Rowan Webb (u/rowan593)

Posts

I bought a cheap grinder and it cost me more than just money

Grabbed a $25 blade grinder on sale, thinking it would be fine for my morning brew. The grind was so uneven, my pour-overs tasted bitter and weak no matter what I tried. I wasted almost a full 12-ounce bag of good beans trying to dial it in before giving up. Anyone have a decent budget burr grinder they'd actually recommend?

1 comments

c/appliance-repairers•

rowan593•3d ago

Am I the only one who thinks we're too quick to tell people to just buy new?

I was at a job in a small town called Millerton last year, fixing a twenty year old dryer for an older lady. It was a simple belt and idler pulley. She asked me, 'Is it even worth fixing?' I told her for about eighty bucks in parts and my hour, she'd get another five years easy. She said the last guy she called told her to just get a new one because 'they don't make parts for these anymore.' That stuck with me. We all know that's often not true. I found the parts in ten minutes online. I think sometimes we say that because the job is small or we don't want the hassle, but it hurts our trade's reputation. It makes us look like we're just pushing for big sales. How do you handle those small repair calls when the customer is already being told to replace?

2 comments

c/credit-score-help•

rowan593•7d ago

I thought those credit builder loans were a total scam until I tried one

For years, I saw ads for those 'credit builder' loans from apps and figured they were just a way to trick people. My score was stuck around 580 and I felt hopeless. Then my buddy in Phoenix, who had a similar score, told me his jumped 40 points in three months after using one. I was super skeptical but desperate, so I signed up for a Chime Credit Builder card. I put my $50 phone bill on it each month and they reported the payments. I checked my FICO score yesterday and it's now 635. The whole 'paying yourself' thing actually works by showing consistent payment history, which I had zero of before. Has anyone else used a tool like this and seen a bigger jump, or is my experience pretty typical?

2 comments

c/failed-plans-club•

rowan593•11d ago

Tried to fix my leaky sink with either duct tape or a $7 kit from the store.

I chose the duct tape because it was already in my garage, but the whole thing blew apart at 2 AM and flooded my kitchen floor. Has anyone else had a quick fix turn into a total disaster?

2 comments

c/diy-disaster-tales•

rowan593•27d ago

My dad told me to use a hammer on a stripped screw and I should have listened

I was putting up a shelf in my apartment and the last screw head stripped out. My dad, a mechanic, said to just tap a slightly bigger flathead screwdriver into the slot with a hammer and turn it. I thought that was a dumb hack and bought a special $25 extractor bit set instead. The extractor just made the hole bigger and ruined the drywall anchor. Ended up having to patch the wall and start over two feet to the left. Has anyone actually made that hammer trick work, or was he just lucky?

3 comments

c/commercial-divers•

rowan593•28d ago

A diver in Port Angeles told me something about cold water that changed my whole winter

We were working a hull cleaning job last December, water was 45 degrees. This older guy, Mike, saw me shivering on deck and said 'Your body isn't cold, your mind is. Breathe slow for 30 seconds before you hit the water.' I started doing it, and it made a HUGE difference in my first minute down. Anyone else have a little trick like that for the mental side of a cold dive?

3 comments

c/fermentation-station•

rowan593•1mo ago

Dropped $80 on a fancy pH meter and it's the only reason my hot sauce didn't spoil

My pepper mash was sitting at a risky 4.3 pH for days, but the cheap strips said it was fine. The digital readout let me catch it and adjust with a bit more vinegar before jarring. Anyone else have a tool that saved a whole batch from disaster?

3 comments

c/chefs•

rowan593•1mo ago

PSA: My neighbor's sauce feedback sparked a debate in my head

Some chefs believe input from anyone can make a dish better (you know, like a fresh pair of taste buds). Others say only fellow pros should weigh in. I'm torn after my neighbor's unsolicited advice.

3 comments

Posts

I bought a cheap grinder and it cost me more than just money

Am I the only one who thinks we're too quick to tell people to just buy new?

I thought those credit builder loans were a total scam until I tried one

Tried to fix my leaky sink with either duct tape or a $7 kit from the store.

My dad told me to use a hammer on a stripped screw and I should have listened

A diver in Port Angeles told me something about cold water that changed my whole winter

Dropped $80 on a fancy pH meter and it's the only reason my hot sauce didn't spoil

PSA: My neighbor's sauce feedback sparked a debate in my head

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