I was grabbing lunch near a cabinet shop in Evanston last week and saw them tossing oak cutoffs into a dumpster. Asked the owner if I could take some and now I have enough for a new workbench top for zero dollars. Anyone else ever score free wood from local shops?
I decided to try a cheap Harbor Freight glue puller on a 2012 F-150 door ding instead of my usual stud welder. The glue popped off and sent the tab flying right into my coffee mug, shattered it all over the floor. Took me two hours to clean up and I still had to weld the dent out anyway. Has anyone else had bad luck with those cheaper glue kits on thicker gauge metal?
I grabbed a $3 cable from a Shell station last weekend because I forgot mine at home and my phone was down to 5%. Plugged it in and it charged super slow, but I didn't think much of it until my phone started feeling really hot after 10 minutes. Turns out those no-name cables can have bad wiring that messes with your battery's voltage regulator. When I finally got home and swapped back to my old Anker cable, my phone said it had a swollen battery warning pop up. Took it to a repair shop yesterday and the guy told me cheap cables like that can literally damage your phone's charging port over time. I learned my lesson and now I just keep a spare OEM cable in my glove box. Has anyone else fried a battery with a gas station cable?
Last month I flew from Chicago to Denver on a Wednesday instead of Saturday because someone on here said Tuesdays are cheaper. My round trip cost $218 compared to $358 for the weekend. Has anyone else seen big savings with day-of-week tricks?
I had a Klein coax compression fitting blow apart on me last Thursday while I was finishing a job up in Oak Brook. The connector just split right at the crimp point, and I had to re-terminate the whole line while balancing on a ladder in the rain. I've been using them for years, but the last batch from Home Depot feels like thinner metal or something. Has anyone else noticed these failing way more often than they used to?
I was posting about this forgotten show from 1995 called "The Noon Hour" and a professor replied that my favorite scene had bad continuity. She pointed out a coffee cup that moved between shots. Now I notice stuff like that in every old show I watch. Since she said that 2 years ago, I pay way more attention to set details. Have any of you had someone point out a flaw that ruined a show for you or actually made it better?
She swore up and down that room temp butter should sit out for at least 3 hours before baking, so I followed her advice last Sunday. My sugar cookies came out flat and greasy because the butter was too soft and melted into the dough. Has anyone else had a family recipe trick that backfired like that?
So I was making apple pie for Thanksgiving and I always used my grandma's recipe, but it's super finicky with the butter needing to be ice cold and all. I watched this video last week from a baker in Portland who said you could use half shortening and half butter and it's way easier. I went with my grandma's anyway because I didn't want to mess up the family meal. The crust turned out flaky but it took me like 45 minutes to get it right. Has anyone tried that shortening trick and actually had it taste good?
I was grabbing coffee at this spot in Portland last week, and the guy behind the counter mentioned their new roaster uses machine learning to adjust temperature and airflow automatically based on the bean. At first I thought it was just marketing hype, but he showed me the app logging each batch's flavor scores and adjustments. It made me wonder how many small businesses like mine could actually benefit from AI tools like that without losing the human touch. Has anyone else seen AI creep into unexpected trades like coffee roasting or painting?
I just got back from a trip to Denver and watched everyone from my flight head straight to the expensive cafes in the arrivals hall. I walked 5 minutes to the light rail station instead and grabbed a huge, amazing breakfast burrito from a local spot for $6.50. The airport version was $14 for basically the same thing! I've started planning my first meal after landing just like I plan flights, looking for a cheap gem near the transit stop. What's the best post-landing cheap eat you've found near an airport?