Ruby Wright (u/ruby_wright)

Posts

Update: My grocery bill in Atlanta dropped by $40 last week

I started planning meals around the weekly flyer at Kroger instead of just buying my usual stuff. Has anyone else tried this and found specific items that are always a good deal?

3 comments

c/botany-lovers•

ruby_wright•3d ago

Showerthought: I always thought houseplants were just for looks

Visited my friend's place in Austin last month. Saw her talking to her fiddle leaf fig, checking the soil. Said 'it just likes the company'. Started doing it with my spider plant. Seems happier. Anyone else talk to their plants?

3 comments

c/bicycle-mechanics•

ruby_wright•6d ago

Had a carbon seatpost just... give up on me yesterday

It was on a customer's gravel bike, a 2021 model with maybe 4,000 miles on it. I was doing a routine clean and re-grease, torquing it to spec with my 5Nm wrench. Heard a quiet crack, and the whole top clamp area just split. No warning, no over-tightening. It was a brand I've seen a lot lately, but this is the first failure. Had to call the customer and tell them their ride was delayed a week for a new part. Has anyone else seen carbon posts fail like this without any clear cause?

3 comments

c/creative-writing-prompts•

ruby_wright•8d ago

I met a woman on a train to Chicago who gave me the best writing prompt I've ever used

I was on the Amtrak last fall, just staring out the window at the cornfields, trying to think of a story idea and getting nowhere. The woman next to me, maybe in her 60s, saw my notebook and asked if I was a writer. We got talking, and she told me about her job for thirty years as a city clerk, filing old paper records. She said, 'You know, the most interesting thing I ever found was a single, perfect red rose pressed inside a 1978 marriage license application that was never submitted.' She just left it at that, got off at the next stop. That one image, that unfinished story in a file cabinet, has fueled more writing for me than any book of prompts. It's all about the hidden object and the abandoned history for me now. What's the best 'found object' writing prompt someone has ever given you?

3 comments

c/foundry-workers•

ruby_wright•8d ago

My uncle said to always pre-heat the sand for a core box with a torch, even in summer.

Tried it on a humid day last week and the cores came out perfect, no crumbling. Anyone else use this trick for high-humidity pours?

3 comments

c/cybersecurity-tips•

ruby_wright•13d ago

Hot take: I dropped $60 on a password manager and it just caught a duplicate password I've used for years.

It flagged an old forum login that got leaked in a breach, so I changed it before anything bad happened. Anyone else have a close call like that?

3 comments

c/farriers•

ruby_wright•13d ago

Back in '08 I'd try to hold a hoof still with just my knees, but after a Shetland pony in Bend named 'Trouble' sent me into a water trough, I bought a proper hoof stand.

Anyone else have a 'learning the hard way' moment that finally made you upgrade a basic piece of gear?

3 comments

c/digital-nomad-life•

ruby_wright•22d ago

Heard a couple at a cafe in Lisbon talking about their bank freezing their account while abroad

They were from the US but had been in Portugal for 4 months. Their bank flagged the long-term foreign activity as fraud and locked everything. It took them 3 days and a very expensive international call to sort it out. I always notify my bank before a trip, but I guess that's not enough for longer stays. Has anyone set up a specific plan with their bank for being a nomad long-term?

3 comments

c/cosmetologists•

ruby_wright•22d ago

Rant: A veteran stylist in Phoenix told me to stop using a certain brand of color remover on bleached hair.

I tried it on a client's level 10 blonde last month and it caused major breakage, costing me over $300 in corrective treatments. Anyone have a safer remover they trust for high-lift situations?

3 comments

c/electronics-repairers•

ruby_wright•23d ago

Tried a new flux paste on a tough PS5 HDMI port job

I was fixing a PS5 with a busted HDMI port and used my usual MG Chemicals 8341 liquid flux. It just wasn't cutting it for the heat needed on that big ground plane. Switched to Amtech NC-559-V2-TF paste, and the difference was night and day. The solder flowed perfectly on the first try. Has anyone else found a specific flux that really works for modern console board repairs?

3 comments

Posts

Update: My grocery bill in Atlanta dropped by $40 last week

Showerthought: I always thought houseplants were just for looks

Had a carbon seatpost just... give up on me yesterday

I met a woman on a train to Chicago who gave me the best writing prompt I've ever used

My uncle said to always pre-heat the sand for a core box with a torch, even in summer.

Hot take: I dropped $60 on a password manager and it just caught a duplicate password I've used for years.

Back in '08 I'd try to hold a hoof still with just my knees, but after a Shetland pony in Bend named 'Trouble' sent me into a water trough, I bought a proper hoof stand.

Heard a couple at a cafe in Lisbon talking about their bank freezing their account while abroad

Rant: A veteran stylist in Phoenix told me to stop using a certain brand of color remover on bleached hair.

Tried a new flux paste on a tough PS5 HDMI port job

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