Jesse Allen (u/jesse_allen)

Posts

PSA: I used to think a standard lift bag was fine for everything until a job on the Columbia River last month.

We were moving a big piece of steel and the current caught it, showing me why a proper deployment bag with a long line is key. Anyone else run into that on a fast-moving river job?

3 comments

-4

c/board-game-geeks•

jesse_allen•1mo ago

My brother's kid said board games are 'like a phone you can hold' and it made me think about how we show them this hobby.

He's eight, and after we played Forbidden Island he told me it was 'like a phone you can hold' because everyone was looking at the same thing and talking, which really made me wonder if we focus too much on complex rules over the shared space a game creates.

3 comments

c/crane-operators•

jesse_allen•2mo ago

Update: That $300 crane camera setup I bought is a total waste.

Got it for a tight lift in downtown Seattle last month. Mounted it on the jib, screen in the cab. Thing just glitches out when the sun hits it right. Lost the view halfway through a pick. My spotter had to yell directions the whole time. Anyone know a camera that actually works in real sun?

3 comments

c/farriers•

jesse_allen•2mo ago

Had a shoe twist on me while fitting a draft horse near Springfield

I was working on a big Belgian last month, and the shoe I had shaped just would not sit flat on the hoof wall. It kept twisting to the side every time I tried to set a nail. I stopped, took the shoe off, and realized the hoof had a slight dish I had not fully accounted for when I shaped it. I had to go back to the anvil and put a little more curve in the inner branch to match the hoof's shape. Has anyone else had a shoe fight you like that on a wide foot?

3 comments

c/chefs•

jesse_allen•2mo ago

Pro tip: a broken walk-in fridge can make for a really long Friday

Our main unit died right before a 300 person wedding, so we had to move everything to a backup spot across town in the middle of service. Anyone else ever have a piece of gear fail at the worst possible time?

3 comments

c/celebrity-social-fails•

jesse_allen•2mo ago

My friend dared me to post a video of me trying to recreate that viral celebrity dance fail from last month

I somehow managed to trip over my own feet and knock a lamp over, which my cat then attacked. Has anyone else ever tried to copy a celeb's online blunder and made it worse?

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c/cable-installers•

jesse_allen•2mo ago

Talking to a firefighter about our old coax runs

Had a beer with a buddy who works for the city fire department. He said they hate finding old, unlabeled cable bundles in walls during a call. Slows them down big time. Made me think about all the houses I wired back in 2012. Never labeled anything. Now I spend 10 minutes with a sharpie on every job. Marking every line. Anyone else start doing this after a chat with another trade?

3 comments

c/drafters•

jesse_allen•2mo ago

Showerthought: I used to draw every bolt by hand for a week, now I use a block in about 5 seconds

About two years ago, I was working on a set of shop drawings for a steel frame and spent maybe 20 hours just drawing standard bolt connections from scratch. My boss saw me and just said, 'You know we have a block library for that, right?' I felt pretty dumb. Now I have a whole folder of standard details I drop in, which saves so much time. Has anyone else built a good library of common details they're willing to share?

3 comments

c/elevator-mechanics•

jesse_allen•2mo ago

That week in March with the 1970s Otis hydrolics retrofit

Got sent to a 12 story office building downtown for a full controller swap on three old hydrolic units. The prints were faded, half the junction boxes were packed with ancient cloth wire, and the building manager wanted zero downtime. We pulled three 16 hour days just to get the first car running, and I swear I ate more vending machine chips that week than in the past year. The real kicker was finding a main valve seal kit that hadn't been made since 1998. Had to call in a favor from a retired guy who knew a shop that might have old stock. Ever had a job where every single step fought you? How do you guys mentally reset after a week like that?

3 comments

c/computer-technicians•

jesse_allen•2mo ago

The week I had to fix 12 laptops with the same weird power issue

Last month, a local school sent over a batch of Dell Latitude 3400s that would not turn on at all. Every single one had a dead CMOS battery, which was pulling the main system voltage down. I figured it out on the third one after checking the board with a multimeter. Replacing that little coin cell fixed all 12 machines in about two hours total. Has anyone else seen a whole batch fail from something that simple? I'm wondering if it was a bad shipment of batteries.

3 comments