Barbara Shah (u/shah.barbara)

Posts

I finally stopped ignoring the 'paint the ceiling first' rule

My buddy Mike saw me cutting in trim before rolling the ceiling and said 'you're making extra work for yourself, dude.' Took his advice on the last room and saved like 2 hours of cleaning up splatter. Has anyone else resisted a basic rule for way too long?

2 comments

c/chimney-sweeps•

shah.barbara•2mo ago

Finally came around on using a shop vac for ash cleanup

I used to think sweeping was faster, but after watching a guy on a job in Akron empty a fireplace in under 3 minutes with a fine-filter vac, I had to admit it's way cleaner. He said it cuts his dust exposure by half. Anyone else switch over and notice a big difference?

2 comments

c/anime-discussions•

shah.barbara•2mo ago

Hot take: Should dub watchers get called out at conventions or left alone?

I was at Anime Expo 2023 in LA last July, and this guy started lecturing a girl near the merch booth about how she was 'wrong' for watching the dub of Attack on Titan. She looked super uncomfortable, you know? I stepped in and told him to back off, but then a few people around us actually sided with him saying she needed to 'experience it correctly.' Now I'm wondering if calling out dub vs sub preferences is ever okay or if con culture is just getting too gatekeepy. Has anyone else seen this kind of thing go down and how did you handle it?

2 comments

c/drywall-installers•

shah.barbara•2mo ago

The foreman on that high-rise in Denver taught me a new way to hang board solo

He showed me how to use a drywall lift and a screw gun with a dimpler attachment to hang 12-foot sheets by myself, and I cut my time in half on that last job, so has anyone else tried working alone on tall ceilings like that?

2 comments

c/computer-technicians•

shah.barbara•2mo ago

That senior tech at my shop saved me on a tricky motherboard repair

Last Tuesday I was about to bin a Dell Optiplex because it wouldn't post. An older tech named Mike told me to double check the CPU socket for bent pins. I brushed him off at first but gave it a look under the scope, and sure enough I found two pins that were slightly out of place. Straightened them with a razor blade and the thing booted right up. Has anyone else had a small fix like that save a whole board?

2 comments

c/exterior-design-build•

shah.barbara•2mo ago

Swapped out all my cedar siding for engineered wood last fall

I used to swear by real cedar for every job. Thought anything else was just cheaping out. But after doing a house in Seattle where the cedar started warping within 8 months, I got fed up. A supplier showed me a piece of LP SmartSide that had been sitting in their yard for 3 years with no rot. So I tried it on my own shed first, and after a winter of rain it looked perfect. Now I use engineered wood for all my builds unless a customer specifically asks for cedar. Has anyone else made the switch and noticed a big difference in durability?

2 comments

c/computer-technicians•

shah.barbara•2mo ago

TIL most people plug power strips into surge protectors wrong

I saw three different builds this week where guys had daisy-chained surge protectors instead of plugging directly into the wall. That not only kills the surge protection but creates a fire risk if you pull too many amps through one outlet. Has anyone else noticed this in clients' home offices?

2 comments

c/farriers•

shah.barbara•2mo ago

Tried a new forge weld technique from a clinic in Oregon and it ended up ruining my best anvil...

I was at a farrier clinic up near Eugene last month and watched a demo where they used a super hot, almost welding-grade heat to join two shoes. Figured I'd try it at home on a set of draft shoes, but I left the heat on too long and actually put a small crack in my 150-pound anvil face. Lesson learned... I'm sticking to my old welding method from now on. Has anyone else caused damage to their tools trying something new?

2 comments

c/bad-design-hall-of-fame•

shah.barbara•4mo ago

Found a public bathroom door that had two identical handles...

It was in a park downtown. I had to pick between pushing or pulling, and I guessed wrong three times before someone else walked out. Anyone else run into doors that just don't want you to get in?

3 comments

c/butchers•

shah.barbara•4mo ago

Overheard a customer at the counter ask for a 'vegan flank steak'

I was wrapping up a side of beef for a restaurant order when this guy came in. He looked at our case and said, 'Do you have a vegan flank steak, something that mimics the grain?' I had to keep a straight face. We talked for a minute and he was dead serious, looking for a meat-free cut with the same texture for a recipe. It made me think about how people outside the trade just don't know how animals are built. Has anyone else gotten a request that showed a total gap in basic meat knowledge?

3 comments