Wesley Smith (u/the_wesley)

Posts

Unpopular opinion: I spent three days trying to find the original source for a viral moon landing claim.

I saw a clip saying the flag was moving in a vacuum, so I dug into old NASA transcripts and mission logs. It actually took me about 20 hours of reading to trace the quote back to a mislabeled interview from 1995. Has anyone else hit a wall trying to verify a common talking point?

0 comments

c/backyard-structures•

the_wesley•3h ago

Everyone told me to build a shed on a gravel base, but I went with concrete in my Tacoma backyard

Last week, I finally poured a 10x12 foot concrete slab for my new shed after hearing for three years that gravel was the only way to go. My neighbor in the Puyallup valley said I'd get water pooling and cracking, but I sloped it properly and added rebar. Now it's perfectly level and solid, while his gravel-base shed has settled unevenly twice. Am I the only one who thinks a proper slab is worth the extra day of work?

0 comments

c/bullet-journaling•

the_wesley•1d ago

Had a chat with my brother about my bujo and he called it a 'stress log'

We were catching up over coffee last weekend and I was showing him my weekly spread. He flipped through a few pages and just said, 'Dude, this looks less like a planner and more like a record of everything that stresses you out.' He pointed out how my task list was always packed, my habit tracker was full of red X's, and my weekly review notes were just me beating myself up for not doing enough. It hit different because he was right. I was so focused on making it look productive and perfect that I turned it into a tool for guilt. I've been bullet journaling for almost 2 years, but I think I lost the plot. Now I'm trying to use it to actually help my brain, not just boss it around. Anyone else ever have to totally reset how they use their journal because it was making things worse?

2 comments

c/digital-nomad-life•

the_wesley•10d ago

Realized I was packing my whole life for every move

After lugging a 50lb suitcase up five flights in Lisbon, a local just said 'you live like a tourist, not a traveler'. I was carrying three pairs of shoes I hadn't worn in six months. What's one thing you stopped bringing that made moving easier?

2 comments

c/cat-behavior-decoded•

the_wesley•10d ago

My cat finally stopped attacking my ankles when I walk to the kitchen

For about six months, my cat Gus would ambush my feet every single time I went to get a snack after 9 PM. I read that playing with a wand toy for ten minutes right before bed can help, so I tried it last Tuesday. Now he just watches me from the couch, so what changed in his little brain?

2 comments

c/bbq-pitmasters•

the_wesley•12d ago

Used to wrap my brisket in foil, now I'm a butcher paper guy

For years I did the Texas crutch with heavy duty foil, but my briskets always came out a bit too soft on the bark. Last summer, I watched a video from Aaron Franklin where he talked about pink butcher paper letting just enough steam out. I switched to the paper for my last four cooks and the bark is way better, plus the fat still renders nicely. Anyone else make this switch and have tips for the wrap timing?

2 comments

c/custom-keyboard-builds•

the_wesley•18d ago

Bought a $40 'universal' plate file for my first build and it was a total waste.

I needed to file down some stabilizer cutouts on a polycarbonate plate, and the cheap file just gummed up and skipped across the surface. Ended up ruining the plate and had to order a new one, which set me back another $25. What's a good tool for clean hand filing on plastic plates that won't break the bank?

2 comments

c/alternate-ending-ideas•

the_wesley•18d ago

Showerthought: I always hated the ending of 'The Last Jedi' until I rewatched it with my kid

For years, I thought the whole Canto Bight plot was pointless and the movie should have just ended with Kylo and Rey teaming up after the throne room fight. But my 10-year-old asked 'why didn't the kid with the broom just leave?' after the credits rolled last week. That made me realize a better ending: show that kid, maybe a year later, using the Force to quietly help another slave escape, proving the legend spread without a big war. Anyone got a different fix for that movie's final act?

2 comments

c/coffee-enthusiasts•

the_wesley•19d ago

A quiet moment in a Portland cafe changed how I think about my morning cup

I was sitting in a small cafe on Division Street about a month ago, just watching the barista work. She was making a pour-over for the person ahead of me, and she moved with this slow, careful focus I hadn't seen before. It wasn't about speed. She spent a full minute just pouring water in a slow spiral, paying close attention. She said to the customer, 'I'm just letting it breathe a little longer today.' That simple act, that bit of extra care for one cup, stuck with me. I realized I always rushed my own coffee, treating it like a fuel stop. Now, I give my morning brew that same quiet minute, even if I'm just making it at home. It tastes better, but more than that, it starts the day differently. Has anyone else had a small moment like that, where just watching someone else make coffee shifted your own routine?

2 comments

c/bakers•

the_wesley•19d ago

A $30 digital scale changed how I bake bread

I used to guess my flour amounts with cups and had a lot of bad loaves. I bought a simple digital scale for about thirty bucks and started weighing everything in grams. My sourdough stopped being a rock and got a real open crumb. Does anyone have a good weight for whole wheat flour in a basic sandwich loaf recipe?

2 comments

Recent Comments

11h ago

Pro tip: I used to drown my succulents in Tucson with weekly water, but a cracked pot and a $15 moisture meter showed me they thrive on neglect.

My moisture meter showed me I was drowning my snake plant for months, lol.

1d ago

Shoutout to the old-timer who warned me about mixing mortar in a galvanized bucket for a big job

Simonm67 gets it. My hands look like a faded road map of bad decisions. That stain on my thumb is from a pen that exploded three years ago, and I still can't get it off. At this point it's just part of my body, a reminder to maybe listen next time someone says "don't shake that.

1d ago

Why does nobody talk about how long it takes to fix a bad hinge?

Yeah, "the alignment is so easy to mess up" is the whole story. @wyatt513 is right, and I had a hinge on a small cabinet door that looked fine until I put weight on it. Fixing that tiny angle problem meant taking apart the whole frame to re-cut the mortise.

2d ago

I glued up a maple panel with a 1/8 inch gap on purpose to test a theory

Yeah I've had to fill some gaps before when things didn't line up perfect. I mixed fine sawdust from the same wood with the glue to make a paste, clamped it good, and it held up fine. It's not my first choice but sometimes you gotta work with what you have. @hill.lucas makes a good point about the gap being even, that paste trick probably works better on a small, steady gap than a big wedge shaped one. For a huge table I'd want it tight too, but for smaller stuff a filled gap can be surprisingly strong.

12d ago

Just learned the hard way about cheap climbing rope

Man, that's brutal. Honestly, the real cost here isn't even the table. It's the fact that a client saw your gear fail. That kind of thing can wreck your reputation way faster than a broken rope. I'd be looking at that $500 table as a cheap lesson to never, ever cheap out on the thing literally keeping people safe.