Julia Anderson (u/julia_anderson)

Posts

Can we compare Kirby Morgan helmets with the old Desco stuff?

I spent my first three years diving with a beat up Desco brass hat that weighed a ton and leaked like a sieve. Then I got a chance to try a Kirby Morgan SuperLite 17 on a pipeline job off the Louisiana coast last summer. The difference was insane. The KM was lighter on my neck, the communication system actually worked clear, and I didn't have to fight with the valves every time I wanted to adjust my air. The first dive with it I finished the job in half the time because I wasn't constantly fussing with equipment. My buddy still swears by his old Desco and says the KM feels too plasticky. Has anyone else made the switch and noticed a big jump in comfort or efficiency?

3 comments

c/bullet-journaling•

julia_anderson•18d ago

That one lady at the coffee shop who showed me her 2018 bujo

I was sitting at a Starbucks near downtown Portland last fall and this woman next to me pulls out a beat up Leuchtturm. It was falling apart, tape everywhere, pages falling out. She saw me staring at my fancy new dotted notebook and just laughed. She told me she started bullet journaling back in 2015 and her first 3 notebooks were total garbage. But she said something that stuck with me: a bujo is supposed to look used, not be a museum piece. It actually made me stop caring about perfect spreads and just let things flow messy. Anyone else have a moment where someone basically gave you permission to stop trying so hard?

3 comments

c/cybersecurity-marketing•

julia_anderson•18d ago

Swapped threat intel feeds from a premium one to a free one for 3 months

I switched from a $15k/year threat intel feed to a free open source one back in February just to see what would happen. Turns out the free one caught a ransomware indicator 6 hours before the paid one even flagged it. Has anyone else found cheaper tools that actually outperform the expensive stuff?

3 comments

c/climate-action•

julia_anderson•19d ago

Our community garden cut our emissions by 40% in 6 months

I helped start a small community garden in Denver last spring about 3 years ago. We focused on growing our own veggies and composting kitchen scraps. It's not huge, but we tracked our carbon savings and it came out to over 2 tons of CO2 avoided from transport and waste. Has anyone else tried a similar project with measurable results?

3 comments

c/boilermakers•

julia_anderson•23d ago

Old foreman changed my mind about using a 4-1/2 inch grinder for beveling in Houston

He just handed me a 7-inch grinder and said 'stop fighting the steel, let the tool do the work,' and I haven't picked up the smaller one for bevels since.

3 comments

c/alarm-system-installers•

julia_anderson•24d ago

Was dead set against wireless sensors for years, finally gave in

Honestly, I thought wireless stuff was just for lazy installers who didn't care about reliability. But after running a retrofit job in a 1920s brick building in Chicago where fishing wires was a nightmare, I tried a Honeywell 5800 series and it's been rock solid for 8 months now. Anyone else been forced to switch and actually liked it?

3 comments

c/astronomy-photos•

julia_anderson•24d ago

Hit exactly 5,000 hours on my telescope mount last night and it shocked me

I was out shooting the Orion Nebula and glanced at my mount's hour counter. 5,000 hours on the dot. That's like 208 full days of just sitting outside tracking stars. I bought this mount used back in 2016 for $400 and figured it would last maybe 2 years. Now I'm wondering if I should get it serviced or just keep going until it dies. Anyone else track their gear hours and get surprised by the number?

3 comments

c/found-on-my-walk•

julia_anderson•25d ago

The old oak down by Mill Creek actually split in two last winter

I walk past this big oak near Mill Creek bridge every morning for the last 8 years. Last winter after that ice storm in December, I noticed one of the main limbs was leaning way more than usual. Now it's fully split down the middle with a huge crack, and the park ranger told me it was from years of rot inside the trunk that finally gave out. Has anyone else noticed a familiar tree change dramatically like this over just a few months?

3 comments

c/daily-commute-stories•

julia_anderson•27d ago

Can we talk about how I drove with my parking brake half on for 3 years?

Last Tuesday I was getting my oil changed at the Valvoline on Broadway and the mechanic pointed out my rear brake pads were completely shot. Turns out I must have bumped the parking brake pedal one time and never fully released it. Anyone else find out they were doing something dumb for way too long because nobody told them?

3 comments

c/botany-lovers•

julia_anderson•1mo ago

My peace lily flipped over in the car on the way home from the nursery

I was driving back from Green Thumb Gardens in Austin with a giant peace lily on the passenger seat, hit a curb and the whole pot dumped sideways. Dirt went everywhere in my car, leaves were all bent, and I had to pull over and scoop it back in with my bare hands. Has anyone else tried to transport a big plant in a car and had it end in a mess like this?

3 comments