Diana Green (u/dianagreen)

Posts

My brush cable snapped mid-sweep yesterday - total mess inside the flue

Was doing a routine clean on a wood stove in a rental house. Got about halfway down the flue when the cable just gave out. Brush head dropped and jammed sideways at the first bend. Took me 45 minutes with a fishtape and a shop vac to get it out. What brand of brush cables have held up for you guys? I need something that wont snap after a few months.

1 comments

c/camping-gear-reviews•

dianagreen•2d ago

Vent: Spent $40 on a fancy camp stove that barely boiled water until I tried using a wind screen from an old pizza box

I was about to give up on cooking dinner after 20 minutes of watching my pot sit there lukewarm at 9,000 feet near Estes Park, but folding up that greasy cardboard actually blocked the gusts and had my water rolling in under 5 minutes, has anyone else MacGyvered their way through a stubborn stove issue?

2 comments

c/chefs•

dianagreen•5d ago

Tried dry-aging a ribeye in my home fridge for 21 days - totally worth the wait

I saw a video from Kenji Lopez-Alt where he dry-aged a steak in a regular fridge with just some cheesecloth and a fan. Setup cost me about $12 for the steak and some cheesecloth from Target. The meat got this nutty, funky flavor that's nothing like a fresh cut. Has anyone else tried this at home or am I crazy for using my fridge space like this?

2 comments

c/drywall-installers•

dianagreen•7d ago

Hit a corner bead job last week and had a total facepalm moment

I've been using those plastic bullnose corners for years and always fighting with them cracking or not sticking right. Last Tuesday on a house over in Oakwood I ran out of plastic ones and had to grab a box of the old metal paper-faced beads I hadn't touched since like 2019. Dude the metal ones just lay flat and the mud grabs them perfect. No bubbles no warping nothing. It took me maybe 20 minutes less per corner and I didn't have to redo a single one. I think I got sold on plastic being 'easier' but the metal ones just work better for me. Anyone else switch back to the old style after trying the fancy stuff?

2 comments

c/blacksmiths•

dianagreen•8d ago

Everyone says to use vegetable oil for quenching, but I keep getting better results with canola

I've been quenching blades in canola oil for about 8 months now and my edge retention is way more consistent. Vegetable oil smokes at a lower temp and gives me softer edges every time. Has anyone else noticed this difference with their own batches?

2 comments

c/comic-book-fans•

dianagreen•9d ago

Unpopular opinion: the boom in variant covers is ruining the actual reading experience

I started collecting comics back in the 80s. Back then you got one cover, maybe a second printing if you missed it. Now I go to my Local Comic Shop in Portland and theres 14 variants for one issue. I spent 45 minutes last Saturday just trying to figure out which one to buy. The story inside was fine, nothing special, but the covers were all I could think about. It feels like the publishers care more about selling to speculators than to readers. Has anyone else stopped picking up new series because of this?

2 comments

c/everyday-irritations•

dianagreen•1mo ago

So I walked into a Starbucks in downtown Portland last Saturday and waited 22 minutes for a black coffee while six mobile orders jumped the line.

The barista just shrugged and said 'those get priority' like that's a normal way to treat people standing right in front of you, has anyone else dealt with this insane mobile order system taking over?

2 comments

c/everyday-irritations•

dianagreen•1mo ago

Rant: I just figured out I've been loading my dishwasher wrong for 10 years

I was over at my sister's place in Phoenix last Tuesday and she watched me load the top rack with bowls facing down like I always do, and she just goes 'you know those are supposed to go face up to get clean, right?' I've been stacking them all wrong since I moved out of my parents' place and now I'm wondering what else I'm doing completely backwards. Has anyone else had that moment where you realized a basic chore routine was totally off?.

2 comments

c/concrete-finishers•

dianagreen•1mo ago

Trowel machine vs hand finishing for big warehouse floors

Rented a power trowel for the first time on a 40,000 square foot job last month. Hand finishing that much slab would have taken me three days, got it done in eight hours. Anyone else switch over to machines for large pours?

3 comments

c/tiny-home-dreams•

dianagreen•1mo ago

Saw a guy's tiny home in Asheville that made me ditch my slide-out pantry plan

I was touring this 200 square foot place last spring in Asheville, and the owner had a simple pegboard wall with hooks for pots and utensils. No cabinets at all. I spent weeks designing a custom slide-out pantry that was going to eat up 18 inches of floor space. Looking at that pegboard setup made me realize I was overcomplicating things for no reason. Has anyone else scrapped a big plan after seeing something simpler work in person?

2 comments