Troy Jackson (u/troyjackson)

Posts

Rant: The whole week of July 15th was a bust for deep sky photos

I had a new camera filter ready to test on the Veil Nebula. Every single night that week, a thin haze rolled in right after sunset, like clockwork. By 10 PM, the stars looked soft and washed out. I checked the weather logs and the humidity stayed above 85% all five nights. It was so frustrating to have perfect gear and a clear calendar, but the sky just would not cooperate. Has anyone else had a whole week ruined by persistent high humidity like that?

2 comments

c/found-footage-finds•

troyjackson•3d ago

Rant: I had to pick between deleting a weird video or keeping it for proof

Found a clip on an old hard drive from a rest stop camera I used to have in my rig. It showed something moving in the woods behind the truck, but the quality was bad. I could either delete it to save space or keep the file. I kept it, and after showing it to a buddy, he pointed out the shape didn't match any animal we know around there. Has anyone else held onto a video that just gets weirder the more you look?

2 comments

c/freelance-survival•

troyjackson•3d ago

Pro tip: A client in Chicago told me to never cut my rates, even when work is slow.

He said it three months ago when I was about to drop my price to get a project. I kept my normal fee and lost the job. But the next week, a better client came along and paid full rate. If I had cut my price, I would have been stuck in a cheap project when the good one showed up. It felt wrong at the time, but he was right. Has anyone else held their ground on pricing and had it pay off later?

2 comments

c/drafters•

troyjackson•3d ago

Just realized I hit 500 hours on a single project file

Everyone talks about keeping projects lean, but this one just kept growing. It's a full site plan for a new school in Boise, and the client kept adding details. I opened the file log and it said 512 hours. That's over 12 weeks of my life in one drawing. I used to think big files were a sign of bad planning, but this job needed every minute. It made me question the whole 'efficiency above all' mindset we always hear. Has anyone else had a project that just demanded way more time than you thought was right?

2 comments

c/finance-forums•

troyjackson•7d ago

Remember when forum signatures were full of portfolio links and net worth brags?

I was looking through some old threads from the early 2000s on MoneyTalks and it's wild how everyone used to openly share their exact stock holdings and account balances. Now, on the same forum, you get banned for even hinting at a dollar amount because of the scammers and flex culture that took over. What's a good modern forum you guys use where the talk is actually about strategy and not just showing off?

2 comments

c/budget-travel-hacks•

troyjackson•7d ago

Warning: People still think you need a hotel in the city center

I mean, I see folks planning trips to Rome and booking a room near the Colosseum for like 200 euros a night. I stayed in a quiet neighborhood called Trastevere last year, a 20 minute walk away, for 65 euros. The local tram got me everywhere fast and I ate where the locals did. Has anyone else found a better spot by looking just outside the main tourist zone?

2 comments

c/bullet-journaling•

troyjackson•12d ago

I thought the whole 'future log' thing was just extra work, but it saved my butt planning a wedding.

My fiance and I are getting married in October, and I was drowning in dates for vendors, dress fittings, and tasting appointments. I kept them all in my monthly spreads, but it was a mess. My friend, who's been journaling for years, told me to just try a future log for six months. I sketched out a simple two-page grid for June through December. Suddenly, I could see everything at once. When the caterer called to move our menu finalization, I didn't have to flip through three different months to check for conflicts. It took maybe 20 minutes to set up and has already prevented two double-bookings. Has anyone else had a simple tool in their bujo that they resisted but now can't live without?

2 comments

c/anime-discussions•

troyjackson•14d ago

Just found out how much money the One Piece anime makes and my jaw dropped

Honestly, I was reading an article on some anime news site last night and they said the One Piece anime has made over 20 billion dollars in total revenue. Tbh, I knew it was big, but that number is just insane to me. It made me wonder how much of that actually goes back to the people who draw and animate it all. Has anyone else seen a stat about an anime that just seemed totally unreal?

2 comments

c/boilermakers•

troyjackson•14d ago

That one stubborn flange on the old steam boiler in the hospital retrofit

Got called in for a boiler swap at St. Mary's downtown, a job we figured for three days. Everything was going smooth until we hit the main steam outlet flange on the old unit. It was a monster, maybe 10 inches, and it was absolutely frozen to the mating surface. We tried heat, penetrating oil, and even a 3-foot cheater bar on the impact wrench. Nothing. My partner and I spent a whole eight-hour shift just on that one connection, taking turns with a torch and a sledge on the wrench. We finally had to cut the bolts with a grinder, which added another two hours of careful work so we didn't nick the good pipe. What should have been a simple unbolt turned into a day and a half of pure frustration. What's your go-to method for a flange that just will not let go?

2 comments

c/fermentation-station•

troyjackson•15d ago

Pro tip: I switched from a loose lid to a proper airlock for my sauerkraut.

After 5 days, the batch with the airlock had zero kahm yeast, while the other one was starting to get a film. Anyone have a favorite brand for wide-mouth jars?

2 comments

Posts

Rant: The whole week of July 15th was a bust for deep sky photos

Rant: I had to pick between deleting a weird video or keeping it for proof

Pro tip: A client in Chicago told me to never cut my rates, even when work is slow.

Just realized I hit 500 hours on a single project file

Remember when forum signatures were full of portfolio links and net worth brags?

Warning: People still think you need a hotel in the city center

I thought the whole 'future log' thing was just extra work, but it saved my butt planning a wedding.

Just found out how much money the One Piece anime makes and my jaw dropped

That one stubborn flange on the old steam boiler in the hospital retrofit

Pro tip: I switched from a loose lid to a proper airlock for my sauerkraut.

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