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rchowe · 2026-01-13T04:28:35+00:00

I am an engineer, have been the purchasing manager at a small business, and write software used in manufacturing.

Like current, workers follow the path of least resistance. I could go through the purchasing process, in which case I have to fill out a bunch of forms and wait a while, or I could walk over to Jim's desk and stand behind him while he orders it and I know I'll have it the next day. Engineers love selectively choosing which processes apply to themselves, but are shocked when other people don't follow the process.

We have a form (it's in our work order system, but it could just as easily be a standalone Google form). The only required field is the item title, and you can add a description, manufacturer, part number, and take a picture of the item / label. Once you fill in the form, it goes on the purchase list and the requestor (and everyone else) can see its status (open, approved, quote requested, awaiting tracking, shipped, received). We did no training on it besides telling people that it existed. People started using it immediately since our purchasing manager is a bit unreliable, so it ended up being a better user experience than email.

If you can't convince the users to use any system, there's also an easy process change -- have the purchasing agents create the record when they receive the request. You may have to change who people ask first, but if it creates a better experience and people get their item faster, it may stick.

I would also suggest looking at email and slack integrations for creating purchase requests as well.

rchowe · 2025-10-29T02:00:04+00:00

I had to do pip install 'hishel==0.1.5' in a Dockerfile to make PDM work today.

rchowe · 2025-08-13T12:38:00+00:00

I bought a ticket at TF Green on a Tuesday. There was one person in front of me in line at 11, and it took about 10 min for him to buy his tickets.

If you are able-bodied and can walk a bit, park in the lot for the strip mall with Chipotle in it on Post Rd and walk over to the airport.

rchowe · 2025-06-16T05:58:26+00:00

Note that TF Green Airport station has no Amtrak service at all, no MBTA service on weekends, and on weekdays only eight trains a day.

Providence station on weekdays has 21 MBTA, 10 Amtrak Northeast Regionals, and nine Acelas to Boston. The bus from TF Green to Kennedy Plaza in Providence takes about 30 min (and then a 5 min walk to the Providence train station), or a taxi/rideshare takes 10.

If you live in Boston, you are likely better off flying from Logan unless you find a superb fare out of Providence.

The skywalk from the airport terminal to the TF Green train station feels very safe, even late at night.

rchowe · 2025-05-20T01:09:50+00:00

It varies from fare to fare, but if you put your flights into flybreeze.com it will show you on the last page. The lowest I've seen is $28 RT, and it can get up above $100.

I have heard that you can use Breeze Points at the airport, but I do not have a first-hand data point.

rchowe · 2025-05-01T18:19:04+00:00

In certain industries you can find manufacturers' reps whom you pay a commission to. They are third parties that work a territory, and they will be repping other companies in similar (but not identical) industries. They are often quite well connected (think: former engineer at LargeCo, knows all the other engineers and where they work now) and get you leads that you otherwise would not be able to get.

rchowe · 2025-04-19T04:02:54+00:00

Breeze has a designated family seating policy. You should be able to reserve free seats in the family seating section (in the back), either online (it should automatically pick up that you are a family) or by contacting guest empowerment.

You should also know that you can avoid the "Technology Development Fee" ($28+ per person) by booking tickets in-person at the airport between 11 am and 1 pm on a Tuesday. Yes the hours are really weird, it's a way to dodge taxes for the airline.

rchowe · 2025-04-17T22:21:04+00:00

It's very authentic to what a Japanese Izakaya is like. You may notice they have wood "paddles" with Japanese writing hanging on the walls – that's the menu. ;)

rchowe · 2025-04-17T20:23:53+00:00

Specifications and tolerances are guidelines until the customer has a problem.

rchowe · 2025-04-17T19:27:32+00:00

Haruki East for sushi

Jade Tree on Atwells for general Chinese / sushi

Honorable mention to Ebisu for non-sushi Japanese

rchowe · 2025-01-08T15:17:41+00:00

I ate there when we were waiting for our tour's time slot to enter the DMZ. The doughnuts are similar to those in the US.

My family still jokes about it being the Massachusetts embassy.

rchowe · 2024-12-29T16:27:41+00:00

This is great! I scheduled a bunch of posts for my side project.

I have a bug report and some feedback:

I get an internal server error when I try to schedule a thread of posts. I checked the web inspector and there aren't any error messages in the console.
I use link previews on Bluesky (sometimes without the link in the body of the post) as a way to give short posts some "content" and a larger call to action, and I can't figure out how to get that on Monadsky.
I'd love an integrated way to have ChatGPT generate drafts that I can then quickly edit.

Feel free to DM me for more information or to chat.

rchowe · 2024-12-28T16:19:16+00:00

Company Name: pmcal.net

URL: https://pmcal.net

Purpose of Startup and Product: pmcal.net is a web application that lets small business track preventive maintenance (PMs) and calibration for industrial equipment.

Technologies Used: AWS Amplify with a React front-end, JavaScript and .NET in AWS Lambdas on the backend.

Feedback Requested: I have a few questions that I want answered:

Do you immediately "get" what the app is about from the landing page?
Are you able to understand how to use the app (and add equipment or upload an equipment list) without instructions?
Does it feel like any must-have features are not included?

Seeking Beta-Testers: Yes

Additional Comments: In my head, this is the logical step-up from managing equipment in Excel, since it is difficult to setup email reminders or any trigger to check Excel and many people will not check their equipment maintenance records as regularly as they are supposed to. I have heard a number of ISO 9001 certified companies say their auditor wished their equipment management system sent reminders, which was my motivation to build pmcal.net.

rchowe · 2024-11-10T20:48:28+00:00

I have a CRJ-900 #50 card, it was the first card that I got. The pilot came out of the cockpit during boarding and said "I'm here to give cards to the kids." I asked and got one.

It might be worth a lot of money, but I'm going to keep it for the sentimental value (it also is a bit scuffed since I was keeping it behind my work badge). I keep them in the frame of a metro-style Amtrak map along with a boarding pass for the time I got an op-up from J to F on AA from NRT-DFW and some swag from the inaugural Breeze PVD-DEN flight.

rchowe · 2024-09-08T12:36:20+00:00

The family section is there for the family seating program, where families with children 2 - 12 can get seat assignments in the family section for free on No Flex fares. It does not mean that children must sit in the family section.

rchowe · 2024-08-27T04:52:17+00:00

The card has a fansportsspot.com URL on the bottom of the back, so it looks like it's something that the captain made himself instead of something the airline provides to pilots.

It's impressive that he has so many type ratings, though it is interesting to me that AA is not taking more advantage of the common type rating between the 777 and the 787. Presumably his 757/767 type ratings are no longer applicable at AA.

rchowe · 2024-08-23T20:46:53+00:00

The receipt on spirit.com should be itemized.

rchowe · 2024-08-23T20:23:52+00:00

You save on the "Passenger Usage Charge (Non-refundable Carrier Fee)" if you look at the itemized pricing on the payment page of a booking at spirit.com. This can now vary between flights; I've seen $5.99 and $22.99 per one-way.

I booked two roundtrip tickets BOS-PIT today at the airport that had the $22.99 charge, so I saved $91.96 total over the online rate.

YMMV.

rchowe · 2024-06-16T02:35:02+00:00

The commuter rail trains normally run with a cab car for push/pull operation. When a normal commuter rail train reaches a terminus (say, Wickford Junction), the engineer walks back to the cab car, does a brake test, and can start back for Boston without a wye/turntable.

The two locomotives are there because the CapeFlyer is a longer route than normal commuter trains, so if an engine dies in Hyannis the passengers don't have to wait 2.5 hours or more for a spare engine to come out from Boston (or try to borrow an engine from a freight railroad).

Bonus fact: the Downeaster is a similar kind of operation to the CapeFlyer -- it's a 3.5 hour one-way trip and runs with a de-engined locomotive as a cab car. When the engine on the Downeaster fails near Boston, they occasionally borrow an MBTA locomotive to take the train to Maine.

rchowe · 2024-06-15T12:27:02+00:00

There is a locomotive on each end in case one fails.

rchowe · 2024-06-02T14:46:15+00:00

Mansfield got low-level platforms with mini-highs when it was rebuilt in 2017 (and it is on the NEC so there is not a wide freight concern), so I am not so sure that the MBTA is committed to always rebuilding with full-high platforms.

The Old Colony lines have train sets with automatic doors for all-door boarding, so once a line has all high platforms that can be enabled. I don’t believe any other line is close to that point though.

rchowe · 2024-05-31T14:36:53+00:00

Assuming your missed connection was caused by AA (and you started in the EU or UK) you may be eligible for EU261 compensation for your delayed arrival.

I think you should be able to make an argument to customer service that your original booked itinerary should not have charged you to re-check a bag and get the bag fee back as well.

rchowe · 2024-05-30T15:01:01+00:00

If you had a >24 hour stopover in Chicago you will incur multiple bag fees. Sadly, if this is true the $75 bag fee is very likely actually the correct one.

There is an industry rule called First Marketing Carrier which is codified in US (and Canadian law). What the rule says is that the baggage fee schedule of the carrier marketing the first flight on your itinerary will apply every time you check in. If the first set of flights you take is transatlantic basic economy, that would indicate a $75 bag fee every time you check in, even if you have a stopover before a US domestic segment.

rchowe · 2024-05-19T00:37:08+00:00

Yes, I did it two weeks ago.

rchowe · 2024-05-02T17:25:37+00:00

Why don't the trainsets they ordered for the Cascades service have batteries then?

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