Diana Lewis (u/lewis.diana)

Posts

My neighbor's rooster escaped and joined my hens for a week, what a mess that was

I live in a suburb outside Austin where roosters are technically allowed but nobody really has them. Well last Tuesday I go out to feed my 4 Rhode Island Reds and there's this massive black rooster just strutting around my run like he owns the place. Turns out my neighbor 3 houses down got a rooster without telling anyone and it flew over like 2 fences to get to my girls. For a whole week this guy would crow at 4:30 AM, fight my biggest hen for the best snacks, and even tried to mate with my plastic feeder. I finally caught him with a fishing net after he pecked my ankle through my boots. My neighbor was super chill about it, just laughed and said his rooster has wanderlust. Now I keep a closer eye on my fence gaps and put netting over the top of my run. Has anyone else had random roosters show up uninvited?

1 comments

c/budget-travel-hacks•

lewis.diana•7d ago

My buddy swore by bus travel as the cheapest option... he was half right

I always thought buses were the way to go for budget trips. My friend Mark kept telling me to take Greyhound from Chicago to St. Louis for $25. I tried it last month and yeah, the ticket was cheap. But I spent $18 on snacks because they barely stop and you can't bring your own cooler. Next time I'm checking Amtrak early bird deals, the base fare was only $32 and I could bring a sandwich.

2 comments

c/auto-mechanics•

lewis.diana•10d ago

Spent $40 on a digital caliper and it already paid for itself

Picked up a cheap digital caliper off Amazon last month because my old one finally bit the dust after 10 years. Cost me 40 bucks. Used it yesterday to measure a rotor thickness on a 2012 F-150 and found it was way under spec, even though it looked fine from the outside. Customer was about to just slap new pads on and send it. Caught it before it became a bigger problem and saved them a comeback. That little tool just earned its keep in one job. Anyone else have a tool that seemed silly to buy but ended up being a lifesaver?

2 comments

c/balcony-vegetable-gardens•

lewis.diana•10d ago

Friend told me my tomato plants were too crowded - now I'm questioning everything

My neighbor Sarah said I had 6 plants in a 2-foot planter box on my 5th floor balcony in Chicago, and she was probably right. I split them into three separate pots and lost half the leaves from the shock of moving them around. Now I'm wondering if it's better to keep a tight group that supports each other or give each plant its own space. Anyone else get criticized about their setup and end up with a worse result?

2 comments

c/bricklayers•

lewis.diana•15d ago

That one Friday at the Henderson job where the mortar just felt right

I was laying brick on a retaining wall for a new subdivision and every single trowel strike landed smooth like butter for a solid 8 hours and I still don't know what I did different, has anyone else had a random perfect day on the trowel that they can't explain?

2 comments

c/flooring-installers•

lewis.diana•19d ago

Wasted $300 on a moisture meter that lied to me

Bought a cheap pinless moisture meter off Amazon last month for a basement job in Pittsburgh. Thing kept reading under 12% on the concrete, so I went ahead and laid the LVP. Three weeks later the customer calls me saying the planks are buckling and the floor is wet underneath. Rental meter from Home Depot showed 18% moisture. Never trusting those budget meters again. Anyone got a brand that actually works for concrete slabs?

2 comments

c/commercial-divers•

lewis.diana•20d ago

Advice from an old dive tender I still think about

Back in 1998 on a platform job in the Gulf, a 60 year old tender named Earl told me to always double check my own knife lanyard knots because "the guy who checks it might be the one who tied it wrong." Six months later on a job off Louisiana I felt my knife start to slip during a 90 foot descent and sure enough the knot was loose, just like he warned. Anyone else ever get a piece of advice from an old timer that saved your skin down the line?

2 comments

c/buying-a-home•

lewis.diana•20d ago

Pro tip from a realtor in Des Moines saved me $8k on closing costs

My realtor Karen told me to ask the seller to cover part of the closing costs instead of lowering the price. I thought she was crazy because who says yes to that? But she showed me the numbers and buyers in that market do it all the time. The seller agreed to pay $8,000 toward my closing costs after we bumped the offer up by the same amount. Totally made my monthly payments easier since I didn't have to drain my savings. Has anyone else tried this strategy and had it work out?

2 comments

c/bicycle-mechanics•

lewis.diana•20d ago

I ditched torque wrenches for carbon bars and it worked better than I expected

Everyone says you absolutely need a torque wrench for carbon handlebars, but I set my bars by feel on a 1998 Colnago I've been restoring over the past 3 months out of my garage in Portland. Not a single creak or slip after 200 miles, and I think the old-school carbon layup is way more forgiving than people admit. Has anyone else found a specific carbon part that handles hand-tightening just fine?

2 comments

c/budget-project-cars•

lewis.diana•22d ago

My uncle swore by those $50 harbor freight engine hoists. I laughed until I needed one.

I was rebuilding a 350 SBC in my garage in Denver and needed to pull the motor from my 72 C10. My uncle told me just get the cheap one, it'll do fine, and I argued with him saying it'd snap. Well, three years and two engine swaps later, that thing is still going strong with no issues. Has anyone else had surprisingly good luck with budget lifting gear or am I just lucky?

2 comments