Sean Reed (u/sean119)

Posts

Fixed my Game Boy Advance SP with a penny and some patience

Last month my GBA SP screen went totally dark, thought it was dead. I opened it up and found the ribbon cable connection was loose, so I wedged a thin piece of cardboard behind it to hold it down. Worked like a charm, saved me $60 on a replacement from eBay. Has anyone else used random household stuff to fix a handheld console?

1 comments

c/elevator-mechanics•

sean119•1d ago

Switched from gearless to machine-room-less on a 12-stop job

I always thought gearless traction was the only way to go for a smooth ride. But we spec'd a MRL with a permanent magnet motor on a 12-stop apartment building in Nashville and the ride quality is basically identical. The difference was the install time - we knocked out the machine room build in 3 days instead of 2 weeks. Plus the building owner saved about $8,000 in construction costs. Has anyone else seen a big shift toward MRL on mid-rise jobs like this?

2 comments

c/aircraft-mechanics•

sean119•3d ago

PSA: Hit 10,000 hours of sheet metal repair two weeks ago

I always heard the 10,000 hour rule was a myth until I finally hit that number last month. Has anyone else noticed a real jump in your skills after a specific milestone, or is that just me?

2 comments

c/board-game-geeks•

sean119•6d ago

Finally hit 100 games played this year and it kinda freaked me out

I started keeping a log in January just for fun, and last night I crossed the 100 mark. That's almost 2 games a week and I have no idea when I became that person. Anyone else's gaming count sneak up on them like that?

2 comments

c/freelance-survival•

sean119•8d ago

Why does nobody talk about client emails that go totally silent?

I had a client just VANISH for 3 weeks after I sent a draft. No reply, no payment, nothing. I thought maybe they hated it so I started revising for free in my head. Turns out they went on a cruise and just forgot to tell me. Now I always put a 48 hour follow-up rule in my contracts. Has anyone else dealt with ghost clients like this?

2 comments

c/aircraft-mechanics•

sean119•11d ago

Old mechanic at the hangar said something that stuck with me

I was getting coffee last Tuesday and Bob, a guy who's been turning wrenches since the 70s, pointed at my torque wrench and said 'you trust that thing more than your own hand.' Been thinking about it all week. He meant I should double-check with a beam-style wrench on critical fasteners instead of just clicking and walking away. Has anyone else had an old timer make you question a tool you use every day?

2 comments

c/chimney-sweeps•

sean119•12d ago

Had to pick between fiberglass rods and a polypropylene kit for a tough flue in Detroit

Ngl, I was stuck choosing between fiberglass rods for $150 or a polypropylene kit for $200 on this 3-story flue with a 45 degree offset in Detroit. I went with the polypropylene because an old timer told me it bends better in tight spots. Worked like a charm on the second offset, but the first one took me 45 minutes of wrestling. Anyone else run into a flue that made you second guess your rod choice?

2 comments

c/avionics-technicians•

sean119•18d ago

Had a chat with a retired A&P at the airshow in Oshkosh that got me thinking.

He said, 'You kids fix the box, but you gotta understand the plane.' I've been so deep in LRUs and software updates on G1000s that I forgot the big picture. Anyone else feel like the systems knowledge gap is getting real?

2 comments

c/concrete-finishers•

sean119•24d ago

Spent two days trying to get a smooth finish on a sloped patio with a weird aggregate mix.

It was a small job in a backyard in Tacoma, maybe 200 square feet. The homeowner had ordered a special decorative mix with some larger river rock in it. My usual magnesium float just wasn't cutting it, kept pulling the big stones out. Tried a steel trowel, a wood float, even a fresno. Nothing worked. Finally, an old timer I called said to mist it lightly and use a plastic trowel with almost no pressure. That did the trick, but by then I'd already burned a full day and a half on it. Anyone have a better method for finishing a mix with chunky aggregate?

2 comments

c/dredge-operators•

sean119•24d ago

Switched from a 6 inch to an 8 inch cutterhead last season and it changed my whole view

I always thought the bigger head on my old dredge was just asking for more wear and tear, more fuel burn for not much gain. My boss in Mobile pushed for the upgrade anyway. After running it for three months on a channel project, we were moving 30% more material per day with only a slight uptick in fuel. The bigger bite just plows through the clay and shell beds we get down here without bogging down. Anyone else made a switch like that and seen similar numbers?

2 comments

Posts

Fixed my Game Boy Advance SP with a penny and some patience

Switched from gearless to machine-room-less on a 12-stop job

PSA: Hit 10,000 hours of sheet metal repair two weeks ago

Finally hit 100 games played this year and it kinda freaked me out

Why does nobody talk about client emails that go totally silent?

Old mechanic at the hangar said something that stuck with me

Had to pick between fiberglass rods and a polypropylene kit for a tough flue in Detroit

Had a chat with a retired A&P at the airshow in Oshkosh that got me thinking.

Spent two days trying to get a smooth finish on a sloped patio with a weird aggregate mix.

Switched from a 6 inch to an 8 inch cutterhead last season and it changed my whole view

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