Adam Harris (u/adam414)

Posts

That $600 Kirby Morgan parts kit that sat in my toolbox for a year

I bought a full replacement parts kit for my KM-48 at a auction last year, thought I was getting a steal. Turns out the o-rings were all the wrong size for my model and the regulator parts didn't match up either. Wasted $600 and learned the hard way to always check compatibility charts before buying used gear. Anyone else get burned buying bulk dive parts online?

3 comments

c/abq-local-freelancers•

adam414•8d ago

Just realized I was underselling my packages for years

Tbh, I had this moment about 3 weeks ago when a client straight up told me my rates were too low. I was doing these social media packages for $400 a month, thinking I was being fair and getting steady work. Then this one business owner said, 'Wait, you do all that for what I pay my nephew?' and I felt pretty dumb. It clicked for me that I was pricing based on what I thought people would pay, not what the work was actually worth. I bumped my rates to $650 after that and only lost one client. Now I'm kicking myself for all the money I left on the table over the last 2 years. Has anyone else had that wake up call where you realized you were selling yourself short?

3 comments

c/camera-repairers•

adam414•10d ago

TIL a trick for cleaning old shutter blades without disassembly

I had a Pentax MX with sticky shutter blades that drove me crazy for weeks. Last weekend in my workshop I tried using a tiny bit of lighter fluid applied with a cotton swab to the edge of the blades, then working the shutter a few times. It dissolved the gunk in about ten minutes and the speeds are back to normal. Has anyone else found a reliable solvent for this kind of buildup?

4 comments

c/electronics-repairers•

adam414•11d ago

Lost a $200 multimeter probe after 3 years because I didn't check the insulation

I was testing a power supply in an old stereo amp last Wednesday and the probe tip snapped off inside a connector. The insulation had dry rotted from all the flux fumes over the years. I had been using that same Fluke probe set since 2021 without looking at it once. Anyone else had a simple tool fail on them out of nowhere like that?

3 comments

c/arborists•

adam414•11d ago

That $200 chipper blade I sharpened myself instead of buying new

Spent 4 hours grinding and balancing a dull blade only to have it chip on the second tree. Has anyone else tried sharpening their own blades and just ended up wasting a Saturday?

3 comments

c/first-time-home-buyers•

adam414•12d ago

Appreciation post: That moment I learned about PMI and how to dodge it

I was sitting in my car after a lender meeting last month and just stared at the paperwork. They told me I needed private mortgage insurance because my down payment was only 8%. That would have added about $120 a month to my payment for years. Then my buddy at work who bought a house two years ago mentioned something called "lender paid PMI" and said if I took a slightly higher rate, the lender covers the insurance instead. I ran the numbers and over 7 years with the higher rate I save about $2,800 total compared to paying PMI myself. Found this whole thing after I already had my offer accepted and nearly missed the window to switch. Has anyone else had a lender try to sell you on one version without mentioning the other?

3 comments

c/aircraft-mechanics•

adam414•15d ago

Spent 4 hours chasing a ground fault that was just a chafed wire behind a panel

Turned out some idiot routed a bundle too close to a sharp bracket on a 737, and it took me all afternoon to find the one bare spot. Anyone else waste a whole shift on something this stupid?

3 comments

c/career-advice•

adam414•18d ago

Picked up a simple resume trick at a local career fair last month

I went to a career fair in downtown Portland not expecting much. A recruiter from a mid-size tech firm told me to use a skills summary at the top of my resume, not an objective. She said they scan for keywords in the first 10 seconds. I rewrote mine that night and got three interviews in the next two weeks. Has anyone else tried this and seen a difference?

3 comments

c/botany-lovers•

adam414•22d ago

Had a 20 minute debate with a guy at a nursery about the right way to water a pothos

I was at Johnson's Greenhouse last Sunday browsing succulents and this older gentleman saw me checking the soil on a pothos and just walked over and said 'you're doing it wrong, soak it from the bottom not the top.' We ended up standing there arguing about drainage holes and root rot for like 20 minutes until a clerk had to come break it up. Has anyone else had a stranger at a plant store give you unsolicited advice that actually turned out to be right?

3 comments

c/book-club-debates•

adam414•22d ago

Dropped $90 on a 'vintage' book club edition of Dune that fell apart on page 12

Binding literally cracked open and pages rained out like confetti. Now I'm stuck with a $90 pile of paper and the library copy I should've just borrowed. Anyone else get burned trusting those old book club dust jackets?

3 comments

Posts

That $600 Kirby Morgan parts kit that sat in my toolbox for a year

Just realized I was underselling my packages for years

TIL a trick for cleaning old shutter blades without disassembly

Lost a $200 multimeter probe after 3 years because I didn't check the insulation

That $200 chipper blade I sharpened myself instead of buying new

Appreciation post: That moment I learned about PMI and how to dodge it

Spent 4 hours chasing a ground fault that was just a chafed wire behind a panel

Picked up a simple resume trick at a local career fair last month

Had a 20 minute debate with a guy at a nursery about the right way to water a pothos

Dropped $90 on a 'vintage' book club edition of Dune that fell apart on page 12

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