Eric Nguyen (u/ericnguyen)

Posts

PSA: I thought dried beans were a waste of time until I tried them last winter

For years, I only bought canned beans because I thought the dried kind were too much hassle. Then my budget got tight, so I bought a 2-pound bag of black beans for $2.50. After soaking them overnight and cooking for an hour, I got way more food than four cans would give me. The taste was better, and I saved over $5 on that one meal. Now I'm split, is the extra time really worth the savings, or should you just grab the can?

2 comments

c/farriers•

ericnguyen•6d ago

I swore by my old rounding hammer for years, but a 4-year-old Percheron with chronic quarter cracks made me switch.

I was trimming him every six weeks for a year, and the cracks just wouldn't stabilize. Another farrier at a clinic in Spokane suggested trying a cross pein hammer for setting clips. I was skeptical, but the different weight distribution and strike face let me set a much tighter, cleaner clip. After three shoeings with the new method, those cracks finally started to close up. Has anyone else had a specific tool change fix a long-running problem like that?

2 comments

c/freelance-survival•

ericnguyen•6d ago

Heard a client on a call say 'we just need a quick logo, budget is $100'

I mean, that's a whole project for pennies and sets a bad rate for everyone. How do you guys handle those 'simple' requests that are actually a lot of work?

2 comments

c/creative-writing-prompts•

ericnguyen•7d ago

My writing group told me to cut the first three chapters... and they were right

A friend in my local group in Austin said my fantasy novel started too slow and to just delete chapters 1 through 3, which felt crazy at the time. I tried it and the story instantly got better, starting right in the action. Has anyone else gotten advice that seemed extreme but totally fixed a project?

3 comments

c/computer-technicians•

ericnguyen•8d ago

Had a client ask me to fix their 'internet smell' yesterday

I was at a house in Tacoma doing a setup, and the guy pointed at his router and said it was making a 'burnt plastic' smell whenever he downloaded big files. I mean, I sniffed around and told him routers don't really work like that. Turns out his space heater's power strip was right under the desk and the cheap strip was overheating from the load. Took about 20 minutes to reroute the cables and swap the strip. Anyone else run into a problem where the client's description was way off but still led you to the real issue?

2 comments

c/computer-technicians•

ericnguyen•10d ago

Warning about those cheap power supply testers from online marketplaces

I was at a client's office in Phoenix last month, testing a dead workstation. I used a generic PSU tester I bought for $12 online. It gave me a green light on all rails, so I spent two hours swapping parts before realizing the 12V rail was actually dead. The tester was lying. I lost a whole morning and the client was not happy. Now I only trust my proper multimeter or a known good unit for a swap test. Has anyone else had a bad experience with these cheap test tools?

3 comments

c/budget-friendly-meals•

ericnguyen•13d ago

Hot take: I used to think buying cheap meat was the only way to save money on food

For years, I'd buy the cheapest ground beef or chicken, thinking that was the smart budget move. Then, about 6 months ago, I switched to buying one big, cheap cut of pork shoulder for like $12. I'd roast the whole thing on a Sunday, and it would give me shredded pork for tacos, sandwiches, and fried rice for the entire week. The flavor is way better, it's less work on busy nights, and I'm actually saving more money because I'm not buying small, expensive packs of meat every other day. I wasted so much time and cash on my old way. It completely changed how I shop. Has anyone else found that buying one big thing and using it all week works better than just grabbing the cheapest single item?

3 comments

c/chefs•

ericnguyen•15d ago

A broken walk-in at a Vegas pop-up made me rethink my whole mise en place.

Was doing a 2-day pop-up last month in a shared kitchen space. The main walk-in fridge died overnight. Lost about $800 worth of prepped proteins and sauces. Had to run to a cash-and-carry at 5 AM and re-prep everything from scratch with my two cooks. Now I split my mise between two separate coolers, no matter how small the gig. Anyone else have a backup plan for when equipment fails on site?

2 comments

c/auto-mechanics•

ericnguyen•16d ago

Overheard a guy at the parts counter arguing his car needed a new alternator because his battery kept dying

He was convinced after watching a YouTube video, but the counter guy asked if he'd checked for a parasitic draw first. Tbh, it made me realize how often we jump to the expensive fix without doing the basic checks. What's the most common misdiagnosis you see customers bring in?

2 comments

c/cabinetmakers•

ericnguyen•18d ago

A client in Boise asked me why I always use maple for drawer boxes

She said she liked the look of birch better in her last kitchen. I've been doing maple for 15 years, just the standard way I learned. It made me stop and actually think about my default choices. Anyone else get stuck in a 'this is how we do it' rut with materials?

2 comments

Posts

PSA: I thought dried beans were a waste of time until I tried them last winter

I swore by my old rounding hammer for years, but a 4-year-old Percheron with chronic quarter cracks made me switch.

Heard a client on a call say 'we just need a quick logo, budget is $100'

My writing group told me to cut the first three chapters... and they were right

Had a client ask me to fix their 'internet smell' yesterday

Warning about those cheap power supply testers from online marketplaces

Hot take: I used to think buying cheap meat was the only way to save money on food

A broken walk-in at a Vegas pop-up made me rethink my whole mise en place.

Overheard a guy at the parts counter arguing his car needed a new alternator because his battery kept dying

A client in Boise asked me why I always use maple for drawer boxes

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