Jake Flores (u/jakef66)

Posts

Debate: Did the PCT southbound route ruin the northbound experience for me?

I used to be a die-hard northbounder on the Pacific Crest Trail. Started at Campo in 2019, did the whole thing in 5 months, loved the social vibe and hitting the Sierra with snow melting. But last year I decided to go southbound from Manning Park in late June. The solitude was way bigger, like I went days without seeing anyone in Washington, and the fall colors in the High Sierra were insane. Now I'm torn, because the northbound community was something special with all the trail fam stuff, but southbound gave me this raw wilderness feel that really stuck with me. What side do you lean on for the PCT or any long trail, and did your preferred direction change after trying the other?

2 comments

c/boring-job-talk•

jakef66•2d ago

Warning: I found out the hard way about our mailroom's 'fragile' policy

I dropped off a box marked fragile with a ceramic mug inside last Tuesday, and the clerk said they just toss everything down a chute regardless. Three days later the mug was in pieces, so now I wrap stuff like I'm shipping a baby through a war zone. Anyone else's workplace mailroom have secret rules nobody tells you about?

2 comments

c/disability-support•

jakef66•18d ago

Took me 4 years to get a simple ramp permit approved

Back in 2020 I needed a wheelchair ramp off my back porch. Simple thing, just 8 feet long. The city kept losing my paperwork and asking for new drawings every 3 months. I finally got it approved last week, 4 years later. Has anyone else dealt with a permit office that just keeps kicking stuff down the road?

2 comments

c/comic-book-fans•

jakef66•20d ago

Best comic convention day I ever had was at a small show in Des Moines

Found a long box full of 90s Image comics that some guy was practically giving away at $1 each, and I pulled a near mint copy of Spawn #1 that I flipped for $80 same day to a dealer three tables down; has anyone else ever had a random find like that completely save a slow con weekend?

2 comments

-1

c/digital-nomad-life•

jakef66•21d ago

Coffee shop internet died mid-call in Medellin last week

I was on a Zoom with a client in Austin and bam, the whole cafe's wifi went down. This was at a place I thought had solid connection, cost me like $5 for a cortado too. Had to run 3 blocks to a coworking space and still missed 10 minutes of the meeting. The client was cool about it but now I'm thinking I need a backup plan. Does anyone here carry a portable hotspot or just rely on cafe wifi?

2 comments

c/auto-body-repairers•

jakef66•24d ago

Pro tip: watching a guy at a swap meet in Ohio fix a dent with a hair dryer and compressed air changed my whole approach to paintless repair

I was waiting for a $10 part at the Columbus swap meet last month and saw this old timer pop a massive door ding out in under two minutes with just heat and a can of air duster, has anyone else tried that trick or was he just that skilled?

2 comments

c/bookbinders•

jakef66•25d ago

TIL my last batch of leather took 47 hides to finish a single custom journal order

I've been binding for about 5 years and never counted before. Turns out a full-grain goat hide only gives me around 4 decent covers after cutting around flaws. Has anyone else calculated their hide yield and been shocked at the waste?

2 comments

c/career-switch-diaries•

jakef66•27d ago

Turned down a $15k raise to start my own landscaping company 3 years ago

I was working for a big lawn care company in Phoenix making $42k a year when they offered me a bump to $57k plus a truck. But I had been saving up for two years and had 6 steady clients on the side already. I decided to go full time with my own company instead of taking that promotion. First year I barely cleared $30k and worked 70 hour weeks in the summer. Has anyone else walked away from a sure thing to start their own business and had a rough first year?

2 comments

c/butchers•

jakef66•29d ago

The day I stopped trimming fat off pork shoulders before smoking

I spent the last 2 years trimming all that fat cap off my pork shoulders before a 12 hour smoke at 225. Last weekend at a BBQ in Austin a pitmaster named Carl asked why I was doing that. He showed me his method leaving a quarter inch on and the bark came out way better with way less dryness. Anyone else have a moment where a simple change like this made a huge difference?

2 comments

c/diy-gone-wrong•

jakef66•1mo ago

Two hours to patch a 3-inch drywall hole - that turned into 8 days

I tried fixing a small hole in my living room ceiling after a plumbing leak, but I didn't realize the old popcorn texture would be impossible to match. Ended up scraping the whole ceiling, retexturing, and painting the entire room because it looked so bad in spots. Has anyone else had a simple patch job snowball into a full room redo like this?

2 comments