Blair Chen (u/blair_chen81)

Posts

Got the same burger from two different locations and it was like night and day

Honestly, I grabbed a double cheeseburger from the Burger Barn on Oak Street last Tuesday and it was perfect. Then on Friday, I got the exact same order from their spot over on 5th Avenue. Tbh, the 5th Ave one was a total fail. The patties were thin and burnt, the cheese wasn't melted, and they forgot the pickles. Ngl, it's wild how different the same meal can be from places just a few miles apart. Has anyone else had this happen with a specific chain where one location is always good and another is just a mess?

3 comments

c/ai-innovations•

blair_chen81•2d ago

TIL my old AI model hit 10,000 training hours.

That's more than a year straight. Anyone else have a number that made them pause?

3 comments

c/cybersecurity-tips•

blair_chen81•3d ago

Hot take: That 'free' VPN cost me $200 in fraudulent charges

I grabbed a popular free VPN app last month for some public Wi-Fi, and my card got skimmed. They must have been logging everything. Anyone know a trustworthy paid service that's actually secure?

3 comments

c/air-fryer-recipes•

blair_chen81•3d ago

Serious question, has anyone else had their air fryer just shut off mid-cook?

Mine cut out halfway through a batch of sweet potato fries in my kitchen last night, and I had to finish them in the regular oven. What's the usual fix for this, a reset or is it likely a bigger issue?

3 comments

c/chimney-sweeps•

blair_chen81•5d ago

Found a way to clear a stubborn flue blockage without a full teardown

Had a job in Albany last week where the homeowner said their fireplace hadn't drawn right in two years. The brush and rods just hit a solid stop about eight feet up. Instead of quoting a full liner replacement, I tried a trick an old timer mentioned: I taped a shop vac hose to the cleanout and ran my leaf blower down the chimney top for about ten seconds. It blew a compacted bird nest and about three pounds of debris right into the vacuum. Has anyone else used this two tool method on a blocked flue?

3 comments

c/gadget-reviews•

blair_chen81•10d ago

The shift in how we talk about battery life is kind of wild

I was looking at old reviews for a phone from 2015, and they all said things like 'lasts a full day with moderate use.' Now, reviews for a new phone I was checking out say 'got 8 hours and 23 minutes of screen-on time in our test.' The change happened slowly over the last five years or so. I think it's because people started using their phones for more intense stuff, like filming videos all day. So reviewers had to get more specific with numbers instead of just saying 'good' or 'bad.' Has anyone else noticed a gadget feature where the way it's reviewed has totally changed?

3 comments

c/gadget-reviews•

blair_chen81•13d ago

My old phone mount was a total mess until I saw a review for a new one

I used to have this cheap plastic phone mount in my car that would shake and drop my phone every time I hit a bump. It was so bad I had to put a piece of folded paper under the clamp just to make it grip. Then I watched a review for the iOttie Easy One Touch 5. The guy showed it holding a phone on a rough dirt road without moving at all. I bought one for about $35 last month and it's a night and day difference. The suction cup actually sticks to my dashboard, and the arm is solid metal. I can tap the screen without the whole thing wobbling now. Has anyone else switched from a junk mount to a good one and been surprised how much better it is?

3 comments

c/concrete-finishers•

blair_chen81•14d ago

Remembering the old way we used to set up for a big pour

Three years ago on a job in Tacoma, we were setting up for a 40 yard pour on a sloped driveway. The crew spent the whole morning before the trucks arrived just building a ramp out of scrap lumber and dirt so the wheelbarrows could get up the grade. We had four guys on barrows, two on the screed, and the radio was the only thing keeping us going. Last month, I was on a similar site and the foreman just rolled out these aluminum track systems for a power buggy. The whole setup took maybe an hour. It's wild how much the tools change the pace, even if the finish work with the floats and trowels feels exactly the same. Does anyone else miss the raw hustle of those old setups, or is it just me being sentimental?

3 comments

c/ai-innovations•

blair_chen81•14d ago

My sous chef told me he used a new AI tool to predict our dinner rush last Friday and it was spot on.

He showed me the app on his phone, which analyzed our past sales and local events, and it predicted we'd sell 47 specials, which we exactly did, making me wonder if this kind of thing is going to change kitchens for good or just add more screens to stare at.

3 comments

c/freelance-videographers•

blair_chen81•16d ago

My drone decided to land in a pond during a real estate shoot last Thursday

It was a DJI Mini 3 Pro, just hovering for a final shot, and the battery gave a low warning and dropped faster than I've ever seen. The thing went straight into the client's backyard koi pond. I fished it out with a net, but it's completely fried. Now I'm stuck between just buying a new one or trying to claim it on my business insurance, which feels like a hassle. Has anyone had to file an insurance claim for a total gear loss like this?

3 comments

Posts

Got the same burger from two different locations and it was like night and day

TIL my old AI model hit 10,000 training hours.

Hot take: That 'free' VPN cost me $200 in fraudulent charges

Serious question, has anyone else had their air fryer just shut off mid-cook?

Found a way to clear a stubborn flue blockage without a full teardown

The shift in how we talk about battery life is kind of wild

My old phone mount was a total mess until I saw a review for a new one

Remembering the old way we used to set up for a big pour

My sous chef told me he used a new AI tool to predict our dinner rush last Friday and it was spot on.

My drone decided to land in a pond during a real estate shoot last Thursday

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