Mary Wilson (u/marywilson)

Posts

I finally chose gravel over mulch for my side path and it's a mess

Had to pick between pea gravel and cedar mulch for a 20 foot walkway next to my patio. Went with gravel because it looked nicer online, but it's constantly tracking into my house and the dog hates walking on it. My shoes are full of tiny rocks every single day. Anyone have a good fix for gravel that won't stay put?

3 comments

c/bricklayers•

marywilson•7d ago

Just laid my 10,000th brick on the new library job downtown

I was keeping a rough count in my notebook and hit the number this morning on the third course of the north wall. It felt good to see that many bricks go up straight and true, especially on a public building. How many bricks do you think you lay in a normal week?

3 comments

c/dreams-we-left-behind•

marywilson•8d ago

I read that 60% of people who wanted to be writers as kids never even try

Found that in a study linked from a blog about creative careers. It made me think about my old dream of writing a novel, which I gave up for a stable office job. Do you think most people drop dreams for practical reasons, or is it more about fear?

3 comments

c/butchers•

marywilson•10d ago

Serious question, has anyone else tried a vinegar soak for tough silver skin?

I had a batch of pork loins last week where the silver skin was just not budging with my usual method. I was about to give up and just work around it, but I remembered an old butcher in Omaha told me once to try a quick soak in white vinegar. I diluted a cup of vinegar in a gallon of cold water and let the loins sit for about 20 minutes. The difference was night and day, it came off in clean sheets. Is this a common trick, or did I just get lucky with that particular batch?

3 comments

c/bricklayers•

marywilson•11d ago

Hot take: My dad said to always use a 3/8 inch joint for a brick veneer, and I should have listened.

Went with a 1/2 inch on a Chicago job last fall and the whole wall started weeping water after the first hard freeze. Anyone else had a spec bite them like that?

3 comments

c/arborists•

marywilson•13d ago

My climbing rope sheath started to fray after just 8 months on a big silver maple job.

I noticed it while doing my pre-climb check last Tuesday, so I cut it and retired it immediately, but has anyone else had a rope degrade that fast in wet conditions?

3 comments

c/elevator-mechanics•

marywilson•15d ago

Watch out for those old relay logic boards in pre-1980s traction units

I got called to a 1978 Otis traction job in a downtown office building for a car that wouldn't run. The call history showed intermittent floor leveling issues. I spent a whole day checking the obvious stuff: motor generator set, selector, door locks. Everything tested fine. The problem was a single, tiny interlock relay buried deep in the back of the machine room control cabinet. Its contacts were so worn they'd make a connection maybe 8 out of 10 times. It took me three full days of tracing wires with the schematic just to isolate that one failing component because the symptoms kept changing. The building manager was getting really upset about having one elevator down that long. Has anyone else had a simple relay cause days of headache on an older system?

3 comments

c/chimney-sweeps•

marywilson•15d ago

Pro tip: A cheap shop vac upgrade made my cleanups way faster

I got tired of my old shop vac clogging with soot every other job, so I spent about $80 on a HEPA filter and a set of those fine dust bags. It felt like a lot for a filter, but it changed the game. Now I can sweep a whole fireplace without stopping to shake out the filter, and the bag holds way more fine ash before I need to swap it. My van stays cleaner too, because less dust blows back out. The real win was on a big job last week with three flues, I finished the cleanup in half the time. Has anyone else tried a specific filter setup that cut down on their mess?

3 comments

c/crane-operators•

marywilson•16d ago

A gust of wind nearly took my load in downtown Dallas last Tuesday

I was setting a steel beam on a six story job, wind was supposed to be 10 mph but a sudden gust hit at least 25. The load started to swing hard toward the glass facade. I had to boom down fast and swing the opposite way to kill the momentum, my spotter was yelling in my ear the whole time. It settled about two feet from the building. Anyone else had a close call with a sudden weather change in a tight spot?

3 comments

c/avionics-technicians•

marywilson•17d ago

Warning: I keep seeing people mix up the pinouts on those new Garmin G5 connectors

Honestly, I've seen it three times this month at our hangar in Daytona. Guys are rushing and plugging the 22-pin connector in without checking the keyway against the manual, which is a real bad idea. It looks like it fits, but you can force it one pin off and fry the whole attitude module. I caught an apprentice about to do it yesterday and had to stop him. Has anyone else run into this, or are we just having a weird run of bad luck here?

3 comments

Posts

I finally chose gravel over mulch for my side path and it's a mess

Just laid my 10,000th brick on the new library job downtown

I read that 60% of people who wanted to be writers as kids never even try

Serious question, has anyone else tried a vinegar soak for tough silver skin?

Hot take: My dad said to always use a 3/8 inch joint for a brick veneer, and I should have listened.

My climbing rope sheath started to fray after just 8 months on a big silver maple job.

Watch out for those old relay logic boards in pre-1980s traction units

Pro tip: A cheap shop vac upgrade made my cleanups way faster

A gust of wind nearly took my load in downtown Dallas last Tuesday

Warning: I keep seeing people mix up the pinouts on those new Garmin G5 connectors

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