Had the worst shift of my career last Tuesday on the Mississippi

Ngl, I've been running a dredge for about 7 years now and last week was a nightmare. We hit a buried cable near Baton Rouge around 3 PM that wrapped around the cutterhead so bad we had to shut down for 4 hours to cut it free. Then the hydraulic temp gauge started climbing and we lost pressure on the starboard ladder arm right as a storm rolled in. Ended up working 14 hours straight to get everything back online, and my foreman just said 'that's river life'. Has anyone else had a shift where everything went sideways at once?

That friend who told me to glue my deck box shut during a game night

My buddy Mark swore I'd stop losing card sleeves if I superglued the lid on my deck box-now I have to pry it open with a butter knife every time we play. Anyone else have a 'brilliant' fix that just made things worse?

Had a chat with my grandpa about brick laying and he said something that really stuck with me

He told me that the best bricks I'll ever lay are the ones I'm not afraid to take apart the next day. I've been overthinking my mortar joints for two years and that one line just made me relax.

PSA: Check for old phone lines before you drill, almost hit a gas line in a 1920s house last month

I finally get why my old mentor in Pittsburgh was so picky about brush bristles

He told me cheap poly bristles just push soot around instead of grabbing it, and after fighting a nasty creosote buildup last week I see exactly what he meant. Anyone else notice a huge difference swapping to a wire brush on heavy jobs?

The moment I stopped charging by the hour was the best business choice I ever made, even though my old boss said I'd go broke.

I used to bill $75 an hour and constantly fought with clients over every 15-minute increment, but after landing a $2,500 flat-rate project for a full system overhaul in Austin last spring, I switched to project-based pricing for everything over $500 and now I make more money with way less stress. What's the one pricing model switch that actually worked for you guys?

Update: I finally gave that 'wet saw scoring' trick a real shot

Always thought it was a waste of time to score the back of a tile with a wet saw before snapping, especially on a big job like the 12x24 porcelain in that Denver condo last week. My helper kept pushing me to try it on the tricky cuts around the toilet flange, so I did. Zero chipping on the cut edge, which saved me a ton of time grinding. Anyone else use this for large format stuff, or is there a better way?

Rant: That $12 extra for guac at Chipotle was the worst choice

Honestly, I went to the Chipotle on Main Street yesterday and decided to add guac to my bowl for the first time in a while. Tbh, it was this tiny scoop of brownish, watery stuff that tasted like nothing. Ngl, I felt so burned paying almost double for a bowl that was just sad. Has anyone else gotten really bad guac from them lately, or was I just unlucky?

I dropped $120 on a Japanese hole punch jig and I'm still not sure it was worth it

It's a beautiful tool from a shop in Kyoto, and it makes perfect sewing holes every single time. But I've done maybe 30 books with it, and I could have just used my old ruler and awl. Some folks say the time saved is huge, others say it's a luxury for people who bind a lot. Has anyone else bought a specialized tool that split the room like this?

Question about using a heat gun to open tulips

Everyone says to just put them in warm water and wait, but I had a wedding order with 200 tulips that needed to open fast. I carefully used a low heat gun from about a foot away for a few seconds on each bloom, and they opened perfectly without damage. Has anyone else tried a controlled heat method like this?