Lisa Rodriguez (u/lisa671)

Posts

Am I the only one who thinks pushable fiber rods are overrated?

I switched back to traditional fish tape after 8 months with those rods, and my pull time dropped by 40 percent in tight conduit. Anyone else find the rods bind up worse in wet conditions or is it just my luck with them?

2 comments

c/commercial-real-estate•

lisa671•3d ago

Put $3,000 into upgrading the HVAC in my strip plaza last fall

Tenant complained about uneven cooling for months, and after a new zoning system and better insulation the electric bill dropped almost 25%. Has anyone else seen that kind of payback from mechanical upgrades?

2 comments

c/farriers•

lisa671•5d ago

Old way vs new - how do you nail your front shoes on?

I used to always nail on the toe first and work back, but after a bad quarter crack 6 years ago I switched to nailing the heels first to let the shoe sit more naturally. What's your order and did something specific make you change it up?

2 comments

c/diesel-mechanics•

lisa671•9d ago

Bought a cheap timing light from Harbor Freight and it threw my readings off by 6 degrees on a Cummins ISX

After chasing a power loss for two weeks that cost me $400 in parts, I finally borrowed a Snap-On light from a buddy and found the timing was actually perfect the whole time, has anyone else run into accuracy problems with budget timing lights?

2 comments

c/cat-coffee-table-books•

lisa671•9d ago

Small win: I finally figured out how to keep my cat coffee table book pages from curling up

I have this big gorgeous book "Cats in Paris" and the pages kept curling on the edges (drives me crazy). I tried weighting it down with other books but that didn't stick. Then I read somewhere to gently iron the pages with a low heat setting and a cloth in between - actually worked after just 5 minutes per page. Has anyone else tried this trick or do you have a better method for fixing warped pages?

2 comments

c/cosmetologists•

lisa671•9d ago

Overheard a stylist say she trims her clients wet AND dry now - I used to think that was crazy

I always did everything dry. Wet cuts seemed risky to me, like you cant see how the hair actually falls. But I was at a workshop last Tuesday in a little salon in St. Paul and this older stylist was talking about how she does a rough wet cut first to get the shape, then goes back dry to refine. She said it saves her like 15 minutes per client because shes not fighting with flyaways. Tried it on my 2:30 appointment yesterday and honestly it worked way better than I expected. Way less mistakes with layers. Has anyone else switched up their cutting order like that?

2 comments

c/automotive-mods•

lisa671•10d ago

Guy at a gas station changed how I think about exhaust work

I was fueling up at a Shell station near Portland last Tuesday. Some older dude in a beat-up Fox body Mustang pulls up next to me. He hears my car idling and just says 'that header wrap is doing you zero favors.' I asked him what he meant. He explained how wrapped headers trap moisture against the metal. Over time it rots the pipes from the inside out. He showed me his car had bare stainless headers with zero wrap after 80,000 miles. Never even thought about that. Anyone else seen long-term damage from header wrap?

2 comments

c/coffee-enthusiasts•

lisa671•15d ago

That old guy at the farmer's market roast changed how I brew pour over

There was this older gentleman, maybe 70, at the little roaster tent near the park downtown. I was complaining about how my V60 always came out bitter. He just looked at me, picked up one of their sample cups, and said 'You're pouring too fast and too hot, let the water do the work not your impatience.' Then he showed me his slow spiral pour over like 4 minutes. Tried it at home the next day with a thermometer and a timer. First cup was actually drinkable without adding sugar. Anyone else have a random stranger fix a bad habit for you?

2 comments

c/astronomy-photos•

lisa671•15d ago

My telescope mount gave up during the Perseids last month

I was out near Lake Arrowhead with my Celestron AVX mount all set up for the meteor shower, and 20 minutes in the motor just seized up completely. Turns out the grease had hardened because it was 45 degrees and I forgot to warm it up beforehand. Did a quick manual track with my phone's compass app until the show ended. Has anyone else had their gear fail at the worst possible moment?

2 comments

c/carry-on-only-packing•

lisa671•15d ago

Why does nobody talk about vacuum bags for carry-on luggage

I spent $30 on a set of compression vacuum bags for my last trip to Europe, and they saved me from having to check a bag on Ryanair. Has anyone else tried these for a longer trip, or do they usually just spring leaks after a few uses?

2 comments

Recent Comments

2d ago

My quick-dry towel trick saved space on a 2 week trip to Portland

Oh man, that's the thing nobody really talks about with microfiber. Honestly, the problem isn't just the drying itself, it's that the fabric traps oils and dead skin deeper than cotton does. So even if you rinse it well, that stuff starts breaking down after a couple days and that's what gives you the musty smell. Plus most people don't realize you're not supposed to use fabric softener or dryer sheets with them either, that completely ruins the fibers and makes them even worse at absorbing water. Tbh I switched to a linen blend towel for travel and it's the happy medium. It dries fast like microfiber but doesn't get that weird slimy texture and actually wicks moisture away from your skin instead of just pushing it around.

2d ago

Spent $200 on a Kirby Morgan band mask that saved my teeth on a harbor job in Portland

Oh man, "piece of debris slammed into my faceplate" gave me chills. That's the kind of hit where you'd be spitting out teeth for days if you were in a cheap rental mask. I've had a knockoff mask fog up on me in cold water and I was so worried something else would go wrong. Good on you for investing in the band mask, sounds like it paid off big time. Glad you're okay and not dealing with dental bills on top of everything.

2d ago

Warning: My rooster taught me a lesson about predator protection last month

Got the same thing with my Barred Rock last fall, only I thought he was just being dramatic about a leaf blowing around. Turns out he spotted a weasel hiding in the woodpile three days before I ever saw any tracks. One thing though, roosters don't exactly 'predict' predators. They just notice stuff way before we do because their survival instincts are still fully intact. We've bred that out of ourselves with central heating and grocery stores.

2d ago

Used to judge people who spent $60 on a cat photography book, then my wife brought home that big Yayoi Kusama cat one

Wait, did he actually grow bonsai after that or is he just REALLY into book pages now?

3d ago

The moment I realized I was applying to jobs with a generic resume for 8 months straight

Wait, is it really that different though? I used to swear by the one-size-fits-all resume, but then @ivanb41 got me thinking. I changed up my resume for a single job last month, swapped out a few bullet points to match their posting, and I actually got a callback. Now I'm wondering if I've been doing it wrong this whole time. It feels like more work but maybe that's the price of standing out in a pile of 200 apps.