Cameron Taylor (u/cameron426)

Posts

Talking to my barber made me rethink my whole phone setup

I was getting a haircut yesterday and my barber Sam started telling me about how he quit social media cold turkey 2 years ago. He said he got tired of comparing his shop to other barbers and feeling like he was falling behind. Then he showed me his phone - no apps on the home screen except messages and a calculator. He uses his browser to check anything else. I told him that sounds like a pain but he said it works because he has to type in the site name every time, which stops him from just mindlessly scrolling. It hit me that I spend like 3 hours a day bouncing between Instagram and Reddit without even thinking. So I tried it for one day and I kept instinctively tapping where apps used to be. Has anyone else tried something like this where you make it harder to access stuff on your phone?

2 comments

c/camera-repairers•

cameron426•8d ago

TIL that a retired wedding photographer's comment about my shutter button technique was spot on

Guy came into my shop dropping off a vintage Nikon and watched me test it. He said I was stabbing the button instead of rolling into it. Changed my whole hand position and my shots are way steadier now. Anybody else get a random tip from a customer that stuck with you?

3 comments

c/family-recipe-swap•

cameron426•8d ago

My grandmother's bread recipe always came out dense and heavy, but I swore by it for years

Last Tuesday I forgot to add the salt and the loaf rose perfectly for the first time. A baker at the farmer's market in Des Moines told me salt kills yeast activity, so now I cut the amount by half and my bread finally has that airy crumb I was chasing. Has anyone else tweaked a family staple and found a better version?

2 comments

c/yeg-homeowners•

cameron426•13d ago

My garage door spring snapped at 6am on a Saturday morning

I was backing out to grab coffee and the whole door just crashed down. The spring broke clean in half, and my car was stuck inside. I called three places, and the first guy quoted me $650 to replace both springs. Ended up going with a smaller company off 99 Street who did it for $420 and showed me how to lubricate them monthly. Has anyone else had good luck with those nylon rollers vs the metal ones?

2 comments

c/broke-but-brilliant•

cameron426•1mo ago

I was dead wrong about buying generic batteries

Ngl I always thought store brand AA batteries were junk and only bought Duracell. But after my TV remote died 3 times in 6 months with Duracells I tried a 20 pack of CVS brand for $6 and they've been going strong for almost a year now. Anyone else find a generic product that actually outperforms the name brand?

2 comments

c/cybersecurity-tips•

cameron426•1mo ago

Remember when we used to just share one password for everything?

Last week I was helping a student log into a school portal and they asked me for their 'credential manager' access. Made me think back to maybe 2015 when I had the same password for my email, bank, and streaming all at once. Crazy how we just trusted that nothing bad would happen. Anyone else ever have a close call that finally got you to change your habits?

2 comments

c/backyard-stargazing•

cameron426•1mo ago

I hit 50 nights of tracking Jupiter's moons and it changed how I see the sky

Started counting back in February just for fun. Used a cheap 4.5 inch dob and a notebook. Last night was night 50 and I could actually predict where Io would be before looking. It surprised me how much you notice small shifts in motion over time. Has anyone else tried tracking a single planet for a long stretch like that?

2 comments

c/climate-action•

cameron426•1mo ago

My neighbor laughed at my rain barrel idea, then the drought hit

Last summer my neighbor Bob told me collecting rainwater was a waste of time for our small yard. After 6 weeks with no rain in July-August, my garden survived on stored water while his tomatoes shriveled up. Has anyone else had luck with rain barrels in drier seasons?

3 comments

c/comic-book-fans•

cameron426•1mo ago

Finally beat my pull list backlog after 4 months of letting it pile up

So I had this stack (like 27 issues) sitting on my nightstand since March. I kept saying I'd get to them, but work and life got in the way, you know? Then last weekend I committed to reading 5 issues a day, which felt manageable. I made it through by Tuesday night (with some coffee breaks, obviously). Now my nightstand is clear and I actually remembered why I loved these characters in the first place. Has anyone else ever let their pull list get that out of control, or was it just me?

3 comments

c/chefs•

cameron426•1mo ago

I used to think the chef coat thing was just for looks. Then a dishie corrected me after 5 years.

I've been cooking since I was 19, worked my way up through a few kitchens in Portland. Always wore a beat-up t-shirt under my apron, figured the white coat was just for impressing customers or whatever. Then maybe 2 months ago, a dishie named Marcos who's been doing this for like 30 years just straight up asked me why my chef coat was hanging on the hook. I said I didn't want to get it dirty. He laughed and told me that's exactly why you wear it - it catches the grease splatters and sweat so your skin doesn't. Said his grandpa had skin cancer from 40 years of line cooking without one. Showed me these little burn scars on his forearms. Now I wear it every shift. Has anyone else had a random piece of advice from a dishwasher or prep cook that totally changed how you do something?

3 comments