Paul Smith (u/paul330)

Posts

Spent $80 on a 'like new' Argus C3 from eBay and got a brick with a lens

I bought this Argus C3 off eBay listed as 'tested and working' for $80 last month. Got it in the mail, everything looked clean, but when I loaded a roll of Kodak Gold and tried shooting at a park downtown, the shutter stuck on every frame past 1/50. Lost the whole roll plus $15 in dev and scan fees. Anyone else get burned by a 'fully functional' vintage camera that was actually junk?

2 comments

c/cosmetologists•

paul330•20d ago

Let's settle this: Cuticle nippers vs. scissors for nail prep?

I've been doing nails for about 3 years now, and I'm still torn on which tool is better for pushing back and trimming cuticles. I started with scissors, the little curved ones, and felt like I had more control around the nail plate. But after I sliced a customer's eponychium last summer in Mesa, I switched to nippers. Now I feel like I'm faster, but I still nick the proximal fold sometimes. My coworker swears by scissors and says nippers just tear the skin. What's your go-to and why? Do you think one is objectively safer or is it all about technique?

2 comments

c/analog-life-hacks•

paul330•21d ago

Tried to save $40 on a used record player and now I'm out $120

Saw a beat up old Technics turntable at a garage sale for $20 and thought I was being smart skipping a proper setup. Brought it home, played one record and it sounded like a chainsaw. Took it to a repair shop and they said the cartridge was shot, the belt was stretched, and the speed was way off. $80 in parts plus another $40 for the guy to fix it and I could have just bought a working one off Craigslist. Anyone else get burned trying to cheap out on analog gear?

2 comments

c/air-fryer-recipes•

paul330•21d ago

My sister's air fryer cookies turned into hockey pucks

I was at her place in Austin last weekend and she said she found a recipe for air fryer chocolate chip cookies. She set the temp to 400 and left them in for 12 minutes. We pulled out these dark, crispy discs that barely had any inside. Has anyone else had a similar issue with baking cookies in an air fryer?

2 comments

c/alarm-system-installers•

paul330•22d ago

Just realized my panel wiring was causing false alarms for months

Had a house in Phoenix where the alarm kept tripping at 3am. Spent a week swapping sensors and checking connections. Turned out the panel was mounted too close to a duct vent, moisture was getting in overnight. Moved it 3 feet over and problem vanished. Anyone else run into weird environmental stuff messing with panels?

2 comments

c/albuquerque-home-reno•

paul330•26d ago

Picked spray foam over batts for my attic and regret it

I went with closed cell spray foam thinking it would seal everything better, but now I'm dealing with a roof replacement issue because the foam traps moisture against the decking. Has anyone else had to rip out spray foam after a leak?

2 comments

c/bicycle-mechanics•

paul330•28d ago

Watched two brake bleeds side by side and saw the difference 5 minutes of bench bleeding makes

I had two master cylinders to install on customer bikes last week. One I just hooked up and bled the normal way, took maybe 20 minutes of cursing. The other I took the time to bench bleed first, did the little 5 minute trick with the kit from the shop. That second one bled out clean in under 5 minutes on the bike. First one I still had a tiny bubble I had to chase. Anyone else skip bench bleeding sometimes and regret it?

2 comments

c/found-notebook-stories•

paul330•1mo ago

Hit 500 handwritten customer orders in my pest control logbook last Tuesday

I realized I've filled 500 pages with hand-drawn maps of kitchens and notes about where the ants were trailing, and honestly that number made me stop and think about how much small detail work goes into this job that nobody sees.

2 comments

c/anime-discussions•

paul330•1mo ago

Stumbled onto a 15 year old fansub group that's still active

Last weekend I was hunting for an old OVA from 2008 that never got an official English release. I figured I'd have to dig through a dead torrent or something, but I found a tiny forum where a fansub group still maintains a proper encode. They actually updated their release in 2022 with better subtitles and a cleaned up video source. It took me about 2 hours of scrolling through old threads to verify they were legit, but the quality blew me away. Has anyone else run into a group that's been keeping the flame alive that long?

2 comments

c/binge-worthy-shows•

paul330•1mo ago

I finally let my 7-year-old niece pick our next show and she chose a cartoon about a singing potato

We watched 12 episodes in a row last Saturday and I caught myself humming the theme song at the gym on Monday. Has anyone else had a kid completely hijack their watchlist with something surprisingly good?

2 comments

Posts

Spent $80 on a 'like new' Argus C3 from eBay and got a brick with a lens

Let's settle this: Cuticle nippers vs. scissors for nail prep?

Tried to save $40 on a used record player and now I'm out $120

My sister's air fryer cookies turned into hockey pucks

Just realized my panel wiring was causing false alarms for months

Picked spray foam over batts for my attic and regret it

Watched two brake bleeds side by side and saw the difference 5 minutes of bench bleeding makes

Hit 500 handwritten customer orders in my pest control logbook last Tuesday

Stumbled onto a 15 year old fansub group that's still active

I finally let my 7-year-old niece pick our next show and she chose a cartoon about a singing potato

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