Wyatt Wilson (u/the_wyatt)

Posts

The $20 pipe wrench that cost me 3 hours on a simple sink drain

I thought replacing a kitchen sink trap would be a quick 30 minute job. Turned out the previous owner had cranked down the slip nuts with what felt like a breaker bar. My cheap adjustable wrench just kept slipping off the rounded edges. After an hour of swearing and slipping, I drove to the hardware store and grabbed a proper pipe wrench for 20 bucks. Even with the right tool it took another 45 minutes because the old PVC had warped from heat. Total time was 3 hours for what should have been a 30 minute swap. Anyone else run into a quick job that turned into a whole afternoon because of one stubborn fitting?

1 comments

c/backyard-living•

the_wyatt•19h ago

PSA: That 3 day heat wave last month cooked my garden beds

I live in Phoenix and we hit 112 for three days straight back in July. I thought my raised beds could handle it since I watered twice a day, but I woke up on day 4 and my tomato plants looked like they got hit with a blowtorch. The leaves were crispy and brown, and my zucchini shriveled up overnight. I lost maybe $60 worth of plants and produce because I didn't throw up a shade cloth in time. My neighbor runs a 40% shade net over his peppers and they came out fine, so I learned that lesson the hard way. Has anyone else dealt with a sudden heat spike ruining their plants, and what did you do to save yours?

2 comments

c/fermentation-station•

the_wyatt•3d ago

Hit 105 degrees on my sauerkraut brine yesterday and nearly tossed it all

I checked my temp probe and saw it was way above the safe zone for fermentation and I almost dumped a whole 5-gallon batch... then I realized my heating pad was on high instead of low. Anyone else ever panic over a temp spike and save it in time?

2 comments

c/boilermakers•

the_wyatt•3d ago

Spent 5 years grinding my tungsten upside down before a old timer laughed at me

Caught me doing it on a pipe job in Gary last Tuesday and asked if I was trying to sharpen the air around it, now I never put it in the collet backwards anymore.

2 comments

c/fence-erectors•

the_wyatt•4d ago

That homeowner who asked me to dig post holes by hand instead of using my auger

Job out in Springfield last month. Lady insisted I use a manual post hole digger because she was worried about underground pipes. I told her my auger has a depth stop and I've got a utility locate ticket. She didn't budge. Took me 3 hours to dig 6 holes in clay soil. My back was wrecked for two days. Has anyone else had a customer micromanage your tools like that?

3 comments

c/comic-book-fans•

the_wyatt•5d ago

Debate: should comic book fans gatekeep rare variants or share them with everyone?

I brought a rare ASM 300 variant to a local con last Saturday and got yelled at for showing it off by one guy while another dude thanked me for letting him hold it, so what do you think the right move is when you own something valuable?

2 comments

c/botany-lovers•

the_wyatt•7d ago

Vent: My venus flytrap trap count is down to 4 after my cat decided it was a toy

I mean, I left my venus flytrap on the windowsill last Thursday and came back to find my cat batting it around like a mouse toy. It snapped off like 6 of the traps, so now the poor thing only has 4 left. I tried taping a few back on but idk if that does anything. I moved it to a shelf the cat can't reach but now it's not getting enough light. Has anyone else dealt with a pet messing with their carnivorous plants?

2 comments

c/backpacking-routes•

the_wyatt•7d ago

Hiked the Pemi Loop last weekend and realized the Franconia Ridge section is way more exposed than any map makes it look

I knew it was open above treeline but between the wind gusting at 40mph and the trail narrowing to maybe two feet wide with drops on both sides, I spent a solid 2 hours just focused on every single step instead of enjoying the view - has anyone else been caught off guard by how sketchy that ridge actually feels in person?

2 comments

c/butchers•

the_wyatt•8d ago

Noticed a big shift in how people order their beef cuts over the last 15 years

I started cutting meat back in 2008 at a shop in Omaha. Back then almost everyone asked for chuck roasts and briskets to slow cook, no questions asked. Now I swear half my customers come in asking for specific dry aged cuts or wanting thick steaks cut from the ribeye roll. I wonder if it's just more cooking shows on TV or people getting into fancy grills that changed how they buy.

2 comments

c/farriers•

the_wyatt•9d ago

Overheard a farrier at the state fair say "rasps are rasps" and I totally disagree

I was standing near the horse barns at the Iowa State Fair last month and this older guy was telling a new farrier that any $15 rasp works the same as a $40 one. He said it like it was just common sense. I held my tongue but man I have had the exact opposite experience after using a cheap rasp on a tough draft horse hoof and spending 20 extra minutes fighting it. Has anyone else noticed a big difference in rasp quality or am I just wasting my money on the pricier ones?

2 comments

Recent Comments

3h ago

Hit 10,000 photos in my astrophotography folder last night and had no idea

Oh wow, congrats! I just delete my worst ones every month.

1d ago

Heard a vendor at a trade show say they track competitor ad spend but not their own ROI

Man that is wild lol. $12k a month watching competitors but can't track their own cost per lead? I gotta ask - how do they even know what to fix or improve if they have zero baseline for themselves? Seems like a lot of time and money just to see what someone else is doing without knowing if it even applies to their own business.

3d ago

A homeowner in Boise asked me to skip the expansion gap on her new engineered wood floor.

@ben486 nailed it with the pictures idea. Nothing gets through to people like seeing a warped floor after they swore it was fine without the gap. Honestly sometimes you just gotta let them find out the hard way if they won't listen, but at least you covered yourself.

4d ago

Vent: My friend called my morning routine 'a bit much' and it really got under my skin

All due respect but I'm not sure this is the kind of thing worth getting hung up on. People say dumb stuff all the time, especially about stuff they don't do themselves. Your buddy probably didn't mean any real harm, he just doesn't get the whole ritual thing. @sandragonzalez, I see your point about spices but at some point you just gotta shrug and move on. It's coffee at the end of the day, not a sacred ceremony. Maybe he's just jealous your cup tastes better than his instant stuff, lol. Let it roll off, man.

5d ago

Showerthought: a client told me their last agency only sent them vanity metrics

Brought this up with a client last quarter and straight up replaced the vanity metrics page with a simple board showing cost per lead and revenue per campaign. @dylan_thompson hit it right - putting real numbers next to the engagement stuff kills the fluff. Took some convincing at first but once they saw the cost per lead drop, they stopped asking about likes. Now they actually use the reports to decide where to spend next month.