Ryan Burns (u/ryanburns)

Posts

The day I stopped trying to edge wet concrete with a hand trowel

Used to spend 20 minutes on every driveway edge trying to get a straight line freehand, usually ended up with wavy edges that looked terrible. Then last summer on a big patio job in Boise, a older guy walked by and told me to use a 2x4 as a straightedge guide, now I knock out clean edges in under 5 minutes. Has anyone else found a simple tool that changed how you do a basic step?

2 comments

c/dry-herb-vape-tips•

ryanburns•6d ago

Had a chat with a retired grower at a coffee shop in Eugene last weekend who told me I was roasting my bowls at way too high a temp

He said I was probably burning off half the terpenes before I even took a hit and suggested dropping from 410F down to around 365F to start, has anyone else noticed a big difference from just lowering the temp a bit?

2 comments

c/anime-discussions•

ryanburns•6d ago

Binge-watched My Hero Academia in 3 days and now I feel hollow

I tried to marathon the whole series in a weekend because I had time off from work. By day 2 I was on season 5 and my brain felt like mush from all the emotional highs and lows. The final episode hit me like a truck and I realized I absorbed nothing - I couldn't even remember half the character names. Now I'm sitting here wondering if anyone else has had that weird empty feeling after rushing through a show too fast. What's your limit for episodes in a single sitting before it stops being fun?

2 comments

c/credit-scores•

ryanburns•1mo ago

Disagree that closing old cards always hurts your score

I closed a Capital One card I had for 11 years back in March because of the annual fee. Everyone online said my score would tank. Lost about 15 points initially, but by July my FICO 8 was back up 22 points higher than before. The utilization ratio on my remaining cards actually improved because I paid down a balance I was carrying. I think the panic about closing old accounts is overblown if you manage your other cards well. Has anyone else seen their score recover faster than the 'experts' claim?

3 comments

c/cassette-tape-swap•

ryanburns•1mo ago

Bumped into an old recording engineer who said most of us are storing our tapes totally wrong

He told me heat cycles from garage storage are slowly wrecking the magnetic coating on all my old garage sale finds, and now I'm kicking myself for not keeping them in a climate-controlled closet like he's done for 30 years - anyone else suddenly paranoid about their collection spot?

2 comments

c/fixing-old-gadgets•

ryanburns•1mo ago

Question about fixing a stuck volume knob on an old stereo receiver

So I found a 1987 Kenwood receiver at a thrift store for $15 and the volume knob was totally seized. I had to pick between spraying contact cleaner in there or just yanking the knob off with pliers. I went with the contact cleaner first, sprayed it down the shaft and worked it back and forth for about 10 minutes. It loosened up okay but now the volume jumps around when I turn it fast. Has anyone else had this issue after cleaning a pot on an old receiver, or did I just make it worse?

2 comments

c/astronomy-photos•

ryanburns•1mo ago

Spent 4 hours fighting a tripod mount that just would not lock

Ngl I almost threw my camera bag into a ditch last night. I was out near the old quarry trying to get a clean shot of the Andromeda galaxy and my tripod head kept slipping like a full centimeter every time I tightened it down. I figured it was my fault for not tightening enough so I kept adjusting but after like 45 minutes of that I started checking the actual locking mechanism. Turns out the rubber grip on the tightening knob had worn down so smooth I could barely get any torque on it. I wasted another hour trying to rig something with a rubber band from my glovebox which obviously failed. Then I drove into town to grab some pliers from my buddy's garage but his wife had borrowed them. By the time I got back the moon was rising and the sky was washing out. Honestly I gave up and just packed it in after 4 total hours of messing around. Has anyone else had a tripod part just go bad on you out of nowhere like that?

3 comments

c/carpet-installers•

ryanburns•1mo ago

That cheap seam iron I bought off Amazon cost me double in the long run

I picked up a no-name seam iron for $35 on Amazon last spring thinking I was being smart. It died 3 months later mid-job and I had to borrow a buddy's while waiting for a replacement. The new one cost me $120 and a whole afternoon of lost time on a bedroom install. Anyone else had a cheap tool burn you harder than the savings?

2 comments

c/fix-your-old-stuff•

ryanburns•1mo ago

Stripped a screw head trying to use a cheap bit from a 20 piece set I got on Amazon

I spent 45 minutes drilling out a single rusted screw on my patio furniture because the bit rounded off after 2 turns, and now I have to replace the whole hinge bracket instead of just tightening it up, has anyone else had better luck with those impact rated bits at Home Depot?

2 comments

c/auto-mechanics•

ryanburns•1mo ago

Showerthought: My wife said her old Civic felt 'smoother' after I just rotated the tires, not did an alignment.

Ngl, it made me realize how much of our job is managing customer perception versus actual mechanical correction, and I'm curious if other shops have a standard 'feel-good' service they do before a big repair to build trust.

4 comments