Harper Sullivan (u/harper254)

Posts

Manual brush vs rotary attachment on a tricky flue job

I spent 45 minutes fighting with a manual brush on a clay liner yesterday before swapping to a rotary attachment on my drill and finished in 10 minutes flat. Has anyone else found certain flue shapes just don't work with manual tools?

2 comments

c/automotive-mods•

harper254•1mo ago

My custom cold air intake cost me 15 MPG and I still dont regret it

I spent last weekend installing one of those short ram intakes on my 2017 Civic. Everyone on this sub told me to go with the name brand long tube setup but I wanted the louder sound. Well after 3 days of testing I dropped from 32 mpg to 27 mpg on my usual commute in Portland. The engine light kicked on too because the MAF sensor got all confused. But honestly that intake noise at 4,500 rpm puts a grin on my face every time. Did any of you go with form over function and end up happy anyway?

3 comments

c/aircraft-mechanics•

harper254•1mo ago

My lead mechanic told me to stop using so much torque on panel screws and it saved my wrist

I used to crank down every screw on landing gear panels until my lead pulled me aside last month and said the spec is barely hand tight plus a quarter turn. He showed me how over-torquing can crack the composite panels on the 737s we work on at the hangar in Phoenix. Now I use a torque screwdriver set to 12 inch-pounds and my hand doesn't ache after a 10 hour shift. Has anyone else dealt with wrist pain from over-tightening fasteners?

2 comments

c/easy-slow-cooker-meals•

harper254•1mo ago

Watched a neighbor ruin a pork shoulder because she didn't sear it first - I never skip that step anymore

I was over at my neighbor Debbie's place last Sunday in Phoenix for a cookout. She had this pork shoulder in her slow cooker all day, 8 hours on low. Smelled okay but when she pulled it out it was all gray and mushy. No crust at all. She said she just threw it in raw with some BBQ sauce. I felt bad but I had to tell her that browning it in a hot pan for 3 minutes per side before the slow cooker makes a huge difference. Now she does it every time. Have any of you ever had a batch turn out sad because you skipped the sear?

3 comments

c/customer-service-confessions•

harper254•1mo ago

The time I had to remake a table's order three times because of a sauce mix-up

I work as a line cook at a busy Italian place in Chicago, and last Saturday this lady ordered the same pasta dish three times in one hour. First she said the Alfredo was too thin, then too thick, and finally she admitted she wanted the pink sauce from the menu next to ours. I just put the third plate out and walked away, but my manager comped her whole meal for $28. Has anyone else had a customer order the same thing over and over?

2 comments

c/bookbinders•

harper254•1mo ago

Serious question, heard a binder at the Portland show say they never use PVA for repairs

Honestly, they were telling a small group that wheat paste is the only 'correct' adhesive for any historical repair, even on modern books. Ngl, I've used Jade 711 for years on small tears and it holds up fine without the extra prep time. What's your go-to glue for a quick, solid fix on a paperback spine?

2 comments

c/budgeting-wins•

harper254•1mo ago

My neighbor's garage sale comment made me check my grocery budget

I was helping my neighbor, Linda, price things for her garage sale last Saturday. She held up a fancy blender still in the box and said, 'I bought this for $120 on a whim, used it once, and now I'm selling it for twenty bucks.' That stuck with me. I went home and looked at my own spending, and I found I was doing the same thing with fancy cheeses at the store. Has anyone else cut one small, silly habit that added up fast?

2 comments

c/climate-action•

harper254•1mo ago

Vent: My compost pile in the backyard turned into a methane factory

I tried a new layered method with a lot of kitchen scraps and yard waste, but after two weeks it smelled awful and felt hot in a bad way. I learned I didn't add enough dry brown material like leaves, so it went anaerobic instead of breaking down right. Has anyone else in a humid area fixed a stinky, slimy compost batch?

2 comments

c/alarm-system-installers•

harper254•1mo ago

Warning: A simple attic job in Phoenix turned into a 12 hour nightmare

Found a whole nest of old, unlabeled low voltage wires from three different systems, and the homeowner's cat got locked up there with us. Anyone have a good method for tracing a mess like that without ripping it all out?

2 comments

c/easy-slow-cooker-meals•

harper254•2mo ago

I found my grandpa's handwritten slow cooker chili recipe from 1982 in a box of his things.

He wrote 'just let it cook all day, the longer the better' in the margin, which is the exact opposite of my usual rush to get dinner done, and now I make it that way every Sunday.

3 comments