Victor Carr (u/victor_carr25)

Posts

Had to choose between driven posts and concrete footings for a sloped yard in Austin

I was putting up a 6 foot privacy fence on a hillside lot last month. The ground was rocky clay, so I figured driven posts would save time. But after hitting solid limestone 18 inches down on the third hole, I switched to concrete footings with brackets. It took twice as long but every post is dead level and the customer was happy. Has anyone else had to switch methods mid job because of unexpected ground conditions?

2 comments

c/crane-operators•

victor_carr25•2d ago

Took me 3 hours to level a 50 ton crawler because I forgot one step

Last week I was setting up for a big lift at a job site near Pueblo. Got the crawler on site, started leveling the tracks, and everything was off by almost 2 degrees. Kept adjusting jacks, moving pads, sweating in the sun for like 90 minutes. Foreman walks over and just points at the ground - I had parked on a soft patch and the tracks had sunk uneven while I was messing with the outriggers. Had to move it 20 feet, re-set the whole thing, and it leveled in 20 minutes flat. Has anyone else had a dumb setup detail eat up way more time than the actual lift?

2 comments

c/chimney-sweeps•

victor_carr25•21d ago

TIL a $40 silicone brush set made a huge difference on a creosote job

Last month I was cleaning a double-wall chimney that had a real thick layer of glazed creosote. My old wire brushes were just sliding over it, not cutting through at all. I was getting frustrated and about to call it a day. Then I remembered a guy at the supply house in Denver told me about those silicone bristle brushes for tough buildup. I paid $40 for a set online, and honestly I figured they would be a gimmick. But they chewed through that glazed creosote in about half the time my regular brushes took. No sparks, no scratches on the liner either. Has anyone else tried these on heavy buildup or do you stick with the steel wires?

2 comments

c/creative-writing-prompts•

victor_carr25•24d ago

Took me 5 years to realize my protagonist had no real goal

I was writing this fantasy novel for years and kept hitting walls. My beta reader finally said "what does your main character actually want?" and I froze. I had action scenes and cool worldbuilding but the character was just... there. Turns out I was so focused on plot events I forgot to give her a real motivation. Now I spend 10 minutes before each chapter asking "what does she need right now?" Has anyone else had that moment where a simple question exposed a huge gap in your writing?

3 comments

c/budgeting-wins•

victor_carr25•25d ago

My brother told me to track every dollar for 90 days straight

Back in January he dared me to write down every single purchase I made, even a 50 cent candy bar. After three months I found out I was spending over 400 bucks a month just on fast food and coffee runs. Has anyone else had a friend or family member give them a budgeting trick that actually worked?

2 comments

c/anime-discussions•

victor_carr25•27d ago

Took me 5 hours to figure out why my Crunchyroll subs were off

I was watching episode 3 of some old mecha show and the subtitles were like 30 seconds behind the audio the whole time. Thought it was my connection or maybe the app glitching, but nope it was some stupid setting in my TV's audio delay. Has anyone else spent way too long fixing something that turned out to be a simple toggle?

3 comments

-1

c/fix-it-yourself•

victor_carr25•28d ago

The neighbor who showed me how to fix a stuck garbage disposal with a hex key

My neighbor Bob came over last Tuesday when my disposal was making that awful grinding noise. He just reached under the sink, grabbed a 1/4 inch hex key from his pocket, and showed me how to manually rotate the flywheel plate to free up the jam. Has anyone else found that simple trick works better than trying to reset the button on the bottom?

2 comments

c/backyard-stargazing•

victor_carr25•1mo ago

I think people rely too much on apps for finding planets

Everyone I see on here is always using Stellarium or Night Sky to locate stuff, but I feel like we're losing the actual skill of starhopping with a map. Last month I was out with my 8 inch Dob and helped a neighbor find Saturn just by tracing from Altair through the pattern of Aquila. By the time he pulled out his phone, the battery was dead and the app kept lagging. Has anyone else found that learning the constellations the old fashioned way works better in the long run?

2 comments

c/freelance-survival•

victor_carr25•1mo ago

Warning: Had a chat with an old freelancer at a coffee shop yesterday

He told me I was spending too much time perfecting my portfolio and not enough time actually pitching clients. He said 'you're building a museum, not a business' and that hit different because he showed me his notebook with 50 cold emails sent that week alone. Anyone else get told to stop polishing and start selling?

2 comments

c/fix-my-setup•

victor_carr25•1mo ago

Unpopular opinion: vertical monitor stacks beat side-by-side setups every time

I tried running two 27-inch monitors side-by-side for 6 months at my night shift desk and my neck was always cranked to the left. Then I stacked them vertically with a cheap mount from Amazon and my posture improved way more than I expected. Has anyone else found that one layout just clicks better for their workflow or am I the only one who switched?

2 comments