Old timer yelled at me for using a Wago on a 3-way switch

I was doing a service call in a 1950s house in Portland last month. A retired electrician was watching me work on his basement lights. He said "real electricians don't trust those plastic connectors." I told him they're UL listed and passed code. He just shook his head and walked off. Has anyone else dealt with old school guys who hate new methods?

Buckingham Palace fig tree dropped a limb on my new chipper

I was clearing a job in Arlington last Tuesday. Huge fig tree, probably 60 years old. Got lazy and didn't check the interior rot on the main crotch. A limb snapped off right onto my Bandit chipper's feed wheel. Bent the housing. Cost me $400 to get a mobile welder out there to straighten it. Anyone else had a tree drop something expensive on their gear?

Frozen chicken thighs straight into the pot saved my Tuesday night dinner last week

I put four frozen thighs from Aldi in my Crock-Pot with a can of cream of mushroom soup and some garlic powder on low for 8 hours and it came out tender enough to shred, has anyone else done frozen meat without thawing first and had it work fine?

That glass jar cutting kit from the craft store is a scam waiting to happen

I tried one of those kits last weekend to make a drinking glass out of a spaghetti sauce jar. Followed the instructions exactly, scored the line perfectly, but when I went to snap it the thing shattered in my hands and I got a cut on my thumb. Went back to the store and saw three other people returning the same kit, all with the same complaint. Has anyone found a reliable way to cut glass jars that actually works without breaking?

Rant: My trowel handle snapped mid-dig at a site in Vermont last month

I was working a test pit up near Burlington, maybe 30cm down, and the wooden handle on my WHS 4in just gave out. No warning, just splinters and a loose blade. Had to finish the whole afternoon using a rocks and my bare hands. Who else has had gear fail at the worst possible time?

Was dead set against using a power mixer for mortar, now I get it

Kept telling myself a hoe and a wheelbarrow was all anyone needed for 8 years on the job. Saw a guy on a big commercial site near Austin use a Hobart mixer to knock out 50 bricks in 10 minutes while I was still mixing my third batch. Finally rented one for a 300-brick retaining wall last month and it cut my mixing time by at least 40 minutes per day. Still think you need to watch your water ratio carefully or the paddle throws it everywhere. Has anyone else had trouble getting the consistency right with a power mixer vs hand mixing?

Hit 10,000 screws in my garage build and it hit me funny

I was counting screws for the drywall on my 24x24 garage and hit 10,000 used. Made me wonder how many of those are holding up my workbench compared to the walls. Has anyone else kept a running count on a big project?

Had to pick between my hiking boots and my sandals for a 10 day trip to Portland

I was packing for a work trip to Portland last month and really struggled with footwear. I knew I wanted to carry on only, but I couldn't decide if I should bring my Merrell hiking boots for exploring Forest Park on the weekends or my Chaco sandals for walking around the city. I ended up going with the sandals because they're flat and take up way less space, but I seriously regretted it after my first hike. My feet were killing me after 4 miles on the trails and I spent the next two days limping around client meetings. Has anyone found a good way to fit two pairs of shoes in a carry on without going over the weight limit?

Was watching a YouTube deep dive on the mall in my hometown and found out it closed because the owner got caught in a money laundering scheme

Vent: I was wrong about triple net leases until that strip mall in Tulsa

I used to think triple net leases were the best thing for small investors. Then I took on a 12,000 square foot strip mall in Tulsa last year. The roof needed a full replacement after 8 months, and I was stuck with the $47,000 bill. The anchor tenant had a clause that let them cap their share of common area costs. So I paid for most of it while their rent stayed flat. Has anyone else had a nasty surprise with a triple net lease that made you rethink using them?