Patricia, I'm glad you saw the same thing I did. That 1970 Otis is a perfect example of a machine that was built when 140 weight was the standard, not the exception. I've got a 1968 Westinghouse in a factory building I look after, and it was the same story jerky starts, grabby brakes, and drive motors that sounded like they were working too hard. Switched to straight 140 non-EP about two years ago and it smoothed right out, even the rope wear went down noticeably. People don't realize those old EP additives can mess with the bronze bushings and the friction material in the brake linings. It's one of those things where the old timers had it figured out through years of trial and error, and the modern stuff just isn't always better for vintage gear.

500 bucks for 50 leads seems like a red flag right off the bat. I don't really think it's that serious to call it a "guaranteed lead service" when most of those places are just scraping old data from LinkedIn or some public database from 2019. That guy telling you he was dead for 2 years is a funny nightmare though. I'd say you're better off spending that money on a solid CRM trial and doing the outreach yourself, because these flat-fee outfits almost never vet their lists.

Well, altitude definitely makes a difference with ferments since lower air pressure lets gases expand faster, but your jar probably would have popped eventually even at sea level if it was that active. Leaving it on a tile floor in a sealed jar was asking for trouble no matter where you were, that's just fermenting 101 stuff. Next time just put the jar in a plastic tub or a gallon bag so the mess stays contained if you forget to burp it.

Curtains are a game changer for hostel dorms, totally worth it.

Respectfully gotta disagree with you on this one. I bought one of those thermal cameras a couple years back and honestly it just collects dust now. For the money, I could have replaced a few power supplies just on principle and still come out ahead. Found a warm spot once that turned out to be a dusty fan, not a fire hazard. You got lucky finding that switch, but most people aren't going to have that kind of payback. Is it really worth it for peace of mind when a cheap temp gun does most of the same checks?