PSA: I was sanding primer wrong for years until a guy in Tacoma showed me his trick

I was working on a 2018 F-150 bed side, doing my usual thing with a DA sander and 320 grit to block the primer. This old-timer I know in Tacoma stopped by, watched for a second, and said, 'You're going too fast, you're just heating it up.' He had me slow way down and use a guide coat with a dry spray of black paint. Seeing the low spots appear completely changed how I see the surface. Anyone else have a simple trick that fixed a bad habit?

My friend in Portland showed me how to keep a fiddle leaf fig alive for over a year now.

I finally saw the new regional maintenance hangar in Boise and the layout is a mess

Went out there last week to drop off a part. They have the tool crib a full 300 feet from the main work area. Saw three guys just walking back and forth all morning. The whole flow is wrong, with the parts room on the opposite side of the paint booth. It's like they designed it on paper without ever turning a wrench. Who builds a new facility like this in 2024? Anyone else had to deal with a hangar that just fights you every step of the way?

Warning: my attempt at a cobalt blue marble went totally purple

I was trying to make a classic cobalt blue marble for a paperweight at my studio in Tacoma, using a batch of glass from Northstar. After the second reheat, the whole thing came out this deep, weird purple instead of blue. I think my propane mix was off, maybe too much oxygen? Has anyone else had a color shift like that with cobalt, and how do you keep it true?