Ray Patel (u/ray_patel27)

Posts

My curling iron literally snapped in half mid-style yesterday

I was doing a blowout for a 3pm appointment and the barrel just cracked at the hinge. Had to finish with a flat iron and it took an extra 20 minutes. Anyone know a brand that can actually handle daily use?

1 comments

c/budget-travel-hacks•

ray_patel27•19h ago

Remember when everyone said to book flights on a Tuesday?

I used to set a calendar alert for Tuesday mornings to check flight prices, thinking it was the big secret. Last year, I tried using a price tracking tool for a trip to Lisbon instead. The tracker found a deal on a Thursday that was $180 cheaper than anything I saw on a Tuesday. It showed me the price pattern over a month, so I knew when to buy. The old rule just doesn't work with how airlines change prices now. Has anyone else found a better trick than just picking a day of the week?

2 comments

c/drafters•

ray_patel27•1d ago

I finally got a call from a client about a missing detail on a site plan for a house in Bend

I was in my home office last Thursday when the builder called and asked where the septic tank cleanout was supposed to go. I checked the file and realized I'd drawn the tank but completely forgot the access riser. I had to drive over, meet him on site with my tablet, and sketch it in right there while he waited. Has anyone else blanked on a small but critical detail like that under a tight deadline?

2 comments

c/backpacking-routes•

ray_patel27•8d ago

Tried the John Muir Trail vs. the Wonderland Trail last summer

The JMT felt crowded, like a line at a theme park after the first 20 miles. The Wonderland around Rainier was just as tough but way more wild, saw maybe three other groups a day. So why does everyone still push the JMT so hard for a real wilderness trip?

2 comments

c/budget-travel-hacks•

ray_patel27•8d ago

Pro tip: I found a way to get a $40 flight from Chicago to Miami by booking two separate one-way tickets on different budget airlines.

I was stuck looking at $200 round-trip fares until I checked Frontier for the outbound and Spirit for the return, which saved me over $160 and proved that mixing airlines is the real hack.

3 comments

c/everyday-tech-hacks•

ray_patel27•14d ago

Rant: My phone's auto brightness keeps going too dark at night

I set my phone to auto adjust brightness, thinking it would be smart, but every evening in my living room it dims the screen so much I can barely read. I learned you have to manually tweak the setting in a dark room for it to learn your preference. Does anyone have a better fix for this?

2 comments

c/drafters•

ray_patel27•18d ago

Remember when we all had to draw isometric views by hand?

I was cleaning out my old office in Tacoma and found a stack of my hand-drawn isometric sketches from 2008. Comparing that to just using the 3D rotate command in AutoCAD now... the difference is night and day. I used to spend half a day on a single view, and now I can generate a dozen in an hour. Anyone else still have their old manual drafting tools lying around?

3 comments

c/freelance-survival•

ray_patel27•18d ago

My accountant mentioned that 70% of his freelance clients don't set aside money for quarterly taxes, and it's the main reason they get into trouble.

I started putting 30% of every single payment into a separate savings account immediately, and it saved me from a huge panic last April.

3 comments

c/daily-small-wins•

ray_patel27•19d ago

A customer's thank you note made my whole week

I was finishing a panel upgrade in a house in the West End and the homeowner, an older lady, handed me a folded piece of paper. It was a thank you note saying she felt safe for the first time in years. I keep it in my toolbox now. Anyone else get a small gesture that just stuck with you?

3 comments

c/avionics-technicians•

ray_patel27•20d ago

Had a stubborn LRU on a Garmin G500 system fail a self-test in Denver last month

Turns out a tiny bit of corrosion on the backplane connector pins was the culprit, cleaned it with a fiberglass pen and it passed. What's your go-to method for cleaning those hard-to-reach contacts?

2 comments

Posts

My curling iron literally snapped in half mid-style yesterday

Remember when everyone said to book flights on a Tuesday?

I finally got a call from a client about a missing detail on a site plan for a house in Bend

Tried the John Muir Trail vs. the Wonderland Trail last summer

Pro tip: I found a way to get a $40 flight from Chicago to Miami by booking two separate one-way tickets on different budget airlines.

Rant: My phone's auto brightness keeps going too dark at night

Remember when we all had to draw isometric views by hand?

My accountant mentioned that 70% of his freelance clients don't set aside money for quarterly taxes, and it's the main reason they get into trouble.

A customer's thank you note made my whole week

Had a stubborn LRU on a Garmin G500 system fail a self-test in Denver last month

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