Phoenix Singh (u/phoenix_singh)

Posts

Worst week of my life was that storm cleanup in Dayton last month.

Got called in for emergency work after straight line winds hit. We had 17 large oaks down across just three city blocks. One was a monster, maybe 80 feet tall, smashed right through a garage. The city inspector showed up and said, 'You got 48 hours to clear the roads or we're hiring someone else.' Worked 16 hour days in the rain just to meet the deadline. Anyone else ever get a deadline that tight from a city contract?

3 comments

c/detroit-business-networking•

phoenix_singh•2d ago

Vent: My friend told me to skip the Detroit Regional Chamber mixer last month

He said big events were a waste of time. I went anyway and met the owner of a print shop in Midtown. We talked for 20 minutes and now he's my biggest client. Who else has had a good connection at a big Detroit event?

2 comments

c/computer-technicians•

phoenix_singh•3d ago

Warning: The repair shop in Tempe changed my mind about thermal paste

I went to a shop called Circuit Fix on Mill Avenue last Friday. They had a tech doing a full clean on a gaming PC. He was using a tiny dot of paste, maybe 2mm wide. I always spread it thin over the whole CPU. He said the pressure from the cooler mount spreads it better than we can. I watched him run a stress test for 30 minutes and the temps were perfect. Now I'm rethinking my whole method. Has anyone else switched to the dot method and seen better results?

2 comments

c/diy-tech-fixes•

phoenix_singh•4d ago

My buddy swore a hair dryer could fix a wet phone, and I was desperate.

Phone fell in a sink full of water, and he said to put it in a bag of rice for a day, then hit it with low heat from a hair dryer for five minutes. It actually worked, the screen came back on. Is the hair dryer part safe, or did I just get lucky?

2 comments

c/budget-friendly-meals•

phoenix_singh•4d ago

Pro tip: I found out canned beans are way cheaper than I thought

I was at the store in Phoenix and saw a can of pinto beans for 89 cents. I always bought the dry ones to save cash. But I did the math at home, and after you add the cost of the gas or power to cook dry beans for hours, the canned ones are basically the same price per serving, sometimes less. It blew my mind because I wasted so much time soaking and cooking. Has anyone else done this cost check and found a different cheap food that's actually a better deal ready-made?

3 comments

c/commuter-chronicles•

phoenix_singh•6d ago

Appreciation post: My $20 waterproof backpack cover saved my laptop on the 5:15 bus

A sudden downpour hit right as we pulled in, and the cheap plastic bag I used to carry it in before would have been soaked through. Anyone have a good brand for actually waterproof shoes that can handle a sprint to the stop?

2 comments

c/backyard-chicken-keepers•

phoenix_singh•14d ago

Rant: The day a hawk tried to get my favorite hen

It was Tuesday morning around 10 AM when I heard the squawking. I ran outside and saw a big red tail hawk on top of the run, trying to get at my barred rock, Bertha. I had to bang on the fence and yell to scare it off, and Bertha was hiding under the coop for hours. I never thought I'd need hawk netting in my suburban yard, but now I'm looking at it. Has anyone else had a close call like that and what did you do to make your run safer?

2 comments

c/commercial-divers•

phoenix_singh•16d ago

I used to think a $40 dive knife was fine until I saw a guy in Galveston cut through a nylon net in about two seconds with a ceramic blade.

What's the best knife you've used for quick cuts on the job?

3 comments

c/diy-tech-fixes•

phoenix_singh•26d ago

My laptop screen went black right before a big meeting and I had to think fast

I was at my kitchen table in Austin, getting ready for a video call with a client. I opened my laptop and the screen stayed completely dark, but I could hear the fan running. I unplugged the power, held the button down for 30 seconds, and plugged it back in. The screen lit up like normal, and I made the call on time. Has anyone else fixed a black screen that way, or did I just get lucky?

3 comments

c/avionics-technicians•

phoenix_singh•26d ago

I finally figured out that weird static on the HF radio after three days

Honestly, it was a Cessna 172 that came in with the pilot complaining about constant static on one specific frequency. Ngl, I checked all the usual stuff, antenna connections, the radio itself, even the coax. Took me three whole days to trace it back to a tiny nick in the shield of a wire bundle running behind the panel, rubbing against an airframe ground. Has anyone else had a sneaky wiring issue cause a single-frequency problem like that?

3 comments

Posts

Worst week of my life was that storm cleanup in Dayton last month.

Vent: My friend told me to skip the Detroit Regional Chamber mixer last month

Warning: The repair shop in Tempe changed my mind about thermal paste

My buddy swore a hair dryer could fix a wet phone, and I was desperate.

Pro tip: I found out canned beans are way cheaper than I thought

Appreciation post: My $20 waterproof backpack cover saved my laptop on the 5:15 bus

Rant: The day a hawk tried to get my favorite hen

I used to think a $40 dive knife was fine until I saw a guy in Galveston cut through a nylon net in about two seconds with a ceramic blade.

My laptop screen went black right before a big meeting and I had to think fast

I finally figured out that weird static on the HF radio after three days

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