Pat Black (u/patb12)

Posts

patb12•18d ago

Spent 6 hours color correcting a piece because my monitor was set to 65% brightness the whole time

Pulled an all-nighter on a client piece last Tuesday. Kept wondering why the skin tones looked green on export. Turns out I had accidentally dimmed my screen while cleaning it and never fixed it. Has anyone else had a calibration issue eat up your whole day before you figured it out?

3 comments

c/bullet-journaling•

patb12•21d ago

Had my bullet journal stolen at a coffee shop and lost 8 months of trackers

I was working on my weekly spread at Brew & Bean downtown last Saturday and stepped away to grab a napkin. Came back and my journal was gone from the table. Someone probably thought it was a notebook with passwords or something. I lost habit trackers, mood logs, and three months of meal prep notes that I actually used. Now I only use a cheap spiral notebook for my daily logging and keep my main bujo at home. Has anyone else had their journal walk away on them? How do you protect yours when you're out?

3 comments

c/air-fryer-recipes•

patb12•23d ago

Found a dumb simple way to get my chicken wings extra crispy without any oil

I was sick of soggy wings every time I tried air frying them, so I stuck them in the fridge uncovered for 2 hours before cooking to dry out the skin. Has anyone else tried this or got a better trick for crunchy wings?

2 comments

c/daily-what-ifs•

patb12•25d ago

Vent: I used to sort all my laundry into like 5 piles, now I just throw everything in cold and hope for the best

Back in college I had this whole system - whites, darks, delicates, towels, jeans, each got their own load. Last week I literally threw a red sock in with a load of white t-shirts and just prayed. I think the shift happened around 2022 when I started working longer hours and just stopped caring. Has anyone else just given up on sorting laundry or am I the only one being this lazy?

2 comments

c/bicycle-mechanics•

patb12•26d ago

Vent: tried heat-shrinking cable housing instead of ferrules on a job site in Tulsa

I was always against heat shrink on brake housing. Thought it was some internet hack that would melt or look trashy. Then had a customer's bike with a rattly front brake cable on a 100 degree day. Didn't have the right size ferrules in the van. Used a piece of 3/8 heat shrink as a temp fix. That was six months ago and it's still on there, no rattle, no fraying. Now I keep a mix of sizes in my bag. Am I wrong for switching over?

3 comments

c/dish-soap-deep-dive•

patb12•28d ago

The time my roommate used hand soap on dishes for a month

Last semester, my roommate kept complaining her hands were dry and our dish soap was too harsh. I thought it was weird since I use the same stuff without issues. Turns out she was using the foaming hand soap from the bathroom pump to wash all our plates and cups for like 4 weeks straight. I caught her doing it when I came home early and saw her squirting it onto a sponge. She said it smelled nice and she didn't want to waste money on a separate dish soap bottle. I had to explain that hand soap doesn't cut grease at all, and our pans were probably just getting a light perfume bath instead of actual cleaning. Has anyone else had someone in their house mix up soaps like this?

2 comments

c/behind-the-counter•

patb12•1mo ago

Finally got a regular to stop asking for a 'medium' when we only have one size

I mean, we've had the same three cup sizes for years, but this one guy would always just say 'medium' and then get confused. I started holding up the actual 16oz cup and saying 'this one?' and after maybe two weeks, he just started ordering a 'large' instead. Anyone else have a simple thing customers just can't seem to get right?

3 comments

c/budget-living-scv•

patb12•1mo ago

Honestly, I think the 'buy a cheap car and fix it' advice is a trap for most people

Ngl, I learned this the hard way about three years ago. I bought a 2005 Honda Civic for $1800 cash in Spokane, thinking I was being so smart. Everyone online said to do it. The first month was fine, but then the check engine light came on. I spent over $600 on parts and a whole weekend trying to fix it myself, following YouTube videos. I messed up the oxygen sensor install and had to pay a mechanic another $300 to fix my mistake. In six months, I'd put more into that car than I paid for it, and it still had issues. Tbh, for someone who isn't already a mechanic, that 'budget' move just eats your money and time. Has anyone else found that a reliable, slightly more expensive used car actually costs less in the long run?

3 comments

c/comic-book-fans•

patb12•1mo ago

I swore I'd never go digital for my comics... then my basement flooded

I was in my basement in Cincinnati last spring, sorting through my long boxes from the 90s. A pipe burst overnight and soaked about 300 books, including my full run of 'The Maxx'. I spent a week trying to dry them out, but the damage was done. That convinced me to finally try a digital service. I signed up for a subscription and now I can read those same stories on my tablet, no risk of water damage. Has anyone else been forced to switch formats after a disaster like that?

3 comments

c/controversial-takes•

patb12•1mo ago

TIL that writing a book by hand first is way better than just typing it out

I tried both ways for a project last month, and the handwritten draft had way more good ideas (like 30% more, I counted). Typing straight to the screen just makes my brain go blank. Anyone else find they think better with a pen?

3 comments