u/primarist

I recently got an incredible deal on a piece of furniture with a "stream" onyx top. The stone is truly beautiful and its a real statement piece. The catch is that I got the furniture unfinished (hence why the price was so good). I've been reading a bit about how to care for the stone but wanted to get some opinions about how to actually finish it (if that's even a thing). I plan on using a high quality stone sealer like Akemi Nano or Stain-Proof impregnator, but my understanding is that these will (and should) not effect the finish.

What should I do to bring up the finish slightly to really make the pattern and color pop? I would prefer to not go through a whole process of wet sanding it if possible, and I don't want to bring up the shine that much anyway, just a touch from the current matte. I've read very mixed opinions on using a specialty wax (like Tenax Cera wax) for this purpose with some claiming it works great and just needs occasional reapplication, and some saying it will ruin the stone. What are your thoughts? Any product recommendations? Forgive my ignorance here, I haven't had any natural stone furniture before and haven't worked with it as a material.

I'm a little loathe to add to the mountain of posts on this topic but I guess its just my turn this time. I'm still struggling with group messaging and its starting to effect my social life lol. I am able to message individually just fine, and there are a select two group messages that work (more on this later), but every other group message, I am able to send but not receive.

I have been using my Light Phone III exclusively for about 45 days now, I have de-enrolled my number from RCS (I was on Android before). Still nothing at all. The two group chats that I referenced earlier work seemingly because there is a friend in them that has an iPhone they haven't updated since 2020. Any group chat that is comprised of phones running up to date software does not work.

I'm starting to get frustrated and need a path forward here. I otherwise love this device and it has truly changed how I interact with technology for the better. But I have also missed gatherings, missed a party, and am generally just pissing my friends off at this point because they feel (rightly or wrongly) that they have no way to contact me.

Things I have tried:

• Disabling RCS and de-enrolling on Google's site (45 days ago)
• De-enrolling from iMessage (did nothing because I didn't have an iPhone but worth a shot)
• Waiting 30 days (its been 45)
• Have friends delete group chat name (did nothing)
• Have friends delete group chat completely with me remaking it from my side only (did nothing)
• Tried group chats with a mix of android and apple devices (nothing)
• Become somewhat socially ostracized from my friend group (priceless)

Just what the title says. I've been using a fork of the Qobuz-dl tool and it has been working beautifully. I've gone slightly nuts over the last few days and just took some pause wondering how safe this is to use? Clearly not looking for legal advice here but in your experience, how safe are these download tools? I used my own personal account for a couple dozen downloads before switching to a different one, all the time using a VPN (I never turn mine off). Has anyone ever had Qobuz come after them legally? I suppose my paypal account is linked to Qobuz so they could go that route if they really wanted to.

Sorry for the somewhat paranoid questions. I'm returning to music downloading after years of streaming and come from the limewire generation. The music "acquisition" landscape has changed a lot and I'm trying to figure out the best way for make up for all this lost time. Thanks for the advice.

In the process of setting up my new Light Phone III, I've run into an issue that I haven't been able to solve through my own research and testing. After adding a Google account to the Calendar tool, I have been unable to see any events on my phone.

Here are the steps I took to add the account:

• Created a fresh Google account specifically for my Light calendar
• Added a bunch of events
• Turned on 2FA, added my typical 2FA methods (passkey, TOTP app, etc)
• Added an app password (per the Light documentation)
• Went to the Light dashboard, opened the Calendar tool, and added both the email of the new account as well as the app password, both typed out with no spaces
• Confirmed that a notification appeared on the phone and the account is showing in the tool (when I click "Remove Calendar" the correct email shows up)

I have tried the following to resolve this:

• The "supervision" setting is not on
• I have manually typed in the account email and the app password
• I have recreated the app password and tried re-adding it several times
• I have checked all my security and permissions settings in Google

After trying all the suggested remedies I decided to try testing from a different client using the exact same app password method to see if I could get more information. I opened Mozilla Thunderbird and attempted to add the calendar using the app password. I was presented with a 2FA screen asking for my passkey/authenticator app/other method in order to complete the CalDAV subscription. After seeing this, I checked into the Google CalDAV API documentation, which says that on May 1st they changed their requirements such that "basic" authentication (just a bare app password, like what I think Light is using under the hood) will result in a 401 Unauthorized code.

To confirm this, I went back to Thunderbird and tried adding the calendar again, but this time forcing it to attempt a "basic" authentication. This attempt returned a simple "Credentials not accepted" message, confirming the new Google requirements.

If this is actually what is causing the issue then that basically means any new Google Calendar connection attempts will fail until the Light tool integrates OAuth2. Is anyone else out there, specifically new Light users, having this same issue? If there are others out there with the same problem, this may be a fairly critical bug insofar as it breaks a major function of the phone. Alternatively, if anyone out there had the same issue as I described above and was actually able to solve it, please let me know since, if its not a bug on the Light end, I have no idea what else to try.

So I recently purchased my first house and am super excited to finally have space to build a workshop to explore more hobbies. I was lucky that this house already had a shed on-site, however, this shed was in dire condition. I originally set out to see what could be salvaged with the idea that I could shore up the weak spots and use it as-is. Unfortunately, it was so water damaged due to poor construction that it had to be entirely torn down. I am left with a 16x20' concrete pad where the old shed stood and some confusion about the best way forward.

This pad is in just OK condition. It has some cracks (nothing insane, maybe a few mm wide at the most) and there is a bit of settling in the corners where the old roof used to funnel water. I would love to reuse the pad since demoing and pouring a new one is a non-starter financially right now, but will have to work around it not being perfectly level. So far I have divided my designs into two camps:

1. Build directly on the pad
2. Use the pad as a footer for a skid/sleeper floor system

Both of these have pros and cons and I'm leaning more towards idea #2. For starters, idea #1 would require that I build the walls so that the sill is anchored directly into the edge of the pad, but because the pad isn't perfectly flat, I would need to account for that either by shimming the wall level and mortaring under it, or by building the wall stick-by-stick, cutting each stud to length to account for the deflection. This seems like a ton of effort and there are multiple failure modes, especially considering that the pad could continue to settle (though I expect this will be greatly reduced with a correctly draining roof).

Idea #2 on the other hand seems simpler on the surface. I'm thinking it could go two ways. One would be to build out a floor system directly on the pad, with a rim joist running the perimeter and floor joists sitting directly on the concrete. The second way would be to actually run 4x4 sleepers along the pad and then build the joist system on top of those. This would greatly reduce the amount of shimming needed to level the floor since each sleeper would only need to be shimmed at two points to bring it to level.

There are other ideas I've bounced around that I think are non-starters due to complexity or cost: (1) pouring self-leveler on the pad to make it level and building on that, (2) pouring a foundation wall around the pad to build the walls on, (3) removing the pad and pouring a new one, (4) poly-jacking the pad, etc etc.

What does everyone think? This is my first major construction project as a homeowner so I'm sorta figuring this out as I go along, so any help would be greatly appreciated.

This is both a rant and a request for advice. I'm a new homeowner with an older house and a laundry list of repair projects. I am also incredibly frustrated with my experience learning new DIY skills so far. To say that this process has been demoralizing is an understatement. It feels that no matter how small or large the project, however minor or major the skill, the well of information and "gotchas" is infinite.

Let's take repointing my stone facade walls as an example. Now I'm not going to oversimplify this and say it's a foolproof job, but I had imagined that there would be (1) a couple recommended products to choose from, (2) one or two specialized tools that would make the job easier, and (3) a learning curve that could be surmounted after a bit of trial and error. What I found was almost incomprehensible. There were forum posts where people were arguing about the provenance of the stone and the quarries it came from. People considering the angle of the sun, prevailing winds, and citing the history of mortar development from roman times. YouTube videos of people going into using additives to modulate complex chemical processes in the mortar to achieve specific results. All of this with a very black and white, catastrophized backdrop. "If you don't do it this way, your wall will collapse," " 99% of beginners do it this way and it ruins their house." People giving (seemingly) good and logical advice only to have dozens of comments saying "you're so full of shit," and "totally wrong, here's a better way," constantly conflicting with each other.

I've found much the same with my current project, rebuilding an old shed. There is a somewhat settled and cracked concrete pad that needs to be leveled before I build new walls. At a friend's suggestion, I looked into using self-leveller as a quick and cheap was of getting this done. Almost a week of research later, and feeling like I could almost write a dissertation on the topic, I'm more confused than when I started. There are thousands of different products with various chemical and mechanical properties, all engineered for ultra specific applications. Different adhesive properties that work in different conditions with different prep routines. Some products have off-label applications that sometimes work and sometimes don't. Literally mountains of YouTube videos and blog posts from "experts with 20 years of experience" claiming that, yes, this is absolutely doable and mountains of equal and opposite experts claiming that, no, this is absolutely not the right use and you'll ruin your pad. I then looked into mud/poly jacking and hit a similar wall. "This is a great solution that is only ~$3000 more expensive than self leveller," "no this is really not smart and will cause more problems than it fixes," "yes this is totally DIY-able," "this is really something that is best left for a professional for x, y, z reasons." Now I've moved into just totally replacing the pad as the only "foolproof" way of fixing the issue, sending me almost 200% over budget, delaying my projects by almost a month, and just hiring a pro after all of that.

The last example I've experienced recently is learning skills for woodworking. I decided a while back that I wanted to learn woodworking, having a bunch of creative furniture ideas I'd like to try, so I took a couple classes. Even across two classes with two different pro furniture makers, the advice was *wildly* different. "If you do this, you'll lose your fingers," "what that guy told you before was actually the most dangerous way to do it! here's a better way," "never do this unless you want a trip to the ER." This dovetails with the universe of YouTube videos claiming titles like "5 Tablesaw Habits That Lead to AMPUTATIONS," with a thumbnail of someone doing something intentionally innocuous and an overlaid picture of the presenter facepalming. Videos saying they are the final statement on saw technique and safety garner reaction videos from other pros explaining why they're actually completely wrong. What am I to even believe at this point?!

I am so beyond pulling-my-hair-out frustrated with the amount of conflicting information out there and don't know where to go for actual reliable advice. When I trust my gut, that's wrong. When I look for advice from an expert on YouTube channel, he's wrong (and apparently an idiot). When I come to Reddit, everyone is in a superposition of being both right and wrong at the same time!

I know that in our attention economy, this is how people drive engagement and get views and I'm falling for it. I also know that companies are at least partly to blame for sowing distrust in their competitors products so they can promote their own as superior. But how on earth are people able to sift through this and find any solid ground to stand on? I used to think that, with the Internet, one could learn almost anything and that it was the most powerful learning tool humans had ever created. Now I'm really not so sure. There is *so* much information out there that I think it actually impeded learning and it **certainly** impedes doing. I think back to my grandfather times where the only way to learn was either through a trusted mentor or whatever book you were able to get at the local library. Now, granted, they may have learned a totally "wrong" thing by todays standards, but at least it was clear cut and it got them out of the learning stage and into the doing stage quicker. Now I feel like it is so easy to conflate learning with doing and fall into the trap of never really starting anything for fear of not having perfect information.

Has anyone else run into this hurdle, observed any of these things in their own lives? How were you able to overcome this?

I'm a new homeowner with an older house and a laundry list of repair projects. I am also incredibly frustrated with my experience learning new DIY skills so far. To say that this process has been demoralizing is an understatement. It feels that no matter how small or large the project, however minor or major the skill, the well of information and "gotchas" is infinite.

Let's take repointing my stone facade walls as an example. Now I'm not going to oversimplify this and say it's a foolproof job, but I had imagined that there would be (1) a couple recommended products to choose from, (2) one or two specialized tools that would make the job easier, and (3) a learning curve that could be surmounted after a bit of trial and error. What I found was almost incomprehensible. There were forum posts where people were arguing about the provenance of the stone and the quarries it came from. People considering the angle of the sun, prevailing winds, and citing the history of mortar development from roman times. YouTube videos of people going into using additives to modulate complex chemical processes in the mortar to achieve specific results. All of this with a very black and white, catastrophized backdrop. "If you don't do it this way, your wall will collapse," " 99% of beginners do it this way and it ruins their house." People giving (seemingly) good and logical advice only to have dozens of comments saying "you're so full of shit," and "totally wrong, here's a better way," constantly conflicting with each other.

I've found much the same with my current project, rebuilding an old shed. There is a somewhat settled and cracked concrete pad that needs to be leveled before I build new walls. At a friend's suggestion, I looked into using self-leveller as a quick and cheap was of getting this done. Almost a week of research later, and feeling like I could almost write a dissertation on the topic, I'm more confused than when I started. There are thousands of different products with various chemical and mechanical properties, all engineered for ultra specific applications. Different adhesive properties that work in different conditions with different prep routines. Some products have off-label applications that sometimes work and sometimes don't. Literally mountains of YouTube videos and blog posts from "experts with 20 years of experience" claiming that, yes, this is absolutely doable and mountains of equal and opposite experts claiming that, no, this is absolutely not the right use and you'll ruin your pad. I then looked into mud/poly jacking and hit a similar wall. "This is a great solution that is only ~$3000 more expensive than self leveller," "no this is really not smart and will cause more problems than it fixes," "yes this is totally DIY-able," "this is really something that is best left for a professional for x, y, z reasons." Now I've moved into just totally replacing the pad as the only "foolproof" way of fixing the issue, sending me almost 200% over budget, delaying my projects by almost a month, and just hiring a pro after all of that.

The last example I've experienced recently is learning skills for woodworking. I decided a while back that I wanted to learn woodworking, having a bunch of creative furniture ideas I'd like to try, so I took a couple classes. Even across two classes with two different pro furniture makers, the advice was *wildly* different. "If you do this, you'll lose your fingers," "what that guy told you before was actually the most dangerous way to do it! here's a better way," "never do this unless you want a trip to the ER." This dovetails with the universe of YouTube videos claiming titles like "5 Tablesaw Habits That Lead to AMPUTATIONS," with a thumbnail of someone doing something intentionally innocuous and an overlaid picture of the presenter facepalming. Videos saying they are the final statement on saw technique and safety garner reaction videos from other pros explaining why they're actually completely wrong. What am I to even believe at this point?!

I am so beyond pulling-my-hair-out frustrated with the amount of conflicting information out there and don't know where to go for actual reliable advice. When I trust my gut, that's wrong. When I look for advice from an expert on YouTube channel, he's wrong (and apparently an idiot). When I come to Reddit, everyone is in a superposition of being both right and wrong at the same time!

I know that in our attention economy, this is how people drive engagement and get views and I'm falling for it. I also know that companies are at least partly to blame for sowing distrust in their competitors products so they can promote their own as superior. But how on earth are people able to sift through this and find any solid ground to stand on? I used to think that, with the Internet, one could learn almost anything and that it was the most powerful learning tool humans had ever created. Now I'm really not so sure. There is *so* much information out there that I think it actually impeded learning and it **certainly** impedes doing. I think back to my grandfather times where the only way to learn was either through a trusted mentor or whatever book you were able to get at the local library. Now, granted, they may have learned a totally "wrong" thing by todays standards, but at least it was clear cut and it got them out of the learning stage and into the doing stage quicker. Now I feel like it is so easy to conflate learning with doing and fall into the trap of never really starting anything for fear of not having perfect information.

Has anyone else run into this hurdle, observed any of these things in their own lives? How were you able to overcome this?

Hey everyone, I know no one every follows up on their Reddit posts (original post: https://www.reddit.com/r/treelaw/comments/1ry4k8t/neighbor_hired_arborists_to_contest_hazardous ) so I figured I'd go ahead and share this.

After taking all the great feedback I received to heart, I got in touch with an independent ISA arborist with a qualified risk assessment cert and had him come look at the tree. He wasn't surprised that the other tree services had used scare tactics to try to persuade my neighbor and I to take it down and he stated that he would only recommend a trim, weight reduction, and yearly monitoring.

He also said if we really wanted to be sure, he could perform a level 3 ISA assessment and drill test the trunk and major limbs. We both said yes to this and after the tree was successfully trimmed down (they removed a ton of big dead limbs), the arborist returned and, on doing the assessment, found that the tree was perfectly healthy with zero rot!

So I just gotta say thank you all very much. Not only would it have been massively more expensive to remove the tree, the property would have lost a ton of character, we would have killed at 100 year old creature, and I would have a total heat island in my backyard. To anyone on the fence, I suggest hiring an independent ISA arborist with that QRA cert to review your situation, worth every penny.