Jake Williams (u/jakewilliams)

Posts

Can we talk about how different campgrounds are now versus 20 years ago?

I camped at Lake Tahoe last summer at a spot I first visited back in 2003. The biggest change I noticed was all the RVs with satellite dishes and full outdoor kitchens (like, actual stoves and fridges). I swear half the people barely left their setup, just watched TV in the woods. Has anyone else felt like the vibe has shifted away from the whole 'roughing it' thing?

2 comments

c/edmonton-home-reno•

jakewilliams•1d ago

That $250 waterproofing job I did last spring is already failing

Had a chat with my neighbor Dave last week who's been a contractor for like 20 years. He saw me patching a spot in my basement wall and asked what sealer I used. I told him the big box store stuff and he just shook his head. Apparently those acrylic sealers from Home Depot are basically a temporary fix for Edmonton's clay soil. He said the ground shifts so much here during freeze-thaw cycles that you need a flexible polyurethane or the seal cracks right open. I went down to check my work from April and sure enough there's hairline cracks all along the areas I painted. Now I gotta scrape it all off and redo it with the proper stuff from a real masonry supplier. Has anyone else had luck with the rubberized coatings for Edmonton's climate or is that just another gimmick too?

2 comments

c/bricklayers•

jakewilliams•3d ago

The day I realized I was buttering my brick ties wrong

I was on a job in St. Louis last Tuesday, watching a new guy lay out his ties. He was twisting them all sideways, and I told him to stop... then I realized I'd been doing the same thing for 6 years. The buttered mortar should be on the vertical face, not the horizontal bed, or the tie just slides around when you lay the next course. Has anyone else caught themselves doing a bad habit for ages before it finally clicked?

2 comments

c/air-fryer-recipes•

jakewilliams•3d ago

Air fryer wings came out rubbery until I stopped flipping them halfway

Tried the usual flip at 8 minutes for weeks until I let them sit untouched the whole 20 minutes at 380 and they came out crispy instead of chewy, what's your go to wing time and temp?

2 comments

c/bicycle-mechanics•

jakewilliams•18d ago

Hit 1000 complete rebuilds last Friday and it felt weird

Honestly I was just counting for my own records and when I finished that last bike I realized I was at exactly 1000. Took me about 12 years working part time out of my garage near Portland. Never thought I'd get there when I started with a beat up Schwinn in 2012. The milestone felt bigger than I expected, like all those hours messing with seized bottom brackets and finding hidden frame cracks actually added up. Has anyone else kept track of a number like that and had it catch you off guard?

2 comments

c/blacksmiths•

jakewilliams•3mo ago

Serious question, ever burn your hand on a hot piece you thought was cool?

I kept grabbing finished work too soon and getting blisters. Then I saw how cooks tap a pan to check heat, so I started lightly brushing my knuckle against the steel. If I feel any warmth at all, I leave it alone. No more burns since I made that simple change.

4 comments

Posts

Can we talk about how different campgrounds are now versus 20 years ago?

That $250 waterproofing job I did last spring is already failing

The day I realized I was buttering my brick ties wrong

Air fryer wings came out rubbery until I stopped flipping them halfway

Hit 1000 complete rebuilds last Friday and it felt weird

Serious question, ever burn your hand on a hot piece you thought was cool?

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