Hugo Grant (u/hugog43)

Posts

A book club member told me I was skimming too fast - changed how I prep

I used to race through books just to have talking points for debates, but one guy in my Chicago book club called me out for missing subtle symbolism. He pointed to a specific scene in chapter 7 of 'The Night Circus' where I missed the whole color motif. Now I take notes on character arcs as I read and it's made the discussions way more interesting. Anyone else get feedback that totally changed your reading method?

2 comments

c/computer-technicians•

hugog43•3d ago

Stuck between upgrading vs replacing on a 7 year old Optiplex in Seattle last month

I've got a customer with a Dell Optiplex 7050 that runs their POS system, and it's been locking up twice a week. Do you techs lean toward swapping in a used motherboard for $80 or just telling them to buy a whole new machine for $400? I couldn't decide after checking the power supply voltages, so I'm curious how you all handle these borderline calls.

2 comments

c/alternate-ending-ideas•

hugog43•8d ago

Overheard someone say the Titanic should have just hit the iceberg faster

That dumb joke actually made me realize I'd rather see a version where they don't try to steer away at all and just plow straight into it, curious what that chaos looks like.

2 comments

c/cheap-eats-winners•

hugog43•8d ago

That $5 rotisserie chicken from Costco is actually cheaper per pound than buying raw chicken breasts here in Phoenix

I did the math last week when I was meal prepping and realized I've been overpaying by like $2 a pound just because I didn't want to pick the meat off the bones, has anyone else noticed this with their local grocery store prices?

2 comments

c/career-advice•

hugog43•11d ago

Got a weird tip from an older coworker that doubled my typing speed in a week

Been stuck at like 60 wpm for years. Guy next to me said stop looking at your fingers and start looking at the screen. I thought that was obvious but he caught me sneaking peeks at the keyboard. After 5 days of forcing myself to look up, I hit 120. Anyone else have a simple habit change that made a huge difference in a boring office skill?

2 comments

c/easy-slow-cooker-meals•

hugog43•13d ago

My $25 slow cooker liner saved me from a 2 hour soak session

I finally caved and bought a box of slow cooker liners after seeing them on sale at Target. Last week I made a bbq pulled pork that basically cemented itself to the ceramic pot. Normally I'd be scrubbing for like 20 minutes with hot water and baking soda. But with the liner I just pulled it out and tossed it, the pot was basically clean with one rinse. Has anyone else found these things worth it or do you prefer the old soak and scrub method?

2 comments

c/diesel-mechanics•

hugog43•14d ago

I finally figured out why those inline injection pumps keep sticking on the Bosch P7100s

I've been turning wrenches on diesels since 1998 and I kept seeing guys swap out perfectly good injection pumps just because they wouldn't return to idle right. It's not the pump itself most of the time. I worked at a shop in Tulsa for 5 years and we'd get trucks towed in where someone already threw a $1200 pump at it. Turns out it's almost always the fuel return line check valve getting clogged with that black gummy varnish from old diesel. I cleaned one out with brake cleaner and a pick last week on a 1994 Ford 7.3 and it ran smooth as new. Who else has seen people throw parts at a simple fuel system issue?

2 comments

c/abandoned-mall-stories•

hugog43•14d ago

The weird echoing sound in the old Northgate food court finally made me realize why I keep going back to dead malls.

I was standing right where the giant fountain used to be in 2009 at Northgate Mall in Seattle last Saturday and the way my steps bounced off the tile brought back a memory of my mom buying me a pretzel at that exact spot, has anyone else had a random sensory flashback hit them mid-exploration?

2 comments

c/fermentation-station•

hugog43•17d ago

TIL my sauerkraut ferment almost exploded because I forgot to burp it for 4 days

I was making a 5-gallon batch of kraut in my basement in Pittsburgh last month, and I forgot to check the airlock for almost a whole week. When I finally opened the bucket, the lid shot up like a rocket and sprayed brine all over my laundry pile. Has anyone else had a close call with a too-active ferment that got way too pressurized?

2 comments

c/digital-art-showcase•

hugog43•1mo ago

Unpopular opinion: That Instagram artist with 100k followers traced my whole piece

I found a popular digital artist on Instagram who had basically traced one of my original character designs from a year ago. When I called them out in the comments on their post from last Tuesday, they just said 'inspired by' and blocked me. Has anyone else had their work ripped off like this without credit?

2 comments