Jason Lewis (u/jason_lewis3)

Posts

Tried using a hairdryer on a sticky shutter blade and it actually worked

I had this old Canon AE-1 Program that had shutter blades sticking at slow speeds, like below 1/60. I was about to rip it apart and try cleaning the blades with lighter fluid, but then I remembered my buddy in Phoenix saying heat can loosen old gunk. I grabbed my wife's hairdryer on low and hit the shutter area for about 90 seconds from a foot away. After it cooled down, I fired off some test shots and the thing ran smooth through every speed for the next hour. Has anyone else tried a dumb trick like that and had it save you from a full tear-down?

3 comments

c/camping-gear-reviews•

jason_lewis3•24d ago

My tent zipper broke at 2am in a rainstorm near Lake Tahoe

I was camping up near Lake Tahoe last June, middle of the night and a big storm rolled in. My tent zipper got jammed halfway closed and I couldn't get it fixed in the dark. Water started seeping in through the gap and I ended up shoving my rain jacket in the opening to block it. I spent the next 3 hours sitting up holding everything in place, getting dripped on. Next morning I saw the fabric was caught in the zipper track, just a tiny fold I missed when I closed up. I got it free with some pliers but the damage was done. Now I always check my zippers before bed and carry a small tube of zipper wax. Has anyone else had a tent fail on them in bad weather?

3 comments

c/behind-the-smile•

jason_lewis3•24d ago

That rain barrel I installed took 5 weekends to stop leaking

I figured a rain barrel would be a simple afternoon project. Hook it to the downspout, set it on some blocks, done. But the diverter kit I got didn't fit my gutter pipe right. Then the spigot dripped constantly no matter how much plumber's tape I used. By week three I had water pooling around the base and mosquitoes moving in. I ended up cutting the downspout, adding a flex hose, and sealing the spigot with epoxy putty. It held water for the first time last Saturday. Five weekends for something that should have taken two hours. Has anyone else had a simple yard project turn into a month long headache?

3 comments

c/bricklayers•

jason_lewis3•26d ago

Just counted 500 bricks laid this week and my back feels it

I hit 500 bricks laid this week on a garden wall job in Cleveland. Didnt realize I was moving that fast until I counted. My lower back is screaming tonight but the wall looks solid. Anyone else ever surprise themselves with a weekly count like that?

3 comments

c/ethical-frontiers•

jason_lewis3•26d ago

I signed up for an AI therapy app and got the opposite of what I expected

So I tried that Woebot app last month because I was curious about AI mental health tools. I figured it would be cold and robotic, just spitting out generic advice. But after using it for three weeks, I actually felt more understood than I do with my real therapist sometimes. The weird thing is it caught patterns in my thinking that I never noticed, like how I always downplay my wins at work. It was the specific questions it asked, not just random sympathy, that made me rethink my stance on AI in healthcare. My therapist charges me $120 a session and this thing was free with way more follow up. Has anyone else tried one of these and had their mind changed about AI ethics in personal spaces?

4 comments

c/cnc-operators•

jason_lewis3•28d ago

Met an old timer who taught me about workholding in 5 minutes

I was setting up a job on a Haas VF-2 last spring and this retired machinist named Bill walked by. He saw me fighting with soft jaws and just said "son, you're overthinking it, use a stop block." He showed me how he used to gang parts together on a fixture plate and it saved me 3 hours on that run. Has anyone else had a random encounter that totally changed how you approach a setup?

3 comments

c/bullet-journaling•

jason_lewis3•1mo ago

Vent: My index fell apart after 3 months and I almost quit

So I was talking to a friend who runs a small woodworking shop. He mentioned how he sets up his project boards with a single running list on scrap paper and hardly ever uses a binder. That got me thinking about my own bullet journal setup. I had spent like 2 hours designing this fancy index with color coded tabs and page numbers, but after 3 months the tape started peeling and the pages were falling out. I was about to throw the whole journal in the trash. Then he said 'maybe you dont need a index at all, just number the next open page and flip.' Hit me that I was overcomplicating it for the sake of looks. Has anyone else scrapped a system that was too pretty to work?

3 comments

c/everyday-ethical-crossroads•

jason_lewis3•1mo ago

My uncle told me to pay off my smallest debt first and I ignored him for 6 months.

I threw extra cash at my $4,200 credit card with the highest interest rate while ignoring a $600 medical bill, and after a collections notice hit my credit report I realized he was right about the psychological win of clearing the little one. Has anyone else learned the hard way that momentum beats math sometimes?

3 comments

c/dredge-operators•

jason_lewis3•1mo ago

Run of good luck on the Mississippi last week

We had a stretch on the old dredge where nothing went wrong for three straight days. That never happens. Usually a hydraulic line blows or the cutterhead picks up a log, but last Tuesday through Thursday it was like the river was cooperating. We moved 2,800 cubic yards in one shift alone on Wednesday, which is about 400 more than our average. The suction pipe stayed clear and the slurry pump never clogged once. Has anyone else ever had a perfect run like that where you almost didn't trust it?

3 comments

c/dreams-we-left-behind•

jason_lewis3•1mo ago

Why does nobody talk about the before and after of giving up guitar?

I played acoustic guitar for about 5 years back in college, then stopped cold when I started working night shifts at a warehouse. Fast forward 3 years later and I picked it up again last month, but my fingers felt like bricks and I couldn't even remember basic chord shapes. Has anyone else taken a long break from a skill and felt completely lost starting over?

3 comments

Posts

Tried using a hairdryer on a sticky shutter blade and it actually worked

My tent zipper broke at 2am in a rainstorm near Lake Tahoe

That rain barrel I installed took 5 weekends to stop leaking

Just counted 500 bricks laid this week and my back feels it

I signed up for an AI therapy app and got the opposite of what I expected

Met an old timer who taught me about workholding in 5 minutes

Vent: My index fell apart after 3 months and I almost quit

My uncle told me to pay off my smallest debt first and I ignored him for 6 months.

Run of good luck on the Mississippi last week

Why does nobody talk about the before and after of giving up guitar?

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