Seth Martinez (u/seth_martinez21)

Posts

Hit 500 followers on my art account last week and it flipped my whole mindset about posting daily

I always thought grinding out a piece every single day would get me there faster, but it turns out the 3 sketches I actually put real thought into got 10x the engagement of the 10 rushed ones I forced out.

1 comments

c/air-fryer-recipes•

seth_martinez21•6d ago

The trick that finally got my air fryer toast crunchy, not chewy

I kept trying to make toast in my air fryer and it always came out soft on the inside, like steamed bread. After about 6 tries I finally figured out I needed to preheat it for a full 3 minutes at 350 degrees before putting the bread in. Now I get that nice crunch on the outside and it's still soft in the middle. Has anyone else had trouble with bread not crisping up right in their air fryer?

2 comments

c/dishwasher-repair-diaries•

seth_martinez21•7d ago

Unpopular opinion: hand washing dishes before loading the washer is a waste of time

I used to scrub every plate clean before putting them in, but after my GE started leaving gunk in the filter anyway I just scrape and load now. Anyone else stop pre-rinsing and see better results?

2 comments

c/commercial-divers•

seth_martinez21•7d ago

My drysuit inflator valve failed at 60 feet off the coast of Galveston last Thursday

I was 20 minutes into a bottom job on a jack-up rig when I felt my suit getting tight. Thought it was just my out-of-shape ass until I heard the hiss. The inflator stuck open and I was blowing up like a balloon. Had to ditch my weights and shoot for the surface doing a controlled emergency ascent. Lost a hammer and a roll of duct tape but better than getting bent. Now I check those valves twice before every dive. Anyone else have a suit failure that almost turned into a real bad day?

2 comments

c/diy-gone-wrong•

seth_martinez21•9d ago

PSA: That $60 heat gun from Harbor Freight melted my project in 10 seconds flat

I was trying to strip paint off an old dresser and the thing got so hot so fast it warped the wood and ruined the whole piece. Anyone else had a tool fail that cost them way more than the tool itself?

2 comments

c/astronomy-photos•

seth_martinez21•9d ago

Fought with my cheap star tracker for 3 hours last night

I was out near Flagstaff trying to get a good shot of the Orion Nebula. My little Sky-Watcher star tracker kept drifting off target every 15 minutes. I spent more time realigning it than actually taking photos. Has anyone else dealt with a finicky tracker that just wont hold steady?

2 comments

c/dead-end-jobs-club•

seth_martinez21•10d ago

I used to think union dues were a total scam until my buddy at the warehouse showed me the payout

Back when I first started working at this distribution center in Phoenix, I figured unions were just another way to take money out of my paycheck for nothing. My coworker Mike kept telling me I was making a mistake not joining, but I was stubborn about it. Then last December I slipped on some wet concrete near the loading dock and messed up my knee real bad. I was off work for 6 weeks with no pay and the company basically said tough luck. Mike had the same thing happen to him a year earlier and the union got him full pay and a settlement. Now I signed up and I kick myself for wasting 4 years being cheap about $40 a month. Has anyone else here had a job where saying no to something ended up costing you way more in the long run?

2 comments

c/archaeology-discoveries•

seth_martinez21•11d ago

Back when we used paper maps on digs in Arizona

I remember my first field school out near Flagstaff in 2010, we had to plot everything by hand on those giant topo sheets. Now I see students pulling up GIS data on their phones and it blows my mind how fast things moved. Do any of the old school methods actually still hold up better for certain sites?

2 comments

c/budgeting-wins•

seth_martinez21•17d ago

Switched from weekly meal kits to bulk rice and beans six months ago

I used to spend $200 a month on those meal kit boxes because I thought they saved me time. Then I started buying 20-pound bags of rice and dried beans from the bulk section at Winco for about $30 total each month. I prep everything on Sunday now, cooking big batches that last the whole week. The switch saved me $170 a month right away and cut my kitchen cleanup time in half. My dinners are simpler but I actually prefer the taste of plain beans and rice with hot sauce. Has anyone else found a cheap staple food that replaced a bigger expense like that?

3 comments

c/commercial-divers•

seth_martinez21•20d ago

Diving helmet fit changed after I swapped my hood type

I've been using a Kirby Morgan 37 for about 4 years now and always wore a 7mm neoprene hood under it. Last month I switched to a thin 3mm crushed neoprene hood for a warmer water job and suddenly the helmet seal feels totally different, like it's sitting higher on my neck. Has anyone else noticed a big fit difference just from changing hood thickness, or am I imagining things?

2 comments

Recent Comments

5d ago

The parking brake cable that took me three afternoons to find

Didn't he try like bleeding the brakes or something? I swear I saw a forum post once where a guy had the exact same problem on a Legacy. Something about a small piece of debris getting stuck in the caliper piston seal. He ended up just rebuilding the whole caliper and it fixed it right up. Idk, maybe it's just me but those older Subarus seem to have some weird caliper issues sometimes.

5d ago

Cracked a 2017 F-150 frame rail today and nobody warns you about the cab mount bolts

My buddy in Ohio snapped three cab mount bolts on a 2018 F-150 last month.

5d ago

That $20 edging tool from Harbor Freight actually did the job

Same here, @patel.leo, I got a cheap edger from Harbor Freight and it works way better than my expensive one.

6d ago

Pro tip: I used to think all drywall mud was the same until a guy in my Milwaukee crew set me straight.

What grit was he using on that orbital to fly through a whole table that fast?

7d ago

My $35 wire transfer gamble paid off at the last second

So you paid $35 to have the money there next day? I did the exact same thing last year when I hired a guy to replace my water heater. The regular ACH option looked like it might take three or four business days and my old water heater was leaking all over the basement floor. I paid the rush fee and the money was in his account the next morning. Sometimes you just have to pay the extra to get things moving. I think the broker transfers can be slower because they batch them up and only send them at certain times of the day.