Found out after 12 years that I've been overmixing my pie dough

I was at a baking class last month at the community college and the instructor saw me working my dough. She said 'youre done about 5 minutes ago'. I always thought you had to get it all incorporated until it looked smooth. Turns out all those tough crusts I complained about were my own doing. Now I leave it shaggy and my pies actually flake. Anyone else have a basic technique they just had wrong forever?

Had the worst coworking day of my life last Wednesday - avoid this place

I booked a day pass at a new coworking spot near downtown Austin called The Hive Hub, and it was a total disaster from start to finish. The wifi went down at 9:30am right when I had a client call, and they didn't get it fixed until 2pm. Then the fire alarm went off twice (someone burnt popcorn in the shared kitchen) and we all had to stand outside for 20 minutes each time. Has anyone else had a coworking space where the infrastructure just completely crumbles on a random weekday?

The day I quit cotton rounds was a good day.

Used to go through a bag of those things every week, felt wasteful. Switched to reusable bamboo pads about 4 months ago and I'm never going back. Anyone else made the swap and noticed a difference in how much product you waste?

I finally threw away $400 on a reman injector that was dead out of the box

Ordered a reman injector for a 6.7 Cummins off some online parts place last month. Got it in, swapped it in on a Saturday thinking I'd save time. Truck wouldn't start, sputtered like crazy. Took me three hours of chasing wires and checking fuel pressure before I tested the injector itself. Turns out it was bad from the start. Anyone else had a reman part show up DOA and waste a whole day? Feels like it's happening more and more.

Why does nobody talk about bookbinding in a 200 year old library?

I was in Providence last month visiting this historic library, the Providence Athenaeum, and I noticed their collection of old books had some wild binding styles from the 1800s. The leather spines were all cracked but still holding up, and I saw this one book bound in what looked like tree calf leather with these tiny marbled edges. I asked a librarian about the binding on this 1842 atlas and she said it was repaired 30 years ago with an old school technique, not modern glue. That got me thinking, does anyone here actually try to replicate those antique binding methods for fun projects? Has anyone else stumbled onto something interesting about old bindings at a random place?

That rope throw trick from a lineman changed my whole climbing setup

Was up in a big red oak last Tuesday, fighting with my throw line for 20 minutes cause the crotch was tight and hard to hit. This old utility lineman walks by, sees me struggling, and shows me this one handed sideways flick instead of the usual overhead toss. Hit the crotch first try after that. He said something like "you're fighting the arc, not the rope." Been using it for a week now and my setup time is cut in half. Anyone else got weird little tips from non-tree guys?

Stumbled on a stat about old house wiring that made me nervous

Was reading this blog from a guy in Philly who rewires old Victorians for a living. He said something like 60% of houses built before 1960 still have original knob and tube somewhere in the walls. I'm doing a floor job right now in a 1920s place and it got me thinking about all the hidden stuff behind plaster I never even check. Anyone else run into sketchy wiring while doing non-electric work?

Tried the quick-dry topcoat from Sally's and honestly the drugstore stuff won this round

I compared the $12 Sally's house brand topcoat against a $4 LA Colors one last week on two sets of swatches, and the cheap one dried faster and didn't peel after three days of hand washing. The Sally's one got tacky halfway through the day and chipped by day two. Has anyone else found that pricier stuff sometimes just doesn't hold up like the basic brands do?

Spent 3 years using a 2H pencil for drafting until I switched to a 0.5mm mechanical for a project in Denver

Old farrier watched me nail a shoe and just said 'you're rushing'

I was at a barn in Clifton last Thursday, halfway through my third horse, and this guy in his 70s I'd never met just stood there watching. When I finished he said 'you're rushing, the foot tells you when it's ready not the clock.' I was trying to get done before rain hit but he made me slow down on the next one. Had to re-set two nails on the front left that I would have missed if I kept my pace. Anyone else had some random old timer call them out like that?