Heard a comm tech say never use gel filled connectors on dry cable. Makes sense now.

Was swapping stories with this older guy at a supply house in Phoenix. He said gel filled connectors are for underground only. On dry cable they just make a mess. Corrosion later. I used them on a job last month. Three drops already having issues. Guess he was right. Anyone else learn this the hard way?

Update on my Coleman vs. Ozark Trail cooler debate from last summer

I picked the Coleman because it was $40 cheaper, but the Ozark Trail my buddy brought kept ice for a full day longer on our trip to Lake Tahoe. Anyone have a solid budget cooler that actually lasts?

Can we talk about using old-school feeler gauges vs. digital calipers for valve adjustments?

I used to swear by my digital calipers for everything, even valve lash on my old Chevy 350. But after a job in Austin last month where the battery died mid-check, I grabbed a set of feeler gauges I hadn't touched in years. I mean, the digital stuff is precise, but those gauges forced me to actually feel the drag and I caught a tight spot I would have missed. Am I the only one who thinks we rely too much on electronics for basic clearances?

Spotted a clever drafting trick at the old shipyard museum in Mystic

They had a display of original hull blueprints from the 1800s, and the draftsman used different colored inks for each layer of the ship's structure. Ever try something like that on a modern project?

Found a photo of the old mill from 1995, went back last weekend

I was going through some old family photos and found a picture my dad took of the Riverside Mill back in 1995. It was still standing then, just closed. I went back last weekend to see it for myself, and the main building is completely gone now, just a concrete slab and some rusted machinery left. The woods have grown back in so thick you can barely see where the loading docks were. Has anyone else seen a place change that much in under thirty years?

That weird door lock fault on a 90s Otis unit took me a whole afternoon to trace back to a single worn wire in the harness.

Tried writing a story from a random object in my kitchen and it went sideways

I grabbed a rusty can opener from my junk drawer and tried to build a fantasy story around it. I figured it would be a cursed key for a dungeon. After about 500 words, the story turned into a weird comedy about a goblin chef. It taught me that starting with a simple, physical thing can pull your plot in a direction you never planned. Has a random object prompt ever sent your story totally off the rails?

A guy at the gas station in Bakersfield told me his dashcam caught a figure walking into the desert at 3 AM, and now I can't stop looking for that clip.

He said he was reviewing footage from a late delivery run and saw a tall, thin shape step off the shoulder and vanish into the dark, and he deleted it because it freaked him out, but I wish he hadn't.

My grandma told me to always plant my tomatoes deep, and she was right.

I used to just put them in at the root ball level, but after a storm in May knocked over three of my plants, I tried her way. The buried stems grew extra roots and the plants got way sturdier. What's one piece of old-school gardening advice you still follow?

Trying to get my building to start a compost bin took me 8 months of meetings