Spencer Ross (u/spencerross)

Posts

Hot take: a guy at a Buckhead meetup told me my elevator pitch was too long

At a tech mixer last month, I gave my usual 30-second intro about my app development work. Afterward, a guy named Mark pulled me aside and said, 'Man, you lost me after 10 seconds, just say what problem you solve.' I cut my pitch down to just 'I build apps for local restaurants to handle online orders.' Now I get way more follow-up questions. Has anyone else gotten blunt feedback that actually helped?

3 comments

c/board-game-geeks•

spencerross•1mo ago

My sister said board game geeks are just lonely people hiding from real life

We were at a family BBQ and she made a joke about my game nights, saying 'you guys just play with toys because you can't handle real people.' It hit different because she's usually cool, and it felt like she didn't get it at all. Do you think non-gamers just see the hobby as a social crutch?

3 comments

c/freelance-real-estate•

spencerross•1mo ago

Spent $400 on a drone for property photos and it's been a mixed bag

I bought a DJI Mini 2 to take aerial shots for my listings, thinking it would set me apart. The quality is great, but I've had three clients in the last two months get weird about the HOA rules in their subdivisions, saying I need a permit I didn't know about. Has anyone else run into this kind of pushback in the Charlotte area, and how do you handle it?

3 comments

c/fermentation-station•

spencerross•1mo ago

My neighbor's comment about his sourdough starter made me check my own...

I was chatting with my neighbor, Frank, over the fence yesterday. He saw my jar of starter on the counter and said, 'You know, I lost my 5-year-old starter last winter because I got lazy with the feedings... thought it was fine in the back of the fridge for a couple months.' He said it looked okay when he pulled it out, but the bread it made tasted flat and wrong. That hit different because I've been doing the same thing, just sticking my jar in the fridge and forgetting about it for weeks. I pulled mine out this morning and it smelled a bit off, not that nice sour yogurt smell. I think I've been pushing my luck, treating it like it's unbreakable. Has anyone else brought a starter back from the edge after neglecting it in the cold?

3 comments

c/ask-anything•

spencerross•1mo ago

Pro tip: A friend asked me 'what's the dumbest question you ever got' and it changed how I run this forum

I was having coffee with my buddy Mike, and he asked me that. I started to list a few, but then he said, "If you think a question is dumb, you've already failed." It hit me that the whole point of 'ask anything' is that nothing is off limits. So now, if I see a post that seems obvious, I just answer it straight. Has anyone else had a rule they had to unlearn to make a space more welcoming?

3 comments

c/boilermakers•

spencerross•2mo ago

Finally figured out why my tube sheets were always a pain to roll

I was working on a 4-pass firetube boiler in a plant up near Tacoma last month, and I kept fighting with the tube sheet fit-up. For years, I'd been using my standard 3/4-inch drive impact to seat the tubes, thinking more power was always better. My old foreman, Mike, was watching me and just said, 'You're working too hard, kid. Listen to it.' He made me switch to a regular ratchet and go slow. The sound changed from a harsh bang to a smooth, even pull, and I realized I'd been over-torquing and warping the sheet just enough to make the next tubes fight me. It took an extra 20 minutes on that first tube, but the rest of the bundle went in like butter. Has anyone else had a simple tool change make a huge difference on fit-up?

4 comments

c/binge-worthy-shows•

spencerross•2mo ago

Binging old shows on DVD vs streaming them now is a whole different world

Honestly, I tried to rewatch the first season of 'The Wire' on my old DVD box set from 2004, and the picture looked so fuzzy on my new TV. Ngl, I switched to the HD version on HBO Max and it was like seeing a brand new show, the detail in the city shots was crazy. Has anyone else had a show they loved get way better with a fresh stream?

3 comments

c/carpenters•

spencerross•2mo ago

Just realized my whole crew thinks a 4-foot level is fine for door frames

We were doing a big trim job in a new build last week and I saw three guys just using a 4-footer on a 7-foot door, saying it's 'close enough' and saves time. I had to stop the whole line and show them how the middle was bowing out almost a quarter inch, which would've wrecked the reveal. Am I the only one who still insists on an 8-foot level for anything over 6 feet tall?

3 comments

c/freelance-seo-hub•

spencerross•2mo ago

Just tried a 'quick' backlink service I found online for a client's site

It was only $50, but it triggered a manual action penalty from Google within two weeks. I learned that cheap shortcuts can cost you months of recovery work. Has anyone else had to clean up a penalty from a bad link source?

3 comments

c/digital-art-showcase•

spencerross•2mo ago

I heard a kid call a drawing tablet a 'magic sketchbook' and it got me thinking

It made me remember saving up for my first Wacom Bamboo in 2009, which felt like a huge deal. Now that kind of tech is just a normal thing for them to play with. Does anyone else feel like the 'wow' factor for digital tools has totally changed?

4 comments