That guy at the Guild of Book Workers meeting who told me I was binding wrong

I was at a local Guild of Book Workers meeting in Portland back in February, just showing off this little Coptic stitch journal I made with some handmade paper. This older guy, probably in his 60s, walked over and picked it up without asking. He flipped through it and then said "you know, real bookbinders don't use Coptic stitch for anything functional, it's just for art shows." Just like that, totally dismissive. I told him I've been using Coptic stitch for travel journals for years and they hold up fine, but he just shrugged and walked away. It really stuck with me how someone can be so experienced yet so closed off to different approaches. Has anyone else run into someone in this community who acted like their way was the only right way?

Hit 500 miles on the PCT this year and it totally changed my mind about section hiking

Finally got my habit tracker to work after 3 months of trying

Ive been trying to track my water intake in my bullet journal since September and kept failing because I forgot to fill in the boxes. Last week I switched to using a simple tally system on the side of my page instead and it actually stuck for 6 days straight. Has anyone else had a tracker just click after you changed the format?

That brand new needle gun seized up on me after 20 minutes on a job in Gary

Had to crack it open right there on the tank and found a burr in the piston sleeve, so now I carry a spare set of guts for every power tool I own-anyone else had a new tool fail that fast?

My taping knife broke mid-job last Tuesday and I almost lost it

I was smoothing out a butt joint on a ceiling in a condo near downtown and my 12-inch stainless taping knife just snapped right at the handle. The blade flew off and hit the floor, leaving me with a useless handle and a mess of mud on the ceiling. I had to drive 20 minutes to grab a new one from the supply house, which killed my whole morning. Has anyone else had a tool fail on them out of nowhere like that?

Vent: That $400 standing desk I bought really helped... until it didn't

I got this fancy electric standing desk 8 months ago thinking it'd fix my back pain from freelancing. Cost me $400 and now the motor just hums and won't move up or down. Has anyone else had a big purchase that was supposed to reduce your stress but ended up just burning you out more?

A client I had in Austin told me to always charge for revisions separately

I was doing unlimited revisions for $30 an hour and wondering why my freelance graphic design income was flat. She pointed out that I was basically working for free when clients asked for 10 rounds of tweaks. Has anyone else tried this and seen a real change in their monthly take?

Threw out buckets of wilting stock last week and it got me thinking...

I was talking with this older florist at the farmers market in Portland on Sunday. She said she only buys from local growers even if it costs more, because the flowers last twice as long for her customers. But I've been using cheap bulk wholesalers to keep prices down for my shop. Her logic hit different after I tossed $80 worth of stock that barely made it two days. Is it better to charge more for longer lasting blooms or keep things affordable for everyone?

Just learned that a single unlevel base cabinet can throw off an entire 10 foot run by a quarter inch by the time you hit the end.

I found this out the hard way last week when I was installing a kitchen in Arlington and had to shave 3 doors down because I didn't check my first box with a 4 foot level before screwing it down has anyone else had this mess up their whole day?

My neighbor swore by using a whole bag of 10-10-10 fertilizer on my new lawn

He said it would 'green it up fast' after I seeded last fall. I did it and ended up with a bunch of burned patches and weak grass that couldn't handle the winter in Spokane. Now I'm re-sodding a quarter of the yard. Anyone have a better method for establishing new grass without going nuclear on it?