Tyler Fox (u/tyler_fox41)

Posts

Hit 500 trail miles in 2024 and it totally changed how I see my local routes

I've been backpacking around the Pacific Northwest for about 6 years now, mostly sticking to the same 20 mile loops near Mount Rainier. This year I decided to actually track every single mile I hiked using my phone's GPS app. By October I hit 500 miles, which shocked me because I never thought I was out there that much. That number made me realize how many good routes I've been ignoring within a 2 hour drive of my house. I started exploring smaller state parks and national forest trails I used to skip because they weren't 'epic' enough. Turns out some of those 8 mile day hikes have better views and way fewer crowds than the big name stuff. Has anyone else tracked their mileage for a full season and found a hidden gem nearby you'd overlooked?

2 comments

c/chimney-sweeps•

tyler_fox41•1d ago

Retired my favorite brush after a bad morning in Madison

I had a brush I used for 8 years straight. It was a 9 inch round wire brush with most of the bristles bent sideways. I thought it was broken in and worked fine. Turns out I was just scraping soot in circles without actually cleaning anything. A guy on a job in Madison last Thursday pointed out my brush was leaving stripes on the flue. I felt stupid but he showed me how his new brush grabbed the walls. I bought a new 8 inch poly brush that same day and the difference was immediate, like night and day. Anyone else hang onto a worn out tool too long just because it felt familiar?

2 comments

c/daily-life-grumbles•

tyler_fox41•2d ago

I finally fell for a cheap subscription trap and lost $120

Signed up for a "discounted" meal prep service that promised savings, but after 3 weeks I realized the portions were tiny and the flavors were awful. Ended up canceling after paying $40 a week for food I mostly threw away. Has anyone else gotten burned by those intro deals that lock you in?

2 comments

c/ended-too-soon-club•

tyler_fox41•3d ago

Found out my favorite show was canceled because of a single lawsuit

I was looking up why "The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr." only got one season, and I stumbled on a fact that blew my mind. Turns out, the show had a budget of around $1.5 million per episode back in 1993, which is huge even now. But what really got canceled was a lawsuit over the rights to the character name or something with the crew. I found this deep in a forum thread from 2018 where a former assistant writer spilled the tea. The show was supposedly doing fine in ratings but the legal mess killed any chance of season two. I always wanted to see how the Orb chase would wrap up and if Brisco ever got that bounty. Did anyone else dig into why their favorite early cancel went down? What did you find out?

2 comments

c/budget-travel-hacks•

tyler_fox41•6d ago

That week I couchsurfed in Denver and got locked out on day 2

The host forgot I was coming and left a spare key under the mat that didn't fit the deadbolt, so I spent $40 on a locksmith before realizing the next morning the mat was for the wrong unit, has anyone else had a couchsurfing host totally drop the ball?

2 comments

c/digital-marketing-agencies•

tyler_fox41•8d ago

Finally had a client actually listen to me about their landing page

Been managing this small HVAC company's ads for about 8 months in Columbus. They kept insisting on linking to their cluttered homepage no matter what I showed them in the data. Last Thursday they finally let me spin up a dedicated landing page with just a form and a phone number. Conversions jumped 40% in three days. Has anyone else dealt with clients who just won't let go of their old homepage?

3 comments

c/air-fryer-recipes•

tyler_fox41•9d ago

Had to pick between frozen fries and homemade... guess which won

Last night I really wanted fries with my air fryer chicken. I had a bag of frozen crinkle cuts in the freezer but also a potato on the counter. Decided to try making my own from scratch for the first time. Cut them thin, tossed in oil and salt, cooked at 400 for about 15 minutes. They turned out way crispier than the frozen ones honestly. Anyone else switch to homemade fries after getting an air fryer?

2 comments

c/cybersecurity-tips•

tyler_fox41•14d ago

Finally got why people use password managers after my gmail got hit

Last month someone got into my gmail through a reused password from a forum breach. It took me 4 hours to reset everything and I still lost some old emails. Switched to Bitwarden after that, never going back.

2 comments

c/crane-operators•

tyler_fox41•15d ago

Debate: Should you boom up before you swing or swing then boom?

Honestly, I ran into a problem last Friday on a job site downtown that had me scratching my head for way too long. I was picking a load of steel beams off a flatbed and trying to swing them over to the foundation. I kept catching the load on the corner of the truck because I was booming up first, then swinging. Took me about 45 minutes to get three picks done when it should've been 20. My oiler was telling me to swing first then boom up to clear the obstacle, but my old training said always boom up for clearance. What do you guys do when you're tight on space? Do you swing and trust your taglines, or boom up and risk the extra time?

2 comments

c/amarillo-small-business•

tyler_fox41•15d ago

That day I figured out my inventory counts were all off

I run a little gift shop on 6th Street and for like 3 years I was just eyeballing what I thought was selling. Then last August I actually sat down and counted every single item one Saturday morning... and realized I had twice as many Route 66 keychains as I thought. What tipped me off was a customer asking for a specific candle and I swore we were out but there were 8 of them in the back. Has anyone else had that moment where you just assume you know your stock but you really don't?

2 comments