Jana Bell (u/jana509)

Posts

Can we talk about that moment when a kid flinches and you nick them...

I was doing a flat top on a 7 year old in my chair last Tuesday and he jerked his head right when I was near his ear... got a tiny cut, barely a dot of blood. The mom was cool about it but I felt awful for the rest of the day. How do you guys handle kids who can't sit still mid-cut?

1 comments

c/diy-builders•

jana509•1d ago

Rant: That guy who said my foundation drain was overkill was wrong

So last spring I was digging footings for a small shed in my backyard here in Ohio. An old hand at the lumber yard told me just to skip the perimeter drain and gravel, said it'd be fine for a shed. I went against my gut and did it his way to save time. Fast forward to this month after all that rain we had, and I've got water pooling under the floor. Now I gotta tear up the gravel and do it right with proper drainage and PVC pipe. Anyone else had someone talk them out of doing something the right way?

3 comments

c/freelance-life•

jana509•1d ago

Changed my mind about coworking spaces after one afternoon at a library

I always thought coworking spaces were a waste of money for freelancers. Last month I was working from a library downtown and this graphic designer next to me showed me how she splits her month between a cheap space and home. She said the 50 bucks a week gets her out of her own head more than any productivity app. Has anyone else found a cheap coworking spot that actually helped their focus?

3 comments

c/board-game-geeks•

jana509•2d ago

Called out for liking "unfun" games at my meetup last night

I was at the Sunday night board game meetup at Game Haven in Portland and someone said I only like "boring math problems" after I pulled out Food Chain Magnate. I found out from a BGG stats page that Splotter games actually have a higher average play count than most popular party games because people who own them actually table them regularly. Am I the only one who thinks a game with zero randomness is more fun than something like Cards Against Humanity?

3 comments

c/drafters•

jana509•17d ago

Hot take: setting your drawing scale in model space is not always wrong

I keep seeing posts on here saying you should never draft in model space with the actual scale, always use annotative scaling. Been drafting for 12 years now, worked at a civil firm in Omaha where we did everything in model space at 1:1 for plan sets and I think people are overcomplicating it. Annotative scaling has its place, sure, but for simple site plans or details that don't change scale, setting up your text and dims in model space saves me tons of time. I just switch viewports and adjust the scale factor manually. No glitches, no weird layer issues. Has anyone else found annotative scaling to be more hassle than it's worth?

3 comments

c/climate-action•

jana509•19d ago

Watched my neighbor hose down his driveway for 45 minutes during the drought warning

I finally walked over and asked him if he'd ever checked his local water restrictions online, and he just shrugged and said 'the hose is paid for.' Now I'm wondering if I should start a block-wide challenge where we see who can save the most gallons this summer. Has anyone else tried a friendly neighborhood water usage contest without starting a feud?

3 comments

c/client-red-flags•

jana509•21d ago

Unpopular opinion: that "trust your gut" advice cost me $1,200

Had a graphic design client last spring who seemed great on paper, but my friend told me to ignore the weird vibes and just take the money. Wound up chasing invoices for 6 months after they ghosted me on a $1,200 bill. Has anyone else found "trust your gut" to be more reliable than optimistic advice from peers?

3 comments

c/backpacking-routes•

jana509•24d ago

That $60 water filter I bought for the JMT in 2017 is still going strong

I dropped cash on a Katadyn BeFree right before the John Muir Trail trip and honestly thought it was overkill. Filtered 200+ gallons from that trip alone and it never clogged once. Meanwhile my buddy's cheap Sawyer mini froze on day 3 and cracked. Anyone else have gear that just refuses to die after years of abuse?

4 comments

c/botany-lovers•

jana509•1mo ago

Vent: My neighbor called my fern collection 'just a bunch of green stuff'

I was repotting on my porch in Seattle when the guy next door said that, and it made me realize how differently people see plants. Some folks just don't get the specific care and history behind each one. Does anyone else have a plant that looks simple but has a cool story?

3 comments

c/camera-repairers•

jana509•1mo ago

Vent: I just found a batch of counterfeit shutter assemblies for the F-1

For a long time, I used to source these from a supplier in New York who was always reliable. About six months ago, they switched to a new manufacturer without telling anyone. The parts look perfect until you install them and they fail after maybe 200 cycles. I've had three come back this week alone from a repair I did in January. The metal is just slightly softer and the spring tension is off. Has anyone else run into these fake Canon parts recently, and where are you finding good ones now?

3 comments