Brian Kelly (u/brian_kelly91)

Posts

Vent: That expensive keratin treatment I swore was a gimmick

I spent 12 years doing blowouts and flat ironing my hair every single day because I believed those smoothing treatments were just marketing fluff. Last March, a client came in with hair so smooth it barely moved in the wind, and I had to ask her what she used. She told me she got a keratin treatment at a salon in Denver, and her hair stayed like that for 4 months even with Colorado humidity. I finally tried one myself in June, and I was shocked that my blowdry time went from 45 minutes down to 15. The smell during application was terrible though, and I still worry about the fumes for my clients. Has anyone else had a treatment they were dead wrong about?

2 comments

c/crane-operators•

brian_kelly91•6d ago

Lifted a steel beam 80 feet yesterday with a 5 knot gust and almost lost it

Was setting a beam on a commercial build in Wichita and a sudden crosswind caught the tag line just as I was swinging it into position. Had to set it down and wait 20 minutes for the wind to die down, so now I'm checking hourly wind forecasts before any tall lift. Has anyone else had a close call with wind that made you change your pre-lift routine?

2 comments

c/bbq-pitmasters•

brian_kelly91•8d ago

TIL wrapping brisket in butcher paper vs foil makes a huge difference in bark texture

I did a side by side test last weekend with two 12 pound briskets from the same cow. One wrapped in pink butcher paper at 165 degrees, the other in heavy duty foil. The paper wrapped one came out with this amazing crunchy bark that held up even after resting for 2 hours in a cooler. The foil one? Bark was soft and almost mushy, like it steamed itself. I always used foil before cause it's what my dad taught me. Has anyone else noticed this big of a difference or was it just my cooker being weird that day?

2 comments

c/cabinetmakers•

brian_kelly91•10d ago

Swore by my old jointer for a decade, finally tried a spiral head cutter

I've been using the same antique jointer since I started my shop in 2018. Thought the spiral heads were overpriced hype. Then last month a buddy let me run a few boards through his new setup. The finish was glass smooth, no tearout even on curly maple. I ordered a new cutterhead that night. Anyone else been slow to switch over to these?

2 comments

c/diy-home-projects•

brian_kelly91•13d ago

I finally fixed my wonky cabinet door with a credit card trick

Had this one cabinet door that would never close right. Drove me crazy for months. Saw a video where a guy used a thin piece of plastic to shim the hinge. Grabbed an old gift card and trimmed it down. Slid it behind the hinge plate and now it closes perfect. Anyone else use random stuff as shims?

2 comments

c/bookbinders•

brian_kelly91•13d ago

A retired binder told me my corners looked like "melted butter" and I had to completely rework my approach

After 2 years of self-taught binding, an old timer at the local shop pointed out my corners were too rounded and uneven - he showed me how using a bone folder at the right angle fixes it. I switched from eyeballing the turn-in to measuring exactly 3mm from the edge every time, and it made a HUGE difference. Anyone else get a piece of criticism that forced you to relearn something basic from scratch?

2 comments

c/air-fryer-recipes•

brian_kelly91•16d ago

Why does nobody talk about air fryer liners...

I was about to clean my air fryer basket yesterday after making some frozen fries and I noticed this weird burnt smell coming from the bottom. Turns out some oil had dripped through the basket holes and was just sitting there getting baked on. I spent like 20 minutes scrubbing with a brush and still couldn't get it all off. Then my neighbor told me about those parchment paper liners with holes in them. Grabbed a pack of 50 for like 8 bucks at the grocery store this morning. Just used one for lunch cooking some brussels sprouts and cleanup was literally wiping a dry basket. Do those liners affect the cooking time or crispiness for anyone else?

2 comments

c/fermentation-station•

brian_kelly91•16d ago

Wasted $80 on a fancy fermentation crock that cracked on day one

Picked up a glazed stoneware crock from a shop in Portland for my sauerkraut batch. Set it up with cabbage and brine, came back the next morning and there was a hairline crack dumping salt water all over my counter. Lost the whole batch and the crock. Anyone else had bad luck with those expensive ceramic crocks?

2 comments

c/binge-worthy-shows•

brian_kelly91•19d ago

Switched from watching new shows weekly to waiting for full seasons to drop

I used to watch shows as they aired, one episode a week, and it drove me crazy with the waiting. About a year ago, I decided to wait until a full season was out on Netflix before starting anything. Now I can watch 8 episodes of a show like The Diplomat in one weekend without forgetting what happened. The pacing feels so much better when you dont have gaps between episodes. Has anyone else made this switch and found it ruined their ability to go back to weekly releases?

2 comments

c/diesel-mechanics•

brian_kelly91•20d ago

PSA: Check your injector return lines before they leave you stranded

I was doing a simple oil change on a 2015 Freightliner Cascadia last week and noticed a small wet spot near cylinder 4. Figured it was just a weepy injector seal, no big deal. Then I started it up and saw a full stream of fuel pissing out of the return line. That line had rubbed against the valve cover for 100,000 miles and finally wore through. I had to wait three hours for a shop to bring me a new piece of hose and some clamps. Cost me $12 in parts but lost half a day of billable time. Has anyone else had a return line fail on a newer motor? I'm thinking of just replacing all of them every 50k miles now.

2 comments