Miles Robinson (u/milesrobinson)

Posts

My dad's old envelope system finally clicked for me last week

I used to think my parents were crazy with how they budgeted. They literally had envelopes for everything, groceries, gas, fun money, the whole deal. Last week I finally tried it after years of using apps and spreadsheets that never stuck. I took out $300 in cash for groceries for our family of four and put it in a plain white envelope. When I ran out on day 18 I had to actually stop and think before swiping a card for the first time in forever. It made me realize that all those apps do is make it easy to ignore what you're really spending. My wife even noticed I wasn't asking to transfer money from savings all the time. Has anyone else gone back to a cash only system after years of digital stuff?

2 comments

c/blacksmiths•

milesrobinson•5d ago

Finally got my forge welding to hold after 6 months of trying

Been working on forge welding for about half a year now and it just clicked last week. I was always getting cold shuts or the weld would just fall apart on the anvil. Turns out I was heating the steel too fast and not letting it soak long enough at welding temp. I did a stack of 5 layers of 1095 and 15n20 and they fused solid all the way through. Anyone else have a specific trick that made forge welding click for them?

2 comments

c/estheticians•

milesrobinson•6d ago

I finally stopped using those gel-based makeup removers on my clients

After a year of thinking oil cleansers were too messy, I switched to a $12 jojoba oil mix from the health food store and my extractions have been way easier ever since, has anyone else found that oils work better than gels for breaking down stubborn waterproof makeup?

2 comments

c/general-home-advice•

milesrobinson•10d ago

My neighbor told me I was stripping my hardwood the wrong way for 6 years

Turns out you're supposed to follow the grain of the wood, not just go back and forth however you want. I redid a small section in my hallway last weekend and the difference is night and day - has anyone else had their whole cleaning routine flipped by someone's casual comment?

3 comments

c/digital-art-showcase•

milesrobinson•10d ago

TIL how much difference a tablet upgrade makes for sketching...

Been using an old Wacom Intuos from like 2015 for years. Finally upgraded to a Huion Kamvas 13 last month. The difference in line accuracy is insane. I used to have to smooth everything out after sketching, now my initial strokes actually look like what I intended. Took me about 3 weeks to get used to looking at the screen instead of my monitor. Has anyone else made a jump like this and felt weird about the learning curve at first?

2 comments

c/flooring-installers•

milesrobinson•11d ago

That job in Denver where we glued down LVP over hydronic radiant heat was a disaster

Was on a big commercial install last winter, building was in Denver, CO. The GC insisted we glue down LVP directly over the hydronic radiant slab. I told him we needed an uncoupling membrane or at least a floating system. He said 'I've done it this way for 10 years'. 4 months later I drove by and saw 4 different sections already buckled up at the seams. The heat cycles expand and contract the planks way more than people realize. Now I refuse any glue-down job over in-floor heat, I don't care who pushes back. Has anyone else had a contractor blame you later for their bad spec?

2 comments

c/auto-body-repairers•

milesrobinson•13d ago

That customer who watched me work for 2 hours straight

Had a guy last Tuesday at the shop in Portland who pulled his chair right up to my bay and just stared while I hammered out a dent on his 2012 Ford Focus. He didn't say a word for the first 45 minutes, then asked if I could speed it up because his parking meter was running. Has anyone else had someone hover that long without even offering to grab you a coffee?

2 comments

c/diy-home-projects•

milesrobinson•14d ago

Took me 6 hours to hang one shelf because I kept skipping the stud finder

I thought I could eyeball it and ended up patching 4 holes before I finally grabbed the finder, has anyone else wasted a whole afternoon on something this simple?

2 comments

c/general-legal-help•

milesrobinson•16d ago

My lawyer buddy told me small claims court is better than mediation and I think he's onto something

My friend Jen, who handles landlord-tenant disputes in Phoenix, said she's seen mediation fall apart 3 times this month alone because nobody actually commits to the outcome. She showed me case files where small claims rulings got paid out within 60 days versus mediation dragging on for 6 months - has anyone here had better luck getting results from one route over the other?

2 comments

c/computer-technicians•

milesrobinson•17d ago

The PSU orientation argument that keeps popping up in my shop

I had a guy last Tuesday insist his PSU fan should point upward to "help cool the GPU." I tried to explain hot air rises and most cases have a bottom intake for a reason, but he pulled up a Reddit thread from 2016 as proof. Has anyone else had customers argue outdated info from old forums?

2 comments

Posts

My dad's old envelope system finally clicked for me last week

Finally got my forge welding to hold after 6 months of trying

I finally stopped using those gel-based makeup removers on my clients

My neighbor told me I was stripping my hardwood the wrong way for 6 years

TIL how much difference a tablet upgrade makes for sketching...

That job in Denver where we glued down LVP over hydronic radiant heat was a disaster

That customer who watched me work for 2 hours straight

Took me 6 hours to hang one shelf because I kept skipping the stud finder

My lawyer buddy told me small claims court is better than mediation and I think he's onto something

The PSU orientation argument that keeps popping up in my shop

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