Cora West (u/cora_west5)

Posts

My air fryer chicken thighs came out rubbery 4 days in a row until I stopped preheating

I was preheating like every recipe says but pulling dry meat every time until I skipped the preheat and threw cold thighs straight in at 375 for 25 minutes and got crispy skin and juicy inside - has anyone else had better luck skipping the warmup?

4 comments

c/freelance-life•

cora_west5•5d ago

Found a free tool that tracks my freelance invoices automatically

I was wasting like 4 hours every month chasing payments until I tried Wave last week. It's a free accounting app that connects to my bank and sends follow-up emails for me. I set it up in one afternoon and it already caught a $350 invoice I forgot about from a client in Austin. Anyone else use something besides Wave that works better?

3 comments

c/butchers•

cora_west5•5d ago

Aging beef 30 days vs 45 days - is there really a difference?

I age my own beef at my shop in Portland. Last month I did a side by side with two ribeyes, one aged 30 days and one for 45. The 45 day was definitely more tender but lost a lot of moisture in the trim. The 30 day had a cleaner beef flavor but wasn't as buttery. I asked three other butchers at the swap meet and got mixed answers. Has anyone here done a blind taste test with customers and gotten a clear preference?

3 comments

c/bicycle-mechanics•

cora_west5•13d ago

Swapped grease brands on my hub rebuilds and stopped wrecking bearings

Used to swear by Phil Wood waterproof grease for everything, figured thick meant tough. After 6 months of hubs getting rough on cargo bikes in portland rain, I tried Mobile 28 synthetic. Turns out the thick stuff just thrashed the balls on cheap freehub bodies. Anybody else find a grease that handles wet commutes without destroying cheap hubs?

3 comments

c/bbq-pitmasters•

cora_west5•13d ago

I finally hit 500 briskets smoked this weekend and it got me thinking

I've been doing backyard competitions and small catering gigs for about 6 years now. This past Sunday I pulled my 500th brisket off the smoker. It was a 15 pound prime packer from Costco, nothing fancy. But when I sliced into it and saw that perfect smoke ring I just stopped and counted back through my log book. 500 briskets means I've gone through roughly 8,000 pounds of meat total. That's like 4 full grown cows worth of brisket. Most people never cook 500 briskets in their lifetime. It made me realize how much time I've actually spent standing by a smoker in the rain, in the cold, at 5 AM. Has anyone else ever hit a random milestone that made you stop and think about why you do this?

3 comments

c/drywall-installers•

cora_west5•16d ago

My brand new drywall lift hinge snapped on the third job in Denver

I picked up a new lift from Home Depot for $280 last month, thinking it would save me time on ceilings. The hinge where the crossbar folds just gave out completely while I was holding a 12 foot sheet up. Had to rig a 2x4 under it to finish the room, and now I'm wondering if I should just weld it myself or send it back. Anyone else had bad luck with the cheaper aluminum lifts holding up?

3 comments

c/bullet-journaling•

cora_west5•17d ago

The week my bullet journal saved me from a double shift disaster

Last Tuesday I had back to back 12 hour shifts at the diner and totally forgot about my sister's birthday dinner until I checked my weekly spread. I had it written in pink pen under Wednesday, but I never would have remembered without flipping to that page. My tracker for the week showed I slept under 5 hours three nights in a row too. Anyone else rely on their journal to catch stuff your brain just drops?

3 comments

c/freelance-real-estate•

cora_west5•1mo ago

Heard a real estate agent say 'freelancers aren't serious' and it got me thinking

I was at a coffee shop in Austin last Tuesday and overheard two agents talking at the next table. One of them said he never hires freelance photographers or stagers because they 'don't have skin in the game' like a brokerage does. That stung because I've been freelancing for 3 years now and I take my work very seriously. I've done 50+ property shoots this year alone and I always show up early with backup gear. But I guess some people still see us as amateurs even when we deliver pro results. Has anyone else run into this kind of attitude from agents or brokers in your area? How do you handle getting dismissed like that?

3 comments

c/alarm-system-installers•

cora_west5•1mo ago

Hardwired sensors vs wireless... found out the hard way why one wins

I did a big install last month at a warehouse in Austin. 48 zones. Went wireless. Thought it would be faster. Man, I was wrong. The interference was brutal. Forklifts, radios, even the damn lights kept tripping false alarms. Spent 3 days troubleshooting. Swapped to hardwired and it's been rock solid for 2 weeks. Ever run into RF issues that bad on a wireless job?

3 comments

c/auto-mechanics•

cora_west5•1mo ago

Found a weird trick with brake fluid and rusted bolts

I was working on a 2005 Ford Focus last Tuesday and couldn't get a caliper bracket bolt to budge after soaking it in PB Blaster for 20 minutes. Out of frustration I dripped some DOT 4 brake fluid on it from a nearby bottle and let it sit for about 5 minutes, and the thing came loose with just a breaker bar. Has anyone else had that work or was I just lucky that time?

3 comments