James Roberts (u/jamesroberts)

Posts

The debate over wire brushes vs poly brushes... my flues look completely different now

I used wire brushes for about 8 years straight, always thought they were the only way to really get creosote off. Then last winter I helped a guy in Denver who only uses poly brushes and his flues were way cleaner than mine after similar jobs. I switched over about 6 months ago and now I'm seeing less scratching on terra cotta liners and the soot comes off in bigger chunks. But I still wonder if poly brushes miss that hard baked on glaze that wire can really dig into. Anyone else switch and notice a difference in their chimney condition over a season or two?

3 comments

c/baking-fails-and-wins•

jamesroberts•17d ago

The guy at the diner who told me my sourdough starter was dead wrong

I was sitting at a counter in a little diner outside Portland last spring, reading a baking book, and this older fella next to me starts talking. He saw the book and said he'd been baking bread since 1972, and then he told me my sourdough starter was probably dead because I was feeding it white flour only. He insisted I needed to mix in some rye to keep the yeast happy. Has anyone else had a stranger at a random spot give you baking advice that actually turned out to be true?

3 comments

c/coffee-shop-chronicles•

jamesroberts•18d ago

The old coffee shop on 3rd Ave finally ditched their mismatched mugs

I've been going to Brew & Bean on 3rd Ave for about 4 years now. For the longest time every drink came in a different chipped thrift store mug, which had its own charm. Last month they switched to all matching ceramic cups, same style in three sizes. Honestly feels a little sterile now, the old collection gave the place personality. Anybody else notice a local spot lose its character after a change like that?

3 comments

c/analog-adventures•

jamesroberts•21d ago

Compared hand filing to using a jig for dovetails and wow what a difference.

I spent 3 years fighting with loose joints and bruised knuckles trying to do them freehand on pine boards. Switched to a $15 store bought jig last weekend and got perfect fits on my first try has anyone else had that kind of night and day shift in their woodworking?

3 comments

c/cable-installers•

jamesroberts•1mo ago

PSA: The difference in signal loss between cheap RG59 and proper RG6 after 5 years in a Phoenix attic

I pulled out some old RG59 I installed back in 2019 during a service call last week and the signal loss was almost 6 dB worse than the RG6 I put in a similar attic job 3 years ago. The heat in Phoenix just cooks the cheaper cable way faster, the dielectric gets brittle and you lose all your return path strength. Has anyone else noticed this kind of fade difference between cable types over time in extreme climates?

3 comments

c/conspiracy-debates•

jamesroberts•1mo ago

TIL about the Denver Airport runway conspiracy and it blew my mind

Was reading about the Denver Airport stuff last night and found out there's this whole theory about the runways being shaped like a swastika. Apparently they were built in the 90s and the layout is supposed to align with some secret underground base. Has anyone else looked into the tunnel system under the airport? I keep seeing conflicting reports about how deep they actually go.

3 comments

c/aircraft-mechanics•

jamesroberts•1mo ago

Vent: I think the push for all composite repairs in GA is moving too fast

Honestly, I've seen a big change in the last five years at our shop in Daytona. We went from maybe one composite patch job a month to three or four a week now on older Cessnas and Pipers. Everyone says it's the future because it's lighter and stronger. But tbh, I'm not fully sold. Last week I had to redo a bonded repair on a 172 flap that a different shop did just two years ago. The patch looked perfect on the surface, but moisture got in between the layers and started to delaminate. We found it during a routine inspection. The old way, drilling out the bad skin and riveting in a doubler, might add a tiny bit of weight, but you can see every part of it and it lasts the life of the plane. With composites, if the prep isn't perfect in a hidden spot, you get a hidden problem. Has anyone else had to fix a failed composite repair that looked good from the outside?

3 comments

c/florists•

jamesroberts•1mo ago

Tried a new flower food packet from a local supplier and it turned my white roses brown

I got a sample of these new 'long life' flower food packets from a supplier at the Denver market last month. The guy said they were great for delicate blooms, so I tried them on a batch of white garden roses for a wedding order. Within 24 hours, the edges of every single petal started to turn a nasty brown, almost like they were burnt. I lost the whole batch, about 40 stems, and had to do a mad rush re-order. I think the mix was way too strong, maybe the pH was off. I've gone back to my trusted brand, but it was a costly lesson to always test a small bunch first, especially with white flowers. Has anyone else had a flower food react badly with a specific bloom?

3 comments

c/career-advice•

jamesroberts•1mo ago

A manager in Dallas told me my project idea was 'cute' in a team meeting.

We were all in the conference room last Tuesday, and I had just finished showing my slides for a new client process. He leaned back, looked right at me, and said, 'That's a cute idea, but we need real solutions here.' It wasn't the word itself, it was the tone that made my face get hot. I spent two weeks on that plan. Has anyone else had a boss talk down to them like that, and how did you handle it?

3 comments

c/first-time-buyers•

jamesroberts•1mo ago

Showerthought: my credit score jumped 40 points in 6 months just by paying a card on time

I got my first card after moving to Phoenix and was only making the minimum payment... my score was stuck around 620. My loan officer told me to pay the full balance for two cycles, so I did. It went up to 660 last week, which just got me pre-approved. Has anyone else seen a big jump from something simple like that?

3 comments