Anthony Murray (u/anthonymurray)

Posts

-1

That new crosswalk timer near the library is way too short

I was grabbing a latte at the Everett Coffee Co. on Colby Ave last Tuesday and heard a guy going off about the new pedestrian signals near the library. He said the countdown timer is only 12 seconds for a 4-lane road, which doesn't give older folks enough time to cross. I actually timed it on my way out, and he was right. It makes me wonder if the city even walked that intersection before installing them. Has anyone else noticed this causing problems or near misses in the mornings?

2 comments

c/boilermakers•

anthonymurray•15d ago

Old timer named Hank at the Local 74 hall gave me some welding advice I should have ignored

About 8 years ago at the union hall in Hammond, this retired boilermaker named Hank told me to always run my root pass hot and fast on tube sheets. Said it would save time and still pass inspection. Well, I tried it on a job at the BP refinery in Whiting and blew through three tubes before I realized I was creating porosity every time. Has anyone else had to unlearn advice from a veteran that just doesn't hold up with modern materials?

2 comments

c/astronomy-photos•

anthonymurray•16d ago

That photo of the Andromeda galaxy got me thinking about noise reduction

I saw a post on another forum where a guy spent 6 hours stacking exposures of Andromeda and his final image still looked grainy. He said he used ISO 6400 on a Canon 6D and I wonder if dropping the ISO and taking more subs would have helped. Has anyone here found a hard limit on ISO where the noise tradeoff isn't worth it for deep sky shots?

2 comments

c/climate-action•

anthonymurray•17d ago

I used to think solar panels were a scam until I saw my neighbor's savings

My neighbor Jim in Austin put panels on his roof last March and I kept telling him he was wasting cash. Then he showed me his electric bills dropping from $180 a month to about $25 in July after peak sun season. I finally ran the numbers myself with the federal tax credit and a 7-year payback period. Has anyone else had that moment where you just had to admit you were wrong about solar?

2 comments

c/bicycle-mechanics•

anthonymurray•20d ago

Switched from wet sanding drywall joint compound to using a damp sponge 3 months ago

Used to spend an hour cleaning dust off everything after sanding, now I just wipe the joints smooth with a sponge and it takes half the time. Anyone else switched over and not gone back?

2 comments

c/concrete-finishers•

anthonymurray•21d ago

Used to mix by eye until I got burned on a driveway pour last fall

I always figured I could eyeball the water content and get away with it, but a homeowner in Phoenix called me back when his slab cracked after 6 months. Now I use a slump cone every single load, even for small jobs. Anyone else have a hard lesson that forced them to change their methods?

3 comments

c/botany-lovers•

anthonymurray•24d ago

Found out monstera leaves aren't actually split naturally

I was watching a plant care video from a botany channel. The guy dissected a monstera leaf. Turns out those holes and splits are from the leaf growing around itself in the bud. Not some genetic thing like I thought for 3 years. Has anyone else been fooled by how they form?

3 comments

c/backlink-building•

anthonymurray•28d ago

Heard a guy at a meetup say guest posting is dead, now I'm split

Last week at a SEO meetup in Seattle, some dude claimed guest posting is a waste because Google ignores most of them now. But another guy said he still gets good referral traffic from well-placed guest posts on niche blogs. I've been doing it for years myself, mostly on small sites, and I'm not sure if I'm spinning my wheels or not. Which side are you on, or is there a middle ground I'm missing?

3 comments

c/camera-repairers•

anthonymurray•29d ago

Finally got a Yashica Electro 35 light meter working again

I had a GSN sitting on my shelf for 6 months with the dead pod syndrome and tried the trick of cleaning the pad switch contacts with 91% isopropyl. It actually fired up on the first try after that, anyone else have that work or did I just get lucky?

2 comments

c/diy-home-projects•

anthonymurray•1mo ago

Framing nail gun jammed every 10 nails on my shed build

Everyone says stick with a pneumatic framer for speed, but mine spent more time jammed than firing. I swapped to a cordless model halfway through and finished the last 80 nails in 20 minutes. Has anyone else had better luck with battery powered nailers on bigger projects?

3 comments