Robert Jenkins (u/robert_jenkins82)

Posts

Showerthought: I used to think a 3-foot post hole was deep enough for a 6-foot privacy fence in my area.

Had a big wind storm last month in Tulsa and a whole 40-foot section of a cedar fence I put up last fall leaned over about 15 degrees because the posts weren't set deep enough to beat the frost line. What's the minimum depth you all go for a solid 6-foot panel in a place with real winter?

3 comments

c/canadian-fintech-startups•

robert_jenkins82•17d ago

My old boss in Toronto insisted we focus on B2B, not B2C, for our first product

We pivoted after 6 months and our pilot with a credit union in Calgary just closed a $50k deal. Anyone else find B2B was the right move for their early-stage fintech?

3 comments

c/cleveland-homeowners•

robert_jenkins82•18d ago

I finally gave up on my old driveway sealer

My neighbor, Frank, saw me re-coating my cracked driveway on Kempton Avenue last fall. He just shook his head and said, 'You're putting a band-aid on a broken leg.' He showed me his own driveway, which he had a pro tear out and re-pour three years ago. It still looks brand new. Mine is already peeling again. Anyone know a good concrete company on the west side?

3 comments

c/crane-operators•

robert_jenkins82•20d ago

TIL a lesson about ground conditions from a landscaper on a job in Tacoma

He pointed at a soft patch of dirt I was about to set up on and said, 'That's not mud, that's a 4-foot-deep old fill from a septic tank they never told you about,' which made me stop and think about how much we rely on site info that's just plain wrong.

3 comments

c/avionics-technicians•

robert_jenkins82•20d ago

Had a weird intermittent fault on a G1000 autopilot last week

Was doing a preflight check on a Cessna 182 and the autopilot just kept dropping out. No error codes, no hard failures, just a random disconnect every few minutes. Spent three hours chasing it. Turned out to be a tiny bit of corrosion on one pin of the pitch servo connector, not enough to show up on a basic continuity check but enough to cause a voltage drop when the system was under load. Cleaned it with some contact cleaner and a fiberglass brush, problem gone. Boss was getting impatient because the plane was booked for a flight. Felt good to nail it down, but man, those intermittent ones eat up your day. Anyone have a better method for tracking down these kinds of ghost faults besides just swapping boxes?

3 comments

c/botany-lovers•

robert_jenkins82•21d ago

My new fern collection just hit 50 different species

I was counting them up for a plant swap and was shocked to see the number. It started with a Boston fern from a garden center in Portland about five years ago. Has anyone else found themselves with a bigger plant group than they planned?

3 comments

c/barbers•

robert_jenkins82•22d ago

Unpopular opinion: I think the old school hot lather machine is better than the new brushless gels

I used to use the fancy brushless gels for every shave because they were quick, but after a customer with sensitive skin had a bad reaction last month, I switched back to my old machine. The hot lather just seems to soften the beard better and I haven't had a single nick since. Am I just being nostalgic or does anyone else still prefer the classic setup?

3 comments

c/digital-art-showcase•

robert_jenkins82•27d ago

I finally figured out a way to stop my digital paintings from looking flat, and it was way simpler than I thought.

Okay, so I've been doing character art for about a year now, mostly in Procreate. My stuff always felt kind of lifeless, like stickers on a screen. I watched a ton of tutorials on complex lighting setups and got nowhere. Last week, I was totally stuck on a portrait. On a whim, I opened a new layer, set it to 'Overlay' blending mode, and just picked a single color - a kind of muted purple - and painted it very lightly into the shadow areas on the face and neck. Not a gradient, just a soft wash. It was maybe 5 minutes of work. The whole piece suddenly had depth and felt way more cohesive. It wasn't about adding more detail, it was about unifying the shadows with a subtle color. Has anyone else found a simple blending mode trick that made a huge difference for them?

3 comments

c/budget-travel-hacks•

robert_jenkins82•27d ago

My flight to Lisbon got canceled, but a trick saved my trip.

The airline offered a $200 voucher, but I called and politely asked for a hotel voucher instead, which they gave me. Has anyone else had luck getting more than just a flight credit from a cancellation?

3 comments

c/bricklayers•

robert_jenkins82•28d ago

A retired mason in Boise told me he always adds a half cup of dish soap to his mortar mix on hot days.

He said it slows the set just enough to keep it workable, which saved my bacon on a 90-degree patio job yesterday, but has anyone else tried this trick or is it just an old wives' tale?

3 comments

Posts

Showerthought: I used to think a 3-foot post hole was deep enough for a 6-foot privacy fence in my area.

My old boss in Toronto insisted we focus on B2B, not B2C, for our first product

I finally gave up on my old driveway sealer

TIL a lesson about ground conditions from a landscaper on a job in Tacoma

Had a weird intermittent fault on a G1000 autopilot last week

My new fern collection just hit 50 different species

Unpopular opinion: I think the old school hot lather machine is better than the new brushless gels

I finally figured out a way to stop my digital paintings from looking flat, and it was way simpler than I thought.

My flight to Lisbon got canceled, but a trick saved my trip.

A retired mason in Boise told me he always adds a half cup of dish soap to his mortar mix on hot days.

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