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7

c/conspiracy-debates•jenniferw82•51m ago

Rant: Got stuck in a Staples parking lot for 45 minutes because of a 'flash mob'

Was leaving the Staples on Route 9 in Framingham last Tuesday and some group blocked all the exits with their cars for a protest that wasn't even announced. Has anyone else had their day wrecked by one of these spontaneous gatherings that turn out to be organized?

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30

c/electronics-repairers•jenniferw82•18d ago

Found a half-melted soldering iron in a lamp I was rewiring yesterday

Picked up an old floor lamp from a garage sale for $5, and when I opened the base there was a cheap iron stuck to the wires with melted plastic all around it. How do you even get that far into a project and just leave it like that?

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16

c/f150-performance-mods•jenniferw82•19d ago

Found out my intake was costing me 15 HP from a dyno sheet I stumbled on

Was browsing through some old forum pages last night and saw a guy post his dyno results after swapping his stock intake for a different setup. I always figured the factory box was fine, but his numbers showed a 15 hp gain just from changing the tube and filter. I looked closer and my stock intake has this crazy restrictive baffle right at the inlet that I never noticed before. Anyone else pull theirs off and see a difference on the street?

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21

c/digital-art-showcase•jenniferw82•19d ago

Had my best digital art showcase day ever last Saturday

I spent like 4 hours setting up my pieces in that new virtual gallery app (the one with the 3D rooms, you know?) and then got 200 visitors in one afternoon. It was the first time I saw people actually stop and zoom in on my brushwork, which felt amazing since I usually get maybe 20 views. Has anyone else had a day where your artwork just clicked with the audience?

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16

c/diesel-mechanics•jenniferw82•23d ago

Finally tried my buddy's way of bleeding injectors instead of the book method

I was fighting a bad miss on a 2002 7.3 Powerstroke last Tuesday and spent like 3 hours following the service manual step by step. My buddy Dave stopped by and showed me his trick of cracking the lines at the injector while having someone crank it over instead of using the Schrader valve method. He had that thing running smooth in under 20 minutes, no joke. Now I'm wondering if I've been wasting time on every single diesel I've worked on for the past 5 years. Anyone else ditch the manual way for something a veteran taught you that just flat out works better?

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6

c/budgeting-wins•jenniferw82•23d ago

Stumbled on a stat that says average American throws away $150 a month on unused subscriptions

Saw that number on a NerdWallet article last night and it made me go through my bank statements from 2023 to find $45 still going to a gym membership I haven't used since February where do you folks usually check for these things?

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2

c/diesel-mechanics•jenniferw82•27d ago

Wasted 12 hours on a cylinder head gasket job thanks to the wrong torque wrench

Last month I spent an entire Saturday wrestling with a Cummins ISX head gasket, only to find out my cheap torque wrench was off by 40 foot-pounds. Leaked coolant everywhere on the test drive, and I had to pull it all apart again. The $75 tool cost me a full weekend and an extra $30 in gaskets and fluids. Has anyone else been burned by a budget torque wrench that wasn't calibrated right?

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4

c/coffee-enthusiasts•jenniferw82•28d ago

My fancy espresso machine paid for features I'll never touch

I spent $1,200 on a dual boiler espresso machine last spring thinking I'd be a home barista pro. Turns out I only ever use the single shot button and the steam wand sits there gathering dust. I could have gotten a perfectly good used Gaggia for $300 and saved myself $900. Anyone else buy way more machine than they actually need?

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15

c/foundry-workers•jenniferw82•29d ago

Can we talk about why everyone thinks shell molding is better than green sand for small runs?

After running 200 castings last month in Ohio I had to stop and rework 30 of them from the shell mold because the finish was too brittle, but my green sand setup on the same parts gave me zero scrap and I will never waste time on shell for short orders again, has anyone else dealt with that kind of failure rate?

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11

c/computer-technicians•jenniferw82•1mo ago

Grabbed a refurbished UPS from a surplus sale and it worked too well

I found this old APC UPS at a county surplus auction for like $15. Figured it would be junk but I needed something for my home lab setup. Plugged it in, ran the self test, everything looked fine. Then last week a storm hit and the power flickered like 4 times in 30 seconds. That little UPS kicked in and kept my server running no problem. But then the power came back and it just kept beeping nonstop for 20 minutes until I unplugged everything. Turns out the battery was so old it couldn't handle the recharge cycle and started swelling. Lesson learned, next time I'm just buying a new battery upfront before even using one of these things. Anyone else run into weird issues with surplus UPS gear?

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