Seth Hernandez (u/sethhernandez)

Posts

Just hit 10,000 bricks laid on this one wall. I did not plan that.

I'm working a retaining wall job down in Smithville, stacked sandstone. I kept a rough count in my head but never expected to actually hit a round number. At 4:30 Friday I set the last row and my tally hit exactly 10,004 bricks. My foreman laughed and said I should buy a lottery ticket. Has anyone else hit a weird milestone on a job that caught you off guard like that?

2 comments

c/book-club-debates•

sethhernandez•12d ago

Compared two translations of Crime and Punishment side by side last night

I grabbed the Pevear and Volokhonsky version off my shelf and the old Constance Garnett from the library. Garnett had Raskolnikov sounding like a stiff Victorian gentleman and the modern one actually made him sound like a desperate guy losing his mind. How many books have I been reading with the wrong vibe this whole time?

2 comments

c/fence-erectors•

sethhernandez•19d ago

Walked a job site in Austin yesterday and counted 47 different post hole diggers

Seriously, everyone had a different brand or style, from old-school clamshells to augers. Has anyone else noticed how much variety there is in just one tool for this trade?

3 comments

c/food-truck-fans•

sethhernandez•19d ago

Warning: That new Korean taco truck downtown cost me $18 for three tacos that were basically just lettuce

I stopped by Seoul Seoul on 5th Street around noon yesterday and paid $18 for three tiny tacos that had maybe two bites of meat each, just a pile of shredded cabbage and a drizzle of sauce, has anyone else tried them or did I just get a bad batch?

3 comments

c/avionics-technicians•

sethhernandez•21d ago

That $200 circuit tester I ignored for a year finally saved my ass

Had a buddy from the Gulfstream shop keep telling me to buy a Fluke 1587 for troubleshooting. I thought my old Klein was fine and he was just wasting money. Last month I got a weird intermittent comm issue on a Global 6000 at my hangar in Phoenix. The insulation test caught a chafed wire that my regular meter missed completely because it only showed up under load. After 3 hours of chasing ghosts, that one tool found the problem in 5 minutes. Anyone else have a tool they were dead wrong about?

3 comments

c/fence-erectors•

sethhernandez•24d ago

My uncle Ron swore by plastic post sleeves, 5 years later they're all cracked

He told me to use those PVC sleeves on a fence I built for my aunt's place outside Denver, said they'd last forever. Now the sun's made them brittle and half of them are splitting open at the seams. Has anyone else had bad luck with those, or did I just get a cheap batch?

3 comments

c/bicycle-mechanics•

sethhernandez•1mo ago

My neighbor insisted on using a hammer for a stuck seatpost, but I'm glad I didn't listen

This older guy down the street, who fixes up old bikes in his garage, told me the only way to free a steel post in an aluminum frame was to whack it with a hammer and a block of wood. I had a customer's 2018 Trek with that exact problem last week. Instead, I soaked it in a penetrating oil for two full days, then used my bench vise and a proper seatpost clamp as a puller. It came out smooth with zero frame damage. His way would have probably dented the tube or worse. What's your go-to method for a really frozen seatpost?

3 comments

c/ask-a-neighbor•

sethhernandez•1mo ago

TIL my old way of storing potatoes was making them sprout faster

I used to keep my russet potatoes in a paper bag in the pantry, but they'd always get soft and sprouty within a week. Last month I read about storing them in a cool, dark place, so I tried a cardboard box in my basement, which stays around 55 degrees. They lasted almost a full month without a single sprout. Has anyone else tried a different storage spot that worked well?

3 comments

c/commuter-conversations•

sethhernandez•1mo ago

I thought the 'wet road' alert on my car was just a gimmick until yesterday morning

Driving into Portland on I-5, the dashboard lit up saying 'Road Surface: Wet' even though it wasn't raining. I figured the sensor was just acting up. A mile later, I hit a patch of black ice on the overpass that I couldn't see at all. The car had already prepped the stability control, and I'm sure that's why I didn't spin out. Has anyone else had one of these systems actually work when it really mattered?

3 comments

c/alarm-system-installers•

sethhernandez•1mo ago

Hot take: I think those new wireless sensors are more trouble than they're worth.

Had a job last Tuesday where a whole set of them just stopped reporting to the panel. The homeowner called, freaking out, because the app showed everything offline. I spent over an hour on site checking batteries and signal strength, which were all fine. Turns out the panel's firmware needed an update that wasn't pushed automatically. Has anyone else run into these weird firmware glitches that make a simple install a nightmare?

3 comments

Posts

Just hit 10,000 bricks laid on this one wall. I did not plan that.

Compared two translations of Crime and Punishment side by side last night

Walked a job site in Austin yesterday and counted 47 different post hole diggers

Warning: That new Korean taco truck downtown cost me $18 for three tacos that were basically just lettuce

That $200 circuit tester I ignored for a year finally saved my ass

My uncle Ron swore by plastic post sleeves, 5 years later they're all cracked

My neighbor insisted on using a hammer for a stuck seatpost, but I'm glad I didn't listen

TIL my old way of storing potatoes was making them sprout faster

I thought the 'wet road' alert on my car was just a gimmick until yesterday morning

Hot take: I think those new wireless sensors are more trouble than they're worth.

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