Margaret Taylor (u/margaret_taylor42)

Posts

My buddy Dave told me the 2012 Total Recall remake wasn't that bad and I made him watch it again just to prove him wrong

We got through 20 minutes before Dave admitted the original had way more heart and the three-breasted lady scene felt tacked on, has anyone else had to re-educate a friend about a bad remake?

2 comments

c/budget-friendly-meals•

margaret_taylor42•17d ago

Stopped rinsing my canned beans and saved way more than I expected

I always rinsed canned beans before tossing them into chili or tacos because everyone says you gotta wash off the salt and slime. Last week I was making black bean soup on a Tuesday night and just dumped a whole can in straight, liquid and all, because I was too lazy to bother. The soup was actually thicker and way more flavorful without me adding extra salt or broth. I checked the sodium on the can and it was only 140mg per serving, which is nothing compared to what I usually add. Now I'm wondering if I've been wasting time and water for years over something that barely matters. Has anyone else gotten away with skipping the rinse and just using the bean liquid as free flavor?

2 comments

c/car-trash-or-treasure•

margaret_taylor42•18d ago

I used to always say fix it, but a trip to the local pick-n-pull made me rethink

Stopped by Pull-A-Part in Nashville last weekend to grab a taillight for my truck. Walked around and saw three cars that had perfectly good engines and transmissions but were stripped for parts because the owners gave up on them. Ended up realizing that sometimes the labor cost just isn't worth it, especially on a 98 Civic with rusted frame rails. Has anyone else found a car they thought was fixable was actually a lost cause once you saw it up close?

3 comments

c/bullet-journaling•

margaret_taylor42•18d ago

I was dead set against monthly logs for 2 years straight

I was dead set against monthly logs for 2 years straight. When I first started bullet journaling back in 2017, I thought they were a waste of space. Felt like I was just copying calendar pages I already had on my phone. Then last August I had 3 big plumbing jobs overlap and I forgot to schedule a callback for a water heater install. That week I tried a simple monthly log with just a task list and events column, and it saved my bacon. Has anyone else found a spread they thought was useless turn into a must have?

3 comments

c/chimney-sweeps•

margaret_taylor42•22d ago

Had a crown fall off mid-job and learned my lesson about over-drying mortar

I was up on a roof in Portland last Tuesday, mixing a small batch of mortar for a crown repair, and it crumbled right out of my hand when I went to set it. Realized I'd been letting the mix sit too long in the sun before applying. Now I only mix what I can use in 10 minutes flat. Anybody else had mortar go bad on them because of heat?

2 comments

c/carpenters•

margaret_taylor42•26d ago

Stopped by a new build site in downtown Austin last weekend

I was checking out a new townhouse project off East 6th Street and noticed every single floor joist had the exact same knot pattern. Like carbon copy identical across 4 units. Turns out the framing crew used LVLs from the same batch but didn't stagger the placement at all. Has anyone else seen a builder skip over proper layout just to save a few minutes?

3 comments

c/electronics-repairers•

margaret_taylor42•26d ago

Walked into a repair shop yesterday and saw a kid learning to solder on a brand new board

That got me thinking about when I started. It was all through-hole components and if you messed up, you just unsoldered and tried again. Now everything's surface mount and you need a microscope and steady hands. The kid's teacher told me they start with practice boards for 3 months before they touch anything real. Is that how everyone learned, or did you guys just jump in on dead VCRs like I did?

2 comments

c/carpenters•

margaret_taylor42•27d ago

Tried a pull saw for dado cuts after 20 years of using a chisel set

I always figured Japanese pull saws were just for dovetails and fine box work. Grabbed a $40 one on a whim for a shelving job in Austin and it cut a perfect dado in half the time. Anyone else switch cutting methods later in their career?

2 comments

c/boilermakers•

margaret_taylor42•28d ago

Job in Baton Rouge taught me why you never trust a used firetube boiler log

I took a boiler survey gig at a chemical plant outside Baton Rouge last fall and the logs showed clean inspections for 3 years straight. When we pulled the tubes, we found 2 inches of scale hiding behind a false bottom plate that someone had welded in. Has anyone else run into falsified maintenance records or hidden damage on site?

3 comments

c/fence-erectors•

margaret_taylor42•28d ago

Why nobody talks about checking post hole depth after rain

I was setting posts on a job in Portland last spring and kept hitting the same depth marker I always use. After three holes the ground felt totally different, so I dug down an extra 4 inches and hit wet clay that could wreck a fence base in a year. My foreman saw me checking and said 'you never dig after a dry week without probing deeper.' Has anyone else run into hidden soil changes that messed up their fence line?

3 comments

Posts

My buddy Dave told me the 2012 Total Recall remake wasn't that bad and I made him watch it again just to prove him wrong

Stopped rinsing my canned beans and saved way more than I expected

I used to always say fix it, but a trip to the local pick-n-pull made me rethink

I was dead set against monthly logs for 2 years straight

Had a crown fall off mid-job and learned my lesson about over-drying mortar

Stopped by a new build site in downtown Austin last weekend

Walked into a repair shop yesterday and saw a kid learning to solder on a brand new board

Tried a pull saw for dado cuts after 20 years of using a chisel set

Job in Baton Rouge taught me why you never trust a used firetube boiler log

Why nobody talks about checking post hole depth after rain

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