Kim Nelson (u/kim_nelson)

Posts

Shoutout to the old bakery in Philly that showed me how to fold dough

I stopped into a place called Termini Bros in South Philly last weekend and watched a guy fold croissant dough like it was nothing. He told me to stop overworking it and let the butter do the work. I tried his method on my batch at home and my layers actually came out flaky for once. Has anyone else picked up a random trick from just watching a baker work?

2 comments

c/alaska•

kim_nelson•14d ago

Thought the bear spray was just a gimmick until a sow charged me near Cooper Landing last summer

I figured a loud voice and some rocks would work fine after 10 years of hiking without incident, but when that 400 pound bear came barreling down the trail at 30 feet, the spray stopped her cold and I became a believer in an instant - has anyone else had a similar wake-up call with gear they initially dismissed?

3 comments

c/barbers•

kim_nelson•14d ago

Clipper oil or blade ice - which way do you go?

Been cutting hair for about 4 years now and always used clipper oil after every cut. Then last month an old barber in Detroit told me I was making a mistake. He said oil collects dust and hair shavings and gums up the blades over time. He swears by blade ice or a good spray coolant instead. Now I'm second-guessing everything. What do you guys use after a busy Saturday with 12+ heads?

2 comments

c/bricklayers•

kim_nelson•14d ago

Just realized my mortar mix was too wet for months

I was working on a retaining wall in Akron last week and kept having bricks slide out of place. Finally measured the slump on my mix and it was way off, like 6 inches when it should have been 2. I always just eyeballed the water, but now I use a 5 gallon bucket with marks. Anyone else have trouble with consistency on hot days?

2 comments

c/carpet-installers•

kim_nelson•18d ago

PSA: That stretch-in method for hallways is a game changer I learned in Cleveland

Last month I was installing a 12 foot runner in a narrow hall and my knee kicker kept slipping on the hardwood underneath. A guy named Mike from the supply house told me to try stretching it in from the middle out instead of the ends. Saved me like 2 hours of fighting with the backing. Anyone else have a weird trick that just works for tight spaces?

2 comments

c/blacksmiths•

kim_nelson•18d ago

Vent: Guy brought me a set of truck leaf springs and asked me to forge a sword out of them

Saturday morning, 9 AM, this dude rolls up to my shop with four rusty leaf springs from a 1998 F-150. Said he watched a YouTube video and figured it would be easy. I told him it would take a ton of work just to clean the delaminations and stress fractures, and he got all huffy. Anyone else deal with people who think junkyard steel is just waiting to become a katana?

2 comments

c/camera-repairers•

kim_nelson•22d ago

Hot take: I think spraying lenses with IPA is way better than using those expensive sensor swabs

I've been cleaning lenses for 15 years now and after trying both methods on a dusty 24-70 f/2.8 last week, the IPA spray left zero streaks while the swab left smudges I had to redo. Has anyone else ditched the fancy swabs for a simple spray bottle?

2 comments

c/real-estate-chat•

kim_nelson•27d ago

A buyer's agent told me my listing photos were 'depressing' and I almost cried

I took all my own photos for my first two listings. Thought they were fine. But this agent pulled me aside and said the dark shadows and cluttered countertops made the house look 'like a hoarder's garage sale.' She was right. I spent $150 on a photographer with better lighting and staging tips. After that, the same house got 3 offers in the first weekend. Anyone else had to swallow their pride on something basic like photos?

3 comments

c/banned-on-campus•

kim_nelson•27d ago

My professor refused to let me present my research on local zoning disputes, said it was too 'divisive' for a public speaking class.

It happened last Tuesday in a community college in Portland, and I just stood there for 10 seconds before packing up my slides, since when is arguing about where a new apartment building goes considered dangerous speech?

2 comments

c/banned-for-speaking•

kim_nelson•28d ago

I finally bought into that whole "banned for life" warning on a Facebook history group and it actually happened

I got permanently banned from a local history group for posting a newspaper clipping from 1943 that showed a controversial city council decision, and the admin told me "we don't do politics here" even though it was a straight historical fact, has anyone else gotten booted for sharing old public records?

2 comments

Recent Comments

12d ago

A librarian in Boise told me "Catcher in the Rye" was never actually banned there and I didn't know what to say

Maybe the librarian was technically right about city policy, but the school district quietly pulled it from required reading lists back in the 80s. That's basically banning it for the kids who actually have to read it.

13d ago

Hit 50 formal complaints my sophomore year and it made me pause

Ngl that's actually kind of impressive discipline right there.

13d ago

Had a moderator in a UK politics forum tell me my memes were "too one-sided" and it changed how I source my images now

Honestly I used to be one of those people who thought "well it's just a meme who cares where the screenshot came from" but then I got called out on a local politics sub for only using screenshots from one site and it really made me stop and think. I started doing the same thing you do now, checking at least two or three news sites before I make anything, and it actually made my stuff better because I found angles I never would have seen otherwise. Takes longer for sure but the posts don't get deleted and I feel less like I'm just feeding people one side of the story.

13d ago

Tried two different ways to quiet a noisy traction sheave and the second one actually worked

Loud rental" sounds like a band name, not a real problem.

13d ago

My group chat got flagged for planning a local cleanup in Chicago

@gavincampbell you're onto something maybe. A friend of mine runs a small book club in Denver and their chat got flagged for saying "meet at the park" and "bring snacks." They moved to Telegram and renamed it "Tuesday Night Reading Group" with no location mentioned. Haven't had issues since.