Gray Nguyen (u/gray_nguyen2)

Posts

Question about whether it's better to batch payments or process them one by one

I always thought batching payments saved time, but after a mix-up at my local credit union in Austin last month where 3 transactions got duplicated, I'm rethinking it. Now I'm wondering if processing them individually with real-time verification is actually safer. Anyone else had a similar problem and switched their approach?

2 comments

c/cabinetmakers•

gray_nguyen2•3d ago

Tried using a cheap hand plane on some maple and it changed how I setup my shop

I was getting tearout on every board until an older guy at a Rockler class told me to sharpen the iron at 25 degrees instead of 30. Has anyone else had better luck with a steeper bevel for hardwoods?

2 comments

c/coding-for-beginners•

gray_nguyen2•4d ago

Spent 4 hours debugging a missing semicolon in JavaScript

I was working on a simple calculator project for my first portfolio site. The code looked perfect to me but nothing would run. I checked my loops, my functions, even rewrote half the logic. Turned out I forgot a semicolon at the end of a variable declaration on line 12. That tiny thing cost me 4 hours of staring at the same 50 lines of code. My buddy who's been coding for years just laughed and said it happens to everyone. Has anyone else had a bug like that where you felt dumb after finding it?

2 comments

c/cosmetic-procedures•

gray_nguyen2•4d ago

Just realized my friend's comment about my 'filler mustache' might be right

I was having coffee with my friend Sarah last week and she asked, really nicely, if my lip filler had started to migrate. She said she noticed a little shadow above my lip that looked like a 'filler mustache.' I got 1ml of Juvederm about eight months ago and honestly hadn't looked that close. But now I can't unsee it in photos from the last couple months. It's not super bad, but it's there. Has anyone had this happen and did you get it dissolved, or did it go down on its own after a while?

2 comments

c/bicycle-mechanics•

gray_nguyen2•10d ago

Just hit 500 brake bleeds and I was wrong about the syringe method

I always thought the cup and hose was fine for most jobs, but after a week of stubborn Shimano levers, I tried a proper syringe kit. The difference in lever feel on the first pull was huge. Anyone else switch methods after a certain number of jobs?

2 comments

c/auto-mechanics•

gray_nguyen2•11d ago

Finally got a customer to understand why you can't just top off their transmission fluid after a 90k mile flush.

I explained that the old fluid had worn-out friction modifiers (which is why the pan magnet looked like a fuzzy caterpillar) and adding new fluid to that sludge would just make the new stuff fail faster, so has anyone else found a good way to explain this without sounding like you're just upselling?

2 comments

c/diy-garage•

gray_nguyen2•11d ago

My neighbor told me to just slap a new garage door opener in without checking the springs. Bad idea.

He's a nice guy, but he said, 'It's just a motor swap, takes an hour.' So I bought a new chain drive unit for about $300 and got to work. The old opener was shot, but the real problem was one of the torsion springs was completely worn out. I didn't know to check it first. When I finally got the new opener installed and hit the button, the door was so heavy it strained the motor and tripped the safety reverse immediately. I had to call a pro from a local shop, and he showed me the spring had lost all its tension. The whole fix, with new springs and his labor, cost me another $450 on top of the opener. I should have listened to the manual that said to check spring balance first. Has anyone else been burned by skipping that basic step?

2 comments

c/crane-operators•

gray_nguyen2•15d ago

TIL a seagull can shut down a tower crane for a whole afternoon

Had a job in Seaside Heights where a seagull decided to build a nest right in the main hoist sheave assembly. We spotted it at 7 AM and couldn't touch it due to wildlife rules, so we had to wait for a state guy to come out and move it. That bird cost us 6 hours of prime lifting time. Anyone else ever get delayed by something totally ridiculous like that?

2 comments

-1

c/binge-worthy-shows•

gray_nguyen2•22d ago

I finally gave in and watched that show everyone's been yelling about for three years.

My friend in Denver would not shut up about it, so last week I started the first episode. By Friday I was on season two, and I completely forgot to order parts for a job. The whole thing just pulls you in and suddenly it's 2 AM. Does anyone have a trick for watching just one episode at a time?

2 comments

c/astronomy-photos•

gray_nguyen2•22d ago

Choosing between a wide field shot of Orion and a close-up on the Pleiades cluster

Last night I had a clear sky but only enough time to set up for one target. I went with the Pleiades at 200mm and got a decent 30 second exposure before clouds rolled in. It's tricky balancing detail with the risk of losing the whole session. What's your go-to target when you're racing against the weather?

2 comments

Recent Comments

3d ago

Tried booking a hotel in Denver for a weekend, the app price was $20 higher than calling.

Right, because getting a bored front desk guy who just wants to play with the pricing system is basically my superpower. My life is a constant cycle of hoping some underpaid employee finds me charming enough to knock twenty bucks off a room. But your point about the call center robots is dead on, every time I think I've cracked the code I end up on hold for half an hour listening to some muzak version of a song I hated in 2007. Apps definitely make the whole process less of a personal humiliation, though I'm pretty sure the app rewards are just a system designed to make me feel good about spending more money on a king bed I don't need. Do you ever actually cash in those rewards points or do they just sit there like a toaster you got from a wedding you weren't invited to?

4d ago

A lady in my old shop told me she kept her 1987 washer running with a bent paperclip

Wait actually I gotta say something about that. The 96 Ranger didn't have a wrap style clutch wire setup. That was more of a 93-94 thing. By 96 they switched to a different connector. My buddy had a 96 and his AC clutch wire was a solid plastic clip not the old wrap around style. If your uncle wrapped aluminum foil on a 96 it probably was for a different wire issue. The older trucks from 93-94 had those loose wire ends that would corrode and people would wrap foil or tape to keep connection. Just want to clarify before someone tries that fix on a 96 and it doesn't work. Those trucks had different problems each year.

4d ago

Vent: Had a customer at the coffee shop yesterday who refused to pay for his refill.

Ngl that's just how it goes these days. Businesses get so caught up in saving a buck that they forget the people who actually keep them open.

4d ago

Question about the depth record for saturation diving

Bet they needed a month just to decompress after that.

5d ago

Pro tip: A customer's comment about a $15 part changed how I look at every call now.

Honestly that's just good business sense right there. Tbh I've seen shops waste so much time on stuff that wasn't even the problem. Patricia_singh81 is totally right about battery cables too, it's wild how often it's something simple. Ngl if a mechanic started checking every single seal on my car before even looking at the issue, I'd be pretty annoyed at the bill. Makes way more sense to just focus on what the customer actually brought the car in for.