Heard a dive supervisor say I was 'too slow' on a valve check last Tuesday

Turns out he meant I was being too careful, not actually slow. He showed me a trick where you feel for the pressure drop instead of watching the gauge. Anyone else have a boss who communicates in reverse like that?

The zipper on my favorite winter coat gave out in 12 degree weather yesterday

I was walking to my car in Chicago and the zipper pull just snapped right off the track, leaving the coat flapping open. I grabbed some pliers and a paperclip from my glovebox and managed to jury-rig a temporary pull that held for the rest of the day. Has anyone found a reliable way to fix a jacket zipper at home without replacing the whole thing?

Ran a dredge for 2 years before I figured out my swing cable was way too tight

I was out on the Mississippi near Baton Rouge, fighting this cutterhead that kept binding up. Old mechanic came out to look at something else, watched me for 5 minutes and said why is your swing cable so tight you're fighting yourself. Loosened it a notch and suddenly the whole rig moved smooth. Felt like an idiot. All those days of burning extra fuel and fighting the controls for nothing. Anyone else have a setup thing they overlooked for way too long?

Swapped my Ryder Carroll style for a simpler vertical week layout 2 months ago

The homeowner who watched me like a hawk then asked why I didn't use a shop vac

I had a job over in Arlington last Tuesday where the homeowner kept hovering while I set up my rods and brushes, then he pipes up asking why I don't just use a shop vac to suck the soot out instead of messing with all that equipment. He said his brother in law does it that way and it works fine, but I was standing there thinking about how much moisture that would trap in the flue lining and how you'd never get the real creosote crust off that way. Has anyone else run into people pushing that vac method and had to explain why it's not the same?

TIL a simple console.log trick from a coworker at a diner

I was stuck on a bug for like an hour. Just staring at my code. Running it over and over. This guy I work with at the restaurant saw me frustrated and said 'just log it out step by step'. So I threw in console.log after every line. Found the issue in 5 minutes. Why did nobody tell me this sooner? Anyone else have a super basic trick that clicked late?

I used to think hair masks were a waste of money until I tried one on a damaged perm last May

I had this client come in with fried hair from a box dye gone wrong and I was ready to recommend a trim. She begged me to try a deep conditioning mask from a brand I never use, Olaplex, and I was skeptical because I figured it was hype. After two treatments over 3 weeks her hair went from straw to actual silk, I could run my fingers through it without snagging. Has anyone else had a product they dismissed that totally proved them wrong?

That bird call app I mocked for months actually saved me last Sunday

I always thought those bird identification apps were just for tourists fumbling around with their phones, but I downloaded one out of sheer frustration trying to figure out what kept waking me at 4:30 AM. It picked up a weird descending whistle I'd been hearing for weeks and identified it as a Swainson's thrush, which I'd never even heard of before. Has anyone else had an app change how you hear the morning chorus, or am I just late to the party?

Had to pick between Danish oil and polyurethane for a walnut desk

Been working on this mid-century walnut desk for a client in Portland. I was dead set on Danish oil for that matte feel but they wanted durability. Went with a satin polyurethane in the end and honestly it turned out way better than I thought. Has anyone else had a finish choice go completely different than you expected?