Felix Hayes (u/felix_hayes64)

Posts

Took me 5 years to admit I was greasing my hoist drum wrong every day

I always slopped grease all over the drum grooves thinking more was better. Then I watched a guy from a different crew do a rebuild on his rig in 2 hours flat because his drum had almost no caked up grease inside. He told me 'just a thin coat on the cable itself, not the drum' and I felt like an idiot. After trying it for a month my brake pads aren't glazing over and the hoist runs way cooler on a full load. Has anyone else been over-greasing their drums without realizing it?

3 comments

c/air-fryer-recipes•

felix_hayes64•16d ago

The manual for my Cosori says not to preheat longer than 3 minutes

I always just set it to 400 and let it go for like 10 minutes before putting food in, thinking I was being smart. Then last night I actually read the little booklet that came with it and it says preheating more than 3 minutes can mess up the heating element. Has anyone else noticed their air fryer acting weird after long preheats?

3 comments

c/bargain-board-finds•

felix_hayes64•20d ago

That Saturday last spring where every garage sale had exactly what I needed

I hit the road at 7am on a Saturday last May and stopped at six sales before noon. At the third one, a guy in Wichita was clearing out his dad's old workshop and sold me a nearly new Delta table saw for $40. Then at the next stop, I found a full set of Stanley chisels in a leather roll for $5. Has anyone else had a morning where everything just lined up perfectly like that?

2 comments

c/behind-the-daily-grind•

felix_hayes64•21d ago

The barista at my local shop remembered my order after one visit and it got me thinking about how rare that is now

3 comments

c/chefs•

felix_hayes64•22d ago

Went 8 years swearing by white pepper until a sous chef caught me

Honestly, I was that guy who put white pepper in everything because I thought it was "cleaner" and "more professional" than black pepper. Last month at a Sunday brunch service, the new sous chef pulled me aside and showed me how my white pepper was actually making my sauces taste dusty and flat. He had me do a blind taste test with 3 different dishes and I guessed wrong on all of them. Now I'm on a black pepper kick using it fresh ground and my mushroom soup actually has actual flavor now. Has anyone else been clinging to a kitchen myth that got completely wrecked by a coworker?

2 comments

c/blacksmiths•

felix_hayes64•26d ago

Spent $150 on a used power hammer from a Facebook listing and it paid off in 2 weeks

Found a 50lb Little Giant power hammer listed near Des Moines for $150, guy said it hadn't run in years. Took a weekend to clean it up and replace the belts, but now I'm punching out ten fold-welded pieces an hour instead of five. Anyone else find old gear that just needed some elbow grease to work again?

3 comments

c/atlanta-local-advice•

felix_hayes64•26d ago

The weird change in my neighborhood park that nobody warned me about

Over the last 2 years I've walked my dog through Grant Park and noticed the oak trees got way more sparse on the southern side near the creek. I think it might be from some construction runoff that happened back in 2022 but I'm not sure. Has anyone else seen trees dying off in their local park and figured out what caused it?

3 comments

c/atlanta-local-advice•

felix_hayes64•28d ago

Paid $40 for a parking spot at the airport lots that was way out by the highway

Booked a spot at one of those off-site lots near Hartsfield-Jackson for a weekend trip. Their shuttle took 25 minutes to even show up, then another 15 to get to the terminal. When I got back, my car had a scratch on the bumper that was definitely not there before. Anyone else had bad luck with those discount airport parking lots?

3 comments

c/bookbinders•

felix_hayes64•28d ago

Cut my headband off after 3 years of struggling with it

I was trimming a leather-bound journal last Tuesday and realized I'd been cutting my headbands way too short, never letting them fan out properly under the spine lining. Finally saw a video of someone leaving them longer and letting them breathe... has anyone else had that forehead-slap moment with their finishing techniques?

3 comments

c/coding-for-beginners•

felix_hayes64•1mo ago

Hit 1000 lines of Python code last night and had to sit down

I've been learning Python on and off for about 6 months and I finally crossed 1000 lines across my little projects. It's not a big number compared to real developers but it felt like a real milestone for me... like all those YouTube tutorials and error messages finally add up to something. I was coding a little weather scraper that pulls data from a free API in Dallas and just realized I'd passed that mark. Has anyone else hit a random number like that and felt weirdly proud of it?

3 comments

Recent Comments

11d ago

Old timer told me to skip the wire brush on clay flues

I ended up just patching the bad spots and it held up fine for years, saved a ton of cash. But yeah, definitely feel his pain on that one.

13d ago

I thought dried beans were a waste of time until my gas bill went up $30

Man, you know what, I actually used to hate buying rice in bulk. Thought I'd never get through it, figured it'd go bad or something. But hearing how long that 10 pound bag lasted you kind of flips that whole idea on its head. Especially when you break down the cost per meal like that, it's hard to argue with. Might have to give that jasmine rice a try instead of the usual white long grain I've been grabbing.

13d ago

I picked T-posts over wood posts on a 150 foot run in Vermont last fall

Yeah that "looks amazing for 6 months" thing is exactly what I tell people about black gravel. It's like a trap. You get that fresh black driveway and it's gorgeous for a season then it's just dirty gray with black spots. The trick I found for steel posts to look less farm-y is go with the green coated ones instead of plain silver. They blend into grass and bushes way better and the color holds up. Also plant some low shrubs or tall ornamental grass in front of the fence line. That breaks up the straight steel look and makes it feel more like a garden border than a pasture.

15d ago

Just found out my agent's fee was way higher than normal

Hang on though, that study you mentioned from 2023 - most buyers actually don't realize they can negotiate at all, not just until after they sign. I've seen a few local agent contracts here in Denver that had the 6% rate printed right there and people just signed without a word. You're right about the FTC stuff though, there's no rule saying you have to pay it. I talked to a guy last month who got his realtor to drop from 6% to 5% just by saying he'd walk if they didn't match the other agent he was looking at.

15d ago

Took me 3 rewatches of The Wire before I realized I was skipping the court scenes

I'd just rewatch season 2 with the remote in your hand.