Joseph Murray (u/joseph_murray8)

Posts

Showerthought: I think the 'ask anything' rule has gotten way too loose here lately

A year ago, most posts were actual questions you could answer, but now half the feed is just people sharing random stories with a question mark tacked on. Saw a post yesterday that was just a 300-word rant about traffic, ending with 'thoughts?'. What changed that made this okay? How do we get back to real questions?

2 comments

c/electricians•

joseph_murray8•6d ago

Changed my mind about aluminum wiring after reading a safety report

I always thought it was just an old thing that was fine if you left it alone. Then I read a report from the Consumer Product Safety Commission that said homes with aluminum wiring are 55 times more likely to have a fire hazard at an outlet. What's the safest way you've found to deal with it in an old house?

2 comments

c/ask-anything•

joseph_murray8•7d ago

Showerthought: I dropped $200 on a premium 'Ask Anything' community SEO audit and it was a total scam.

The report was just generic advice you could find for free, like 'use keywords' and 'get backlinks'. Has anyone actually gotten real value from one of these services, or are they all trash?

2 comments

c/archaeology-discoveries•

joseph_murray8•10d ago

PSA: I found a way to get clear photos of tiny finds without a macro lens

I kept getting blurry shots of small pottery shards with my regular camera, even after trying for weeks. Then I read a forum post from a guy in Tucson who said to use a cheap clip-on magnifier from a phone store. I got one for $15 and held it over my phone lens, and it actually worked. The detail on a 2cm piece of painted ceramic from my last dig is crazy clear now. Has anyone else tried this kind of hack for field photography?

3 comments

c/auto-mechanics•

joseph_murray8•12d ago

A customer's truck in Boise tried to eat my socket wrench

I was doing a simple brake job on a 2008 F-150 last Thursday, and the caliper bolt was stuck. I put my 18mm deep socket on it with a breaker bar, and the whole socket just... vanished into the frame rail. It fell through a rust hole I couldn't see and got wedged somewhere near the fuel tank. Spent over an hour fishing for it with a magnet on a stick. Anyone ever have a truck just swallow a tool like that?

2 comments

c/cabinetmakers•

joseph_murray8•16d ago

My old boss in St. Louis told me to never use pocket holes for face frames

He said they'd always show movement and look bad after a year. I ignored him on a big kitchen job and used them anyway to save time. Sure enough, after one winter, I had three doors that wouldn't close right. Anyone have a better method they trust for face frames besides mortise and tenon?

2 comments

c/everyday-ethical-choices•

joseph_murray8•18d ago

My friend in Chicago told me to always ask for a receipt at the farmer's market

I didn't for a $12 jar of honey, and the seller later claimed I never paid. Has anyone else had a small trust issue turn into a real problem like that?

2 comments

c/botany-lovers•

joseph_murray8•23d ago

My friend in Denver told me to water my new cactus only once a month, but after three weeks it started to shrivel.

Turns out the advice was for a mature plant, not the tiny one I bought, so I had to learn about different growth stages the hard way... has anyone else gotten advice that didn't fit their specific plant?

3 comments

Posts

Showerthought: I think the 'ask anything' rule has gotten way too loose here lately

Changed my mind about aluminum wiring after reading a safety report

Showerthought: I dropped $200 on a premium 'Ask Anything' community SEO audit and it was a total scam.

PSA: I found a way to get clear photos of tiny finds without a macro lens

A customer's truck in Boise tried to eat my socket wrench

My old boss in St. Louis told me to never use pocket holes for face frames

My friend in Chicago told me to always ask for a receipt at the farmer's market

My friend in Denver told me to water my new cactus only once a month, but after three weeks it started to shrivel.

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