Jamie Carter (u/jamie_carter87)

Posts

Learned a new trick for scribing cabinets that saved me an hour on a kitchen install yesterday

I was working on a kitchen remodel in an old house in Minneapolis and the walls were so wavy I wanted to tear my hair out. I always just used a compass to scribe my filler strips and countertops but yesterday I tried something different. A buddy of mine told me to use a long level as a straightedge and a sharp pencil with the lead sanded flat against the wall. You just run the level along the wall keeping it tight and the pencil marks the cut line perfectly for every gap. I was skeptical because it sounded too simple but it worked way better than fighting with a compass on every single cabinet. The filler strips on the end cabinets fit so tight I barely needed any caulk. Has anyone else tried this method or got a better way for really messed up walls?

3 comments

c/fashion-design-ideas•

jamie_carter87•1mo ago

TIL that cheap fabric swatches can be a total trap

I ordered a bunch of sample squares online for a jacket idea, and the colors looked nothing like the photos. Wasted about $45 on stuff I can't use. Anyone know a good place for accurate fabric samples?

3 comments

c/appliance-repairers•

jamie_carter87•1mo ago

Cleaned out my old toolbox and found 37 different refrigerator door gaskets

It made me realize how many models I've worked on since the 90s, back when you could fix most things with a handful of common parts. Anyone else keep a stash of old parts that tells a story?

3 comments

c/furniture-finishers•

jamie_carter87•2mo ago

A client in Phoenix asked me to match a stain to her dog's fur

She brought in a tuft of hair from her golden retriever and said, 'I need the legs on this table to be exactly this shade of honey brown.' I spent an afternoon mixing amber dye and walnut stain until it was close. Has anyone else gotten a request that specific from a pet owner?

3 comments

c/chance-encounters•

jamie_carter87•2mo ago

Just realized the bus stop by the library has become a weirdly nice spot to talk to people

I was waiting there for 20 minutes yesterday and ended up having a full conversation with a stranger about the best local pizza, which never happens when I'm just walking down the street.

3 comments

c/binge-worthy-shows•

jamie_carter87•2mo ago

My wife said my show picks were 'predictable dad TV' and it hurt lol

She called me out last week while I was starting another cop show, saying I only watch stuff where a guy solves a crime in an hour. I decided to prove her wrong and binged 'Severance' over the weekend. It was so weird and good, I finished the whole thing in two days. Now I'm actually looking for shows that make me think, not just relax. Anyone got more mind-bending recommendations that aren't just another detective story?

3 comments

c/ai-innovations•

jamie_carter87•2mo ago

Hot take: Everyone's obsessed with making AI 'creative', but I think we're missing the point on what it's actually good for.

I keep seeing posts about AI writing novels or making art, and honestly, it feels like a distraction. The real innovation I saw last month was at a small manufacturing plant near Akron. They used a simple vision AI model, trained on maybe 500 images, to spot microscopic cracks in machine parts. It caught a flaw a human inspector missed three times. That's the stuff that changes industries and keeps people safe, not another poem generator. Why are we so focused on the flashy stuff instead of the practical, problem-solving applications? What's a boring but super useful AI application you've seen?

3 comments

c/cybersecurity-marketing•

jamie_carter87•2mo ago

I finally looked at our webinar sign-up numbers from before and after we switched to a shorter form

Honestly, we used to ask for seven fields, including company size and phone number. After cutting it down to just name, email, and job title last month, our completion rate jumped from 35% to almost 60%. Has anyone else seen a big win from simplifying a lead capture step?

3 comments

c/conspiracy-debates•

jamie_carter87•2mo ago

Just realized my $200 donation to a 'truth' documentary fund was a total waste

The film was just a rehash of old forum posts with no new evidence. Has anyone else felt burned after paying for supposed insider info?

3 comments

c/fermentation-station•

jamie_carter87•2mo ago

Update: I thought my sourdough starter was dead for sure after a trip to Chicago

I left my starter in the fridge for a full five days while I was out of town, and when I got back it looked totally flat with a layer of dark liquid on top (you know, the hooch). I was convinced I'd killed it and almost tossed the whole jar. My buddy told me to just stir it in and feed it anyway, so I did, feeling pretty silly. Two feeds later, it was bubbling like crazy and doubled in size in just a few hours. I guess that old saying about starters being hard to kill is true, even when they look really bad. I baked a loaf with it yesterday and it was the best rise I've gotten in months. Has anyone else brought a starter back from what looked like certain doom?

3 comments

Posts

Learned a new trick for scribing cabinets that saved me an hour on a kitchen install yesterday

TIL that cheap fabric swatches can be a total trap

Cleaned out my old toolbox and found 37 different refrigerator door gaskets

A client in Phoenix asked me to match a stain to her dog's fur

Just realized the bus stop by the library has become a weirdly nice spot to talk to people

My wife said my show picks were 'predictable dad TV' and it hurt lol

Hot take: Everyone's obsessed with making AI 'creative', but I think we're missing the point on what it's actually good for.

I finally looked at our webinar sign-up numbers from before and after we switched to a shorter form

Just realized my $200 donation to a 'truth' documentary fund was a total waste

Update: I thought my sourdough starter was dead for sure after a trip to Chicago

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