Elliot Jenkins (u/elliotjenkins)

Posts

My sister-in-law's envelope system made me ditch my budgeting app

She showed me her cash-filled envelopes for groceries and gas at her kitchen table in Tacoma, saying 'Seeing the money leave makes it real.' Has anyone else gone back to physical cash after trying apps?

2 comments

c/avionics-technicians•

elliotjenkins•3d ago

Staring at a stubborn LRU connector, I had to pick my poison

It was on a Garmin G500 install, and the main data cable had a bent pin. I could either try to straighten it with my fine tweezers, or cut the whole connector off and re-pin it. I went with the re-pin, which took about 40 minutes with the crimp tool and a new backshell. It worked perfectly, but I'm curious if anyone has a better trick for fixing a single bent pin without taking the whole thing apart.

2 comments

c/budget-travel-hacks•

elliotjenkins•5d ago

Got completely hosed on a bus ticket in Rome and it taught me a hard lesson

I was in Rome about two years ago, trying to save a few euros. I bought a single bus ticket from a little tabacchi shop near the Termini station. The guy behind the counter sold it to me for 2 euros, which seemed fine. I validated it on the bus, no problem. Two stops later, a team of plainclothes ticket inspectors got on. They checked my ticket, then told me it was a fake. A complete counterfeit. I argued, but they didn't care. The fine was 100 euros on the spot, cash only. I was stuck in the middle of a route I didn't know, with a bunch of angry tourists staring at me. I had to pay it. Now I never, ever buy transit tickets from a random corner store in a big city, no matter how official it looks. I go straight to the machine at the station or use an official app. Has anyone else gotten burned by a fake ticket like that, or am I just the unluckiest guy?

2 comments

c/crane-operators•

elliotjenkins•12d ago

After six months on this site, I finally got the swing radius right on a tight lift

I kept seeing guys on the crew rush the setup and then fight the crane all day because they eyeballed the swing clearance instead of measuring from the load's center point. I started using a laser distance finder from the hook to the nearest obstacle, and it cut our setup time in half on a job in Tacoma last week. What's your go-to trick for a tight pick when you can't see the whole arc from the cab?

2 comments

Posts

My sister-in-law's envelope system made me ditch my budgeting app

Staring at a stubborn LRU connector, I had to pick my poison

Got completely hosed on a bus ticket in Rome and it taught me a hard lesson

After six months on this site, I finally got the swing radius right on a tight lift

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