My buddy rebuilt an old motorcycle last year. He started with a huge socket set and all these fancy drivers. Halfway through, he switched to just three wrenches, a screwdriver, and a pair of pliers he found in his dad's garage. Said the simple tools forced him to understand the bike better. Finished the whole job with that little kit. Makes you wonder.

That 40% number is a real eye opener, makes you wonder about the inspection checklists. Do you think the FAA should make a full wiring continuity test a required item for every annual, or is that adding too much time for shops already booked solid?

That's the worst, when a cheap appliance dies at the worst possible time. Saw a thing online recently where someone said the older, simpler models from thrift stores often outlast the new fancy ones. They argued the basic dial with low, high, and off is less likely to break than digital panels. Might be worth checking a local Goodwill before buying new, even if it's just a temporary fix. What part of the country are you in, maybe the thrift store picks are better in some areas?

My backup is the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness north of Yosemite. Got a walk-up at the Ebbetts Pass trailhead last August, no line at all. The views are just as good as the JMT but with maybe one tenth of the people. It connects to some of the same Pacific Crest Trail sections if you want big miles.

Tell me about it. I tried syncing our inventory and sales dashboards last month. It started flagging every single coffee pod as a major stock-out risk. Absolute chaos.