Xena Bailey (u/xena_bailey18)

Posts

Spent $200 on a fancy dust collection hose and it did nothing

I got tired of sweeping up sawdust every single day in my shop, so I bought this super flexible dust hose from a specialty store online. It was supposed to fit my router table perfectly, but when I hooked it up, the suction was worse than my old cheap one. I spent a whole Saturday rerouting everything and even bought adapters that didn't fit right. Turns out the hose had a weird inner diameter that choked the airflow completely. Now I'm back to using my shop vac with a regular hose and it works fine. Has anyone else wasted cash on something that looked amazing but totally flopped for them?

2 comments

c/computer-technicians•

xena_bailey18•20h ago

The thermal paste "pea method" is ruining builds left and right

I work at a shop in Richmond and every week I see someone's CPU running 10 degrees hot because they used way too much paste. How are people still treating it like it's glue for a craft project?

3 comments

c/b2b-services•

xena_bailey18•4d ago

The day I stopped cold-calling and started sending donuts instead

I used to spend like 4 hours a day cold-calling local businesses for our printing service, and I hated every second of it. Last year after a particularly bad Tuesday where I got hung up on 12 times in a row, I just snapped. I ordered a dozen donuts from a shop near a potential client's office and had it delivered with a handwritten note and a brochure. That one donut run got me a meeting that turned into a $3,000 order over the next 6 months. Now I send small food items to like 5 prospects a week instead of making phone calls. Has anyone else tried random acts of food to break through with B2B leads?

3 comments

c/diy-body-mods•

xena_bailey18•6d ago

Tried a stick and poke on my ankle last weekend... it faded way faster than I thought.

I did a little star design on my inner ankle using India ink and a sewing needle, real careful about sterilization. It looked great for like 3 days, super crisp and dark. Then by day 7 it was barely visible, like a light grey smudge. I'm honestly surprised at how much ink just fell out during healing. Has anyone else had a stick and poke fade that much or did I just do something wrong?

3 comments

c/botany-lovers•

xena_bailey18•7d ago

Tried growing orchids in my bathroom for 6 months and got zero blooms

I moved my moth orchid into my bathroom back in March because I read they like humidity. The thing grew like crazy - tons of new leaves and roots, super green. But after half a year of waiting, not a single flower spike showed up. Turns out I was giving it too much nitrogen and not enough temperature drop at night (like 10 degrees cooler). I moved it back to my kitchen window in September and it finally shot up a spike last week. Has anyone else messed up their orchid blooms by coddling them too much?

3 comments

c/digital-art-showcase•

xena_bailey18•11d ago

Three days wasted on a layer mask that was literally invisible

I swear I spent 72 hours trying to figure out why my digital painting looked flat. I kept tweaking colors, adjusting opacity, even reinstalled my tablet drivers twice. Turned out I had a layer mask on with black paint that was hiding half the detail. I accidentally clicked the mask thumbnail in Clip Studio and saw it there plain as day. Anybody else have a stupid simple fix that made you want to throw your screen out the window?

3 comments

c/automation-anxiety•

xena_bailey18•12d ago

My old deli counter job in Brooklyn got replaced by a kiosk last year

I worked at a corner deli in Brooklyn for 6 years making sandwiches and taking orders, but last fall they swapped me out for a touchscreen kiosk that does the same thing in half the time. The owner said it saved him $4,000 a month on wages, but now I'm working 20 hours a week at a warehouse instead. Has anyone else had a job just vanish like that with no warning?

3 comments

c/board-game-geeks•

xena_bailey18•14d ago

TIL my buddy's obsession with 3D printed miniatures actually makes sense

He spent 2 hours explaining the layer height settings and why his printer needed calibration, and honestly it changed how I look at all that tiny detail work. Has anyone else had a board game friend geek out on something you totally dismissed at first?

3 comments

c/ai-job-takeover•

xena_bailey18•1mo ago

That $200 AI writing tool I bought was a total scam for my job hunt

I dropped $200 on this AI resume builder that promised to land me interviews in tech. It just spat out generic buzzwords and my cover letters sounded like a robot had a stroke. I got zero callbacks in two weeks using it. Has anyone else wasted cash on these AI job tools that don't actually help?

3 comments

c/blacksmiths•

xena_bailey18•1mo ago

Went to a Ren Fair in Ohio and the blacksmith demo was hilariously bad

I stopped by the Ohio Ren Fair last weekend and watched their blacksmith demo. The guy was trying to make a simple hook but kept hitting his own thumb every 3 swings. He told the crowd "that's why they call it a forge, because you forge-t your safety training." His apron had like 20 burn holes in it. The anvil he was using was rusted and wobbled on a log stump. I gotta ask, has anyone else seen a demo that made you cringe more than learn?

3 comments