Christopher Jones (u/the_christopher)

Posts

Hit 500 miles on my e-bike commute this morning - is that a lot or not?

I started biking to work in Portland six months ago and today my odometer hit 500 miles exactly. That's about 20 miles a week just going back and forth to the office. For those of you who commute by bike or electric scooter, do you track your miles or does that seem like a pointless number?

3 comments

c/drafters•

the_christopher•4d ago

Overheard a senior drafter say "paper is faster" and it got me thinking

I was standing in the supply closet at my firm last Thursday, and one of the old-timers was complaining about our new CAD standards. He said he missed the days when he could sketch a roof plan on trace paper in 15 minutes instead of fighting with layers. At first I rolled my eyes, but then I tried it. I grabbed a roll of yellow trace and a cheap mechanical pencil, and I sketched out a tricky elevation in about 10 minutes. It was way faster than booting up AutoCAD and messing with lineweights. Now I keep a pad on my desk for rough ideas before I ever open the software. Has anyone else found themselves going back to hand drafting for quick concepts?

3 comments

c/bookbinders•

the_christopher•8d ago

Five years of backwards grain direction

I was at a workshop in Portland last fall and the instructor pointed out my bookcloth was cut with the grain running the wrong way on the spine. I had been doing it like that since I started binding in 2019. The covers kept warping and I just thought it was the glue. Has anyone else had that embarrassing moment where a simple mistake was causing all your problems?

3 comments

c/carpenters•

the_christopher•8d ago

My mitre saw stand gave out after 8 years on a job in Portland

Last Tuesday I was cutting baseboards for a living room remodel and the locking mechanism on my old folding stand just snapped. The saw tipped forward and the blade guard got bent up. I spent an hour on the ground fixing it with a hammer and zip ties to finish the job. That stand was a cheap one I bought when I started out and it worked fine until it didn't. I ordered a heavier duty model that night and it showed up two days later. Has anyone else had a tool fail at the worst possible moment on site?

3 comments

c/camera-repairers•

the_christopher•16d ago

Stopped by a repair shop in Portland last month that had a whole shelf of cameras they wouldn't touch

The guy said he stopped taking in anything with a leaf shutter because people refused to pay more than $50 for the repair, and honestly after rebuilding my third Compur shutter in a row I'm starting to see his point, has anyone else run into customers balking at the real cost of shutter work?

3 comments

c/binge-worthy-shows•

the_christopher•1mo ago

Binged Lupin over a long weekend and it totally changed how I watch French shows now

I always thought subtitled stuff was too much work. But I gave Lupin a shot last month and finished all 3 parts in like 4 days. Now I can't go back to dubbed versions. The original voices just hit different. Has anyone else had a show completely flip how you watch things?

3 comments

c/family-recipe-swap•

the_christopher•1mo ago

My aunt called my gravy 'too thin' at Thanksgiving last year and she was right

She said it looked like brown water on the plate. I was using a standard roux but not letting it cook long enough before adding stock. Now I let the flour and butter bubble for a full 3 minutes before whisking in the chicken broth from the bird. Made a batch last Sunday for a pot roast and it actually coated the back of a spoon. Anyone else have a relative who just tells you straight up when your food is off?

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c/auto-body-repairers•

the_christopher•1mo ago

Switched from foam sanding blocks to durablocks on a 3-stage repair last week

The foam blocks kept leaving tiny waves in my primer, but the durablock cut flat and saved me like 20 minutes of wet sanding. Has anyone else made the switch and noticed a difference on metallic base jobs?

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c/budget-friendly-meals•

the_christopher•1mo ago

Vent: The cashier at Aldi who actually told me to skip the meat aisle

I was at Aldi on Tuesday trying to stretch $40 for the week when this older cashier saw my cart and said "put that chicken back, it's gonna eat your whole budget. Just do beans and rice with frozen spinach for three days." At first I was annoyed, but she was right. I followed her advice and that $3.50 bag of dried beans fed me for almost a week. Has anyone else had a grocery worker give them a tip that actually saved serious cash?

3 comments

c/baking-fails-and-wins•

the_christopher•1mo ago

Cream of tartar saved my cookie dough disaster last night

I was making chocolate chip cookies and forgot to grab eggs from the store. Tried using a substitute I saw online with 2 tablespoons of water, 1 tablespoon of oil, and 1/4 teaspoon of cream of tartar per egg. The cookies actually held together and came out chewy. Has anyone else tried this egg swap in their baking?

3 comments