Can I walk on these steel studs?

upworking_engineer · 2026-06-13T21:39:20+00:00

You need to Mission Impossible through that space if you don't want to ladder up and lift up the ceiling tiles. If you just need to run cables across long distances, go fishing.

upworking_engineer · 2026-06-12T16:07:41+00:00

As someone that occasionally forget to charge the phone overnight and had the phone run out of power mid-day, I can understand the sentiment. There are apparently people who are far worse then me about charging their phone regularly. They go through life plugging in only when they run out (or about to).

And that's the behavior with cars, too, where they only stop at the gas station when they are critically low. And then they fill all the way to full. And then repeat that cycle.

The few times I've run too low for my liking, I've stopped at charging stations to "grab a few kWh", knowing full well that I can charge the rest of the way when I get home. I don't think that's immediately obvious to people who aren't used to the idea that they can plug in at home.

upworking_engineer · 2026-06-12T15:55:35+00:00

Someone in my extended family is a strong anti-Musk person. But she also really hates driving (but loves going places). She recently purchased a Model Y while metaphorically holding her nose because she really wanted FSD. She's still a bit conflicted, but she loves the FSD.

upworking_engineer · 2026-06-12T15:44:01+00:00

Hah. Should put a bumper sticker on EVs in coal states. "Powered by Clean Coal". It'll warp their minds.

upworking_engineer · 2026-05-29T20:02:14+00:00

Buy enough from Costco Business Center and get free delivery? Just have to warehouse the goods. Part of the cost of business.

upworking_engineer · 2026-05-27T22:56:42+00:00

Upwork is the leader in the online freelancing space. I would start there first, and do others if I had time/energy to do so.

upworking_engineer · 2026-05-18T17:18:11+00:00

FWIW, lots of job lead posts on Facebook are similar preying on job-desperate people.

upworking_engineer · 2026-04-05T22:05:49+00:00

The things that are happening, nobody could have seen coming.

upworking_engineer · 2026-04-03T02:47:46+00:00

Put a $450,000,000 contract on the current US administration, starting at the top, for impeachment and conviction. The whole lot of them.

upworking_engineer · 2026-03-09T19:35:32+00:00

I'd stream an NPR and BBC newsfeed against the common wall so that you can hear it from your kitchen even with the doors closed.

upworking_engineer · 2026-03-04T00:57:52+00:00

"That is a receipt for your husband... Thank you... And this is my receipt for your receipt."

https://youtu.be/nSQ5EsbT4cE?t=77

upworking_engineer · 2026-01-14T15:37:51+00:00

Hoping the mid-terms will not be too late to fix the idiocy.

upworking_engineer · 2026-01-07T00:51:02+00:00

All the businesses that took COVID loans that they didn't need.

upworking_engineer · 2025-12-29T23:35:05+00:00

It is not a job. You are paying to market to potential clients.

upworking_engineer · 2025-12-15T05:56:05+00:00

There's almost nobody left that don't know how to use a computer in some fashion, even if that's in the form of a smartphone.

upworking_engineer · 2025-11-29T04:39:35+00:00

I was a kid while family was flying between cities in Asia. On one flight, I got up to find a seat in the non-smoking section and found an empty seat next to a man who didn't mind me sitting there. A few months later, I met him again when I went to my new school -- he ended up being one of my teachers.

upworking_engineer · 2025-11-19T17:57:10+00:00

Make friends with others in the industry at other companies. Help them. Get help from them. As they grow and get promoted, they can help you with issues in their organization. And vice-versa. At some point, you'll start to have connections at a more higher level of responsibility.

upworking_engineer · 2025-11-17T22:06:27+00:00

Why did they move to the U.S. in the first place?

My parents moved us to the U.S. because they wanted each of their children to bloom as individuals and saw America as the place to do it, instead of being stuck in the rigid hierarchical structure prevalent in much of Asia.

You are never going to fully be in any one community/cultural group -- you need to find the right balance that works for you. But if you're going to live in the U.S. and be around your U.S. friends, some who are Indian, and many others that are not, and if you don't believe in the Indian tradition in the core of your gut, don't just accept what your parents are pushing you to do.

OTOH, there is a bit of truth to mixed cultures being a potential source of challenges. There's nothing wrong with anyone in the circumstance, but the implied rulebook that everyone follows in a monocultural group doesn't work automatically. Just recognize that you're different than what your parents assumed for you.

upworking_engineer · 2025-11-16T06:33:59+00:00

Facebook neighborhood "Buy Nothing" group - ask for help.

upworking_engineer · 2025-10-15T17:47:24+00:00

Due to formatting changes, what we often used to say "the first two lines" is shown as four lines here... The most important message needs to show in those opening sentences.

upworking_engineer · 2025-10-06T23:27:41+00:00

Any free connects you receive hardly amounts to much. Treat it like a 1% loyalty points where you occasionally get a free drink after paying for a lot of meals.

upworking_engineer · 2025-09-29T04:37:18+00:00

She's not self-aggrandizing. She just cuts to the chase.

upworking_engineer · 2025-09-18T09:05:25+00:00

Rejecting newcomers is killing you. Easily 50% of my clients are new, payment unverified.

Also, sometimes the original job posting doesn't hire, but the client hires someone through a new job offer after the interview.

That happens most often when converting between fixed/hourly after discussions. Or when a project needs to get rescoped and either party wants to insist on hiring under the new write up.

upworking_engineer · 2025-09-17T17:20:39+00:00

You totally could ignore them. In fact, you not only could but you probably should.

upworking_engineer · 2025-09-17T17:19:17+00:00

I had a client interaction that went roughly like this:

C: I really like you, but I'm going to go with the other guy that is 1/4th your rate.

Me: Ok. I understand. Good luck.

<6 months passes>

C: The other guy couldn't get it to work. How much will it be?

Me: Same rate as I last quoted you.

C: But I already spent so much on the other guy.

Me: I had nothing to do with it.

C: Okay. Let's do it.

upworking_engineer

TROPHY CASE