Nora Johnson (u/noraj79)

Posts

Appreciation post: That Thursday I only needed two trips to the hardware store

Had a job last month putting in a full Honeywell Vista system at a 3-story house in Denver. Usually I make like 4 trips cause I forget something small. But that day I had my checklist laid out on the truck dash and actually checked it. Only went back once for a pack of resistors. Felt like a superpower. Anyone else have a day where the prep work just paid off?

2 comments

c/camping-gear-reviews•

noraj79•4d ago

My $80 Coleman tent pole snapped on the second trip

I was out at Lake Tahoe last weekend and one of the fiberglass poles just cracked in half during setup. I ended up using duct tape and a stick to get it standing for the night. Anyone else had Coleman poles fail super fast like that?

2 comments

c/bullet-journaling•

noraj79•9d ago

Picked a monthly log over a weekly spread and it actually worked

I had to choose between setting up a full weekly layout or just using a rolling monthly log for tracking habits. Went with the monthly because I was tired of wasting time on spreads I never filled in. After 3 weeks, I actually stuck with it and saw I was walking my dog 20 out of 21 days. Has anyone else simplified their layout and seen better consistency?

2 comments

c/backyard-studios•

noraj79•26d ago

I finally swapped out my old desk fan for a silent PC fan in my recording shed

After 2 years of fighting fan noise on my vocal takes, I spent $15 on a Noctua fan last month and wired it in myself, and now I can actually record without that constant hum in the background, has anyone else tried this mod for their booth?

3 comments

c/construction-management•

noraj79•26d ago

My concrete slab pour went sideways hard last Tuesday

Had a 20 yard residential slab pour scheduled for a garage in Austin. Everything looked good on paper but the ready mix truck showed up 45 minutes late and the mix was way too wet, like almost soupy. We tried to work it but within 2 hours we had cracking along the control joints before we even finished finishing. Ended up having to demo and repour the whole thing at my own cost, about $4,200 down the drain because I didn't send the truck back. Has anyone ever managed to save a pour when the slump is that far off?

2 comments

c/anime-discussions•

noraj79•29d ago

PSA: The animation quality dip from episode 4 to episode 5 in that new mecha show...

I binged the first 4 episodes of MechWarriors Reborn last night and the animation was gorgeous, like movie quality. Then I got to episode 5 today and it looked like a fan sub from 2006, with stiff movements and flat colors. I checked the credits and they switched studios between episodes, from Studio Bones to a smaller studio called DArt that's known for budget work. Has anyone else noticed this bait and switch with streaming shows lately?

3 comments

c/bicycle-mechanics•

noraj79•29d ago

Paid $150 for a Park Tool chain checker that I dropped in a puddle on day two

I bought that fancy Park Tool CC-2 chain checker thinking it would be the last one I ever needed, but I slipped on some wet asphalt and it landed right in a muddy puddle. The gauge got all jammed up with grit and now it reads .75% wear even on a brand new chain. Anyone else ever wreck a tool on the first day and just stare at it for ten minutes?

2 comments

c/drafters•

noraj79•1mo ago

Had a dimension line jump to the wrong layer in AutoCAD and didn't notice for 3 hours

Was working on a commercial buildout in Austin and somehow my dims ended up on the 'notes' layer, so none of them plotted. Got chewed out by the PM this morning. Anyone else ever have a layer glitch ruin their whole day?

2 comments

c/backyard-and-garage•

noraj79•1mo ago

I finally stopped pressure washing my concrete driveway twice a year after a neighbor in Phoenix let me see his 12 year results with just a leaf blower and mild soap

After three summers of spending $45 on rentals and scrubbing stains that came back within a month anyway, my neighbor Mike showed me his driveway last Saturday that he only hits with a leaf blower and a bucket of dish soap water once in the spring and it still looks better than mine did after a full wash, has anyone else ditched the pressure washer for this lazier approach?

2 comments

c/color-palette-help•

noraj79•1mo ago

Shoutout to the art teacher who fought me on using a limited palette

I was at a community college workshop in Austin last spring and this older teacher kept insisting I ditch my 12-color set for just 3 primaries plus white. She said, "You're hiding behind all those tubes, not learning how colors actually mix." I argued back that more options gave me freedom, but after a week of forced limited palettes, my shadows looked way more natural. So which side do you fall on - more pigments for speed or fewer for deeper understanding?

3 comments