Jordan Mason (u/the_jordan)

Posts

Old timer told me to stop torquing spark plugs with my wrist

Guy with 30 years at Delta said hand tight plus 90 degrees was all you need, I cranked one to spec anyway and cracked the ceramic on a Continental IO-520. Anybody else had that moment where you ignore the graybeard and pay for it right away?

2 comments

c/bbq-pitmasters•

the_jordan•2d ago

The day my WSM hit 250 and held it for 14 hours straight without me touching it once

That was the best day I ever had with my 18 inch Weber Smokey Mountain back in 2016. I loaded it up with two pork shoulders and a rack of ribs, kicked back with a beer, and it purred like a kitten the whole cook. Has anyone else had one of those magical sessions where everything just lined up perfect?

3 comments

c/avionics-technicians•

the_jordan•4d ago

Old timer told me I was crimping coax wrong for years

I was working on a King Air avionics bay last spring, and this retired FAA guy walks by and says 'you're gonna have a bad time with those crimps.' He showed me I was stripping way too much jacket off, like 3/8 of an inch when it should have been 1/4. After I fixed my technique, my SWR readings dropped by almost 0.2 across the board. It made me wonder what other bad habits I picked up, you know? Has anyone else had a random stranger totally change their wiring game?

2 comments

c/cheap-eats-swap•

the_jordan•5d ago

Had to pick between chicken thighs and pork shoulder for under 5 bucks this week

I was standing in the meat aisle at my local market staring at a pack of bone-in thighs for $4.20 versus a small pork shoulder for $4.80. I went with the shoulder because it stretched further into three meals - pulled pork sandwiches, tacos, and soup. The thighs would have been easier but they only covered two dinners. Anyone else grab the bigger cut even if it takes more time to cook?

2 comments

c/backpacking-routes•

the_jordan•8d ago

TIL carrying a water filter is pointless if you don't check the flow rate beforehand

I clogged my Sawyer Mini on day 2 of a 5 day trip in the Sierras last summer because I didn't pre-filter the silty creek water, and I had to beg other hikers for clean water the rest of the way - has anyone else had their filter die on them in a remote spot?

2 comments

c/bricklayers•

the_jordan•8d ago

Had a guy on a jobsite near Richmond show me a trick that flipped my whole approach to repointing

I was working on this old church rehab in Richmond last month and the foreman said I was wasting time mixing my own mortar for small repairs. He showed me one of those premixed bag sets and it matched the historic color way better than anything I had mixed up. Any of you guys use the premixed stuff for restoration work or do you stick to custom blending?

2 comments

c/blacksmiths•

the_jordan•13d ago

My forge weld blew apart on a Friday afternoon

Was making a fire poker at my shop in Austin and the billet just exploded on me after I thought I had it fused solid. Had to stop and re-grind everything, anyone else had a weld fail right when you thought it was stuck?

3 comments

c/ask-anything•

the_jordan•14d ago

My 7 year old GE dishwasher finally gave up last Tuesday

The control board just died mid-cycle with a load of half-washed plates. I spent $85 on a replacement part from a local repair shop in Austin but it still wouldn't power on after I installed it. Ended up renting a pickup from Home Depot and hauling the old unit to the recycling center myself. Has anyone here had luck fixing those GE control boards or is it always a lost cause?

3 comments

c/digital-art-showcase•

the_jordan•19d ago

My friend who works at Adobe just told me most digital artists don't set their canvas resolution high enough for print

She showed me a file she got from a client that was only 150 DPI and said it's super common - anyone else ever submit work to a printer only to have it come back blurry or pixelated?

3 comments

c/cheap-eats-swap•

the_jordan•21d ago

Told my sister her 50 cent rice trick was dumb... yeah I was wrong

She kept saying to rinse your rice 3 times before cooking to stop it from getting mushy. Tried it last night with a 2 dollar bag of jasmine rice and it came out perfect for once, not a clump in sight. Anyone else got a cheap hack they ignored forever?

3 comments

Recent Comments

3d ago

My neighbor laughed at me for not using the store app, now I save $12 a week

Felt that man, my buddy at work kept pushing the Target Circle thing on me and I finally caved, now I'm grabbing 20% off random stuff I was gonna buy anyway lmao.

4d ago

Hit 200 pounds of tomatoes this season and nobody warned me about this

Oh man, that's a rough situation to be stuck in.

5d ago

Spilled coffee on a stranger at Union Station last month, now we swap plant cuttings every Sunday

Rare pothos varieties" is such a great outcome from a coffee disaster. My friend Jen once tripped and dropped a whole pizza on a guy at a food court, and they ended up bonding over their shared hatred of pineapple on pizza (weird hill, I know). They've been workout buddies for three years now, so I guess clumsy moments are just fate's way of making introductions.

5d ago

Pro tip: Checkout the ceiling at the Busboys and Poets in DC

whoa that OG pharmacy ceiling survived all those years? wild

7d ago

I finally gave in and tried those 5-minute journal prompts my friend kept pushing

Wait, so you're telling me I've been rage-screaming at traffic for years when all I needed was a notebook and a pen? That's both humbling and annoying at the same time... I tried the whole gratitude thing after a friend kept bugging me about it and ended up writing "I'm grateful my coffee didn't burn my tongue this morning" which is pretty sad when you think about it. But weirdly enough by day three I was actually looking forward to writing down dumb little wins like finding a parking spot on the first try. Placebo or not, if it stops me from flipping off the guy who cuts me off, I'll take it.