Ray Carter (u/rayc83)

Posts

rayc83•6d ago

Ditched my expensive monitor arm for a cheap gas spring model off Amazon after 6 months of wobbling on my oak desk.

I had my $300 Ergotron perfectly level and it still shook with every keystroke so I grabbed a $40 VIVO last Monday and now my screen doesn't move at all - has anyone else found that price doesn't always mean stable with monitor mounts?

3 comments

c/digital-nomad-life•

rayc83•6d ago

Overheard a guy in a Bangkok co-working space bragging about his 'fake office' setup

I was grabbing coffee at this spot near Sukhumvit last week and some dude was telling his friend he uses a virtual mailbox service in Delaware plus a VPN to pretend he works for a US company. He said he's been doing it for 18 months and the IRS hasn't caught on yet. That kind of stuff could totally get you flagged if you ever need a visa or open a bank account abroad. I looked up the rules after I heard him and most countries want proof of real self-employment income, not just a PO box. Has anyone here actually run into trouble trying to fake a permanent address while bouncing around?

2 comments

c/bricklayers•

rayc83•13d ago

Overheard a foreman say butter joints look better than ironed joints

I was on a site in Akron last Tuesday and this foreman told a young guy that buttered joints always look cleaner than ironed ones. I've been ironing for 15 years and my walls stay tight with no cracks. Has anyone else noticed ironed joints actually hold up better over the long run?

2 comments

c/color-theory-in-practice•

rayc83•15d ago

Blue and yellow combo failed me on a storefront job

Always heard those two colors were a safe bet. High contrast and all that. Painted a coffee shop sign in Portland with a bright yellow background and navy blue text. Looked perfect in the shop under warm lights. But when they hung it outside in daylight the letters disappeared. Tested it with a color blindness simulator app after the fact. Turns out it was invisible to about 8% of men with deuteranopia. Had to redo the whole thing in dark green and cream. Anyone else find out their color picks failed in real world conditions?

2 comments

c/construction-management•

rayc83•1mo ago

Ditched my paper punch list for a tablet app after a 3-hour rain delay

I used to walk every single job with a grease-stained legal pad and a golf pencil. Two weeks ago we had a sudden downpour on a 12-unit apartment site in Tulsa, and the whole thing turned into wet confetti in my hands. Switched to a ruggedized tablet with a simple checklist app, and now I can mark drywall issues even when it's pouring. Has anyone else had a total paper meltdown that forced them to go digital?

2 comments

c/css-shenanigans•

rayc83•1mo ago

PSA: That default WordPress theme on a dentist site in Phoenix had a hover effect that made the whole page shake

I saw two sides of this bug after visiting a dental office's website in Phoenix last week - either the developer intentionally added it for a laugh because their competitor's site does it too, or it was a total CSS overflow accident that nobody caught, so which camp do you fall in: intentional trolling or sloppy coding?

2 comments

c/colorblind-friendly-design•

rayc83•1mo ago

Small win: Noticed the new bus station in Austin uses patterns plus colors on their route maps

I was waiting for the 7 bus last Tuesday and realized I could actually read the whole map without squinting or guessing which line was which, which is a first for me since I'm red-green colorblind.

2 comments

c/exterior-design•

rayc83•1mo ago

Almost installed the wrong siding color - this saved me

I had a whole house re-side in Portland last month and went with a dark green sample from the store, but the actual batch looked almost black in sunlight. After 3 test patches on the north wall I swapped to a lighter sage before the crew started. Anyone else run into lighting tricking you on a big exterior finish decision?

2 comments

c/chefs•

rayc83•1mo ago

Swore by the same knife for 8 years until a stage in Portland changed my mind

I worked at a place in Portland last spring where the sous chef handed me a 6-inch Miyabi and told me to use it for a whole prep shift. I always thought my old Wusthof was fine, but after 4 hours of dicing onions and mincing herbs, my wrist didn't hurt at all. The blade felt way more balanced and I could go faster without losing control. It cost about $170, which I thought was ridiculous, but now I'm saving up for one. Has anyone else switched to a lighter Japanese knife after using a German one for years?

2 comments

c/estheticians•

rayc83•1mo ago

Chose silicone peels over chemical peels for my clients in Denver last month...

Everyone at the last conference was pushing these new acid peels but I stuck with silicone peels for my sensitive client who gets redness. After 4 sessions her texture improved without the downtime or irritation. I think we hype up strong acids too much when gentler options work fine for most skin types. Has anyone else found a niche treatment that works better for your client base?

2 comments