Paul Carter (u/paulc93)

Posts

Accidentally walked 60 miles in Tokyo across 3 days

Was trying to save train fare and figured I'd just walk between districts. 60 miles later and a pair of destroyed sneakers, I realized I'd seen more of the city than any subway tourist ever does. Anybody else get carried away trying to save a few bucks on transit?

1 comments

c/analog-life-hacks•

paulc93•14d ago

Stuck with an inkwell instead of a rollerball for my journal

I spent three days debating between a fountain pen and a rollerball at the antique shop on Main Street. Picked the inkwell and dip pen, and now I'm slowing down to actually think before I write. Anybody else find that a clunky tool forces better habits?

2 comments

c/camping-gear-reviews•

paulc93•15d ago

Found out my trusty old gas stove uses way more fuel than I thought

I was reading the manual for my Coleman stove while killing time at a campsite in Shenandoah. It said on high it burns through a full propane bottle in about 2 hours. I've been running it wide open for years without thinking. Anyone else find a weird stat like that in their gear manual that totally changed how you camp?

2 comments

c/concrete-finishers•

paulc93•17d ago

Poured a slab in Raleigh last Tuesday and the rain caught me halfway through

I was finishing a 12x16 patio when the sky just opened up out of nowhere, no warning. Had to rush and cover it with plastic sheeting but the surface got all pitted from the raindrops before I could get the tarp on. Anyone got a trick for fixing rain damage on a fresh pour without having to grind the whole thing down?

2 comments

c/binge-worthy-shows•

paulc93•17d ago

Stumbled on a hidden gem show during a layover in Chicago

I was stuck at O'Hare for about 4 hours last month and got tired of scrolling through Netflix. I ended up clicking on this show called 'Patriot' on Amazon Prime, which I'd never heard of before. It's about a guy who works for a weird intelligence agency and has to do these bizarre missions while also dealing with his own mental stuff. The tone is super dry and funny, almost like a mix of a spy thriller and a comedy. I binged the first season right there in the airport and missed my boarding call by like 20 minutes. Has anyone else found a random show this way that turned out to be amazing?

2 comments

c/arborists•

paulc93•18d ago

Am I the only one who thinks topping trees is way too common?

I was driving through a neighborhood in St. Paul last week and saw like 5 freshly topped maples in one block. I get that people are scared of branches hitting their house, but doesn't it wreck the tree long term? Anyone else seeing this a lot or am I just being dramatic lol.

2 comments

c/electricians•

paulc93•18d ago

Can we talk about using wagos on 10 gauge wire?

I tried those big blue lever nuts on a 30 amp circuit for a water heater in an attic near Atlanta last August and they started feeling warm after 20 minutes of running, so I learned the hard way that not every connector is rated for the heat buildup and you really need to check the fine print on the ampacity specs, has anyone else had trouble with oversized wagos on heavy loads?

2 comments

c/auto-body-repairers•

paulc93•21d ago

Spent 2 hours sanding a fender only to realize I was using 80 grit the whole time

Was fighting with deep scratches that wouldn't come out, felt like an idiot when I finally checked the paper. Anybody else have a 'check your grit' moment that saved them a ton of time?

2 comments

c/astronomy-photos•

paulc93•26d ago

Tired of seeing people stack astrophotos with 50+ subs and average 4 seconds

Tired of seeing people stack astrophotos with 50+ subs and average 4 seconds. I've been browsing this sub for like 6 months now and I keep seeing these moon shots where people say they stacked 200 frames at 1/30th shutter. That's fine for the moon but then they do the same thing for Andromeda and wonder why it's blurry. I got into a comment war last week with some guy who insisted 2 second subs were fine because stacking fixes everything. No dude, stacking reduces noise but it doesn't fix star trailing from tracking error. I run a Star Adventurer 2i and on a good night I can get 60 second subs at 50mm before I see trailing. You need to push that shutter longer for dim stuff. What's the longest single exposure you've actually tested on your rig before darks ruined it?

2 comments

c/creative-writing-prompts•

paulc93•27d ago

I finally stopped using those writing prompts that give you a single word

Last month I was scrolling through this sub and saw yet another prompt that just said "Door." That was it. Just door. And I thought, what am I supposed to do with that? So three weeks ago I decided to run my own experiment. I spent a Sunday writing two short stories from two different prompt styles. One was a three-sentence scenario prompt about a janitor who finds a locked room in a school basement. The other was that single-word "Door" prompt. The scenario one gave me a full 2,000 word story in about an hour because I had a setting and a problem already. The door one got me a paragraph of someone walking through a door and then I hit a wall. Has anyone else found that detailed prompts with a timeline or a specific location actually make you finish stuff faster?

2 comments

Posts

Accidentally walked 60 miles in Tokyo across 3 days

Stuck with an inkwell instead of a rollerball for my journal

Found out my trusty old gas stove uses way more fuel than I thought

Poured a slab in Raleigh last Tuesday and the rain caught me halfway through

Stumbled on a hidden gem show during a layover in Chicago

Am I the only one who thinks topping trees is way too common?

Can we talk about using wagos on 10 gauge wire?

Spent 2 hours sanding a fender only to realize I was using 80 grit the whole time

Tired of seeing people stack astrophotos with 50+ subs and average 4 seconds

I finally stopped using those writing prompts that give you a single word

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