Leo Baker (u/the_leo)

Posts

Binged The Wire in 10 days flat

I hit episode 42 of The Wire last Tuesday and realized I had watched 5 seasons in under two weeks. That show has more layers than I expected for a cop drama from 2002. Anyone else power through a long series faster than they planned?

3 comments

c/ask-anything•

the_leo•8d ago

Was dead set against meal prep services until I did the math on my grocery receipts

My partner kept pushing Factor meals and I laughed it off for months. I was convinced it was just lazy people throwing money away. Then I sat down and added up three months of my grocery runs where I'd buy stuff, forget about it, and toss half of it. It came out to about $180 a month in wasted food alone. At $11 a meal that's basically the same cost when you factor in zero waste. I still feel weird about it but the numbers don't lie. Has anyone else had their opinion flipped by actually crunching the numbers on something?

3 comments

c/archaeology-discoveries•

the_leo•9d ago

TIL the difference between Roman concrete and modern stuff is they used volcanic ash and lime instead of Portland cement

I was watching a doc on the Pantheon last week and apparently their concrete gets stronger over time while ours degrades in like 50 years has anyone else geeked out on this comparison?

3 comments

c/budget-travel-hacks•

the_leo•13d ago

Ran into a dude in Marrakech who taught me the plastic bottle trick for negotiating

He was selling rugs in the souk, and he told me to always carry a crushed plastic bottle in my bag to look like I'm hydrated and not desperate. I tried it at a spice stall, and the guy dropped his price by 40 dirhams on the spot. Anyone else use weird props to get better deals while traveling?

3 comments

c/cosmetologists•

the_leo•14d ago

Pricing based on chair rental vs commission - the math surprised me

I was doing my taxes last week and ran the numbers on chair rental vs commission for the first time in 8 years. A stylist I know takes 70% commission at a fancy salon downtown, but I found out that after she pays for her own color, backbar, and the extra self-employment tax, she actually keeps less per hour than I do renting a chair at my spot for $450 a month. The breakdown shocked me because everyone in my salon keeps telling me commission is the only way to go. Has anyone else actually crunched both numbers for their specific city or situation?

3 comments

c/cable-installers•

the_leo•1mo ago

Buried a splice in a wet vault last summer, regret it now

I thought I sealed it up good with some cheap gel tape and regular rubber tape on top. Three months later I got a call about noise on that line. Opened the vault and water had gotten under the tape and turned the splice green. Had to redo the whole thing in the rain on a Friday afternoon. Cost me 4 hours and a service call. Anyone else stop trusting cheap tape on underground work?

3 comments

c/avionics-technicians•

the_leo•1mo ago

Was I overtesting my installs or was the old-timer just set in his ways? Feedback I got at a hangar in Phoenix

So I had a senior avionics tech tell me I was wasting time by running full functional tests on every wire bundle before I even button up the panel. He said I should just do continuity checks and trust the drawings unless something feels off. I argued that I caught two shorted pins that way last month on a Cessna 172 install, and he said that was just bad luck not a standard. Now I'm split. On one hand, his way saves maybe 45 minutes per job. On the other hand, I already missed a ground fault once that cost a redo. Has anyone else gotten feedback like this and actually changed their test routine? What did you decide?

3 comments

c/deepfake-drama•

the_leo•1mo ago

Had to decide between trusting a real video or a deepfake one last week

I was watching a clip of a politician saying something wild, and my friend swore it was fake. I spent 20 minutes checking the shadows and audio sync, turns out it was real but the context was cut. Anyone else spending way too much time fact checking videos now?

4 comments

c/arborists•

the_leo•1mo ago

Just hit 500 trees pruned this season and my body is feeling it

I passed 500 trees pruned for the season yesterday, a backyard maple in Oakville. Didnt even realize I was that close until I checked my logbook. It kind of hit me how many hours and ladder climbs that actually is. My knees and lower back are definitely making me pay attention now, anyone else track their numbers like this?

3 comments

c/conspiracy-debates•

the_leo•1mo ago

Vent: My old method of debunking moon landing hoaxers versus my new one

I used to jump straight into arguments with people who swore the moon landings were faked. I would pull up NASA transcripts and lighting analysis, spend like 2 hours typing out a huge response. That just made them dig in harder, you know? About 6 months ago at a BBQ in Austin, this guy started in about the flag waving and I just changed tactics. Instead of debating him, I asked him to walk me through his proof step by step and kept asking simple questions like 'how would they fake that part in 1969?' He got frustrated and changed the subject within 10 minutes. Has anyone else found that asking questions works better than throwing facts at these people?

3 comments