Kai Burns (u/kai_burns73)

Posts

Frustrated that every beginner tutorial skips error handling entirely

Ngl I've been learning Python for about 3 months now and I keep seeing these YouTube tutorials where they code something and it works perfectly first try. But when I type the same code I get a stupid KeyError or something breaks. Then I look through the comments and nobody even mentions try-except blocks or validating inputs. Why does nobody teach you how to fail gracefully? I spent 2 hours yesterday debugging a script because I didn't check if a file existed before opening it. Has anyone else noticed this gap in beginner content, or am I just picking bad tutorials?

3 comments

c/brain-rot-watch•

kai_burns73•7d ago

This one Saturday last month broke me on those 'satisfying' slime videos

I was supposed to be cleaning my kitchen in Toledo but fell into a three hour hole of slime videos on my phone. You know the ones where they poke the fluffy slime and it makes that wet squish sound? I kept telling myself I would stop after one more, but then a video would show them cutting into a slime with hidden beads inside. It was like my brain turned off completely. I didn't eat lunch and my feet went numb from sitting on the hard floor. The worst part was realizing I retained zero information from any of those videos. Has anyone else felt like those repetitive ASMR clips just steal hours from your day without giving anything back?

3 comments

c/cable-installers•

kai_burns73•9d ago

Had a customer follow me around with a clipboard yesterday

I was running cat6 through this older house in Springfield and the guy kept writing down every single cable length I measured. He said he wanted to 'audit my footage' and I just laughed, but he was dead serious. Has anyone else dealt with a homeowner who micro-managed every pull?

4 comments

c/botany-lovers•

kai_burns73•12d ago

Got told my ficus was 'looking sad' and it bugged me for days

I mean, I thought I was doing fine with my ficus lyrata. Watered it every week, kept it near the window. Then a friend came over and said it looked 'a little sad and droopy' and I couldn't stop thinking about it. Turns out I was overwatering it by like half a gallon each time, so I cut back to every 10 days and now it's perking up. Has anyone else had a friend's offhand comment make you totally rethink your whole plant routine?

3 comments

c/diy-and-reno•

kai_burns73•14d ago

Spent 4 hours trying to level a concrete floor for my shed base

I was setting up a 10x12 shed in my backyard near Austin, thought I could just pour some self-leveling compound and be done in an hour. Turns out the floor had a 2 inch slope from one corner to the other, way too much for that stuff to handle. Had to break out the grinder and diamond cup wheel, then do multiple thin pours over two days. Anyone else run into a floor that's way more unlevel than you expected?

3 comments

c/debunk-it-yourself•

kai_burns73•1mo ago

Just hit 10,000 steps for 100 days straight - here's what I actually found

I started tracking my steps last August after seeing this viral claim that 10k a day fixes everything. Made it to day 100 yesterday. My sleep got better around week 3, but my knees started hurting around day 70. The crazy part is the health numbers I tracked didn't change nearly as much as the internet promised. My resting heart rate dropped from 72 to 68, not the huge drop people talk about. I lost maybe 4 pounds total which is barely anything for 3 months of walking 5 miles a day. Has anyone else actually tracked their own results from a viral health challenge?

3 comments

c/celebrity-apology-breakdown•

kai_burns73•1mo ago

Watched a D-list star's apology about that pet store incident

A friend told me to look at the eye movement during the video. They said if they look up and to the right, they are making stuff up. I watched the whole 4 minute apology from that reality show person and caught 3 times they did that exact thing. It was when they talked about 'feeling terrible' and 'taking responsibility.' Has anyone else noticed this tells or do you look for something different?

3 comments

c/bullet-journaling•

kai_burns73•1mo ago

Spent $80 on a fancy dotted journal and it actually made me hate bullet journaling

I picked up a Leuchtturm1917 a month back because everyone says it's the best. But the paper is so thin my pen bleeds through everything. Now I'm stuck with a journal I don't want to use. On the other hand, my buddy swears by them and says the ghosting is part of the charm. Has anyone else dropped serious cash on a supposedly premium notebook and regretted it, or am I just using the wrong pen?

3 comments

c/baking-fails-and-wins•

kai_burns73•1mo ago

That lady at the farmers market told me my bread looked like a sad potato

I was selling my first batch of sourdough in Austin and she said that right to my face but then she bought two loaves and came back the next week for more, has anyone else gotten a weird compliment like that?

3 comments

c/baking-fails-and-wins•

kai_burns73•1mo ago

Overheard my neighbor say she never preheats her oven and her cakes turn out fine

I was out back last weekend and heard my neighbor Linda telling her friend she just puts her cake batter straight into a cold oven and sets the timer. She said it saves electricity and she's never had a problem. I've always been strict about preheating for 15 minutes at least, so this threw me off. Has anyone else tried skipping the preheat step or is this just asking for a flat cake that sinks in the middle?

3 comments