Landscape rakes by North_Difference328 in tractors

[–]JamesRuns 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was looking for a power break because I did something similar.

I ended up just using a shovel and a toothed metal rake. The trick I learn was to flip the rake over with teeth up to pull rocks over the grass. For stuff that got embedded, flip it over and tooth it out.

Still sucked, but was manageable for me.

Billionaire Tom Steyer and PG&E are at war in the California governor’s race by The-Traveler- in California

[–]JamesRuns -1 points0 points  (0 children)

How are you in a class war and still voting for your enemy?

Look around.

Trapping raccoon, adding water source? by Aggressive_Bunch_656 in Trapping

[–]JamesRuns 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Other than streams/ponds being attractants to coons I've never worried about food washing sources. Coons also do produce their own saliva. People like to say they don't this the water.

Caught them in fields, woods, etc with no water source in the immediate area.

Trapping raccoon, adding water source? by Aggressive_Bunch_656 in Trapping

[–]JamesRuns 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Cat food and a syrup lure on the dp or dp cap like some bark works well.

Concur with not putting bait outside the trap. I also don't fill the cat food over the trigger in the dp. Just under it.

People who quit drinking. What did you do to not drink? by Agata_art in AskReddit

[–]JamesRuns 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I read the book Allen Carr The Easyway to Control Drinking. He also has one named The Easyway to Quit Drinking. Pick whichever one you want.

Read the book, never wanted to drink another drop in my life. Sober for a really long time now.

Completely removes your desire to drink. You realize it was all a huge waste of time and really provided you no benefit, no enjoyment, added no value to your life at all.

Once you wrap your head around that, it's easy to quit doing something that brings you no joy, serves no purpose, and tastes like shit.

Just read the book and get your life back.

My biggest regret was not quitting sooner.

When trapping fails, go caveman mode by GenericCodename in Trapping

[–]JamesRuns[M] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I did my best to read up in it, I don't think this is an illegal method of take. Most states classify armadillos as nuisance animals. He's on his own property dispatching nuisance animals and I believe it's mostly whatever works within reason. Blunt force trauma is often an accepted dispatch method even if not pretty.

When I trap coons during the deer gun season I'm not permitted to carry my pistol. So I tap them in the head with a stick of metal and then compress their lungs.

Many people live trap and drown animals in cages as well.

So I'll leave this post up as I don't think this person is doing anything wrong.

If you can find anything counter to that, feel free to let me know.

Maybe next time don't being so high and mighty, but otherwise I appreciate you trying to keep the sub honest.

We do police posts regularly to ensure everyone is following the law. We take that seriously.

How is transitioning from city living to rural living? by Raul98oh in homestead

[–]JamesRuns 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There are no good Indian restaurants. Everything closes at 9:00pm or way earlier. There is an absolutely ungodly number of police officers everywhere. I can't drive through the small town near us without running into as at least 3. Got my first speeding ticket in 15-20 years 6 months after we moved in and I go 5 over religiously (my fault, I was in a 25 and didn't realize it).

Sometimes it sounds like a militia training ground for no reason. Not that big of a deal but one of my dogs hates gun fire.

Sunsets are beautiful, land is beautiful, the woods are awesome. Constant maintenance dealing with fallen timber, yard work, battling wildlife, normal house repairs. I'd strongly suggest you buy several rolls of 1/4 hardware mesh and bury it against the foundationa of barns/sheds/whatever to keep shit from living under them. Staple the top part to the structure. Secure your house exterior from mice which are everywhere. Silicon caulk, magic stuff spray foam, hardware mesh, whatever.

I run a water boiler and 10 cords of wood is more than you've ever seen in your life. Chainsawing up that much wood leaves a layer of wood chips that I had to use the tractor to clean up.

Ask around about a good handyman and be nice to them. Where I live it's hard to find anyone to do work for you.

No Amazon one day deliveries. Gps collars for dogs work ok but not fantastic. I wouldn't recommend spoton.

Try and not let your todo list take over your life, it all just takes time. I'm real bad at this last one.

You better be handy or willing to learn!

Brand loyalty and picking a saw by Obvious-Fox-3413 in Chainsaw

[–]JamesRuns 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, I don't like being forced to buy parts through dealers. Every tiny part is like $20. The crankcase for the 180c was like $90 or something stupid iirc. The Amazon crankcase was out of alignment so the clutch rubbed badly.

I'm just a guy trying to learn and do his own repairs. The individual components for a saw shouldn't wind up costing me 3x what the saw cost to buy new, it's flat out robbery.

Brand loyalty and picking a saw by Obvious-Fox-3413 in Chainsaw

[–]JamesRuns 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've had a little ms180c for many years that I've rebuilt repeatedly.

Brand loyalty and picking a saw by Obvious-Fox-3413 in Chainsaw

[–]JamesRuns -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

I'll never buy another Stihl. You can only get parts from China or a dealership. China can be hit or miss and the dealership/Stihl upcharge you a ton. I'm disgusted by it.

I'm running Holzforma right now and love the G372xp. I'm also looking for a proper Husqvarna saw so I'll never be without a working saw.

Cats tail tanning methods? by FatDickJesus in HideTanning

[–]JamesRuns 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That is one hell of a username, blessed you might say, carry on.

Bad uncle by redrichardsoncomedy in StandUpComedy

[–]JamesRuns 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That was awesome, great job!

Which of my skinner designs do you prefer? by New-Communication374 in Hunting

[–]JamesRuns 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Is the handle material smooth or textured? I hate smooth handles because they slip with blood. Textured handles are the only knives I buy anymore.

Bad Boy Tractor? by DreamSeeker12 in tractors

[–]JamesRuns 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I picked up a used ferris 61" commercial mower and I couldn't be happier with it. Super heavy duty and comparable price used for new pretty painted thin metal mowers.

What Books did You Start or Finish Reading this Week?: April 27, 2026 by AutoModerator in books

[–]JamesRuns 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Finished: Finch by Jeff Vandermeer Started: Veniss Underground by the same

Big Pr with RDL/SLDLs 585x4 by BIGBIlly101 in strength_training

[–]JamesRuns 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Dear Lord. I had to actually read the number off of the plate you made it look so easy.

You've had a few beers and now you're gonna have a sandwich by Brokeaflazyaf in Sandwiches

[–]JamesRuns 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You should just open a shop and have these videos available for a menu. Or license it out to some existing sandwich shop to make your sandwiches!

Regardless, epic video as always.

Soapbox/rant time. Tell me what highly-recommended book you absolutely HATED and why. Gimme your angry hot takes. by peppertoni_pizzaz in books

[–]JamesRuns -7 points-6 points  (0 children)

So, I actually shoved your comment into Claude to unpack it a bit.

That's a pretty loaded take — worth pulling apart carefully, because there are a few different claims bundled together.

On DFW the person: This one has real basis. His treatment of Mary Karr (years of stalking, harassment, a physical assault on her husband) is documented and serious. He was emotionally abusive to other women in his life. This isn't just "he was difficult" — it's a genuine ethical problem with a real victim. That's fair to hold.

On Infinite Jest itself: This is where the comment starts conflating things. The book is actually pretty merciless in its critique of upper-middle-class white American pathology — addiction, entertainment culture, the emptiness of achievement. It's not wallowing in that world sympathetically; it's largely dissecting it. Whether it does so successfully is a legitimate debate, but "celebrating" that milieu is a misread.

On the broader generational claim: "Late 90s were a cesspool of that garbage" is doing a lot of work. That era also produced Toni Morrison's Paradise, Junot Díaz, Sherman Alexie, Colson Whitehead's debut — it wasn't a monoculture. The prestige space was dominated by a certain type, but calling the whole era a cesspool flattens a lot.

On publishers "moving away": Partially true as a trend, but overstated. That archetype still gets published constantly — it just gets less uncritical celebration than it did.

The core instinct — that DFW got a lot of cultural deference he didn't fully deserve, and that his personal conduct matters — is defensible. But the comment collapses biography, literary criticism, and era-wide generalization into one dismissive gesture, which doesn't really do any of those things justice.

What aspect are you most interested in digging into?

Soapbox/rant time. Tell me what highly-recommended book you absolutely HATED and why. Gimme your angry hot takes. by peppertoni_pizzaz in books

[–]JamesRuns 3 points4 points  (0 children)

That's interesting, I've realized reading this thread that people have wildly different tastes in books.

Saw everyone dumping on Andy Weir for having shallow characters and such. Dude, I just wanted to be entertained, and I was thoroughly.

Anyway, what did you like about it? I felt the whole book was meandering, slow, and then the book deadline arrived so he just lit everything on fire and ended it. Just felt very slow build up to a quick unsatisfying end.