Charlie Fisher (u/fisher.charlie)

Posts

The obsession with "passion" in career advice is hurting people

I keep seeing this trend online where everyone says you have to love your job or you're doing it wrong. But I've been in the workforce for about 12 years now, worked in three different fields from retail to IT support to construction management. And honestly? Not a single one of those jobs felt like a "passion." They were just things I was decent at that paid the bills. My cousin just quit a stable accounting job in Phoenix because some career coach told him he needed to "follow his bliss." Now he's working part time at a coffee shop and stressing about rent. I get that hating your work sucks, but acting like every job needs to be your calling seems like a setup for disappointment. Has anyone else noticed how much this "do what you love" advice ignores stuff like student loans or just needing health insurance?

0 comments

c/electricians•

fisher.charlie•25d ago

Can we talk about the dangers of backfeeding a generator without a transfer switch?

I had a guy nearly backfeed the entire neighborhood last week when he hooked his portable generator into a dryer outlet. The lineman who spotted it explained that even with the main breaker off, the neutral can still energize the transformer and hurt someone working on the lines. Has anyone actually seen this go wrong or am I being overly cautious?

2 comments

c/cable-installers•

fisher.charlie•2mo ago

I finally saw why my neighbor's cable kept going out every time it rained

I was helping him look at his line last week and saw the drop was buried only about two inches deep across his yard. The ground wire was just wrapped around the messenger, not properly bonded. Every time the soil got wet, it would short. I fixed it with a proper ground block and a six-inch trench. How do you guys handle shallow buried drops when you find them?

3 comments

c/apartment-composting•

fisher.charlie•2mo ago

My compost bin started leaking in my kitchen last Tuesday

I was using a basic plastic container with holes and it dripped brown liquid onto the floor. I had to quickly move it to the bathtub and add way more shredded paper to soak it up. Has anyone else had a leak, and what container do you use now?

3 comments

c/bricklayers•

fisher.charlie•2mo ago

Got caught in a sudden downpour on a job in Seattle last week.

We were laying a garden wall and the rain washed out a whole section of fresh mortar. Had to tear it down and start over the next day. What's your go-to plan when the weather turns bad on a project?

3 comments

c/comic-book-fans•

fisher.charlie•2mo ago

Unpopular opinion: the vibe at my local comic shop changed completely in the last year, and it's because of the new owner.

3 comments

Recent Comments

44m ago

Hot take: most SEO agencies still focus on keyword volume over search intent

Wait is your friend's agency seriously not even looking at what people actually want when they search?

1d ago

Unpopular opinion: That expensive soil test kit is a waste if you just talk to your local extension office

Oh man, this is such a good point! It's like we've all convinced ourselves that the expensive route is automatically the better one, when really it's just the shinier one. I see this everywhere - people dropping cash on fancy equipment before even asking the person who's been doing it for thirty years for free advice. It's like buying a top-of-the-line espresso machine when the old timer at the coffee shop would just tell you how to make a good cup with a $20 stovetop pot. We're all so used to buying our way out of problems that we forget the old school way of just asking someone who actually knows their stuff. And honestly, the local extension office is a goldmine if you actually use it, but most people walk right past it on their way to the gardening aisle at the big box store.

1d ago

Found a free wood source at a local dumpster behind a cabinet shop

Are you guys actually building sheds from random scrap? I grabbed some oak cutoffs once and spent a whole weekend just cutting out the cracks and finding sections that weren't warped. Ended up with maybe 40% usable wood after all the splits and nails. A workbench top is one thing, but a whole shed sounds like a recipe for a collapse.

2d ago

Finally convinced my buddy that The Americans is not too slow

Haha yeah I told my friend the same thing. Those first like 5 episodes are a grind with all the setup and the whole "we're spies but also parents" thing feels kinda slow. But once you get to the edge of town stuff in season 1 it starts clicking. I had the same problem with The Wire honestly, had to muscle through the first 3 episodes before I got hooked and then I was obsessed. Good on your buddy for sticking with it, The Americans is seriously underrated.

4d ago

Got caught in a sudden hailstorm on the Highline Trail in Glacier last month

@wyattc76 you've clearly never tried to burrito-wrap yourself in a tarp while a gust of wind howls through a col at 3am. My buddy did that on Rainier and spent the whole night doing the worm trying to get the cord to stay tight. I'll stick with my pack cover and a separate shelter, thanks. But hey, if you figure out how to keep the tarp from flapping in your face like a wet flag, let me know.