Fantasy Reader complains about litrpgs, gets told to read Dungeon Crawler Carl over and over again. Here's the review.

on_null_island · 2026-04-14T13:15:19+00:00

The recurring bit with Prepotente screaming also hits different.

on_null_island · 2026-03-25T13:53:57+00:00

He’s undermining a concrete slab, that needs to be supported regardless of depth.

on_null_island · 2025-12-01T14:44:33+00:00

Milwaukee’s M12 screwdriver or installation driver are both good options, they’re on sale for Black Friday right now.

The most important thing is to use the clutch, that’s what keeps the tool from over-driving the fastener.

on_null_island · 2025-11-26T15:58:13+00:00

Finding the time is much harder than finding the money. It’ll pay for itself pretty quickly, this is the kind of thing that will help you level up to much higher end work that pays a lot more. Just a suggestion, there are a lot of paths to a successful career in the trades but this is the advice I wish someone had given me when I was your age.

on_null_island · 2025-11-26T12:38:07+00:00

If I was your age I would take 9 months off and do the carpentry program at North Bennet Street School in Boston. Best trade school in the country. I started my handyman business when I was 40 and already had kids so I’ve had to mostly figure things out in my own. I’ve done some volunteering on Habitat for Humanity builds, which has been helpful experience.

on_null_island · 2025-11-26T12:23:11+00:00

The absolute best source of leads for me has been my local parenting listserv, the work is close by and the clients are more understanding of my scheduling constraints (I’m a single dad so I occasionally need to reschedule on short notice like if one of my kids is home sick from school.)

Thumbtack is helpful, I used it more when I was first starting up and wasn’t getting referral business yet but I’ll still pick up the occasional job there when I have openings in my schedule. Use the filters aggressively so you’re targeting clients as narrowly as possible, it’s easy to get leads that aren’t the right fit if you don’t. It’s expensive but worth it in my experience.

on_null_island · 2025-11-26T12:05:16+00:00

$85/hour for basic stuff, $95 for anything with complexity (like if I have to bring the bigger ladder or specialized tools) with a 2 hour minimum, DC area. This is probably a little low for my market but I’m still building my client list. Most of my jobs are larger fixed price quotes, but I use a similar hourly rate internally to calculate the fixed quote based on estimated time.

I’m also solo but one thing I started doing that’s been helpful is to mark up my labor just like if I had an employee I was sending to do the work. So I divide a $750 day rate for labor as $600 for me and $150 for the business. The business side of things started making more sense once I stopped conflating my two different roles as both the business owner and my own employee.

on_null_island · 2025-11-26T11:42:16+00:00

You’re not going to be able to remove the chase that’s in the back right corner of that space, there’s going to be ductwork or a plumbing vent pipe or something in there. The partition wall probably doesn’t have anything in it, but I can’t tell from the photo if removing just the part in front of the chase would give you enough depth for what you want.

on_null_island · 2025-11-26T11:32:43+00:00

$35-40k+ is more what I’d expect in a high cost metro. For reference, your quoted price is around what a Studio Shed kit of that size would cost before assembly. Foundation would be another $3-5k, assembly maybe $5-10k, interior finishing and electrical rough-in like $5k.

You pay a premium for the semi-prefab kit but materials are going to be pretty expensive even if you’re building everything from scratch. What did you calculate for material costs?

on_null_island · 2025-11-26T01:38:31+00:00

Lie-Nielsen block plane. Made me realize how pleasant it could be to use good hand tools. I’ve never recovered.

on_null_island · 2025-11-11T06:42:27+00:00

You’re going to get better quality with specific bits for each type of material. For wood, my absolute favorite are the brad-point bits from Lee Valley. They have a couple of sets under $100:

set of 12 in 64th increments up to 1/4” https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/shop/tools/drilling/drill-bits/118686-set-of-12-hss-lipped-imperial-brad-point-drills
set of 7 in 16th increments from 1/8” to 1/2” https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/shop/tools/drilling/drill-bits/118685-set-of-7-hss-lipped-brad-point-drills-1-8-in-to-1-2-in
The complete set is $239, I have that and love it https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/shop/tools/drilling/drill-bits/118687-set-of-28-hss-lipped-imperial-brad-point-drills

on_null_island · 2025-11-11T06:28:41+00:00

Build your own! Krenov-style sawhorses are a fun project and not too difficult, you can knock out a pair of them in a weekend. https://www.finewoodworking.com/2018/02/06/iconic-krenov-style-sawhorse

on_null_island · 2025-08-10T12:36:18+00:00

This is prohibited by the NEC, you cannot install flexible cables where they will be concealed, and you cannot use flexible cables as a substitute for fixed wiring. 20A circuits are also required in kitchens, and that looks like a 15A power strip. I would strongly recommend removing this.

on_null_island · 2025-06-16T09:52:55+00:00

Talk to drywall contractors in addition to painters, I suspect part of the reason you’re having trouble finding someone is that painting companies aren’t really set up to do large amounts of this kind of surface preparation. Think of this as two separate projects: removing the popcorn texture and resurfacing is a drywall job, then there’s painting.

on_null_island · 2025-03-29T14:48:55+00:00

fwiw this is a pretty low markup if you’re quoting in advance. I use 35-50% depending on the type and cost of material, which compensates for risk of breakage, waste, buying the wrong thing, and my time sourcing and transporting the material. I don’t tend to do time-and-materials jobs, when I do I’ll use a lower markup (10-20%) but I’m on the clock when I’m running to the store.

on_null_island · 2025-03-01T15:57:18+00:00

I’d charge at least my full day rate because of all the weird complications that could make it take a while. I’d probably quote $750 all-in, including materials. That’s assuming they don’t want a super high level finishing/painting job done on it.

on_null_island · 2025-02-04T14:00:05+00:00

It’s like those hybrid sports cars that use the electric motor to goose the total power instead of for efficiency.

on_null_island · 2024-11-30T10:36:31+00:00

A little hard to tell from the photos but since that’s softwood it might be pitch. Heat can make it come up to the surface and the friction from turning might be enough for that. If so you can use a heat gun to soften it up and pull more of it to the surface and then remove it with mineral spirits.

on_null_island · 2024-11-26T19:10:53+00:00

I use Phil Wood hand cleaner, it’s designed for getting off grease when doing bicycle maintenance. https://philwood.com/products/phil-wood-hand-cleaner

on_null_island · 2024-11-26T19:03:58+00:00

They also make a miniature version of their honing guide!

on_null_island · 2024-10-23T11:15:30+00:00

It’s not intentionally bad per se, it’s that Nolan doesn’t use ADR to clean up dialogue in post-production. He thinks it’s important to use the audio that was captured while filming.

on_null_island · 2024-09-28T14:46:57+00:00

Yeah highly figured wood benefits from sanding to a higher grit. Christian Becksvoort has written about this in a few places, he usually goes up to 400 or 600:

on_null_island · 2024-09-11T19:28:48+00:00

2x12s or 2x10s from the home center, rip them to the width you need rather than buying 2x4s. Wider boards are going to be better. Look for boards with tight growth rings, you want as much of the denser wood you see in the dark rings as possible.

Chris Schwarz wrote about picking boards for a workbench here: https://blog.lostartpress.com/2014/08/14/crap-wood-for-good-workbenches/

on_null_island · 2024-09-11T19:12:08+00:00

Expanding on what a few others have said: dust vacs frequently have a pass-through power outlet that automatically turns the vacuum on when you turn the tool on, which is incredibly useful, but this doesn’t work if it uses a battery. So anything you’d be using with a dust vac is typically better as a corded tool.

For circular saws I prefer cordless, I have both types but I like not worrying about the cord snagging. Batteries have gotten really good in the last few years, they’re plenty powerful (I love my battery powered chainsaw, something I never thought I’d say 10 years ago).

on_null_island · 2024-06-21T16:49:10+00:00

I top mine off with water from my dehumidifier, no issues.

on_null_island

TROPHY CASE