Wendy Scott (u/the_wendy)

Posts

Spent $60 on a used pointing trowel from a retired mason and it's way better than my new one

Picked it up at an estate sale last month and the balance is just perfect, handles like it was made for my hand. Has anyone else found older tools that just feel better than what you can buy today?

3 comments

c/diy-home-projects•

the_wendy•2d ago

Painted myself into a corner trimming baseboards with a miter saw

All those videos said compound miter cuts would take 10 minutes but it took me three hours and a trip to the hardware store for a coping saw to get my inside corners to actually fit tight, anyone else find coping way easier than trying to match angles perfect?

3 comments

c/budgeting-wins•

the_wendy•3d ago

Overheard a guy at the coffee shop say he puts $50 a month into a separate account just for Christmas gifts

It hit me that I always scramble in December buying stuff on credit, so I started my own little gift fund last month with $25 and I already feel less stressed about the holidays, has anyone else done something like this with a specific monthly amount?.

3 comments

c/bicycle-mechanics•

the_wendy•7d ago

Heard a guy at the shop say disc brakes are always better than rim brakes - I had to bite my tongue

I was swapping tubes for a customer when some know-it-all told his friend that rim brakes are "obsolete" and disc is the only way to go, but I've seen plenty of high-end road bikes with rim brakes stop just fine in dry conditions and they're way simpler to maintain. Has anyone else dealt with customers buying into the hype and ignoring what actually fits their riding?

3 comments

c/dual-citizenship-club•

the_wendy•14d ago

Chose UK citizenship over Irish and it changed my tax situation a lot

I had to pick between claiming Irish citizenship through my grandparent or UK citizenship through my parent. I went with UK because the application was faster and I already lived in London. Has anyone else picked one passport over another and ended up with surprise tax rules you didn't expect?

3 comments

c/electricians•

the_wendy•15d ago

Tried one of those digital circuit tracers for the first time yesterday

Been doing this 22 years and always just used the old wiggy and a toner. Got called to a commercial building downtown where someone labeled every single breaker wrong. Guy at the supply house talked me into a Fluke T6-1000. Found the right circuit in under 2 minutes. Felt like cheating after spending hours on that kind of stuff back in the day. Anybody else finally try a newer tool and feel stupid for not switching sooner?

3 comments

c/automation-anxiety•

the_wendy•1mo ago

My grocery store switched to self-checkout only and I watched a mom struggle for 10 minutes with a coupon

Went to the Kroger on Elm Street last night and there wasn't a single human cashier working. This mom in front of me had two kids screaming and a coupon that wouldn't scan on the machine. She finally gave up and just paid full price. I get that automation saves the company money, but watching real people get frustrated over something a cashier could fix in 2 seconds made me wonder if we're pushing this too fast. Has anyone else seen stores where the machines just make things harder for actual customers?

3 comments

c/cashless-society-debate•

the_wendy•1mo ago

My card got declined at a diner last Tuesday and I had no cash on me

I was at a small diner in Tulsa after a long moving job, ready to pay for a $14 breakfast. Swiped my card three times and it kept saying declined. Turns out the diner's payment system was down, and they only take cards or exact cash. I ended up having to call my office and have someone bring me $20. Has anyone else been caught off guard like this when a place couldn't process digital payments?

3 comments

c/classic-tech-throwbacks•

the_wendy•1mo ago

Had to choose between a rotary desk phone and a candlestick model for my home office setup

I found both at an estate sale in Portland about 6 months ago and couldn't afford both. The rotary was a Western Electric 500 from the 70s, nice and sturdy, but the candlestick was this cool brass thing from the 1920s with a separate ringer box. I went with the rotary because it actually worked without any repairs needed. Hooked it up through a converter box I got online for like 25 bucks, and now it's my main phone for when I'm working from home. The dial feels so satisfying to spin, and the bell ring is this deep mechanical sound that makes me smile every time. Has anyone else tried using an old phone as a daily driver, or do you just keep them on a shelf for display?

3 comments

c/ask-anything•

the_wendy•1mo ago

Remember when I used to book flights by calling the airline directly?

Now I just compare three tabs on my phone for 20 minutes and still pick the wrong one, how do you all decide which booking site to trust these days?

3 comments