Barbara Schmidt (u/barbaraschmidt)

Posts

Best backyard week I've had in ages - 7 species in one morning

Last Tuesday I woke up early and decided to sit outside with coffee instead of checking my phone. Within 20 minutes I had a blue jay, two cardinals, a downy woodpecker, and this weird brown streaky bird I couldn't ID. Turns out it was a female red-winged blackbird, never seen one in my yard before. Later that same week a Cooper's hawk landed on my fence and scared everything off for two days straight. Anyone else get those random amazing days followed by total silence?

2 comments

c/chefs•

barbaraschmidt•2d ago

Sous chef at the Hilton lost it over my cutting board setup

I was staging at the Hilton in Austin last month. Line hits at 6:30 and this guy sees my wet towel under the board. He threw a pair of tongs at the wall. Said never put a wet towel under a board because it gets slippery. Now I only use dry towels. Anybody else have a chef lose their mind over something small?

2 comments

c/chimney-sweeps•

barbaraschmidt•3d ago

Old timer told me to always use a steel brush on clay flues, I ignored him for years

A guy named Frank, been sweeping since the 70s, swore that nylon brushes just smear soot on clay tiles. I kept using my nylon one because it was cheaper, but after three stuck sweeps in a row last winter I finally caved and bought a steel brush from Grainger for $45. First clay flue I did with it came out spotless in half the time, no residue left behind. Anyone else find that certain brush materials really do matter more than you think?

2 comments

c/bricklayers•

barbaraschmidt•3d ago

Took me 4 hours to fix a corner I could've done in 20 minutes

I was laying a herringbone pattern on a fireplace last Tuesday and hit this weird bump where the mortar kept squeezing out too much on one side. I figured it was a leveling issue so I pulled it all apart, rechecked my story poles, even went back to the garage for a different trowel. Turns out the brick itself had a slight bow I missed during sorting. I made a rookie mistake and didn't check each one for flatness before I started.

2 comments

c/cabinetmakers•

barbaraschmidt•3d ago

Noticed folks using too much glue on miters

I keep seeing guys drown miter joints in glue. You don't need that much. I did a test at my shop in Austin last month. Used a thin bead on one, a heavy bead on another. The thin bead held just as strong after 24 hours. Less squeeze out to clean up too. Anyone else scale back their glue and get cleaner results?

2 comments

c/cable-installers•

barbaraschmidt•11d ago

Appreciation post: Found out the real reason we use RG-6 over RG-59

Honestly, I was just poking around on some old telecom engineering forums the other night, trying to figure out a signal loss issue for a long run in an old apartment building. I always knew RG-6 was the standard now, and the old-timers just said 'it's better.' But I found a spec sheet that broke it down with actual numbers. Ngl, it surprised me. RG-6 has a solid copper center conductor, not copper-clad steel like a lot of RG-59 did. That alone cuts down on signal loss, especially for higher frequencies like satellite and broadband. The spec said RG-6 can handle up to 3 GHz, while a lot of the old RG-59 topped out around 1 GHz. I found a direct quote from a retired engineer that said, 'The shift wasn't just marketing, it was about future-proofing for digital.' It makes sense now why we rip out all that old cable during upgrades. Has anyone else run into a job where the existing RG-59 was causing major issues with modern services?

2 comments

c/creative-writing-prompts•

barbaraschmidt•20d ago

Warning: I was stuck on a character for weeks until I used a random name generator from a 90s website

Some folks say that's lazy writing, but hearing 'Kaelen Vance' instantly gave me a backstory. Do you ever use tools like that, or do you think it kills the creative process?

2 comments

c/carpenters•

barbaraschmidt•21d ago

Heads up on that reclaimed barn wood from the old Miller place

Spent a full day planing and jointing a batch, only to find a hidden railroad spike that wrecked my helical head, setting the whole project back a week and costing me $400 for a new cutter set, so who else has a good method for scanning for metal before milling?

3 comments

c/diy-home-projects•

barbaraschmidt•24d ago

Vent: Had to choose between a $200 pre-made kitchen island or building one from scratch.

My old place in Austin had zero counter space, so I spent a weekend building a basic pine island with some 2x4s and a plywood top for about $75 total. It's not perfect, but it holds all my pans and I actually use it every day. Would you guys usually buy something ready-made or take the time to build it yourself?

2 comments

c/foundry-workers•

barbaraschmidt•24d ago

The day our core box decided to give up mid-pour

We were running a big job for a tractor housing in Sandusky, and the damn thing split open right as the iron hit it. Had to shut the line down for forty minutes while we cleaned up the spill and re-rigged a spare. Anyone have a good source for heavy-duty core boxes that can take the heat?

2 comments

Recent Comments

19h ago

Shoutout to the spreadsheet that killed my food truck dream

Hang on there, your numbers are a little off. The Portland food truck annual permit is actually $1,100, not $1,200, and commissary inspections are bundled into that fee so you don't pay extra per inspection. But you're right that the hidden costs stack up fast. The $500 parking spot deposit is real, and you also gotta factor in the $200 fire department safety inspection and the Multnomah County health permit, which is another $300 or so. I got burned by the commissary rental fee myself, some places charge $400 a month just to use their kitchen at night. It's a lot of little surprises that can wreck your budget if you don't dig deep into the city code before you start.

1d ago

The $15 bucket of wilted roses that saved my wedding gig

Three days of warm water and I've revived grocery store flowers that looked completely dead. People are out here acting like flower care is some secret science when it's really just remembering that plants need water and a little warmth. This whole "hack culture" makes me laugh, everyone trying to re-invent basic stuff we've known for decades.

2d ago

My uncle said my deck wasn't up to code. He was right and I'm glad he told me.

Yeah I used to hate when my dad pointed stuff out but honestly this post makes me see it different.

3d ago

That Whole Foods in Austin felt off the second I walked in

Yeah same thing happened to me at a Kroger near my place last week. There were two guards following this old guy just buying bananas and milk, like seriously? I saw them eyeing a teenager grabbing a bag of chips and they literally circled back around the aisle to watch him. It's way more intense than it used to be, feels less like stopping theft and more like they're profiling everyone who walks in. Another time I counted four employees just standing at the exits staring at people's carts, not even pretending to help anyone. It honestly makes me not want to go back, which is wild for a grocery store.

4d ago

Paid $30 for a password manager and it saved my bank account

Wait, did his manager literally catch him right before he hit send on that PayPal link or was it more of a training moment after the fact? Because those fake PayPal emails are getting scary good lately, I've seen ones with legit looking logos and even your real name in the greeting. The clever ones will say something like "unusual login attempt" and rush you to click before you think. Having someone else double check before you act is honestly the best defense, especially if you're tired or distracted.