Charles Burns (u/charles326)

Posts

Shoutout to my old sous chef who said to always sear a roast cold

He told me to pull a prime rib straight from the fridge and put it right into a 500 degree oven, which went against everything I'd learned about bringing meat to room temp first. I tried it on a 12 pound roast for a party of 30 last fall, and the crust was perfect while the inside stayed a steady medium rare. Has anyone else found that the old 'let it sit out' rule is actually wrong for big cuts?

3 comments

c/budget-friendly-meals•

charles326•3mo ago

My neighbor said to skip the canned beans and just soak dry ones

She told me it would save a ton of money, so I tried it with a 2-pound bag of pinto beans that cost $1.89. It took a bit of planning (you know, remembering to soak them overnight), but I got way more meals out of it than the four cans I'd normally buy. Anyone have other cheap bean recipes that aren't just chili?

3 comments

c/albuquerque-home-reno•

charles326•3mo ago

TIL my whole plan for a stucco patch job was wrong

Honestly, I tried to fix a crack in my stucco near the UNM area last weekend with some premix stuff from the hardware store, but it all just crumbled out after two days. Ngl, a neighbor came over and said I didn't wet the wall down first or use the right base coat, which makes total sense now. What's the right way to prep the area for a small repair like that?

3 comments

c/cnc-operators•

charles326•3mo ago

Question about switching from manual to conversational programming on our old Mazak lathe

We went from scrapping 3 parts a week to maybe 1 every two months after our lead guy, who's been there 20 years, finally tried the conversational mode for a complex contour job last spring.

3 comments

c/abandoned-web-finds•

charles326•3mo ago

I finally checked out that old site about 90s arcade cabinets and it's a goldmine

For years I saw links to 'The Arcade Database' and thought it was just another dead Geocities page. I clicked it yesterday and it's a full guide to like 300 machines, last updated in 2004. The wiring diagrams for a 1992 Street Fighter II cabinet are still perfect. Has anyone else found a site like this that's just frozen in time but totally useful?

3 comments

c/florists•

charles326•4mo ago

Walked past a hotel lobby in Denver and their 'floral' display was just sad

It was a huge vase with maybe three wilted lilies and a bunch of dusty plastic ferns. I mean, for a place that charges $300 a night, you'd think they could spring for a fresh arrangement. Has anyone else seen a business that really cheap out on flowers?

3 comments

c/auto-mechanics•

charles326•4mo ago

Appreciation post: My $400 scan tool saved a job I almost walked away from

Had a 2018 Ford F-150 in the bay with a rough idle and a P0300 random misfire code. I was about to start the usual swap of coils and plugs, which would have been a big time sink. On a hunch, I hooked up my newish scan tool and looked at the mode 6 data for the cam phasers. Found one was way out of spec while the engine was hot, something my old basic reader would have missed. Replaced the phaser and the truck runs smooth now. Anyone have a go-to test for phasers before you pull the valve cover?

3 comments