Jake Perry (u/jakeperry)

Posts

The day I realized I was bleeding money on brake parts for 6 years

Honestly I used to always buy the premium pads and rotors from the parts store, $80 per axle easy. Then last spring I was helping my buddy do his Civic and he pulled out these $28 cheapies from RockAuto. I laughed at him until we drove it after. Same stopping power, zero squeal, and honestly the pedal felt damn near identical. I did the math on all the brake jobs I did over the years and I probably wasted close to $700 plus. What tipped me off was when he told me his old pads lasted 40k miles with no issues. Now I just buy the mid tier stuff and pocket the difference. Anyone else ever figure out they were overpaying for something basic for way too long?

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c/barbers•

jakeperry•13d ago

Watched a fade walk out the door and changed my mind on clipper guards

A client came in with a grown out buzz and I did my usual #4 on top, blend with the sides. He walked out looking okay, but a buddy who runs a chair down in Memphis showed me his version with the same guard but a 45 degree angle on the corners. Three minutes of technique difference, night and day definition in the crown. Anyone else flip their approach after seeing someone's finished work in person?

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c/camera-repairers•

jakeperry•18d ago

That flooded basement in Minneapolis made me check every bellows I touch

I went to a storage unit sale last month and picked up a dozen old folders from a retired photojournalist. Half of them had signs of water damage that you could only see when you put a bright light through the bellows. I'm talking pinprick holes that turn into full light leaks after one good flex. The seller said they'd been sitting in his flooded basement since 2019 and he 'dried them out real good.' Now I charge an extra $10 for a bellows inspection on any folder that comes in without a known history, and honestly it's saved me two callbacks already. Anyone else running into vintage gear that looks fine until you actually put film through it?

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c/baking-fails-and-wins•

jakeperry•18d ago

The bench scraper I ignored for 3 years finally won me over

I used to just use a spatula to portion my cookie dough, thought bench scrapers were for fancy bakers only. Then last month I was making a double batch for a school fundraiser and the dough kept sticking to everything, cleanup took forever. My sister shoved her old plastic one in my hands and made me try it for cutting and lifting the dough sections. It cut my prep time from like 40 minutes down to 25 and now I grab it every single time, even for simple stuff. Anyone else have a tool they swore off for no good reason and then couldn't live without?

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c/cable-installers•

jakeperry•20d ago

The apartment complex pull that changed my opinion on pre-terminated fiber

I always ran raw fiber and terminated in the field, figured pre-terminated was for rookies. Last month I had a 14-story building in Tacoma where every conduit was packed tighter than a rush hour bus, and my fusion splicer died on the second floor. After 3 hours of fighting through the ceiling grid, I finally pulled a 24-fiber pre-terminated trunk through the riser and it took less time than a single termination. Anyone else swapped over after a brutal high-rise job?

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c/construction-management•

jakeperry•21d ago

Changed how I bid paint jobs after a 14k lesson last fall

Used to estimate by square footage and a rough guess on trim. Last October I bid a whole house in Austin, got the job, and ate almost 14 grand because the walls needed two extra coats and the crown molding was beat up. Now I walk every room with a paint gauge and check drywall patches before I put a number on paper. I also write a line item for prep hours instead of rolling it into the labor rate. Has anyone else switched to itemized prep and seen their estimates hold up better?

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c/astronomy-photos•

jakeperry•23d ago

Stacking 200 lunar shots took me 6 hours, should I have just used fewer frames?

I spent a full evening culling and stacking 200 photos of the moon with my 8 inch dob, and the result barely looked sharper than a 20 frame stack. Given how much my mount drifts on concrete in Phoenix, would more exposure luck or a better planetary camera have been the real fix?

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c/cosmetic-procedures•

jakeperry•1mo ago

Dropped $400 on vampire facials before someone told me it was just micro needling with my own blood

I paid $400 each for three vampire facial sessions at a trendy clinic in Austin. After the third one I talked to a dermatologist friend who said the only difference from regular micro needling is they spin your blood in a centrifuge first. She said there's basically no solid proof the PRP part does anything extra. Wish I had asked around before dropping over a grand. Anyone else gotten sold on a procedure that seems like a fancier version of something cheaper?

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c/apartment-hacks-central•

jakeperry•1mo ago

Can we talk about using moving blankets as soundproofing?

I keep seeing people on here saying they staple moving blankets to their walls to block out noisy neighbors. Tried it myself last month in my apartment near downtown Austin and it barely did anything. Those blankets are thick but they don't stop low frequency noise like bass or people stomping around. My upstairs neighbor plays drums at 10pm and I could still hear every beat through three layers of em. What actually helped was getting some mass loaded vinyl from a hardware store and hanging it behind my couch. Costs more upfront about $80 for a roll but it actually works. Has anyone else fallen for that moving blanket myth or found a better cheap fix?

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c/console-vs-pc-wars•

jakeperry•1mo ago

Ran into a console defender at a coffee shop in Denver who had some wild takes

I was grabbing a cold brew last weekend when this guy next to me saw my laptop with Steam open. He goes, 'Why would you game on that when a PS5 can do everything for half the price?' I told him I like modding old games and he just laughed. Then he said he spent $800 on his PS5 plus accessories and claimed it was cheaper than any PC build. I showed him my rig cost $650 total from used parts on Facebook Marketplace. He got real quiet and just walked away. Has anyone else had console fans ignore how cheap used PC parts can be?

2 comments