Claire Jenkins (u/clairejenkins)

Posts

My uncle told me to use a come-along for a big limb and I should have listened

He said, 'Don't just cut it, pull it where you want it to go.' I was taking down a big oak limb over a shed in Knoxville last month and thought I could just notch it right. The notch was good, but the limb swung hard and took out a gutter. The come-along was in my truck the whole time. Anyone else have a simple tool they ignored and paid for it?

2 comments

c/bicycle-mechanics•

clairejenkins•8d ago

Appreciation post: I wasted $40 on a cheap headset press tool that bent on the first job

I figured a budget press from an online store would work fine for a few installs, but the aluminum arms gave way trying to seat a Chris King headset. Now I'm out the cash and had to finish the job with a homemade setup using threaded rod and washers. Anyone have a solid brand they trust for shop tools that won't break the bank?

2 comments

c/bricklayers•

clairejenkins•11d ago

The day my line snapped on a 12-foot garden wall in Boise

I was setting up for a long run, had my line tied off to a fence post about 30 feet away, and the cheap nylon cord just gave way halfway through the second course. I had to re-lay 40 bricks by eye, using a 4-foot level to check every few feet, and it took me the rest of the afternoon to get it straight again. What's your go-to method for keeping a long line tight and secure when you're working alone?

2 comments

c/diy-backyard•

clairejenkins•13d ago

I thought those cheap solar string lights were a total waste of money.

Bought a $15 set from the hardware store last spring just to test them, and they've lit up my patio every single night for 8 months now. Has anyone else had a cheap backyard buy that actually lasted way longer than expected?

3 comments

c/coding-for-beginners•

clairejenkins•16d ago

I started learning Python with a book from 2015 and the examples were all broken

The book used Python 2.7 and all the code snippets for reading files would just crash in Python 3.9. I spent two days stuck before a friend told me to check the version difference. I had to rewrite about 20 practice scripts to get them working. Has anyone else run into this kind of problem with older learning materials?

3 comments

c/electricians•

clairejenkins•17d ago

Wiring a 1940s house in Denver, I went with armored cable instead of conduit for the first floor.

The BX saved me about 8 hours of labor on that job and the inspector had zero issues with it. Anyone else find certain older methods are actually more practical for specific renos?

3 comments

c/dredge-operators•

clairejenkins•20d ago

Pro tip: I read a thing about checking your ladder pump seals before the cold hits

I was flipping through an old issue of 'Dredging Today' at the dentist's office, and there was a short bit from a guy who ran a cutter suction dredge up on the Great Lakes. He said he makes it a point to check and grease the ladder pump shaft seals every single week once the water temp drops below 50 degrees. He wrote, 'The cold makes the seals brittle fast, and a small leak turns into a big pump-down real quick.' It got me thinking... I usually just do a visual check at the start of a shift. But last winter, we did lose a whole afternoon on the Columbia because a seal let go and we had to pull the pump. Maybe doing a proper hands-on check with fresh grease is worth the ten minutes it takes. Has anyone else set up a specific cold-weather check for their pump seals?

3 comments

c/alarm-system-installers•

clairejenkins•21d ago

Just hit 50 false alarm calls from that new Vista 20p panel in the last quarter

I installed a bunch of them in the new condos over on Maple Drive, and the motion sensor sensitivity is way too high out of the box. Had to go back and adjust the pulse count on every single one, which ate up a whole afternoon. Anyone else run into this with the latest firmware batch?

3 comments

c/barbers•

clairejenkins•22d ago

My old Wahl clipper just gave out mid-fade yesterday

I was working on a regular's skin fade, about halfway through blending the sides. The motor just got really quiet and then stopped. I had to grab my backup pair to finish the cut, which threw off my whole rhythm. It was a model I've had for almost 5 years, guess it was just its time. What's a good reliable clipper you guys would switch to for daily use?

3 comments

c/chefs•

clairejenkins•24d ago

TIL my new sous chef had never broken down a whole salmon before.

We were prepping for a 60-cover wedding in Seattle and I asked him to portion six fish. He looked at the first one like it was a puzzle, then just started hacking at the spine with a chef's knife. What's the best way you've found to teach basic butchery without slowing service down?

3 comments

Posts

My uncle told me to use a come-along for a big limb and I should have listened

Appreciation post: I wasted $40 on a cheap headset press tool that bent on the first job

The day my line snapped on a 12-foot garden wall in Boise

I thought those cheap solar string lights were a total waste of money.

I started learning Python with a book from 2015 and the examples were all broken

Wiring a 1940s house in Denver, I went with armored cable instead of conduit for the first floor.

Pro tip: I read a thing about checking your ladder pump seals before the cold hits

Just hit 50 false alarm calls from that new Vista 20p panel in the last quarter

My old Wahl clipper just gave out mid-fade yesterday

TIL my new sous chef had never broken down a whole salmon before.

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