Saw a guy on the Appalachian Trail last week with a 55 liter pack and a 42 liter pack strapped together

He told me he brings the smaller one for day hikes off the main route so he doesn't have to unpack everything. That sounds like a smart idea for exploring side trails, but carrying two packs seems like extra weight and hassle. What do you think, is it worth the setup or just overcomplicating things?

Found a weird trick for fixing frizzy bobby pins that actually works

So I had this problem where my bobby pins would get all frizzy and weird after a few washes, making them impossible to slide into hair without snagging. I tried tossing them, tried scrubbing them with soap, nothing helped. Then one day I was lazy and just threw a handful of them in an old sock and ran them through the dryer on low heat for like 10 minutes. They came out smooth and slick again, no joke. I've done it three times now and the same set of 20 pins has lasted me 6 months. Has anyone else tried something like this or got another weird fix for old hair tools?

Switched to a library card instead of buying books for 6 months, saved about $140 so far

Hit 100 boards hung in a single day for the first time last Tuesday

I've been doing drywall install for about 8 years now and I've always heard guys talk about hitting the century mark on boards in a day. Last Tuesday I was working a big basement job over on Maple Avenue and just got into a real good rhythm. By the end of the shift I counted up and I had hung exactly 103 boards myself with no help. It wasn't anything special about the job, just steady work and good music. Has anyone else found a certain trick or pace that helps them break through that number?

Why I wish I never bought that $200 dehydrator

Last summer I got talked into buying a top of the line dehydrator for making jerky and dried fruit to sell at the local farmers market here in Eugene. The thing cost me $220 and I figured I would make that back quick with sales. Problem was nobody wanted to pay $8 for a small bag of dried apples when they could buy a bag at the store for $3. I ran three batches total and maybe sold 5 bags to family and friends. That machine has been sitting in my garage gathering dust for 6 months now and I feel like an idiot every time I walk past it. Has anyone else fallen for one of those "start a food business from home" videos that make it look so easy?

My professor told me I was writing like a robot and it stung but she was right

I was in a business communications class last semester and our first big assignment was a cover letter. I spent hours making it sound super professional and formal, like how I thought employers wanted. Professor handed it back with a C- and wrote "this reads like a LinkedIn bot wrote it" in red. She sat me down after class and said real hiring managers can tell when you copy generic phrases from templates. She made me rewrite it using actual sentences I would say out loud to someone. I changed the whole thing to be more direct and personal, talked about specific projects I worked on instead of buzzwords. Ended up getting an interview with that version and the guy said my letter made him smile. Has anyone else had a teacher just completely tear apart something you thought was good and then it actually helped?

Last Tuesday was the worst shift of my entire career as a paramedic

We got back to back cardiac arrests within 20 minutes of each other, and the second one was a 6 year old kid who didn't make it. How do you guys shake off a day like that without letting it eat you up inside?

Am I the only one who thinks canned air is bad for most camera shutters?

I keep seeing people recommend blasting dust out of shutters with canned air and it drives me crazy. Last year I had a Nikon F2 come in with a shutter that was sticking at 1/1000. The guy said he used canned air to clean it. When I opened it up, there was condensation residue from the propellant all over the curtain blades. Canned air shoots liquid if you tilt it even a little, and that liquid eats away at the lubricants on the pivots. I've fixed 4 shutters in the last 6 months that had the same issue. Use a proper bulb blower or a compressor with a moisture trap. How many of you have seen damage from canned air in your shops?

Visited a neighbor's coop last week and noticed something odd about their run setup

They had the whole thing covered in those green tarps from the hardware store. In my experience that traps way too much moisture inside and can lead to respiratory issues. Has anyone else seen folks doing this and had to gently suggest they switch to something more breathable?

Question about using melamine instead of plywood for a workbench top

I went to a cabinet shop in Austin last weekend and saw they build all their assembly tables out of 3/4 inch melamine. Everyone online seems to think plywood is the only way to go for a workbench top, but those guys swear by melamine. They say it stays flat way longer and you can just wipe glue or paint off without it soaking in. I'm thinking about trying it for my new bench, but I wonder if it'll hold up to hammering and clamping. Has anyone here used melamine for a workbench top and had it last more than a couple years?