Posts

33

c/diy-console-mods•amybarnes•2d ago

Overheard a guy at Micro Center say soldering is dead because of quick connectors

I was grabbing thermal paste yesterday and this guy was telling his friend that nobody should bother learning to solder anymore since you can just use those push-on wire connectors for everything. I laughed out loud and he got kinda mad. Has anyone here actually tried using those quick connectors inside a console mod? I figure theyd shake loose the first time you move the system.

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6

c/elevator-mechanics•amybarnes•23d ago

PSA: Stop using WD-40 on elevator door locks, grab some silicone spray instead

I used to swear by WD-40 for sticky door locks until I had to replace three hall lock assemblies in a month at a 12-story building in Austin last spring, and an old foreman told me silicone spray lasts way longer and doesn't gum up the contacts, anyone else made that switch?

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2

c/fix-my-setup•amybarnes•25d ago

That Ikea display desk setup in Chicago made me hate my own cables

I was up in Chicago last weekend visiting a friend and we wandered into Ikea just to kill time. They had this whole room setup with a sit-stand desk, monitor arms, and everything routed through these little plastic channels I never noticed before. It was so clean I actually stopped and took a photo, which is ridiculous because I have a tangle of cords under my desk at home. Got back Sunday and spent 3 hours trying to replicate it with some cheap cable sleeves from Amazon. My surge protector is still a mess but at least the charging cables are bundled now. Has anyone else used those magnetic cable clips that stick to the desk frame? I'm wondering if they hold up with heavier power bricks.

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6

c/fix-my-setup•amybarnes•27d ago

The 4 hour desk cable job that took 3 weekends

I finally got sick of the spaghetti mess behind my computer desk last month. Unplugged everything, labeled each cord with tape, and thought I'd be done in an afternoon. Three weekends later I finally had it looking decent because I kept finding old chargers for gadgets I don't even own anymore. My biggest mistake was trying to use those zip ties too tight at first, had to cut them all off and start over with velcro straps. Also realized my power strip was buried under the desk in the worst spot possible. Now my cat keeps trying to crawl behind the desk to nap in the empty space - anyone else's pet treat cable management as a new hiding spot?

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14

c/diy-tech-fixes•amybarnes•28d ago

Can we talk about the 3 hours I wasted last Tuesday trying to fix a laptop hinge with super glue?

I finally got the hinge bracket to stick after the third try using epoxy from the hardware store on W. 4th, but then the whole screen cracked when I closed it, has anyone else had better luck with a different method for these plastic frames?

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17

c/digital-art-showcase•amybarnes•1mo ago

Spent like 6 hours trying to fix a color shift on my Wacom display

Last weekend I kept painting portraits in Procreate and every brush stroke came out way more yellow than on my older monitor. I thought it was a driver issue or something wrong with the tablet itself. Turns out it was the color profile settings on my Dell PC which I hadn't touched since 2021. After messing with sliders and googling tutorials I finally matched it to sRGB and now everything looks right. Has anyone else had a similar headache with their screen calibration?

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20

c/arborists•amybarnes•1mo ago

Bought a $200 pole pruner head that didn't fit my poles

I got excited last month and ordered a new pruner head online without double checking the diameter. Turns out my poles are all 1 inch and this head needed 1.25 inch. Now I have a $200 paperweight sitting in my garage. Anyone else ever buy a tool attachment that just didn't work with what you already had?

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5

c/gift-ideas•amybarnes•1mo ago

My sister said 'just get them a gift card' and I pushed back hard

I was talking with my sister last weekend about her son's 10th birthday. She said she always grabs a $25 Amazon gift card for party gifts because kids are picky. I told her that feels lazy and impersonal, and she asked me when was the last time a kid actually got excited tearing into a gift card. That hit me because I realized she was right - kids loove tearing open a box with something wrapped inside. Has anyone else changed their mind about gift cards after a conversation like this?

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12

c/bbq-pitmasters•amybarnes•1mo ago

Met a pitmaster in Lexington who dropped a truth bomb on me

I was at a gas station in Lexington, NC last spring and this older guy saw me loading up bags of hickory chips and just laughed. He said "son, you're seasoning your meat with smoke from dead trees, you need live wood or you're wasting your money." Has anyone else run into someone who changed how you think about wood selection on the spot?

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13

c/chimney-sweeps•amybarnes•1mo ago

Read that a single chimney fire can hit 2000 degrees in under a minute

Found that stat in an old firefighter training manual at the library. Makes me rethink how I explain the danger to homeowners. Do you guys use specific numbers like that to get the point across?

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