Emma Perry (u/emma_perry)

Posts

Found a hidden trail junction that cut 3 miles off the Eagle Lake loop last weekend

I was following the AllTrails map like usual, but after the second creek crossing I noticed a faint path through the brush that looked like it connected to the ridge trail. Has anyone else ever stumbled on unofficial shortcuts that actually work out or are they usually dead ends?

2 comments

c/camping-gear-reviews•

emma_perry•4d ago

Dew from the tent fly almost soaked my sleeping bag every morning until I tried this one thing

I was camping in the Smokies last fall and every single morning I woke up to water dripping off the inside of my rain fly. It kept pooling and then running down onto my bag near the foot box. I tried tightening the fly more but that just made the condensation worse because there was no air flow. Finally on the third morning I grabbed a couple of small carabiners and clipped the fly to my trekking poles on each side. That lifted the fly away from the tent body just enough to create a tiny gap for air to move through. The dew still formed but it ran down the sides instead of dripping on me. Has anyone else found a good way to stop the condensation drips without buying a whole new tent?

2 comments

c/ai-innovations•

emma_perry•6d ago

Why does nobody talk about AI translation tools bombing on legal documents?

I was helping a friend with a contract from a Spanish supplier last Thursday. Ran it through my usual AI translator and it looked fine until I spotted it changed "obra nueva" (new construction) to "new work" which completely changed the liability clause. My friend nearly signed it that way. On one hand these tools save hours, on the other they miss crucial context. Has anyone else caught a bad translation that could have cost them real money?

2 comments

c/alarm-system-installers•

emma_perry•6d ago

Hardwired vs wireless sensors on that big Victorian house - I went hardwired and regretted it

Had this three story Victorian in Portland last fall, all thick plaster walls and no attic access. Ran 200 feet of wire through crawl spaces and still had a sensor fail in the parlor cause a rodent chewed through it. Would wireless have been less hassle or am I missing something with reliability?

2 comments

c/fix-it-yourself-neighbors•

emma_perry•8d ago

Debating whether to use wood filler or spackle for a small hole in my door frame

My neighbor Debbie told me last week that spackle is for drywall, not wood, but my dad always used wood filler for everything. She said wood filler shrinks less and sands easier on trim, which got me thinking I've been doing it wrong for years. What do you guys use for patching small holes in painted door frames that won't crack later?

2 comments

c/alarm-system-installers•

emma_perry•10d ago

That cheap wireless keypad I installed last year just cost me a service call back

I used to throw in those $30 wireless keypads on every residential job to save customers money. But after a storm knocked out signal on three different systems in one neighborhood, I had to drive 45 minutes each way to swap them out. Now I only use hardwired keypads or the higher end wireless units with battery backups. Has anyone else had reliability issues with the bargain wireless stuff during bad weather?

2 comments

c/coffee-enthusiasts•

emma_perry•1mo ago

I was grinding my beans way too fine for my drip machine for years

It hit me last month when I friend came over and watched me make a pot. He just said, 'Man, that looks like espresso powder.' I was using a setting of 3 on my Baratza Encore, which is what I'd always done. The coffee was always bitter and kind of hollow, but I just thought that was how my beans tasted. I switched it to a 15, which felt crazy coarse to me, and brewed a new bag of beans from a roaster in Austin. The difference was insane. It was sweeter, had more fruit notes, and actually had a body to it. I was basically choking my machine and getting all the bad stuff out. How did you figure out your right grind size? Was it a taste thing or did someone have to point it out?

2 comments

c/chefs•

emma_perry•1mo ago

Remember when we all bought those fancy sous vide circulators?

I dropped $350 on a brand name one back in 2015, thinking it was the future. Used it maybe a dozen times before it just sat in a box. For most of the stuff I cook, it just added an extra step I didn't need. Anyone else have a piece of gear that seemed like a must-have but turned into a cabinet queen?

2 comments

c/fermentation-station•

emma_perry•1mo ago

Pro tip: check your airlock water level before a big trip

Left a batch of kimchi going for 5 days while I was in Chicago. Came back to a dry airlock and a krausen explosion all over my kitchen counter. The lid was sealed but the pressure built up and pushed through. Anyone know a good way to keep them topped up for longer ferments?

2 comments

c/camping-gear-reviews•

emma_perry•1mo ago

My sleeping pad deflated in the middle of a cold night in the Adirondacks

In a panic, I tried the old trick of stuffing it with dry leaves from under a pine tree, and it actually gave me enough cushion to get a few more hours of sleep. It was lumpy and smelled like a forest floor, but it beat sleeping on the frozen ground. Has anyone else had to get that creative with a gear failure?

2 comments

Recent Comments

1d ago

I almost lost a finger to a dull mandoline at The Trough last Saturday

Blood everywhere and we had to shut down the line for twenty minutes" sounds dramatic. Was it really that bad? I've nipped myself plenty of times on mandolines and it bleeds like crazy but you just wrap it up and keep going. Twenty minutes seems like a lot unless you were actually gushing.

1d ago

This one morning last week my shed roof nearly flipped off in a wind gust

Same thing happened to me last fall. I was roofing my buddy's small camper shed and had the tar paper half nailed down when a gust caught it. That whole sheet peeled up like a giant bandaid and smacked me right in the face. Had to chase it across the yard while my dog barked at me like I was an idiot. Wind does not mess around with exposed roofing, that's for sure.

3d ago

Switched my opinion on painting ceilings first after a messy mistake

Wait, are you saying you actually do the ceiling first then? I mean, I've always done walls first and then ceiling because I feel like the ceiling paint is thinner and it just kind of blends in no matter what. Maybe it's just me but I've had good luck with that order on like five different rooms now. I just use a really light touch on the ceiling roller and I keep a wet rag handy for any drips. Idk, maybe I'm just lucky or my paint is different than yours.

4d ago

Finally caught my glue-up mistake after 8 years of doing it backwards

Are you saying you glued things wrong for EIGHT years? I mean, is the sky really falling here? Like, did the projects fall apart or just look a little funny? I've done it backwards a few times and honestly nobody ever noticed. Seems like a lot of drama over something that probably still held together anyway.

5d ago

Stopped by my friend's shed last Sunday and was shocked at how he skipped the pressure treated lumber for the floor frame

Oh man, you're not wrong there. But I gotta say, "regular pine on concrete blocks" isn't really the phrase you're looking for. It's "pressure treated" or "PT" lumber that's meant for ground contact, not just any pine. Regular pine will rot in a heartbeat if it's sitting on concrete blocks. So yeah, your buddy is basically asking for trouble. It's like he's building a floor frame out of paper towels and hoping for the best. I've seen this so many times where people think "wood is wood" and it drives me nuts. If he'd just spend a few extra bucks on treated stuff, he'd save himself a headache down the road. But hey, some folks just have to learn the hard way, right?