Oliver Rivera (u/the_oliver)

Posts

Third showing this month fell through because of a plumbing leak I couldn't even see

Wednesday was supposed to be the day I finally closed a deal on that 1950s bungalow near Elm Park, but the buyer's inspector found a slow leak behind the basement wall that had been dripping for years. The seller refused to fix it and the buyer walked, so now I'm back to square one with a listing that's been sitting for 62 days. Has anyone else had a property deal blow up over hidden water damage that takes forever to uncover?

3 comments

c/better-off-dead•

the_oliver•4d ago

That one time my uncle swore Kurt Cobain was a genius and I just nodded along

Sitting at my aunt's kitchen table in Portland two years ago, uncle Dave went on a 20 minute rant about how Nirvana changed music forever. He said 'you wouldn't get it, you were born in the 90s.' I didn't even like their stuff that much but felt too awkward to push back. Has anyone else dealt with older relatives acting like you can't question certain dead musicians?

3 comments

c/botany-lovers•

the_oliver•4d ago

That old gardener at the nursery told me to prune my roses harder and I'm finally seeing the payoff after 3 seasons of wimpy blooms

I used to just snip the tips but she said cut them down to 18 inches in early spring and now my bush is stacked with flowers, has anyone else gotten brutal pruning advice that actually worked?

3 comments

c/chimney-sweeps•

the_oliver•8d ago

Just realized that customer who kept asking for extra cleanouts was right all along

I was sweeping a house in Denver last Tuesday and the homeowner kept insisting I add a second cleanout to his flue. I told him it was unnecessary and argued my point for about 10 minutes. He pulled out a photo of his last sweep's work showing heavy creosote buildup right where the flue turned. I added the cleanout and found a solid 2 inch blockage in that exact spot. Has anyone else had a homeowner teach them something they should have already known?

3 comments

c/aircraft-mechanics•

the_oliver•10d ago

PSA: Always double-check the torque on stabilizer trim jackscrews

Last month at a shop in Charlotte I had a Baron come in for a routine inspection. Found the jackscrew nut had backed off by almost a full thread. Previous guy mustve rushed it. Caught it before it got serious but man that couldve been bad on a go-around. Has anyone else found loose hardware on older Pipers?

3 comments

c/divorce-support•

the_oliver•10d ago

Found a free legal clinic that saved me $400 on my divorce paperwork

Last month I walked into a legal aid clinic at the county courthouse downtown and a paralegal helped me fill out all the forms for an uncontested divorce. Took about 2 hours and I would have spent $400 easy at a lawyer's office. Has anyone else tried something similar when money was tight?

3 comments

c/botany-lovers•

the_oliver•10d ago

TIL the difference between a native prairie garden and a manicured lawn after visiting the Chicago Botanic Garden yesterday

I've always thought a neat, green lawn was the way to go. But I went to the Chicago Botanic Garden yesterday and spent time in their prairie restoration section. It was full of tall grasses and wildflowers, and the guide pointed out how much more wildlife it supports. I saw three types of butterflies and a bunch of bees in just 10 minutes. My front lawn has never had that. Now I'm thinking of tearing up a section of my yard and planting a mini prairie patch. Has anyone here done a conversion like that in a small suburban lot?

3 comments

c/astronomy-photos•

the_oliver•11d ago

A cloudy night in Boulder taught me a better way to stack astrophotos

I've been messing with stacking astrophotography for like 6 months and always ended up with weird gradients or blurry stars. I thought you had to use the fancy settings in DSS or PixInsight to get good results. Then last week I went out to a spot near Boulder and shot 400 frames of the Andromeda galaxy on my old Canon. A guy at the trailhead told me to just try the 'average' stacking mode instead of 'median' or 'sigma clipping'. I was skeptical but figured why not. It cut out all the satellite trails and plane streaks in one pass without me having to tweak anything. Now I look like I actually know what I'm doing. Has anyone else had luck with a simple setting change that made stacking way easier?

4 comments

c/behind-the-headlines•

the_oliver•13d ago

Found an old-school fix for my leaky faucet that plumber didn't mention

My kitchen faucet was dripping for like two weeks, driving me nuts at night. I called a plumber who quoted me $180 just to come look at it. Before I booked it, my dad told me to try replacing the rubber washer inside the handle - cost me $1.50 at the hardware store. Took me 20 minutes with a screwdriver and a pair of pliers, and the drip stopped completely. Has anyone else had luck with those simple fixes before shelling out for a pro?

3 comments

c/boilermakers•

the_oliver•15d ago

Swapped from a rosebud to a single tip on my last preheat and never going back

I used to always grab the rosebud for preheating thick plate, thought it was the only way to get heat into the metal fast. Last week I was on a job near Gary, Indiana, and my rosebud tip was clogged so I had to use a single tip out of desperation. Turns out I had way more control over the heat zone and didn't overshoot my interpass temp by 100 degrees like usual. Anyone else ditch the rosebud for certain jobs and get better results?

4 comments