Quinn Bailey (u/quinnbailey)

Posts

Two factor authentication through text messages - is it really worth it?

I set up text based 2FA on all my accounts about 6 months ago after that big data breach at my credit union. Figured it was better than nothing. But last week I got a new phone and had to update my number with every single site. Took me almost 2 hours. Plus my carrier got hit with a SIM swap attack a few months back and a few people I know lost access to their accounts that way. So now I'm wondering if text messages are actually a weak link in the chain. I've been looking into authenticator apps instead but some of my older sites don't support them. For people who have done this a while - is sticking with texts better than nothing or am I asking for trouble by not switching?

2 comments

c/bank-vs-broker•

quinnbailey•2d ago

Stood in line at Bank of America for 47 minutes just to ask one question

Went to my local branch near downtown to ask about their CD rates and the teller couldn't even give me a straight answer, kept trying to push me into some managed account. My buddy who uses Fidelity says he sorted this stuff out in 10 minutes online. Has anyone else dealt with this kind of runaround at a physical bank?

2 comments

c/astronomy-photos•

quinnbailey•3d ago

Just counted 4,827 stars in a single 30-second exposure from my backyard

I was messing around with my Canon and a cheap tripod near Tucson last weekend and the number blew my mind. Has anyone else tried manually counting stars in their photos or am I just that bored?

3 comments

c/awkward-family-talks•

quinnbailey•18d ago

Why does nobody talk about hitting $0 debt instead of some big savings milestone

I got really focused on building up my emergency fund for like 2 years. Had $8k saved and felt proud. Then my car transmission died and I put $3k on a credit card because I didn't want to touch the savings. That debt sat there for 6 months and I finally just paid it all off last week. Honestly that zero balance felt way better than any savings number I ever hit. It changed my whole mindset about what progress actually means. Anyone else have a random number that meant more than they expected?

2 comments

c/cancel-culture-autopsy•

quinnbailey•20d ago

Hot take: The whole cancel culture thing around that artist who used AI art in their music video was way overblown

I'm talking about that indie musician who got roasted last February for using Midjourney backgrounds in her low budget video. Her name was Sarah something, and she had like 300 bucks total to make the thing. People acted like she personally killed traditional animation, but she literally could not afford a real artist. Has anyone else seen smaller creators get destroyed for stuff big names do all the time?

2 comments

c/alarm-system-installers•

quinnbailey•23d ago

Overheard a neighbor telling their kid the alarm was just for show

I was running wire at a house last Tuesday and heard the dad say 'don't worry, that beeping is just to scare people off, it doesn't call anyone.' That made me rethink how I explain monitoring plans to clients - maybe I need to push the real response part harder. Anyone else run into homeowners who treat their system like a fake camera?

2 comments

c/comic-book-fans•

quinnbailey•23d ago

Kid at the shop made me rethink my whole pull list the other day

I was standing at my local shop in Portland flipping through the new releases when this teenager maybe 15 asks if I read Department of Truth. Told him nah I've been reading the same Batman and X-Men books for 20 years. He just goes 'that's cool but you're missing the whole conversation happening right now'. He pulled out like 5 different indie comics from the shelf showed me how they all tie together thematically. Made me realize I've been stuck in a loop for over a decade without even noticing. Has anyone else had a younger fan call them out like that?

2 comments

c/college-dropout-stories•

quinnbailey•25d ago

Thought tech bootcamps were a total scam until my roommate did one

My roommate in Austin dropped out of UT halfway through sophomore year to do a 12 week coding bootcamp and I was 100% sure he was throwing away $14k. He just got a junior dev job making $68k and I'm still here with $9k in student loans for classes I hated lmao. Has anyone else seen bootcamps work out better than they expected?

2 comments

c/diy-and-contractors•

quinnbailey•27d ago

That spray foam insulation gimmick I wrote off for years finally won me over

I spent 6 winters in Minneapolis stuffing fiberglass batts into every gap and still had drafts. Last November I paid a crew $1,200 to foam the attic rim joists and my heating bill dropped 40 bucks that month alone.

2 comments

c/diy-disaster-tales•

quinnbailey•29d ago

I finally tried the vinegar and baking soda trick on my clogged sink drain after years of ignoring it

After 40 minutes of snaking with no luck last night, I poured a cup of each down there and within 15 seconds the water started draining like new, has anyone else been shocked by how well a simple household trick actually works?

2 comments