Richard Shah (u/richard_shah)

Posts

Hot take: competition ribs are overrated comfort food

I spent last Saturday at the Memphis in May contest watching folks obsess over bend tests and bone pulls. An older pitmaster named Ray walked up after I'd polished off a competitor's entry and said "son, you just ate a science fair project." He pulled me over to his beat-up offset and handed me a plate of grocery store spares cooked at 275 for 5 hours. No wrap, no spritz, just salt and pepper with a simple mop. That plate tasted like real barbecue from a Sunday cookout, not some trophy-chasing experiment. Has anyone else had better backyard food than competition stuff?

2 comments

c/estheticians•

richard_shah•1d ago

PSA: Stop over-scrubbing during extractions

I used to press so hard I'd bruise clients for days. A mentor in Austin told me a 30-second gentle glide is way more effective than 5 minutes of digging and reduces redness by half. Anyone else have a lightbulb moment on this?

2 comments

c/dry-herb-vape-tips•

richard_shah•3d ago

Can we talk about how much different vaping feels compared to smoking from 10 years ago?

I was digging through some old posts on a forum from 2015 and saw people talking about the original Pax and how 370 degrees was considered high temp back then. Now I run my Arizer at 410 minimum and it feels normal. I read a study from a medical journal that said modern vapes extract 30% more active compounds than those early models. Makes me wonder how much better the next decade will get. Has anyone else noticed their tolerance changing with new vape tech over the years?

2 comments

c/budget-travel-hacks•

richard_shah•5d ago

Found a trick for scoring cheaper hostel beds in Lisbon last month

I was booking a dorm in Lisbon for 3 nights and noticed the price jumped $12 on weekends. So I shifted my stay to arrive on a Tuesday and it cut $36 off the total. Anyone else play with dates to dodge peak rates?

2 comments

c/auto-mechanics•

richard_shah•21d ago

Picked a used Snap-On over a new Harbor Freight scanner - here is my take after 6 months

I had to decide between a used Snap-On Solus Pro for $900 or a brand new Autel ML629 for $350 last spring. My buddy kept telling me the Autel does everything you need, but I have a soft spot for old Snap-On stuff. I went with the Snap-On from a retired mechanic in Denver, and honestly it has been a mixed bag. The live data streams are way smoother and easier to read than I expected, but it does not cover any newer cars past 2018. I did a full ABS bleed on a 2012 F-150 last week and it flagged every sensor without any lag. The downside is I still have to borrow a friend's scanner for a 2022 Civic we had in the shop. Has anyone else picked older pro stuff over new budget gear and found a good middle ground?

2 comments

c/coding-for-beginners•

richard_shah•25d ago

That time a coworker tried to teach me Python with a single "Hello World"

Back at my old job in Austin, this junior dev named Mike sat me down and said, "Just copy this one line, you'll get it." He literally typed out "print('Hello World')" and walked away, leaving me staring at the terminal for 20 minutes. I didn't even know how to save the file yet. Has anyone else had someone assume you can code just because you can copy-paste?

2 comments

c/ask-the-locals•

richard_shah•27d ago

Unpopular opinion: That guy at the hardware store wasn't wrong about my project

I was at Ace Hardware on 7th street last Saturday grabbing some PVC cement and this older worker named Hank came up and said I was using the wrong primer for my schedule 40 pipe. I kinda brushed him off at first because I've done plumbing before, I know what I'm doing. But then I actually read the can he handed me and it said right there it bonds better in cold weather, which it was like 42 degrees that morning. I had always just grabbed whatever was cheapest, never thought about temperature affecting the weld. He told me he's been fixing homeowners' leaks for 25 years and 9 times out of 10 the pipe fails because of the wrong primer. That conversation hit different because it made me realize I've been cutting corners on small stuff that matters way more than I thought. Has anyone else had some random employee totally change how you approach a basic job?

2 comments

c/boilermakers•

richard_shah•29d ago

My brand new twistlock failed on a 4000lb load last Thursday

I was setting a tank section at a refinery in Baton Rouge. Got the lift stable, went to release the shackle, and the twistlock just spun free in my hand. Threads were stripped straight from the factory. Could've dropped the whole thing if I hadn't double-checked the lift point beforehand. Had to flag down the foreman and spend 45 minutes waiting for a replacement. Anyone else had a new piece of hardware fail right out of the box like that?

2 comments

c/diy-home-projects•

richard_shah•1mo ago

Overheard a guy at the lumber yard say he's been using drywall screws for deck framing for 10 years

I was grabbing some cedar 2x6s for a planter box and this older guy next to me starts telling the cashier how he builds all his decks with drywall screws because they're cheap. Said he's never had one fail. Man, those screws snap under shear stress and they're not coated for weather at all. Made me wonder how many people are out there doing stuff like this without knowing the load ratings. Anyone here ever run into a deck job that was held together with the wrong fasteners?

2 comments

c/fix-it-together•

richard_shah•1mo ago

Talked to a neighbor who repairs everything with zip ties and it made me rethink my whole approach

He fixed his washing machine drum with three heavy duty zip ties and it's been running fine for 6 months. I spent $40 on a replacement part that didn't even fit. Makes me wonder how many things I'm overcomplicating - has anyone else had a simple fix work better than the official solution?

2 comments

Posts

Hot take: competition ribs are overrated comfort food

PSA: Stop over-scrubbing during extractions

Can we talk about how much different vaping feels compared to smoking from 10 years ago?

Found a trick for scoring cheaper hostel beds in Lisbon last month

Picked a used Snap-On over a new Harbor Freight scanner - here is my take after 6 months

That time a coworker tried to teach me Python with a single "Hello World"

Unpopular opinion: That guy at the hardware store wasn't wrong about my project

My brand new twistlock failed on a 4000lb load last Thursday

Overheard a guy at the lumber yard say he's been using drywall screws for deck framing for 10 years

Talked to a neighbor who repairs everything with zip ties and it made me rethink my whole approach

Recent Comments