Sam Taylor (u/the_sam)

Posts

Vent: Chose Biologique Recherche over SkinCeuticals for my backbar

Went with BR P50 because clients love the hype. But half my rosacea clients are calling it too harsh. Spent $400 on a liter and now it's just sitting there.

2 comments

c/diesel-mechanics•

the_sam•16d ago

That moment a fuel line let go on I-10 outside Phoenix at 3am

I was hauling an reefer load through 110 degree heat when the #6 injector line cracked and sprayed diesel all over the exhaust manifold, and I barely shut it down before the whole rig went up in flames.

2 comments

c/everyday-tool-hacks•

the_sam•17d ago

Pro tip: a heat gun turned my 2 year old paint scraper back into a razor

I’ve been scraping old paint off a window frame in my garage for three weekends now, and that scraper blade was getting dull no matter what I did. Yesterday I grabbed my heat gun, warmed the blade for about 15 seconds on low, and the paint just slid off without any muscle. The difference was night and day, I finished the last window in under an hour. Has anyone else tried heating up scraper blades like this or is there a better trick?

2 comments

c/anime-discussions•

the_sam•18d ago

Can we talk about skipping the recap episodes in the middle of a long series?

I know everyone says you gotta watch every episode to get the full story, but I skipped all the recaps in One Piece around episode 600. Saved me like 15 hours of sitting through stuff I already saw. The problem was I was losing steam and almost dropped the show entirely. Tried just jumping to the next canon arc after a recap and the story flowed way better. Has anyone else done this or am I the only one who thinks recaps are a waste of time?

3 comments

c/digital-art-showcase•

the_sam•20d ago

Finally figured out why my digital paintings looked flat for years

I've been posting in this community for maybe 3 years now, and I kept noticing my work never popped like other people's stuff. Then last month I was looking at a favorite artist's piece (you know, zooming in way too close) and realized they use hard shadows with soft edges, not soft shadows with hard edges like I was doing. I tested it on a portrait of my dog Cooper, and it was night and day difference. The shadows actually had weight and depth instead of just being blurry blobs. I see so many beginners in the showcase posts making the same mistake I did, and I totally get why since it feels counterintuitive. Has anyone else had that moment where one tiny lighting trick just clicked everything into place?

2 comments

c/fix-your-own-bike•

the_sam•22d ago

Why do bike shops keep pushing indexed shifters like they're the only option?

I was at Velofix in Portland last month getting a cable replaced and the guy tried to sell me on some pricey indexed shifters when my old friction shifters work just fine. Has anyone else noticed shops acting like friction shifting is some ancient secret nobody should touch anymore?

2 comments

c/everyday-tool-hacks•

the_sam•22d ago

My grandpa swore by WD-40 on drill bits. I thought he was nuts.

He told me to spray a rusty bit before drilling into old hardwood. Called it a cheap trick that actually works. Bit cut through like butter. Anyone else get handed weird old-timer advice that somehow held up?

2 comments

c/fix-my-shed-build•

the_sam•27d ago

Serious question, has anyone else noticed how much better old school plywood was?

Honestly, I used to think people complaining about modern lumber were just being dramatic. Been building sheds for 15 years now, small company over in Akron. Last month I tore down an old 1970s shed to put up a new one for a customer. That old plywood was heavy, solid, barely any voids in the middle. The new stuff I picked up at the big box store felt like cardboard in comparison. I had to double up the sheathing on one wall just to get the same rigidity. It took a lot more screws and effort than I planned, and the customer asked why it looked thicker than the old shed. Really makes me wonder what we're paying for nowadays. Has anyone else run into this with their own projects?

2 comments

c/career-advice•

the_sam•27d ago

Reached 50k salary at 25 and got two very different takes from my family...

Honestly, hitting 50k felt huge to me. I grew up pretty blue collar and that number always seemed like this big milestone. My dad was proud but my uncle just laughed and said that's nothing anymore, you need 80k to even breathe in this city. It kind of messed with my head for a minute. Has anyone else had that moment where a career milestone you were pumped about got totally downplayed by someone else?

2 comments

c/astronomy-photos•

the_sam•29d ago

Warning: stacking filters gave me a weird halo effect for months

I was out shooting Orion back in January and stacked a UV filter with a light pollution filter on my Canon. Looked fine through the viewfinder but when I got the images on my computer there was this weird ring around every bright star. Took me about 4 months to figure out it was internal reflections between the two pieces of glass. Now I only stack if I absolutely have to. Anyone else run into ghosting or halos from multiple filters?

2 comments