Is it just me or do we all fall into "tracking for the sake of tracking" way too often? I've noticed the same thing with my own bullet journal - half my trackers are just lists I fill out because I like checking boxes. It's weird how we can get so into logging stuff without ever stopping to ask what the point is.

Blew my mind that a homeowner actually knew what a collar cut was. Most people just say "trim the tree" and have no clue about branch angles or bark ridges. @taylorhunt has the right idea with the bourbon though, that kind of feedback stings but it sounds like you actually got better from it.

Old timers really do have a way of cutting through the nonsense, don't they? That trick sounds like it saves a ton of clean up time too, not just the mud. Got one like that myself - a guy who laid block for 40 years told me to stop tapping every brick level and just set it and trust the line. Felt weird at first, but it sped me up by a shocking amount. Appreciate you sharing that, might test it out on my next wall.

Michael_Craig says his credit union's been solid, but "solid" is carrying a lot of weight there. My bank was "solid" for three years before they randomly slapped a $2 fee on paper statements I never asked for. You're lucky you got five years, but I'd still be watching every single statement like a hawk. One typo in their fee policy and that free account suddenly has more strings than a puppet show.

...and honestly that reminds me of the time my neighbor Larry tried to smoke a pork shoulder on his gas grill with a foil packet of wood chips. He had the chips soaking in apple juice for like three days and was real proud of himself. The thing came out tasting like a campfire that had been put out with a garden hose. He's still asking me what he did wrong three years later. I think people get too caught up in the method and forget that bad meat is bad meat no matter what you cook it on.