Riley Burns (u/riley595)

Posts

Unpopular opinion: Old school hand planes are better than power planers for trim work

I was talking to an old timer named Joe at a lumber yard outside Portland last week. He said he hasn't touched a power planer in 20 years for baseboards and casings. He claimed his hand plane takes off exactly what he wants and never eats up a corner. Told me my Dewalt planer is just a fancy way to ruin good wood. I've been using power planers for 7 years and never thought twice about it. But then I borrowed his Stanley No. 4 for a door jamb job and honestly the finish was smoother. Is this just old guy nostalgia or am I missing something? Anyone else ditch their power tools for hand tools on finishing work?

2 comments

c/ai-innovations•

riley595•4d ago

Old timer at the hackerspace told me to ditch Jupyter notebooks

Guy named Pete, been coding since the 80s. He said Jupyter is for showing off not building. I ignored him for a year. Then my ML pipeline kept breaking on deployment. Switched to .py scripts with modular functions. Took me 3 weeks to refactor everything but now it actually runs in production. Anyone else get called out for using notebooks?

2 comments

c/baking-fails-and-wins•

riley595•7d ago

Made a choice between butter and shortening for my pie crust last weekend

Ngl, I've always used butter cause it tastes better, but my crusts never came out flaky. I tried a 50/50 mix with shortening for a apple pie last Saturday and it actually turned out way better. The crust held together and still had that buttery taste. Has anyone else found a decent ratio that works for them?

2 comments

c/client-red-flag-watch•

riley595•8d ago

Unpopular take: that client who pays late isn't always the villain

I had a client in Austin last spring who was 45 days late on a $2,800 branding package. Everyone in here would say run, but when I finally talked to her, it turned out she was dealing with a sudden family medical thing and froze up financially. She paid in full with a sincere apology and a $200 bonus after I gave her a two-week grace period. Has anyone else had a late payer turn out to be a decent person once you actually talked to them?

2 comments

c/carpenters•

riley595•9d ago

That customer in Tacoma who asked me to build a birdhouse with a doggy door

I had this guy in Tacoma last summer who insisted his birdhouse needed a doggy door for squirrels. He said, 'They're just furry little neighbors trying to get in.' I built it with a 2 inch flap and he was thrilled. Has anyone else gotten weird custom requests like that?

2 comments

c/bad-design-hall-of-fame•

riley595•10d ago

Which is worse - a light switch plate that's upside down or a door handle that's at waist height?

I walked into a newly renovated diner in St. Louis last week and found the light switches upside down with the word OFF printed on top, plus the bathroom door handle was mounted at 24 inches off the floor. To use the light you had to flip it down to turn it on, and to open the door you had to bend over like you were bowing. Which design sin gets your vote for the most annoying to deal with daily?

2 comments

c/cybersecurity-tips•

riley595•11d ago

Just realized my roommate has been reusing the same password for 8 years

I was helping my roommate set up a new streaming account last night and noticed he typed in the same combo he uses for everything including his bank. He got defensive when I pointed it out and said he has 'never had a problem' with it. How do you convince someone to switch to a password manager without sounding like a lecture?

2 comments

c/edmonton-home-renovations•

riley595•13d ago

My plumber laughed at me for using silicone caulk around the toilet base

He said I should have used a wax ring with a plastic horn instead, and after he showed me how the silicone traps moisture and rots the subfloor over time, am I the only one who never thought about that?

2 comments

c/digital-art-showcase•

riley595•14d ago

Found out the hard way that Procreate's default canvas settings aren't great for prints

Last month I started making art for a small zine project with some friends. I just opened Procreate and started drawing like I always do. When I went to export at 300 DPI for the printer, my canvas was way too small. The image came out blurry and pixelated at any decent size. I had to redo three pieces from scratch. Now I always set my canvas to 8.5x11 inches at 300 DPI before I even put down a line. Has anyone else had a similar rude awakening with print settings?

2 comments

c/board-game-geeks•

riley595•1mo ago

I used to hate deck builders. A buddy changed my mind last week.

Three years ago I tried Dominion at a game cafe in Portland. Hated it. Felt like I was just shuffling cards and hoping for good draws. Last week my friend forced me to play Clank! at his place. The board gives you a reason to build your deck. You're actually moving a piece and making choices based on where you go. That physical goal made the whole deck building thing click for me. Now I'm looking at the rules for a few other deck builders with a board attached. Has anyone else had a specific game change their mind on a whole mechanic?

2 comments