Can we talk about the whole 'coffee as a personality' thing?

My barista friend in Portland said she gets annoyed when people treat their brew method like a badge of honor instead of just enjoying the drink. It made me realize I was doing the same thing with my pour-over setup. Anyone else catch themselves getting a bit too into the gear and not the actual coffee?

So I dropped $80 on a 'chimney snake' camera attachment

Thought it would save me time on inspections, but the first time I used it, the homeowner's cat attacked the screen thinking it was a real snake. The cat knocked my tablet right off the ladder. Anyone have a less exciting way to check for flue cracks?

My car's odometer hit 111,111 miles right as I passed the exit for my old high school

I was driving back from a meeting in Dayton, just on the highway, not really thinking. I glanced down and the numbers were all ones, which felt weird enough, but then I looked up and the green sign for my old school's exit was right there. I haven't been down that road in over a decade. Has anyone else had a number line up with a place like that, almost like a signpost?

A client told me my lens cleaning method was leaving micro-scratches

I've been using the same microfiber cloth and lens fluid for about five years, thinking it was fine. A regular brought in a Leica Summicron he said I'd cleaned, and under his loupe you could see very fine, straight marks. He said, 'You're wiping in one direction with too much pressure, and the cloth picks up grit.' I switched to a circular motion with almost no pressure, and I now use a fresh piece of cloth for each lens. The difference on black glass is huge. Has anyone else had to completely relearn a basic step like that?

Question about picking a convention for my first big trip

Last year I had to choose between going to the big New York Comic Con or a smaller local one in Ohio... I picked the Ohio one because it was cheaper and less overwhelming. Honestly, it was a great choice for a first timer, I got to actually talk to artists without huge lines. Has anyone else started with a smaller con before tackling the massive ones?

I drove by the old Westgate Mall in Springfield yesterday and the food court is completely gone now. It was still there six months ago.

Finally got a clean weld on a Damascus billet after three tries

Last week in my little backyard shop, I was working on a new billet for a chef's knife. The first two tries, the weld just wouldn't take right and I had to cut it apart. I was getting pretty frustrated! I went back and really focused on getting every single scale off the steel, and I cranked my little propane forge a bit hotter than usual. On the third try, I pulled it out of the fire and gave it a tap with the hammer, and it just stuck perfectly. The whole thing held together through the whole drawing out process. It's such a simple thing, but it feels like a huge win. Has anyone else had a specific trick that finally got their forge welds to behave?

Rant: Spent 4 hours yesterday chasing a short in a wall that turned out to be a chewed line from a mouse nest in the attic.

What's your record for a job that should've been a simple 30-minute fix?

I saw a huge display of slow cooker liners at the Target in Bakersfield yesterday.

It got me thinking, are those plastic liners actually worth the money, or is a good soak after cooking just as easy?

Pro tip: stacking 200 shots from a city park changed my whole process

I was at Griffith Park in LA last month trying to get the Milky Way. The light pollution was awful, just a washed out orange mess in every single frame. I almost packed up after an hour. Then I remembered reading about stacking tons of short exposures. I figured why not, and shot 200 frames at 8 seconds each. When I stacked them all back home, the noise just melted away. I could actually see dust lanes and color in the core, right from the middle of the city. It proved you don't need perfect dark skies, just patience and a lot of shots. Now I always plan for high volume from any location. Has anyone else tried pushing the number of frames that high from a bright spot?