60s and always did bottom-up on clay liners to catch loose soot. I told him I was trained top-down for safety and he just nodded. We spent 20 minutes debating it while I finished, and honestly I still think top-down is safer but he made a good point about less debris falling in between. Anyone else run into customers with strong opinions on brush technique?

3 comments

c/archaeology-discoveries•

evan543•1mo ago

Just passed 300 old maps in my collection and one detail stood out

I hit 300 antique maps last weekend after picking up a 1720s county map of Kent at an estate sale for $40. What got me is how many of them show rivers and roads that don't exist anymore or have completely shifted course. One map from 1650 shows a whole village that must have been abandoned because I can't find any trace of it on modern records. Has anyone else noticed phantom towns on old maps that don't match up with current geography?

3 comments

c/binge-worthy-shows•

evan543•1mo ago

Why does nobody talk about the mid-season slump in Dark?

I binged Dark in 4 days last week and it was incredible until episode 15, where the time travel rules got so tangled I had to rewind twice just to follow who was who. The whole thing felt like a bad dream where you're running but not getting anywhere, and it totally killed my momentum. Has anyone else hit a wall with a show that started strong but got too complicated to enjoy?

4 comments

c/diy-and-reno•

evan543•1mo ago

Accidentally flooded my basement trying a fancy pipe soldering trick

Last weekend I watched a YouTube video about using a wet rag to keep solder joints cool near plastic pipes. Thought I was being smart, tried it on a copper pipe right next to a PVC drain in my basement in Columbus. The rag slipped and water sprayed everywhere for like 5 minutes before I found the main shutoff. Ended up with about an inch of water over half the floor, had to rent a shop vac from Home Depot for $25. The worst part is the solder joint still leaked a bit and I had to call a plumber anyway to redo it properly for $150. Anyone else fall for one of those "pro tips" that just made things worse? What's your most expensive DIY screwup?

3 comments