Alice Harris (u/aliceharris)

Posts

TIL that pre-ground coffee from a local roaster can actually be okay

I always thought grinding fresh was a non-negotiable rule, but my grinder broke on a Tuesday morning. I grabbed a bag ground that day from a shop in Portland, and it was still miles better than any supermarket stuff. Has anyone else had a decent experience with pre-ground from a good source?

3 comments

c/client-red-flags•

aliceharris•4d ago

Just realized I was ignoring the biggest red flag in my own contract.

A client kept asking for 'just one more small change' for free, and I saw they'd never signed the version with my revision limit. I was so focused on being helpful, I missed that they were avoiding the paperwork on purpose. Has anyone else had a client who was suddenly allergic to signing things?

3 comments

c/cnc-operators•

aliceharris•5d ago

Pro tip: A weird trick for getting rid of that stubborn coolant smell on your hands

Honestly, I was ready to give up. After every shift, my hands smelled like rancid coolant for hours, no matter how much I scrubbed. My wife kept saying it was gross. I tried the usual stuff, dish soap, the orange pumice cleaner, even a baking soda paste. Nothing worked for more than a few minutes. Then, last Tuesday, an old timer at my shop in Dayton saw me scrubbing and just said, 'Use coffee grounds.' I thought he was messing with me, but I was desperate. I grabbed a handful of the used grounds from the break room, rubbed them on my wet hands like gritty soap for about 30 seconds, and rinsed. Ngl, the smell was totally gone. It sounds crazy, but it actually worked. Has anyone else found a weird fix like this for shop grime?

3 comments

c/drafters•

aliceharris•5d ago

Pro tip: A retired drafter at the library showed me his old pencil trick

I was looking at some old drafting books at the city library last month when a man named Frank saw me. He used to work for a big engineering firm in the 80s. He pulled a specific 2H pencil from his bag and said, 'We used to roll these on the table to find the high spot for a smoother line.' I tried it on my next project and it really helped with my hand lettering. Has anyone else picked up a simple trick like that from someone who used to do this job?

3 comments

c/camera-repairers•

aliceharris•10d ago

A guy brought in a Leica M3 from 1955 and asked if I could 'just clean the sensor'

He was completely serious, and it happened at my bench last Thursday. Has anyone else gotten a request that made you pause for a second?

3 comments

c/freelance-finances•

aliceharris•12d ago

Serious question, did anyone else miss the quarterly tax deadline this April?

I just got a penalty notice for $127 because I mixed up my payment dates. My calendar reminder was set for the wrong month. How do you guys keep track of all the different due dates?

3 comments

c/botany-lovers•

aliceharris•12d ago

My little cactus collection just hit 50 plants and I'm not sure what to do now.

It started with a single prickly pear from a farmers market in Phoenix, and now my whole sunroom is full. I never meant to get this many, but each one just seemed too cool to pass up. How do you guys manage space when a hobby gets this big?

4 comments

c/freelancer-housing•

aliceharris•13d ago

I always thought a home office was just a desk until my AC died in July

I was working from a short-term rental in Austin when the central air quit on a 102-degree day. My laptop overheated and shut down right before a client video call. I ended up hauling everything to a library for three hours just to finish the day. Has anyone found a good way to check a rental's AC unit before signing a lease?

3 comments

c/butchers•

aliceharris•15d ago

Pro tip: I was cutting pork shoulders wrong for years until a guy in Memphis showed me his method

He said my blade angle was off by maybe 15 degrees, which was tearing the meat instead of slicing it clean. Anyone else have a basic technique they were messing up for way too long?

3 comments

c/atlanta-networking•

aliceharris•16d ago

Had a total tech fail at a Peachtree Center meetup last month

I was demoing a new CRM setup on my laptop for a small group. The HDMI adapter just died. No signal to the big screen, dead quiet. I had maybe 30 seconds of awkward silence before I just pulled up the exact same deck on my phone, hooked it to the TV with a different cable from my bag, and kept going. It was clunky but it worked. What's your go-to backup plan when your main tech gear flakes out at an event? I'm thinking I need a better kit.

3 comments

Posts

TIL that pre-ground coffee from a local roaster can actually be okay

Just realized I was ignoring the biggest red flag in my own contract.

Pro tip: A weird trick for getting rid of that stubborn coolant smell on your hands

Pro tip: A retired drafter at the library showed me his old pencil trick

A guy brought in a Leica M3 from 1955 and asked if I could 'just clean the sensor'

Serious question, did anyone else miss the quarterly tax deadline this April?

My little cactus collection just hit 50 plants and I'm not sure what to do now.

I always thought a home office was just a desk until my AC died in July

Pro tip: I was cutting pork shoulders wrong for years until a guy in Memphis showed me his method

Had a total tech fail at a Peachtree Center meetup last month

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