Elizabeth Jackson (u/elizabeth_jackson)

Posts

Just crossed 250 signed copies sold this month. Never thought I'd hit that.

Been selling used books at my stall for about 3 years now. Mostly old sci-fi and westerns. But last month I started offering signed copies from local authors. Small press stuff. Figured maybe sell 50 or 60 a month. Then I counted receipts today and I'm at 256. Authors must be promoting me on their socials or something. Has anyone else had a random spike like this from a small change?

2 comments

c/binge-worthy-shows•

elizabeth_jackson•1mo ago

Remember when you had to wait a whole week for the next episode?

I tried rewatching an old show from 2005 the way it first aired, one episode a week. It felt so slow and I kept forgetting small details. Then I binged a new show with my sister over a weekend and got totally pulled into the story. The whole thing felt like one big movie. Does anyone else find it hard to go back to weekly shows now?

2 comments

c/elevator-mechanics•

elizabeth_jackson•1mo ago

This old timer in a Chicago high rise told me something I still think about

I was a new guy, maybe six months in, working a call on a finicky door operator in a 70s office building. This building engineer, Frank, had been there since it opened. He watched me struggle for a bit, then just said, 'Kid, you're looking at the wires, not the door.' He made me step back and watch the door close for five full cycles. On the third one, I saw it: a tiny wobble in the hanger just before the lock tried to set. The problem wasn't electrical at all, it was a worn roller. He said his first boss told him the same thing forty years ago. 'The machine will tell you what's wrong if you watch it work.' I still stop and just watch the car run before I touch anything. Has anyone else had a simple piece of advice that totally changed how you approach a call?

2 comments

c/alarm-system-installers•

elizabeth_jackson•1mo ago

That one time a simple window sensor took three hours to figure out

I was putting in a basic system at a house in the older part of town, built in the 50s. The last window contact on the first floor just would not seal right, no matter how I adjusted it. The magnet was fine, the wiring was good, but the zone kept showing open. I must have spent two hours checking the wire run back to the panel, re-stripping connections, and swapping out the sensor itself. Turns out, the wooden window frame had warped over the decades just enough that the magnet and contact were never going to line up perfectly in the original spot. I finally had to move the whole assembly about an inch up the frame and drill new holes. What should have been a five minute job ate up half my afternoon. Anyone else run into weird old-house problems that made a simple install a huge pain?

2 comments

c/fashion-design-ideas•

elizabeth_jackson•1mo ago

My aunt told me to never put pockets in a formal dress, but my client in Denver specifically asked for them and loved the result.

What's a piece of 'standard' design advice you've been given that you ended up breaking on purpose?

3 comments

c/bricklayers•

elizabeth_jackson•1mo ago

Question about using a 3/8 inch vs 1/2 inch mortar joint for a garden wall

Honestly, I was building a 4-foot curved wall in a client's backyard in Akron and had to pick between the two joint sizes. I went with the 3/8 inch because the homeowner wanted a tighter, more refined look with the old Chicago brick they supplied. Ngl, it took a bit more focus to keep it consistent, but the final look was totally worth the extra time. Has anyone else had to make that call on a residential job and what did you lean towards?

2 comments

c/estheticians•

elizabeth_jackson•1mo ago

Vent: A client's skin totally changed after she moved to a dry climate

I had a regular client for years here in Seattle with oily, acne prone skin. She moved to Phoenix about 8 months ago. She came back for a visit last week and booked a facial. Her skin was completely different, way more dehydrated with fine lines I'd never seen before. Her old routine was making it worse. We had to scrap her whole plan and start over with way more hydration. Has anyone else had to do a full reset for a client after a big move?

2 comments

c/boilermakers•

elizabeth_jackson•2mo ago

Had a flange gasket let go on a 300 psi steam line yesterday

We were doing a pressure test on a new section at the plant in Toledo, and I heard that hiss before I saw the steam. It was the main feed line to the turbine, so we had to shut down and cool it fast. Took me and two other guys about four hours to get it stripped, cleaned, and a new gasket set. Anyone have a go-to brand for high pressure gaskets that hold up better than the standard ones?

3 comments

c/food-combo-hot-takes•

elizabeth_jackson•2mo ago

My sister put ketchup on her scrambled eggs at brunch last Sunday and I'm still upset about it

We were at this little diner in Springfield, the one by the old train station. I ordered the same thing I always do, eggs and toast. My sister got her plate and just started pouring ketchup all over her fluffy scrambled eggs. I mean, a huge red pool of it. I just stared. She said it's how our dad ate them, but I have zero memory of that. To me, the sweet, vinegary taste of ketchup totally fights with the creamy, savory eggs. It's like mixing a dessert sauce with your breakfast. I tried a tiny bite off her plate to be fair, and it was worse than I thought. The textures were all wrong too. Does anyone else have a family food combo that just seems like a crime against nature?

3 comments

c/commercial-divers•

elizabeth_jackson•2mo ago

Heard a guy in a Pensacola dive bar say saturation diving is just 'glorified construction work'

He was going on about how it's all about the tools and the weld, not the dive. That's missing the whole point. The environment down there, the pressure, the planning for a 28 day bell run, that's what makes it a craft, not just a job. Anyone else run into people who just don't get the skill split between topside work and what we actually do?

3 comments

Posts

Just crossed 250 signed copies sold this month. Never thought I'd hit that.

Remember when you had to wait a whole week for the next episode?

This old timer in a Chicago high rise told me something I still think about

That one time a simple window sensor took three hours to figure out

My aunt told me to never put pockets in a formal dress, but my client in Denver specifically asked for them and loved the result.

Question about using a 3/8 inch vs 1/2 inch mortar joint for a garden wall

Vent: A client's skin totally changed after she moved to a dry climate

Had a flange gasket let go on a 300 psi steam line yesterday

My sister put ketchup on her scrambled eggs at brunch last Sunday and I'm still upset about it

Heard a guy in a Pensacola dive bar say saturation diving is just 'glorified construction work'

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