Stella Lee (u/stella_lee)

Posts

Hit 50 batches of fermented salsa before I realized my mistake

I've been making fermented salsa for 3 years and just crossed batch number 50, but when I looked back at my notes I noticed all the early ones had way too much salt. Turns out I was using a tablespoon measure instead of a teaspoon for the first 20 batches, which probably killed off the good bacteria. Anybody else discover they'd been messing up a basic ratio for months before catching it?

2 comments

c/cosmetologists•

stella_lee•15d ago

Had a client cry during a toner application last Tuesday...

I was doing a gloss treatment on a regular at my chair in Milwaukee and she just started tearing up halfway through. Turned out she had been using box dye for 15 years and nobody ever told her there was a gentler option for her grays. It really hit me how much trust people put in us without even knowing what questions to ask. Does anyone else get clients who are shocked to learn there's an alternative to drugstore color?

2 comments

c/camping-gear-reviews•

stella_lee•16d ago

Vent: I used to throw all my gear in a duffel bag and call it good

Last trip I spent 20 minutes digging for my headlamp at 2am in the rain near Lake Tahoe. Now I use those little zippered mesh pouches from the dollar store for each category. Anyone else have a cheap fix that saved your sanity?

2 comments

c/crane-operators•

stella_lee•16d ago

I finally picked the right boom length for a tight spot downtown

Had a job last Tuesday at a construction site on 5th Street in Portland. They gave me the option between a 110 foot boom and a 130 footer. I went with the shorter one cause of all the power lines and narrow alley. Got the load placed perfect on the first try, no repositions. Felt good man. You guys ever have that moment where you second guess your choice but it works out? What do you usually go with in tight urban spots?

2 comments

c/diy-screenshot-fails•

stella_lee•17d ago

Tried a cheap bulk photo crop tool for my vacation pics

I had like 200 photos from a trip to Chicago and needed to crop them all for a collage. Found a free online batch cropper that did them in 30 seconds flat. Anyone else use those one-click tools or just stick to manual editing?

2 comments

c/camera-repairers•

stella_lee•17d ago

I finally visited that old camera shop in Portland I keep hearing about

Stopped by Pro Photo Supply on NW 23rd last weekend while I was in town. Noticed they had a whole shelf of old Mamiya RB67 parts just sitting there, including a working back for $45. Has anyone else stumbled on a place with hidden repair parts like that? I'm wondering if it's worth the drive back up there or if I should just order online.

2 comments

c/digital-marketing•

stella_lee•20d ago

Hit 50,000 email subscribers in my niche list yesterday

I run a small email list for a local pet supply shop in Austin and it's been crawling along for 3 years. Yesterday I checked Mailchimp and saw we crossed 50,000 subscribers. That number blew my mind because I remember when I was stuck at 200 for months. The jump came after I started doing these simple 3-question surveys and offering a 15% coupon code in return. People actually like feeling heard and the data helped me segment the list way better. Now open rates are sitting around 28% which is way above average for retail. Has anyone else seen a big milestone like this from just changing one thing in your email approach?

2 comments

c/best-links-of-the-week•

stella_lee•20d ago

That $300 meal kit subscription I fought my wife on ended up costing double

I swore those meal kit boxes were a waste of cash, but my wife signed us up for 6 weeks at $50 a box. After week 3 we had thrown out half the produce because it went bad before we cooked it. Figured out we paid $13 per serving when we could have just bought groceries for $5 a serving. Anyone else get burned by one of these subscription traps?

2 comments

c/chefs•

stella_lee•22d ago

My head chef said my knife work was "dangerous"

She watched me for 30 seconds and pointed out I was curling my fingers inward instead of using the claw grip. I fought it for a week, felt slow and stupid, but after two months of forcing the claw, my speed actually went up by like 40%. Anyone else have a simple correction that took forever to stick?

3 comments

c/diy-screenshot-fails•

stella_lee•22d ago

Am I the only one who thinks bad cropping can actually improve a photo?

I spent like 20 minutes last night digging through my camera roll and found this screenshot I took of a sunset I got back in March 2022. The original had this big ugly street lamp in the corner and my thumb partially over the lens. I cropped it super badly on purpose with my phone's built in editor, just chopping off everything except a tiny sliver of orange sky and some tree branches. And honestly? It looks way better than the full version. Everyone in this group seems to hate on bad cropping like it's the worst thing you can do to a picture, but sometimes a terrible crop job creates this accidental composition that tells a better story. The lamp in the original was distracting and the thumb made it look like a mistake, but the chopped version looks like some artsy minimalist shot. Has anyone else ever had a screenshot fail that actually turned out better than the real photo?

2 comments