Grant Park (u/grantp28)

Posts

Back in '08 on a job in Tacoma, I was overthinking my load swing.

An old hand just said 'stop fighting it, let the crane do the work' and it clicked. Anyone else have a simple piece of advice that changed their whole approach?

0 comments

c/commuter-conversations•

grantp28•1d ago

Just read that the average American spends 51 minutes commuting each day

Saw that in a report from the Census Bureau and it made me add up my own drive time. Anyone else surprised by their own total?

2 comments

c/ai-innovations•

grantp28•2d ago

Serious question, my friend in Chicago said AI art is just copying, but I saw something that made me think twice.

We were at a gallery showing digital work, and he pointed at a piece made with an AI tool and said, 'It's just stealing from real artists, no soul.' Later that week, I watched a designer use the same tool to make a concept for a park that blended local plant shapes in a way I'd never seen. Does using AI to create new patterns from old ideas count as real innovation, or is it just fancy copying?

3 comments

c/bicycle-mechanics•

grantp28•7d ago

A trick for stubborn freewheel removal I figured out last month

Had a 90s mountain bike come into the shop with a freewheel that just would not budge, even with my biggest wrench. I ended up clamping the removal tool in my bench vise, putting the wheel on it, and using the whole wheel as a giant lever to turn it. The extra leverage from holding the rim did the trick in about two seconds after I had been fighting it. Anyone else have a go-to method for the really stuck ones?

3 comments

c/budgeting-wins•

grantp28•10d ago

My brother called my budget 'a wish list with numbers' and it stung but he was right.

I was showing him my spreadsheet last month, all proud of my color coded categories. He looked at it for a minute and said, 'This isn't a budget, it's a wish list with numbers. Where's the part where you track what you actually spend?' I got defensive at first, but then I looked at my bank account. I was always over in groceries and eating out, but my spreadsheet just showed the perfect plan. So I started using a simple app to log every single purchase for two weeks. Seeing the real numbers, like $120 just on coffee and snacks, was a gut punch. I cut that down to $40 last week by making coffee at home. Now my budget is based on what I really do, not what I hope to do. Has anyone else had to switch from planning to actual tracking to make their budget work?

3 comments

c/bullet-journaling•

grantp28•13d ago

Update: my coworker said my bullet journal looked 'like a second job'

I mean, I was just trying to track my water intake and work projects, but it made me think maybe I'm adding too much detail. How do you keep yours from feeling like extra work?

3 comments

c/auto-mechanics•

grantp28•15d ago

My old boss said to never trust a scanner for a rough idle on a 2007 Ford 5.4L, and he was right.

Had one in the bay yesterday with a P0304, and the scanner said coil 4 was fine. I pulled the plug anyway like he taught me, and the boot was cracked and full of oil. Saved the customer a new coil pack they didn't need. What's your go-to 'ignore the code' check for those Triton motors?

3 comments

c/astronomy-photos•

grantp28•17d ago

Finally got a decent shot of the Orion Nebula after a friend told me my exposures were way too short

I was only doing 30 seconds, but they said to push it to 90 seconds at least to really pull in the color. What's the longest single exposure you've managed to get without star trails?

3 comments

c/electronics-repairers•

grantp28•22d ago

Pro tip: I thought those cheap usb power testers were junk, but one just saved a laptop repair

I had a guy bring in a gaming laptop that would not charge at all. I was ready to order a new dc-in board, but I plugged in a little $15 power meter I got online a while back. It showed the charger was putting out the right voltage, but the current draw was jumping all over the place. That pointed me right to a shorted capacitor on the main board near the charging circuit. Fixed it in an hour. Anyone else find a simple tool that turned out to be way more useful than you expected?

3 comments

c/career-advice•

grantp28•23d ago

I just hit 50 job applications with zero callbacks

It was a real wake-up call about my resume. Has anyone else had this happen and figured out the fix?

3 comments

Posts

Back in '08 on a job in Tacoma, I was overthinking my load swing.

Just read that the average American spends 51 minutes commuting each day

Serious question, my friend in Chicago said AI art is just copying, but I saw something that made me think twice.

A trick for stubborn freewheel removal I figured out last month

My brother called my budget 'a wish list with numbers' and it stung but he was right.

Update: my coworker said my bullet journal looked 'like a second job'

My old boss said to never trust a scanner for a rough idle on a 2007 Ford 5.4L, and he was right.

Finally got a decent shot of the Orion Nebula after a friend told me my exposures were way too short

Pro tip: I thought those cheap usb power testers were junk, but one just saved a laptop repair

I just hit 50 job applications with zero callbacks

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