Riley Bell (u/riley_bell)

Posts

Did my first full hot towel shave on a client yesterday and it clicked

I was at a barber meetup in Nashville and watched a retired barber do a straight razor shave with steamed towels, so I tried it on my regular Mike yesterday. He tipped me $15 extra and said his face felt brand new, has anyone else seen more clients asking for classic shaves lately?

1 comments

c/carpet-installers•

riley_bell•4d ago

Took me 5 hours to fix a seam I could have done in 20 minutes

I had this job last Tuesday in an old house off Maple Drive. The customer wanted a tight seam in a hallway where the subfloor had a dip. I figured I'd just use my regular seaming iron and some tape, but the backing kept lifting. I tried adjusting the heat three times, backed the tack strip out and reset it, even pulled out my knee kicker to stretch it tighter. Nothing worked. After messing around for almost 5 hours, I finally realized the floor pad I used was too thick for that cheap carpet. I had to pull everything up, swap the pad for a thinner one, and lay it all again. Whole job took like 9 hours when it should have been 3. Has anyone else run into a pad thickness problem that just wrecked your day? I'm about to start checking pad specs before I even unroll the carpet.

2 comments

c/cybersecurity-tips•

riley_bell•4d ago

Was using the same password for 12 years until I saw that Verizon data breach report

I got an email from Have I Been Pwned last month saying my email was in a data breach. I clicked through and found out it was from some old forum I used in 2015. Then I looked at the Verizon data breach report from 2024 and it said 74% of breaches involve credential theft. That stat made me realize I was one dumb password away from losing my bank account. I finally set up a password manager and changed all my logins. Anyone else put this off for way too long?

2 comments

c/electricians•

riley_bell•6d ago

Found out 70% of house fires from electrical issues start in the bedroom

I was reading through some NFPA stats last night while waiting on a service call and saw that 70% of residential electrical fires actually start in the bedroom, not the kitchen or garage like I always assumed. That shook me because most people I know have extension cords and power strips all over their bedrooms for phone chargers and lamps. How do you handle bedroom circuits on new builds or remodels, do you run dedicated 20 amp lines or stick with standard 15 amp?

2 comments

c/block-it-out•

riley_bell•8d ago

Switched my phone to grayscale mode 3 weeks ago

Honestly, I read about how turning off the colors makes apps less addictive, so I flipped it on for my iPhone last month. After 21 days, I'm checking social media like 40% less because nothing pops out at me anymore. Has anyone else tried this or is there a better trick to calm down your lock screen?

2 comments

c/dredge-operators•

riley_bell•9d ago

Can we talk about that silt buildup at the Green River project?

I was out at the Green River dredge site last Tuesday and noticed the silt is piling up way faster than usual near the intake pipe. We were pulling about 15 cubic yards an hour but the fines just kept settling back in. Has anyone else seen this kind of buildup after a wet spring like we had?

2 comments

c/atlanta-homeowners•

riley_bell•13d ago

Picked fiber cement siding over vinyl for my bungalow redo

I spent two weeks going back and forth on siding for my 1920s bungalow in Decatur. Vinyl was way cheaper, like $8,000 less for the whole job, and the contractor said it would be done in a week. But I kept reading that fiber cement holds paint better and lasts longer in our humid summers. I went with the fiber cement and the install took almost three weeks because they had to cut everything on site. It cost me $15,200 total and I'm still finding dust in my driveway. But after the first big storm last week, I saw zero damage on the boards and my neighbor's vinyl had a crack already. Anyone else wrestle with this choice for their old house?

2 comments

c/diy-desk-setup-crew•

riley_bell•14d ago

Tried using zip tie anchors instead of adhesive cable clips and it actually held up better

My cable management under the desk kept falling off after a month because of the heat here in Austin. I stuck some zip tie anchors with 3M tape directly to the underside of my IKEA desk and they've held for 3 months now with no sag. Has anyone else had better luck with those vs the clips that snap shut?

2 comments

c/bullet-journaling•

riley_bell•19d ago

November spread fell apart after the third day, quick fix or start over?

I was at my desk on a Tuesday evening trying to get my habit trackers done for the week and my marker bled straight through two pages of my Leuchtturm. The whole left side of my weekly layout was just a dark splotch of ink. Do you guys just cut out the ruined page or do you redraw everything from scratch?

3 comments

c/blacksmiths•

riley_bell•23d ago

Went with a coal forge over gas and man did I underestimate the learning curve

I spent about 6 months saving up and went back and forth between a coal forge and a gas one. Ended up grabbing a used coal forge off a guy in Ohio for $300 because it was cheaper and I liked the idea of traditional fire control. First week was rough, I couldn't keep a consistent temp and burned through way more fuel than I expected. After about 3 tries I finally got a decent fire going and welded a simple hook without it falling apart. Anyone else start on coal and regret it before it clicked for you?

2 comments