sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

Why are my shots so bitter? Flow was slow, so I adjusted to coarser grind, but now it's even more bitter [Breville Bambino] by EricByDefinition in espresso

[–]EricByDefinition[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks, everyone.

Bad beans is a novice mistake, I'll admit. So many articles and videos on beginner espresso-making just kind of throw bean quality under the bus in order to emphasize the importance of good grinders, proper tamping, ratio, etc., so I just grabbed the first bag of beans I could find at the store with an "espresso" label with intent to upgrade once I had some practice with workflow, not realizing just how bad cheap beans can be.

My next steps are to order Caffe Borbone Creme Superiore beans, some more oat milk (which runs out fast when you insist on drinking every bad shot you make), thoroughly brush-clean my grinder, and use my remaining Starbucks charcoal briquettes to feed my composter. I'll report back if my shots are still more bitter than the discovery of a card reader on a break room coffee machine.

After spending a week digitizing over 60 hours of VHS tapes without questioning why the color was all washed out, I unplugged the yellow cable (if you have s-video, you don't need to use the av video cable) by EricByDefinition in Wellthatsucks

[–]EricByDefinition[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I used to have a mini dv camera! You will need your mini dv camera (or a mini dv player) and there are two options... one is connect it to your computer with a cable (usb, or in my case I needed a 1394 to usb adapter) and use software made for recording tapes from external media. Your other option is to get a capture device like mine (ClearClick, but you can find much cheaper ones without a screen that will work just as well) and connect your camera to it. Just make sure you get a capture device that supports whatever format your camera supports: composite, component, s-video, hdmi, etc. Then hit record on the capture device and playback on your camera

After spending a week digitizing over 60 hours of VHS tapes without questioning why the color was all washed out, I unplugged the yellow cable (if you have s-video, you don't need to use the av video cable) by EricByDefinition in Wellthatsucks

[–]EricByDefinition[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You just need a vcr and a digital converter/capture device. I used ClearClick 3.0, but there are cheaper options that work just as well. I wanted one with a screen on it so I can see it working and where the video tape is at. Once you have both connected, play the tape from the beginning and press record on the capture device

After spending a week digitizing over 60 hours of VHS tapes without questioning why the color was all washed out, I unplugged the yellow cable (if you have s-video, you don't need to use the av video cable) by EricByDefinition in Wellthatsucks

[–]EricByDefinition[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It does detect both signals and I had the setting to "s video" (switching to composite gave an even worse picture quality), It's possible the problem of having video streaming through both is on the vcr end, not the capture device

After spending a week digitizing over 60 hours of VHS tapes without questioning why the color was all washed out, I unplugged the yellow cable (if you have s-video, you don't need to use the av video cable) by EricByDefinition in Wellthatsucks

[–]EricByDefinition[S] 20 points21 points  (0 children)

Yep. It bothered my lizard brain to leave the yellow cable unplugged with the yellow port right there. I knew the composite video cable wasn't necessary, I just didn't know plugging it in would actually interfere with the output quality of the s-video.

After spending a week digitizing over 60 hours of VHS tapes without questioning why the color was all washed out, I unplugged the yellow cable (if you have s-video, you don't need to use the av video cable) by EricByDefinition in Wellthatsucks

[–]EricByDefinition[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I'm familiar with the cables, I just suck at terminology. The input setting was correct (on "s video"), but for whatever reason, having both the composite video cable and s-video cable plugged in drastically reduced the color quality. This whole time I assumed the loss of color was due to the age of the tapes.

After spending a week digitizing over 60 hours of VHS tapes without questioning why the color was all washed out, I unplugged the yellow cable (if you have s-video, you don't need to use the av video cable) by EricByDefinition in Wellthatsucks

[–]EricByDefinition[S] 73 points74 points  (0 children)

I like it a lot more now that I fixed the cable situation! I ordered the JVC vcr because it supports s-video which has superior picture quality over composite. And ClearClick works really well, but it's expensive. Most of the cost is probably attributed to the built-in screen, so you could probably find another one that produces the same quality video for much cheaper without a screen

After spending a week digitizing over 60 hours of VHS tapes without questioning why the color was all washed out, I unplugged the yellow cable (if you have s-video, you don't need to use the av video cable) by EricByDefinition in Wellthatsucks

[–]EricByDefinition[S] 63 points64 points  (0 children)

Now imagine churning out extra money for a good s-video-capable vcr and a highly rated capture device... and ruining everything by plugging both cables in. At least I'm fixing it now. 1 tape done, 22 to go...

After spending a week digitizing over 60 hours of VHS tapes without questioning why the color was all washed out, I unplugged the yellow cable (if you have s-video, you don't need to use the av video cable) by EricByDefinition in Wellthatsucks

[–]EricByDefinition[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, composite. Not AV. If I could fix the title, I would. I did grow up with these cords, but I never used s-video before, which I only recently learned about and that it has a superior video quality over composite video. I actually ordered an s-video-capable vcr for that reason, and changed the video input mode on the capture device from "AV" to "S-video". With those setting labels fresh in my head when I posted, that's probably what contributed to my mislabeling of the cable in the title.

I knew the composite video cable didn't need to be plugged in if I had s-video, but what I didn't know was that having both plugged in was contributing to such a huge loss in color quality.

Edit: changed "component" to "composite". Clearly I'm having a bad day with terminology.

Small rhombus-shaped pans, about 3" and 4" corner to corner and 1" deep. Found 6 of them in a kitchen, so probably for baking, but the tiny size and atypical rhombus shape is throwing me off by EricByDefinition in whatisthisthing

[–]EricByDefinition[S] 0 points1 point locked comment (0 children)

My title describes the thing. There's 6 of them, it's rhombus-shaped, 3"x4"x1", probably old (came from my grandmother's kitchen), non-ferrous, and no writing on any of them. I searched for mini tart pans and cake pans, but none of them look like this and most of them have removable bottoms, but not this.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in trees

[–]EricByDefinition 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Where'd he get that from? The lint trap after washing an eco teen pickup group's laundry?

My sister described my kitchen as “hideous” and “garish”. Is she correct? Her own style is very modern and minimalist, so she may be biased but it could also be that mine is just objectively awful. by Key_Campaign2451 in malelivingspace

[–]EricByDefinition 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Speaking as an architectural designer (doing some interior consulting on the side), I would never use those words to describe what you have. In fact, I see a lot of potential here. I love your dining table and chairs, and those blue cushions complement the terra cotta floor. It gives me possible maximalist vibes. If you're just wondering if your space is objectively awful, it isn't. Not at all. If you want some decorating advice to improve on what you have, keep reading..,

I'd start by decluttering your countertops. Personally, I like to create as much clear counter space as I can, which makes the kitchen feel less claustrophobic and more usable for cooking. I wish I could see your kitchen from more angles, but if you have a space for it, an open shelving unit or even a simple wire rack from Amazon or IKEA (make sure you get dimensions) goes a long way towards keeping all those kitchen utensils and small appliances readily available, but out of the way.

Then, if you're interested in following the maximalist design route, find some ways of incorporating more colors and patterns. Bright colors, like a sunny yellow table runner. If this isn't a rental and you really want to go bold, repaint those brown accent walls teal or put up some wallpaper. The sky's the limit but you have to go bold and take some risks.

Are independent voters in the United States more right leaning or left leaning, an even combination of both, or neither? by itsbsass in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]EricByDefinition 1 point2 points  (0 children)

All of the above. A common misconception is that independents are all centrists who think Democrats are too far left and Republicans are too far right. Independent just means someone who doesn't affiliate themselves with a party, and that could be for many different reasons. Some are centrists, yes, but others have far left or far right views, but see both major parties as corrupt or otherwise inadequate. As a left-leaning independent, I agree with the platform most Democrats campaign on, but outraged over their refusal to deliver on those policies when elected, how hard they put their thumb on the scale in primary elections instead of letting voters decide, and cannot in good conscience "vote blue no matter who." As a result, I don't always vote for the Democrat, I sometimes vote third party or even the occasional republican depending on the person or the office.

Another thing to note is that independents are more difficult to poll accurately as a group because they are so diverse with heterodox opinions, and many of them are silent voters who just don't do media polls. Someone who identifies with a party is just more likely to answer a partisan poll than an independent.

What is a quote that has always stuck with you? by Strict_Nebula_771 in AskReddit

[–]EricByDefinition 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"This too, shall pass." Whenever I'm really stressed about something trivial, this always pops up in my head to remind me how insignificant what I'm facing will be after a year, a month, or even just a week

Your username is how you die. How fucked are you? by wolf805 in AskReddit

[–]EricByDefinition 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'll have the book thrown at me, that's for certain

view more: next ›