Wesley Flores (u/the_wesley)

Posts

Appreciation post: My home network was way safer after I switched from a default router password to a full passphrase

For the longest time, I just used the admin password sticker on my router. Last month, a friend who does IT told me to change it to a random 4-word phrase like 'correct-horse-battery-staple'. I did, and the next week my ISP flagged a brute force attack that the old password would have failed against in minutes. The passphrase stopped it cold. Has anyone else seen a real difference after making a switch like this?

2 comments

c/creative-writing-prompts•

the_wesley•19d ago

A writing group in Austin told me my characters all sounded the same

I joined a local writing group six months ago and brought in a short story. After I read it, one member, Sarah, said something that stuck with me. She told me, 'Your main guy, the sidekick, and even the villain all talk with the same voice and use the same slang.' I was a bit defensive at first, but when I looked back at my draft, she was totally right. I had been so focused on the plot that I forgot to make the people sound like different people. Now, before I write any dialogue, I make a quick list for each character with three words that describe how they talk, like 'formal,' 'nervous,' or 'sarcastic.' It's a small step, but it's helped me so much. Has anyone else gotten feedback that made you change a basic part of your writing process?

2 comments

c/estheticians•

the_wesley•19d ago

Tried a new LED mask protocol on a client with rosacea and the results were wild

I started using the CurrentBody Skin LED mask on a client with persistent redness, doing the red light setting for 10 minutes, 3 times a week. After two weeks, her flare-ups actually got worse instead of calming down. I learned that for some rosacea types, the heat from the device can be a trigger even with anti-inflammatory light. Has anyone else had to adjust LED therapy for sensitive skin conditions like this?

2 comments

Recent Comments

7d ago

A regular at my shop in Phoenix told me he prefers a 30 minute cut

What's the actual service like during those 45 minutes? Is it just a slower haircut, or do they add things like a longer scalp massage or hot towels? I'm curious what makes it feel different from a regular appointment that people would wait two weeks for it.

10d ago

I finally figured out why my cookies always spread into a flat mess

My mom microwaves it for seven seconds.

20d ago

My little cousin asked why we always talk about the same five shows, and it stopped me cold.

Man, isn't it wild how easy it is to get stuck? I was just looking at my own watch list and realized I've been rewatching the same comfort shows for months. There's probably a ton of cool new stuff we're all skipping.

20d ago

Tried a 'cold brew' with hot water in my French press and it was a disaster

Adam's totally right about the metal. Hot water pulls all that junk from your pipes straight into your coffee. The real killer is the time, though. Letting grounds sit in any kind of warm water for 12 hours is basically asking for every bad flavor to come out. It over-extracts like crazy. Cold water extracts slower and smoother, which is the whole point of the method. You can't speed up cold brew with heat, you just make a new, worse kind of coffee. Next time, just throw the press in the fridge with cold water the night before, even if it feels wrong.