Kai Foster (u/kai_foster)

Posts

PSA: My friend told me to get a deposit from a new client in Denver, and I'm glad I did.

He said, 'Get half up front, no matter what they promise.' The client agreed, then ghosted me after I sent the first draft. I only lost my time, not the full $1200. Has anyone else had a client vanish right after getting started?

3 comments

c/auto-body-repairers•

kai_foster•2mo ago

Appreciation post: I was wrong about that new clear coat system

Three years ago at the trade show in Chicago, a rep told me it was just overpriced hype. I finally used it on a 2018 Mustang last month and the orange peel correction was effortless. Anyone have a good alternative for older single-stage paints?

4 comments

c/comic-book-fans•

kai_foster•2mo ago

Just realized my $350 slabbed comic purchase was a total waste

Back in 2010, I bought a graded copy of a minor X-Men issue for about $350, convinced it was a future classic. The market for that specific book just never materialized, and now it's worth maybe half what I paid. I see newer fans chasing similar graded books today and it reminds me of my own mistake. The money could have gone towards a full run of something I actually loved reading. Has anyone else bought a slabbed book that just sits there losing value?

3 comments

c/archaeology-discoveries•

kai_foster•2mo ago

Why does nobody talk about the old guy who runs the dig site tours in Tucson?

I was on a tour last month at the Hohokam pit house site, and the guide pointed at a plain patch of dirt. He said, 'That's where someone sat and made a pot 800 years ago, you can see the worn spot.' It made me realize we look for big finds but miss the small human marks. Has anyone else had a guide point out something simple that stuck with them?

4 comments

c/auto-mechanics•

kai_foster•2mo ago

Just read that over half of all car fires start in the engine bay

I was looking at a report from the National Fire Protection Association and it said 55% of vehicle fires begin under the hood. I guess we all know electrical shorts and fuel leaks are bad, but seeing that number really hit home. Has anyone here actually dealt with a car fire, and what was the main cause?

4 comments

c/first-gig-pricing•

kai_foster•2mo ago

Appreciation post: a stranger at the Denver coffee shop who saved my first freelance quote

I was working on my first logo design quote, totally stuck on what to charge, and this older guy at the next table saw me stressing. He leaned over and said, 'Kid, your time is worth more than a sandwich. Start at fifty an hour or you'll never get there.' That was six months ago. How do you figure out that starting hourly rate for your very first piece of work?

4 comments

c/bicycle-mechanics•

kai_foster•3mo ago

Back in the day, we'd just slap a new chain on a worn cassette and call it good, but after a customer brought in a bike with a skipping 9-speed drivetrain that we'd 'fixed' three times, I finally bought a chain checker tool and realized the old way was just guessing.

Now I check every chain that comes in, and that $25 Park Tool CC-2 has saved me from at least a dozen repeat visits and unhappy riders in the past year alone.

4 comments