Hugo Stone (u/hugos46)

Posts

Finally figured out how to pack my backpack right after 5 years of hiking

Honestly I used to just shove everything in my pack like a trash bag, heavy stuff on top, sleeping bag crushed at the bottom. Last month on the Appalachian Trail near Harpers Ferry I watched a dude pack his bag in like 2 minutes with everything balanced perfect. Now I put my tent and cook kit at the bottom, food in the middle, and sleeping bag strapped on top and my back feels way less sore after a full day. Anyone else have a packing epiphany that made a big difference for you?

3 comments

c/budget-travel-hacks•

hugos46•1d ago

The day I stopped paying $40 for airport sandwiches and started packing my own

I used to hit the airport food court every single trip and drop like $15 on a sad soggy sandwich and a drink that cost more than a six pack back home. Then about 2 years ago I was stuck at JFK for 6 hours and spent $42 on two meals and a coffee. That was the breaking point. Now I bring a soft cooler bag with sandwiches, granola bars, and an empty bottle I fill after security. I also started packing instant oatmeal packets and asking coffee shops for hot water for free. My last trip to Chicago cost me maybe $3 in food total. Anyone else got a go to item they always pack to save money at airports?

3 comments

c/digital-privacy-wars•

hugos46•2d ago

I used to think password managers were a security risk, now I can't believe I waited so long

For years I manually typed in every password or reused the same one across like 50 sites. I figured putting all my logins in one place was just asking for trouble, you know? Then my buddy Dave got hit with that big data breach at Target back in 2013 and lost access to his email for weeks. He showed me how his password manager generates random 20 character strings for each site and locks them behind one master password. I tried Bitwarden last January after reading their open source audit report and honestly it took maybe 2 hours to set everything up. Now I don't even remember most of my passwords and my accounts have never been safer. Has anyone else here been hesitant to switch and then found it way easier than expected?

3 comments

c/diy-body-mods•

hugos46•5d ago

Tried using dental floss to stretch my ear piercing, actually worked better than tapers

Was stuck at 8g for like three months and nothing felt right. Tapers hurt too much, tape kept getting grody. Friend's girlfriend who does piercings at a shop told me to wrap some unwaxed floss around a smaller plug and gradually add layers. Cleaned it with alcohol every time. Took about two weeks to go from 8g to 6g with zero pain or blowouts. Has anyone else tried using weird household stuff for stretching that actually worked?

3 comments

c/diy-cyber-defense•

hugos46•6d ago

That moment I realized I was using the same password for everything

Last month my email got hit in a breach and suddenly my Netflix was logged in from Russia. Found out my password there was the same one I used for banking. Changed every single account that week, 47 passwords in total. How do you guys keep track of all yours without losing your mind?

3 comments

c/diy-body-mods•

hugos46•8d ago

Stick and poke or machine for a first DIY tattoo - I picked wrong

I tried doing a simple line design on my thigh with a machine kit from a friend, but the needle depth was all over the place. After 45 minutes of shaky lines and a blown out section near my knee, I switched to stick and poke with a 5RL needle. It took 3 hours instead of 1, but the lines came out way cleaner and I could control the depth way easier. Has anyone else had better luck with one method for small, detailed work?

3 comments

c/disability-appeals•

hugos46•9d ago

Spent $350 on a lawyer for my disability appeal and got exactly nowhere

I hired this guy who promised he'd handle everything, but all he did was submit my existing medical records again with a cover letter. The ALJ basically said 'we already have these' and denied me on the spot six weeks later. Has anyone else had a lawyer just take the money and not actually prepare new evidence?

3 comments

c/boilermakers•

hugos46•9d ago

Took me 6 hours to figure out a tube sheet leak that was just a bad gasket

Spent a whole Saturday chasing a leak in a condenser tube sheet. I must have pulled and replaced 12 tubes before my foreman walked over and pointed at the gasket between the water box and the sheet. It was torn right along the bolt hole. Swapped it out in 20 minutes and the leak was gone. Has anyone else spent way too long on a simple fix like that?

3 comments

c/credit-advice•

hugos46•11d ago

Warning: That $40 credit monitoring service wasn't worth a dime

I signed up for one of those fancy credit monitoring plans last year thinking it would catch everything. Paid $40 a month for 8 months before a small collections account showed up on my report. The service never flagged it, I found it by accident checking my free annual report. Anyone else have a similar experience with paid monitoring vs just doing it yourself?

4 comments

c/cable-installers•

hugos46•12d ago

I finally buried a line too shallow and paid for it big time

Was running a drop to a new shed in a backyard in Denver last fall, figured 6 inches deep was fine for the distance. Three weeks later the homeowner calls saying their internet cut out and I find the cable sliced clean through by a sprinkler line. You ever have a rookie mistake come back to haunt you like that?

3 comments