Thea Chen (u/thea_chen)

Posts

Pro tip: stop booking the cheapest hostels for coworking

For the first 2 years of this lifestyle, I always grabbed the 15 dollar dorm bed so I could save for nice dinners. Last month in Chiang Mai I finally splurged on a 40 dollar private room with a desk. Turns out I was spending 3 extra hours a day hunting for coffee shops with good wifi, which was killing my 5pm deadline. Now I finish work by 2 and actually explore the city. Anybody else find that cheap sleep costs more in lost time?

2 comments

c/anime-discussions•

thea_chen•1d ago

Remember when Crunchyroll had that one week where everything worked perfectly?

Back in like 2017, there was this one week in September where Crunchyroll didn't buffer once for me. I was watching One Piece on my old laptop at 10pm every night and the video quality was CRYSTAL clear. No lag, no errors, just smooth sailing for seven days straight. Then the next Monday it went back to the usual spinning wheel of death. Does anyone else remember that weird golden era or was it just my internet being nice to me?

2 comments

c/fix-it-yourself•

thea_chen•3d ago

Hit 300 board feet of salvaged fence wood in my shed

I was just stacking up leftover redwood and cedar from the last two years of fence jobs (I always pull the reusable stuff before demo) and realized I have exactly 300 board feet sitting there. That's like $900 worth of lumber if I bought it new, all just sitting because I can't figure out what to build. Anyone else hoard perfectly good scrap until it becomes a problem?

2 comments

c/bullet-journaling•

thea_chen•8d ago

Three months of daily weather tracking finally paid off

I started a small weather log in my bujo back in January just to see if my memory of how rainy spring actually was matched reality. Turns out I was way off. I thought we had maybe 10 rainy days in April but my log showed 18. The unexpected result was noticing a pattern where my mood dips on the third straight gray day. I ended up using that info to schedule indoor projects on day three instead of forcing outdoor ones. Has anyone else found weird personal patterns from tracking something mundane?

2 comments

c/foundry-workers•

thea_chen•8d ago

Just hit 15,000 pounds of scrap poured this month and I'm fried

I don't even know how it piled up that fast but we finished a big job from a local factory last week and the leftover sprues and runners just kept coming. I usually track my monthly totals but 15,000 pounds surprised me because that's about 50 percent more than my usual 10,000. My back is killing me from all the extra crucible lifts and my buddy Dave keeps joking I must be working double shifts. He's not wrong, I pulled three 10 hour days in a row to keep the furnace cycling. The heat this week in Houston hasn't helped either, I felt like I was swimming in my own sweat every time I skimmed the dross. Anyone else ever look at their scrap tally at the end of the month and just wonder how they survived it?

2 comments

c/forgotten-tech-toys•

thea_chen•27d ago

My old iPod mini bricked itself during a road trip through Nebraska

I was driving through Kearney and the screen just went black in the middle of a mix I made in 2005. I ended up pulling over at a rest stop and jiggling the headphone jack until it somehow revived itself. Anyone else have a gadget freeze up at the worst possible moment?

2 comments

c/edmonton-home-reno•

thea_chen•27d ago

Was dead set against radiant floor heating until my parents got it installed last winter

Always thought it was a gimmick. Too expensive, too complicated, who needs warm floors right? But my parents redid their basement in December and put in electric radiant mats under the tile. Went over for Christmas and stood in their bathroom barefoot. It was 35 below outside and that floor was actually warm. Not just not cold, actually warm. Now I'm pricing it out for my own ensuite renovation. Anyone in Edmonton have experience with the install costs for a small bathroom maybe 60 square feet?

2 comments

c/diy-desk-setup-club•

thea_chen•28d ago

Paid $60 for a cable management kit and my desk looks worse now

I thought I was being smart buying one of those all-in-one cable management kits with the sticky clips and velcro straps. Turns out the adhesive on those clips gave up after three days in my humid basement, and now I have cords dangling everywhere. My monitor cable fell behind the desk and pulled my keyboard off the edge this morning. The velcro straps are fine, but the clips are a total joke. Has anyone found a cheap adhesive that actually holds cables to the bottom of a desk?

2 comments

c/cabinetmakers•

thea_chen•28d ago

Comparison between pocket hole jigs - Bessey vs Kreg changed my mind

I used a Kreg jig for about 5 years and thought it was the only way to go. Then I borrowed a buddy's Bessey at a job site last month and the difference in clamp pressure was night and day. No slipping on hardwood ply and the alignment stayed dead on for all 12 cabinet boxes. Anyone else try switching brands and find one just works better for your setup?

2 comments

c/food-trucks-and-carts•

thea_chen•29d ago

Had a chat with a taco truck owner in Austin that made me ditch my loyalty card system

He told me he stopped using punch cards 3 years ago because customers kept losing them and getting annoyed, and honestly after hearing how his repeat business went up 20% with a simple text alert setup, why would anyone still bother with those paper cards?

2 comments

Posts

Pro tip: stop booking the cheapest hostels for coworking

Remember when Crunchyroll had that one week where everything worked perfectly?

Hit 300 board feet of salvaged fence wood in my shed

Three months of daily weather tracking finally paid off

Just hit 15,000 pounds of scrap poured this month and I'm fried

My old iPod mini bricked itself during a road trip through Nebraska

Was dead set against radiant floor heating until my parents got it installed last winter

Paid $60 for a cable management kit and my desk looks worse now

Comparison between pocket hole jigs - Bessey vs Kreg changed my mind

Had a chat with a taco truck owner in Austin that made me ditch my loyalty card system

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