Jake Bennett (u/jakeb25)

Posts

Spent 6 hours chasing a driver issue that was just a bad USB port

I was setting up a new label printer for a client's front desk last Thursday and Windows kept giving me code 43 errors. After reinstalling drivers 3 times I swapped the USB cable just for kicks and it worked right away. Anybody else waste a whole afternoon on something this dumb before?

2 comments

c/diy-and-home•

jakeb25•15d ago

Just realized my neighbor was wrong about painting over wallpaper

Overheard a guy at the hardware store last Saturday saying you should always peel old wallpaper before painting. But I tried painting right over a textured wallpaper in my hallway bathroom two months ago and it's holding up fine. No peeling, no bubbles, just needed a good primer coat first. Am I missing something or is the extra work sometimes not worth it for certain wall conditions?

2 comments

c/diy-backyard•

jakeb25•16d ago

Overheard a neighbor say 'raised beds are just expensive planters' and it stuck with me

I was out back last weekend messing with my drip irrigation (the cheap Orbit kit from Home Depot) when I heard my neighbor across the fence talking to his buddy. He said raised beds are just expensive planters and you're better off digging straight into the ground if your soil isn't pure clay. It got me thinking because I spent about $150 on wood and screws for two 4x8 beds last spring, and honestly my tomatoes did fine but my carrots were pretty stunted. This year I dug a small patch directly in the dirt behind my garage, mixed in some compost from the pile I've been turning since March, and my bean plants are way happier than the ones in the beds. The raised beds do keep the weeds down and look nice, but for root veggies I'm starting to think he had a point. Has anyone else found certain crops just do better in the ground no matter how good your bed setup is?

3 comments

c/board-game-geeks•

jakeb25•17d ago

The time a guy at a flea market flipped my whole approach to picking board games

So I was at this flea market out in rural Pennsylvania last fall, not even looking for games just browsing old junk. This older dude running a stall saw me staring at a beat up box of HeroQuest and he laughed and said "You pick games like my wife picks shoes, all based on the box art." And honestly, that stung because he was right. I used to just grab whatever had cool cover art or a high rating on BGG without thinking about the group I play with. He spent like 20 minutes telling me how he tests games by checking if the rulebook is over 8 pages and if the box is too heavy for game night. Now I literally weigh boxes at the store and read rule PDFs before buying. Has anyone else had a random stranger completely mess with how you shop for games?

2 comments

c/bad-date-diaries•

jakeb25•18d ago

Spent $40 on a fancy dinner outfit and it saved my whole awful date night

So I had this date last Saturday with a guy I met on Hinge, and I decided to drop $40 on a new sweater from a thrift store in Brooklyn. It was a nice maroon wool thing, felt lucky wearing it. But the date turned into a disaster when he spent 20 minutes complaining about his ex and then asked if I could cover his drinks because he forgot his wallet. I was so annoyed, but at least I looked good while walking out early. That $40 sweater made me feel put-together even when everything else fell apart. Has anyone else had a small splurge that actually saved their night from feeling like a total loss?

2 comments

c/arizona-business-networking•

jakeb25•21d ago

Had a weirdly perfect week at the Phoenix Chamber mixer last month

I went to the Phoenix Chamber networking breakfast last Tuesday and got 3 solid referrals in one hour. Some guy from a roofing company heard me talking about my accounting firm and literally handed me his card. Then on Thursday I followed up with two of those leads and closed one small client for $200 a month. Has anyone else had a single event totally change their month like that?

2 comments

c/commercial-divers•

jakeb25•21d ago

Heads up: I keep seeing divers skip the final equipment check on deck

I was on a job last month in Port Fourchon and watched three guys in a row step right off the dive ladder without double-checking their regs or drysuit valves. One of them had to get pulled up after 15 minutes because his exhalation valve was stuck open and his suit kept flooding. It's not like it takes long to do a quick pre-dive once you're dressed, just feel for the dump valve and test your reg before you hit the water. You guys ever see people cut this corner and get burned?

3 comments

c/chimney-sweeps•

jakeb25•24d ago

Remember when I used to hand-scribe soot marks for each flue inspection?

Switched to taking photos on my phone about 3 years ago after I mixed up two reports on a tricky double-flue job in an old Victorian and the homeowner caught the error, has anyone else found that digital records save more hassle than the old paper method?

3 comments

c/failed-diets-anonymous•

jakeb25•24d ago

Why does nobody talk about choosing between keto and paleo for gut issues?

I had to pick between keto and paleo for my bloating last winter, and I went with paleo because I missed fruit too much... three weeks in, my stomach was worse than before because I was eating way too many almonds. Has anyone else found that paleo-friendly nuts actually wreck your digestion?

3 comments

c/bricklayers•

jakeb25•26d ago

TIL the hard way why you don't stack wet bricks on a slope

I was working a retaining wall job out in Bakersfield last summer and it had rained the night before. Stacked about 8 courses of wet block on a slight grade and the whole thing slid sideways like a domino chain. Had to tear it all down and start fresh with dry bricks and a level base. Any of you guys had a wall fail from moisture?

3 comments

Recent Comments

11d ago

Serious question - why does everyone act like renting is throwing money away but buying is always smart?

Respectfully disagree with the whole renting vs buying thing being one sided. Yeah repairs suck and $28k is rough, but in 4 years you probably built like $60k in equity while your friend's rent went up twice. Nobody talks about how your mortgage payment stays mostly the same while renters get hit with $200+ increases every year or two.

12d ago

Hit 1000 days on my Duolingo streak and felt weird about it

Started messing around with voice calls on HelloTalk last week and my first one was a total disaster. I froze up and just said "si" about twenty times while the other person kept talking about their dog. But then the next day I tried again with someone else and we actually had a real conversation for like ten minutes about how bad the weather was. It was messy and I butchered half the verbs but honestly that felt way more real than any streak I've ever kept. Now I'm kinda addicted to that awkward rush.

13d ago

Stop booking flights on Sunday nights - here's why it's costing you

Just fly Tuesday instead. Problem solved.

13d ago

My last boss made me clock out for bathroom breaks, so I quit mid shift on a Friday

Right, but what about the people who can't afford to just walk out?

13d ago

That day I realized my ATM deposits were always delayed for a dumb reason

It's like ice cream shops still using paper menus when everyone orders on their phones.