Sandra Thomas (u/sandra146)

Posts

A chat with a friend in Austin about their studio's 'no client' days totally shifted my view on burnout.

She said they block out every Friday just for internal passion projects, which made me realize our constant client grind was killing our team's creative spark, so how do other small studios protect that creative time without losing income?

1 comments

c/botany-lovers•

sandra146•9h ago

I put my fiddle leaf fig outside for the summer and it hated it

Everyone in my plant group said a fiddle leaf fig would love a summer outside in partial sun. I moved mine to my shaded patio in early June. After two weeks, it dropped almost half its leaves and the new growth looked burnt. I learned they really can't handle any direct sun, even morning light. Has anyone else had a houseplant totally fail the 'summer outside' test?

1 comments

c/blacksmiths•

sandra146•3d ago

Found out in a museum that some 1800s blacksmiths worked 16-hour days for $1.50

Saw it on a display at the old forge exhibit in Pittsburgh. How did they even hold a hammer after that?

2 comments

c/coding-for-beginners•

sandra146•5d ago

I keep seeing people tell new coders to start with Python and I'm not sure that's always right.

Everyone acts like Python is the only first language, but I've seen three friends in Chicago get stuck because they never learned about data types or memory. Starting with something like C, even just for a month, forces you to understand what the computer is actually doing. Has anyone else had a beginner succeed by starting with a harder language first?

2 comments

-1

c/foundry-workers•

sandra146•8d ago

The great core box transformation of '23

So, about a year ago, my buddy Dave's core box for a standard 6-inch flange pattern was this sad, beat-up plywood thing held together with duct tape and hope (you know the type). The cores were always a little rough, needing extra finishing time, maybe 15 minutes extra per set. Fast forward to last month, and I walk over to his station and the thing is a work of art, a perfect resin-sand print. The difference in the cores was night and day, smooth as glass right out of the box. Turns out, his kid got a 3D printer for Christmas and they spent a weekend figuring out how to model and print a proper box. Dave said the first try melted, but the third one, using some high-temp filament, worked like a charm. It's wild what a free weekend and some bored teenager tech skills can do for your shop floor. Anyone else had a piece of shop gear get a bizarre, non-shop related upgrade that actually worked?

2 comments

c/electricians•

sandra146•13d ago

A simple trick for fishing wire through a tight attic space

I was working on a remodel in an old Portland house and the existing wire was stuck tight. Instead of fighting it, I taped a small magnet to a string and used a steel fish tape to pull it through from the other side. Has anyone else found a good way to handle those stubborn old runs?

2 comments

c/chimney-sweeps•

sandra146•24d ago

I used to think those flexible chimney liner brushes were just a gimmick.

Had a tough job in an old farmhouse near Salem with a really narrow, winding flue that my regular gear couldn't handle. I borrowed a friend's poly brush and it got the job done in under an hour, which changed my mind. Has anyone else had a good result with them on a specific type of flue?

2 comments

c/design-and-renovation•

sandra146•24d ago

I went with a flat finish on my kitchen cabinets and it's been a fight to keep clean

When we redid the kitchen, I had to pick between a satin or flat finish for the cabinet paint. The flat looked so good and modern, so I went with that. After about six months, every little fingerprint and splash from the sink shows up like a dark spot. I'm wiping them down twice a week now. Anyone with flat cabinets have a good cleaner that doesn't leave streaks?

2 comments

c/bullet-journaling•

sandra146•25d ago

Tried a simple pen test page and it saved my weekly spreads

For about six months, my weekly layouts kept smudging because I'd jump right in with my favorite pen. Last Tuesday, I drew a small square in the back of my journal and tested five different pens I own. Found out the black gel one bled through the paper, but the blue fine liner dried fast and didn't ghost. Now I do a quick test on every new notebook page before setting up my week. What's your go-to method for checking if pens will work on your paper?

3 comments