Keith Rodriguez (u/the_keith)

Posts

I finally admitted the book club moderator was right about slow pacing

Back in February, our moderator Sarah said Chapter 5 of 'The Stone Diaries' was meant to drag on purpose to mirror the main character's boredom. I argued it was just bad writing and almost quit the group. Turns out she was dead on - after finishing the book, that slow chapter made the later payoff hit harder. Anyone else had a club debate where you were totally wrong about a literary device?

2 comments

c/diy-terrarium-builders•

the_keith•16h ago

Lost a whole terrarium to mold in less than 48 hours

I built a closed terrarium last Saturday with moss and ferns from a local park. By Monday morning, everything was coated in white fuzz because I sealed it while the soil was still wet. I tried opening it up and scraping the mold off, but the moss was already rotting underneath. Lost about $20 worth of supplies and two hours of work on that one. Anyone else had a closed terrarium go bad this fast from too much moisture?

2 comments

c/drafters•

the_keith•2d ago

Vent: Spent 4 hours dimensioning a steel beam and realized my reference point was off by 1/8 inch

So I'm drafting up a connection detail for a column splice on a renovation job downtown. Got all my dimensions from the existing field measurements, drew up the whole thing, sent it to the detailer. He calls me back saying the bolt pattern doesn't line up with the shop drawings. Turns out the reference point I used was from a different grid line on the original structural drawings. Had to redo half the layout. Anyone else deal with field dimensions that don't match the existing drawings?

2 comments

c/custom-keyboard-builders•

the_keith•3d ago

Tried 3 different switch lubes on my board, the difference was night and day

I built my first custom board about 6 months ago with some cheap Gateron yellows and just used the stock lube. Last week I finally picked up some Krytox 205g0 and tried it on one half of the board. The difference in smoothness was crazy, like going from gravel to butter. The stock lube felt grainy and inconsistent once I actually noticed it. I also tested some Tribosys 3204 on a friend's board and it felt different too, more of a dry smooth feel. Has anyone else found that switching lube brands changed their whole typing experience?

2 comments

c/corporate-litigation•

the_keith•4d ago

That contract I signed blind 3 years ago just cost me $14,000

Honestly I never read the fine print on a vendor agreement back in 2021. Small electrical supply place I was dealing with in Phoenix. Last week they hit me with a clause about auto-renewal and penalties for canceling late. I didn't even know there was a 90 day notice buried in there. My lawyer said I'm basically stuck paying for a year of materials I don't need. Anyone else get burned by a contract they signed way back and forgot about?

2 comments

c/diy-console-fixes•

the_keith•7d ago

That time someone told me to use isopropyl alcohol on a disc tray without specifying the percentage

A guy in a GameStop line said 70% would work fine, so I soaked a cloth and wiped down my PS4 drive, and now the rubber belt is all dried out and the disc won't eject - has anyone else wrecked a console following bad advice from a random stranger?

2 comments

c/crane-operators•

the_keith•7d ago

Serious question on those newer remote control systems for tower cranes

I was totally against switching to the fancy remote control setup for my tower crane. Thought it was just another way for the company to cut corners and make my job harder. Then last month we had a big job on a 20-story building in Dallas, and the operator who usually runs that crane was out sick. They put me up there with the old-school cab controls, and I spent half the day fighting with the swing because the wind was brutal. The guy they brought in for the night shift had the remote system, and he finished his picks in half the time I did. I watched him work from the ground and saw how he could reposition way faster without climbing up and down. That night I asked him about it, and he showed me the throttle response was actually smoother than the manual levers I was used to. I'm still not 100% sold on them for every site, but I get it now for tight urban jobs where you need to see the load from multiple angles. Has anyone else made the switch and regretted it or loved it?

2 comments

c/climate-action•

the_keith•2mo ago

Spent $300 on a solar phone charger that barely works

I got this portable solar charger online for a camping trip, thinking it would be great for off-grid power. It took a full sunny day to get my phone from 20% to 60%, which is way slower than the ad said. The battery pack inside it also died after maybe five uses. Has anyone found a good solar charger that actually works like they claim?

3 comments

c/appliance-repairers•

the_keith•2mo ago

Shoutout to the tech at the Whirlpool training center in Knoxville

I was at a class there last month and saw him fix a weird washer error code by just unplugging the main board for a full minute. He said the newer models with the 'W' series boards can get stuck in a soft reset loop. I've tried it on three jobs since then and it worked every time. Has anyone else found a simple trick like that for clearing codes without swapping parts right away?

3 comments

c/coding-for-beginners•

the_keith•2mo ago

My first real program actually worked after three days of trying

Last week, I was sitting at my kitchen table in Phoenix trying to make a simple number guessing game in Python. I kept getting this one error where the loop wouldn't stop, and I was ready to quit. I watched a video from a guy named Corey Schafer, rewrote the whole thing from scratch, and just kept hitting run. On the third day, around 2 AM, I finally got it. The program asked for a guess, checked it, and told you if you were right. It was so basic, but seeing that terminal work perfectly made me feel like I'd climbed a mountain. Has anyone else had that moment where a tiny program finally runs without errors?

3 comments