I was reading a baking book from the library and found out you can over-knead dough in under 5 minutes with a stand mixer

I always thought more kneading meant better gluten, right? So I was making a basic white bread recipe yesterday and just let my KitchenAid run on medium for like 7 minutes while I cleaned up. The dough went from smooth and elastic to this weird, sticky, wet mess that just tore apart. I looked it up in this old baking book I got from the Springfield library, 'The Bread Baker's Apprentice', and it straight up says you can over-develop the gluten and break the dough down in just 4 to 5 minutes with a machine. I had no idea it could happen that fast. I thought that was only for like, 20 minutes of kneading by hand. Totally ruined that loaf, it was dense and gummy. Has anyone else had their mixer turn dough into glue that quickly? What's your go-to time for kneading with a machine now?

Spent $120 on a set of those magnetic oil drain plug washers after a buddy swore by them, and they actually stopped a slow weep on my F-150 that I'd been chasing for a year.

Anyone else have a small fix that solved a big headache?

Cleaned out my old phone and found I had 4,200 unread emails from 2018

Pro tip: Always check your crucible temp before a big pull

Last week at the studio, I went for a heavy gather and the whole thing slumped because the furnace was running about 50 degrees too cool. Had to scrap the piece and reheat the whole batch, which took an extra hour. Anyone else had a furnace temp reading lie to them like that?

Pro tip: always pack your own dice to a convention

I was at Gen Con last year playing in a tournament final. The venue provided dice, but one player rolled three natural 20s in a row on a set that felt way too light. I asked to check them and they were definitely loaded. The judge just shrugged and said 'supplier issue'. Now I bring my own transparent casino-grade dice to any event. Has anyone else caught cheating with house dice?

Warning: I was setting my outriggers wrong for years on uneven ground

I was on a site in Tacoma last month and my load chart was off by a good 15 percent on a long reach. An old timer pointed out I was leveling the crane to the ground, not the load itself, which threw my whole setup. How do you guys check your true level before a critical lift?

Tried a coffee rub on pork ribs for the first time yesterday

Used a mix of ground dark roast and brown sugar, let it sit overnight. The bark got super dark and bitter, almost burnt tasting even at 225 degrees. Anyone know how to balance coffee in a rub without it turning?

I was laying a herringbone patio in my backyard and my neighbor, a retired mason, came over and said 'kid, your bed's too dry, it's gonna suck the life out of that mortar before it even sets'.

I'd been mixing my mud way too stiff for years because I hated how sloppy wet mortar felt, but after that patio started crumbling in a few spots last fall, I finally listened and now I keep a spray bottle handy to mist the bricks as I go, does anyone else have a trick for judging the perfect wetness?

Shoutout to the guy who told me to shoot a wedding with two cheap cameras

I did a friend's wedding in Denver last month and only brought my main camera and a backup I got for $300. The main one died right before the first dance! I had to use the cheap one for the whole thing, and you know what? The client loved the video. It made me see that having a solid backup plan is way more important than having the best gear. Has anyone else had a shoot saved by their backup camera?

My boss told me to never use a glass cutter on a cold windshield

He said it last winter when we had a big job in Buffalo, and I thought he was just being extra careful. I tried it on a frosty back glass last week because I was in a rush, and the whole thing cracked in a crazy spiderweb pattern before I even got halfway. It cost me the piece and a lot of time to clean up. Has anyone else had a temperature surprise ruin a cut?