I used to think certifications were a scam until a hiring manager in Austin told me otherwise.

For years I skipped getting any certs because I figured real work experience was all that mattered. Then last month I was talking to a manager at a tech meetup and he flat out said they filter resumes by certs first. No cert, you don't even get looked at. That changed my mind fast. Anyone else had a similar wake up call?

Tbh, I always bought the cheap store brand canned beans

But last week I grabbed a bag of dried pinto beans for $1.79 and cooked a huge pot. The flavor was way better and it made like four times as much food for the same price. Anyone have other cheap dried bean recipes?

Showerthought: I see a lot of new coders skip the basic error messages.

I was helping my cousin learn Python last week, and he kept hitting run, seeing a red error, and instantly closing it to ask me for help. I made him read the error out loud. It literally said 'NameError: name 'prinnt' is not defined' on line 7. He just never looked. I think new people get scared by the red text and miss that it's the best help you can get. It tells you the problem and where to look. How do you get comfortable reading those messages instead of panicking?

Question about hydraulic line crimping methods

I was doing a repair on a 5-story bank building and tried using a hand-crimper on the new hose, but the fitting leaked after a week. Switched to a bench-mounted crimper from the shop and it's held perfect pressure for over a month now. Anyone else find the bench tool is the only way to get a reliable seal on those high-pressure lines?

My entire weekly spread got wrecked by a coffee spill yesterday.

I was trying to migrate tasks and my mug tipped right onto the open page. Anyone have a good fix for dried coffee stains on dotted paper?

Had a total meltdown at a signing in Austin when my mint copy of Amazing Spider-Man #300 slipped out of its bag...

A trick for stuck brake bleeder valves that actually worked for me

Had a 2007 Silverado come in yesterday with a rear caliper that wouldn't bleed. The bleeder valve was completely seized, and I was about to just replace the whole caliper. Before I did, I remembered an old timer telling me to heat the caliper body around the valve, not the valve itself, and then tap it with a hammer while it's hot. I used my propane torch for about 30 seconds on the metal right next to the valve, gave it a few light taps with a small ball-peen, and it broke free without snapping. Saved the customer the cost of a new caliper and me a bunch of time. Has anyone else had luck with this method, or do you have a different go-to for frozen bleeders?

Pro tip: I tried a 'learn as you play' rulebook versus the old 'read everything first' method for a new game last weekend.

We cracked open a new game, 'Voidfall', and I made everyone read the whole 32-page rulebook before we started (like we always do). It took an hour and everyone was glassy-eyed. Next night, we tried a different game, 'Heat: Pedal to the Metal', and just used the quick-start guide and learned the rest as we went. We were having fun in 15 minutes flat. The difference was night and day, and we actually understood the game better by playing. Has anyone else completely changed how they teach a game because of a bad first experience?

Had a weird moment last month on a job in Boise where I finally understood why my old foreman was so picky about mixing times.

Tried a new way to keep hydrangeas from wilting on delivery

I had a big wedding order in Seattle last weekend and the bride wanted blue hydrangeas, which are notorious for drooping. Instead of just cutting the stems, I dipped each one in boiling water for 30 seconds before putting them in the cooler. They stayed perky for the whole 4-hour setup and the client was thrilled. Has anyone else tried this hot water trick with other fussy flowers?