I swore by lacquer for decades. A stranger at a flea market showed me why I was wrong.

Rant: My buddy's near miss with a loose scope mount shifted my whole view

My fishing buddy brought his rifle in last week, complaining the shots were all over the place. I figured it was just his shooting, but he insisted I look at the scope. Turned out the mount screws were barely finger tight, and it could have come off any time. I used to brush off client worries, but now I double check every mount myself. It's scary how a small thing can lead to big trouble.

That time a new hire argued about torque specs at the company BBQ

In my view, if you haven't turned a wrench, you shouldn't debate maintenance procedures. Your mileage may vary, but at our last get-together, a fresh grad tried to school me on engine tolerances over burgers, and it was painfully awkward.