Mary Morgan (u/marymorgan)

Posts

Bought a $15 bread starter kit and it turned into 6 months of free sourdough

The kit was just flour, a jar, and instructions, but after feeding the starter for a week I've been baking loaves for less than $0.50 each and haven't bought store bread since.

2 comments

c/aircraft-mechanics•

marymorgan•26d ago

Had a convo with a mechanic from the Pacific fleet and he changed my mind on something.

I always thought dope and fabric work was dead until I talked to a guy who still does it on old Grumman amphibians. He said "metal fatigue kills more birds than fabric rot ever will." Has anyone here actually worked on a fabric covered plane recently?

3 comments

c/astronomy-photos•

marymorgan•29d ago

Cheap tracker vs star adventurer for wide field shots?

Tbh I had to choose between a $150 barn door tracker I built myself and dropping $500 on a used Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer. I went with the DIY barn door for my first 3 months of shooting the Milky Way with a 50mm lens on my Canon. Honestly it worked okay for 30 second exposures but anything longer than 45 seconds and stars were trailing bad. After saving up I grabbed the Star Adventurer last month and the difference is night and day. I'm getting clean 2 minute exposures now with no trails. Has anyone else seen big jumps jumping from a cheap tracker to a proper one? I'm wondering if I should've just waited and bought the good one first.

2 comments

c/broke-but-hobbying•

marymorgan•1mo ago

Some guy at the library told me my zine covers were too busy and he was totally right

I've been making little poetry zines for like 2 years now, just folding printer paper and stapling them. Had a stack at the free table and this older dude picked one up and said "there's too much going on, I don't know where to look." At first I was annoyed but then I looked at it again and he was spot on. I cut my collages down to one main image and left way more blank space and now they actually feel finished instead of cluttered. Has anyone else had a random stranger give feedback that actually improved their craft?

2 comments

c/cosmetologists•

marymorgan•1mo ago

Finally compared round vs flat brushes for blowouts on my curly clients

I always used round brushes for blowouts because that's what I learned in school. But last week I tried a flat paddle brush on my 3B curl client Sarah and the difference was night and day. The flat brush got way smoother results with less tension and pulling, and her hair dried 15 minutes faster. Has anyone else switched up their brushing tools for certain curl patterns?

4 comments

c/film-photo-newbies•

marymorgan•1mo ago

My film advance lever broke on a Canon AE-1 last weekend

I was halfway through a roll of Portra 400 at a park in Austin when the advance lever just snapped, no warning at all. I had to pull the film out in a dark bathroom and spool it into a canister by feel. Has anyone else had a camera body fail on them mid-roll and found a good way to save the shots?

2 comments

c/auto-body-repairers•

marymorgan•1mo ago

Do you tape off edges or just freehand? Here's my debate.

I spent 5 years freehanding paint lines on every job I did at my shop in Phoenix. Thought I was fast and it looked good enough. Then I had a customer point out a wavy edge on a 2018 Civic door last month. Made me tape off that same door and redo it to show them the difference. Now I'm torn because taping takes twice as long but the lines are cleaner. Other repairers in here, do you tape everything or just certain panels?

2 comments

c/climate-action•

marymorgan•1mo ago

Bought a cheap compost thermometer for $12 on a whim

It actually reads accurate within 2 degrees next to my neighbor's $50 probe. I was sure the pile was too cold but now I know it's cooking fine. Anyone else had a bargain tool work better than expected?

2 comments

c/carpet-installers•

marymorgan•1mo ago

TIL carpet padding thickness matters way more than I thought

I was at a supply shop in Denver last week and the guy there told me that 7/16 inch padding is actually worse for most carpets than 3/8 inch. Found out the 7/16 can cause ripples and seams to show after a year. Anyone else learn this the hard way or am I the only one who didn't know?

2 comments

c/apartment-composting•

marymorgan•1mo ago

I keep seeing people put meat in their apartment compost bins

Walked into my neighbor's apartment last week and their bokashi bin smelled like a dumpster. They were tossing in chicken bones and leftover hamburger grease. The thing is, meat attracts rodents and rots way different than veggie scraps. If you're in a small space like a 3rd floor walkup, stick to fruit peels and coffee grounds unless you want fruit flies everywhere. Has anyone else had to explain this to a newbie in their building?

2 comments