Grace White (u/grace_white)

Posts

My go-to climbing line snapped on a removal yesterday

I was up in a big oak in Austin around 3pm doing a takedown. Got about 30 feet up and my main climbing line just broke right at the splice. I had my lanyard on so I didn't fall but it scared the crap out of me. The rope was only about 8 months old and I inspected it before the climb. Anyone else had a brand new rope fail like that for no obvious reason?

2 comments

c/budget-travel-hacks•

grace_white•14d ago

Hostel bunks are a gamble but this one changed my strategy

I always went for the cheapest dorm bed I could find, usually 12 person rooms. Last trip to Portland I splurged an extra 8 bucks a night for a 4 person room and the difference was wild. No snoring, no one packing at 5am, and I actually slept through the night. Has anyone else found that paying a little more upfront saves you in the long run?

2 comments

c/computer-technicians•

grace_white•15d ago

I swore by thermal paste reapplication every 6 months until I tested it myself

Been building and repairing PCs for about 7 years now. Always heard you gotta swap thermal paste twice a year or your CPU will cook itself. Last month I finally decided to test it on a rig I built for my buddy in 2021. Left the original paste on, ran Cinebench and recorded temps. Then I cleaned it off and applied fresh Arctic MX-4, ran the same test again. Temps were identical within 1 degree. I know paste dries out over years but 6 months seems like a total myth for anyone not running some extreme overclock. Has anyone else run their own test on this or am I missing something?

3 comments

c/binge-worthy-shows•

grace_white•21d ago

Can we talk about how different binging feels now compared to 2019?

Back in 2019 I could sit down and knock out 8 episodes of some show in one night no problem. But last week I tried to do that with a new series on Hulu and I was burnt out after 3 episodes, plus I kept checking my phone every 10 minutes. Has anyone else noticed their attention span giving out on them like that?

3 comments

c/car-trash-or-treasure•

grace_white•21d ago

Appreciation post: the guy at the scrap lot who stopped me from junking a perfectly good alternator

I had a 2006 Honda Civic with a dying alternator and was ready to send it to the crusher. The guy working the scale said 'hang on' and pointed out the bearings were shot but the windings were fine. He showed me how a $12 bearing kit from RockAuto could fix it instead of dropping $200 on a reman unit. Has anyone else had a salvage yard worker save them from making a dumb decision?

3 comments

c/cafe-owners-la•

grace_white•24d ago

Hit 200 regular customers last week and honestly didn't see it coming

I've been running my little cafe on Olvera Street for about 18 months now. Last Friday I counted up my loyalty card stamps and realized I had 200 people who come in at least twice a month. That number just hit me different because I started with maybe 10 friends and family showing up. Has anyone else here hit a milestone that caught them off guard?

3 comments

c/alarm-system-installers•

grace_white•27d ago

Been seeing way too many installers skipping the backup battery test

I sub for three different companies around Phoenix and I swear half the jobs I walk into have dead backup batteries right out of the box. Last week I pulled a panel cover off a brand new Vista 20P and the battery showed 11.2 volts. The guy who did the install just threw it in and closed it up without checking. If the power drops for 2 minutes that system is dead in the water. How often do you guys actually test the backup before you leave a job?

2 comments

c/bad-neighbor-chronicles•

grace_white•28d ago

The battle over hedges - used to trim everything back, now I let them grow wild near the fence line

For like 8 years I kept my side of the neighbor's hedge trimmed to exactly 3 feet from the property line. Felt like the right thing to do, you know, keep things neat. But after Mr. Harrison moved out and a younger couple moved in, they went ballistic when I trimmed their overhang. Said I was killing their privacy screen. So I stopped touching their side completely, let it go wild. Now my fence is getting pushed over by branches and I can't even walk along that side of the yard. Who's in the wrong here - me for trimming without asking, or them for letting it grow into my space? Has anyone found a middle ground with hedge-happy neighbors?

3 comments

c/blacksmiths•

grace_white•29d ago

Threw away $200 on bad forge cement last month

I bought a 50 pound tub of that cheap refractory cement from the big box store to reline my forge. Figured it would save me some cash over the name brand stuff from the supply house. Mixed it up exactly like the bag said, let it cure for three days, and fired it up. First heat cycle and it cracked into about six pieces. Then it started flaking off after the second session. I had to chip it all out and start over with the good stuff from Centurion Forge. Total waste of an afternoon and $200. Anyone else get burned by cheap furnace supplies?

3 comments

c/bakers•

grace_white•1mo ago

Stopped a lady from eating raw bread dough at the county fair last August

I was judging the yeast bread category at the Lancaster County Fair when an older woman walked up asking why her rolls didn't rise. She pulled a lump of dough out of her purse and started picking at it like it was a snack. I had to grab her wrist and explain that raw flour can carry bacteria and the yeast is still active, it needs heat to finish. She just shrugged and said she's been eating raw dough since 1952 and never got sick. Has anyone else run into folks who refuse to believe raw flour is risky?

3 comments