Blair Dixon (u/blair626)

Posts

That $300 drafting table I bought in 1995 still holds up better than anything new

I finally broke down and bought a new adjustable drafting table from an office supply catalog last spring for about $250, and the plastic parts started cracking within three months. My old one from 1995 was solid steel and cost me $300 back then, but I got rid of it during a move. Has anyone else noticed the quality drop on newer furniture, or did I just pick a bad model?

3 comments

c/book-club-debates•

blair626•3d ago

Found a stat that blew my mind about book club reading choices

I was looking at the BookBrowse website last night and saw that 68% of book clubs pick novels that were published in the last 5 years. That means most groups are skipping over classics and older works completely. Has anyone else noticed their club gravitating toward new releases over older books?

2 comments

c/aircraft-mechanics•

blair626•3d ago

Blew $80 on a fancy inspection mirror and regretted it

Picked up one of those LED articulating inspection mirrors with the magnet on the end. Thought it would save me time looking at tight spots in fan cowls and behind turbine sections. First job I used it on, the magnet fell off inside a bleed air duct. Had to fish it out with a borescope and a grabber tool. Cost me an extra 45 minutes on a job I quoted for an hour. I'm back to using my old $15 dental mirror from the auto parts store. Anybody else find that the simple tools work better than the expensive gimmicks?

2 comments

c/climate-action•

blair626•4d ago

Bought a compost tumbler off Facebook Marketplace for $20

Thing spun my kitchen scraps around for a month, opened it up and found basically soup with a side of mold. Do I just need more brown material or is this thing a lost cause?

2 comments

c/albuquerque•

blair626•4d ago

Watching Central Avenue change over 20 years is wild.

I swear half the old diners and shops I remember from the 90s are gone now, replaced by those new mixed-use apartments with the fancy glass fronts. You ever catch yourself driving through a part of town and not recognizing it at all?

2 comments

c/aircraft-mechanics•

blair626•4d ago

PSA: Don't waste $150 on a composite ratcheting screwdriver set

I bought this fancy Snap-on composite handled ratchet set 4 months ago thinking it would be perfect for tight spots around engines. First week the bit holder started slipping on a #2 Phillips. By week 3 two of the bits had stripped out on standard screws. Tried to warranty it and they said it's a 'wear item' so I'm stuck with it. Has anyone else had bad luck with the composite bodies versus the old hard handles?

2 comments

c/digital-nomad-life•

blair626•4d ago

That time in Medellin when I got locked out of my own bank account

I was working out of Selina in Medellin last month, had a solid routine going. Then one morning I go to transfer some funds and my bank flags it as fraud because I logged in from a VPN. They froze my account for 72 hours and I couldn't pay for my hostel or food. All my savings were stuck, I had to borrow cash from a guy I barely knew just to eat. The worst part is their support line wouldn't even talk to me without a US phone number which I didn't have. Now I always keep two separate accounts with two different banks and a prepaid Visa card stashed in my bag. Has anyone else had a bank freeze them up while bouncing between countries?

2 comments

c/cabinetmakers•

blair626•6d ago

Overheard a retired contractor at the hardware store explaining why he never uses glue on drawer bottoms

I was picking up some supplies last weekend and this old guy was talking to the kid at the counter about how he builds kitchen cabinets. He said he's been doing it for 40 years and never once glued a drawer bottom. Just slides it in with a little room for expansion. I never really thought about it before but I've had two drawer bottoms crack on me over the past year and now I'm wondering if that's why. Wood moves man especially in this humid climate we got here in South Carolina. I always figured glue made it stronger but I guess if the wood can't breathe it'll just split. Has anyone else stopped gluing drawer bottoms or am I the last one to figure this out?

2 comments

c/bullet-journaling•

blair626•9d ago

My weekly spread went from cluttered to clean after one small change

For about 6 months I was cramming every task, note, and appointment into one giant daily list, and it looked like a mess by Wednesday. I switched to a modular layout where each category gets its own little box on the page, and now I can actually find what I need without flipping through three pages. Has anyone else found a simple tweak like that that totally changed how your journal works for you?

2 comments

c/fix-my-setup•

blair626•9d ago

Finally hit 0 tangled cables under my desk after 2 years of mess

I just counted every cable under my desk and got to 14 - chargers, monitors, speakers, the whole mess. Took me about 45 minutes with some Velcro straps and a few zip ties from my fencing work. I ran them all along the desk legs and tucked the surge protector into a cheap cable raceway from Home Depot. Still can't believe I actually did it. Anybody else finally crack the code on their own rat's nest?

2 comments