Just finished a CLA on a Leica M3 and a Nikon F... the difference was wild.

Everyone says the Leica is a watchmaker's camera, but after 3 hours, the Nikon's shutter curtain mechanism was just more straightforward to adjust. Has anyone else found certain 'simple' designs to be a real pain to work on?

I thought those new composite fence posts were just a gimmick, but a job in Phoenix changed my mind

We had a client last month who insisted on composite posts for a long run of privacy fence. I figured they'd be flimsy and warp in the heat, just another overpriced trend. The supplier gave us a sample and said to try driving one with the post pounder. It went in like butter and felt solid as a rock. We did the whole 150-foot line with them, and after seeing how straight they set and knowing they won't rot, I'm a convert. Has anyone else made the switch, or are you still sticking with pressure-treated wood?

A retired mechanic in a Buffalo parts house told me he never used a level to set a rail, just a plumb bob and his eyes.

He said, 'Kid, if you can't see a sixteenth out over ten feet, you're in the wrong trade,' and I've questioned every digital level I've bought since.

My packing cubes failed me on a rainy afternoon in Edinburgh

I was trying to repack my 40L backpack at the hostel before a flight, and the zipper on my main packing cube just gave out. Everything I'd rolled so neatly spilled into the bag. I ended up using two large plastic bags from a grocery store to separate my clean and dirty clothes for the trip home. Has anyone found a specific brand of packing cube that can really handle being overstuffed?

Just changed my mind about those flexible chimney cleaning rods

I used a set of those new polypropylene rods from ChimneyFlex on a standard brick flue in a house in Tacoma. The whole thing buckled and got stuck about 8 feet up, and I spent an extra hour fishing it out. I learned that for anything but the straightest, shortest runs, you really can't beat the old steel rods for control. Has anyone else had a bad time with the flexible ones on older masonry?

Just realized I've written 'Hello, World!' in 12 different languages now. It's a weird little collection.

My old laptop died right in the middle of a deep dive on the 2001 anthrax letters

It happened last Tuesday, just as I was cross-referencing a timeline from a 2004 forum post. The screen went black and it made this awful grinding noise. I lost about three hours of open tabs and notes I hadn't saved yet. I ended up having to use my phone to finish reading, which was a huge pain. Has anyone else had tech totally fail them at the worst possible moment during a research rabbit hole?

Saw a crew in Charlotte using a garden sprayer for curing compound

They were on a big patio job and just misting it on instead of rolling. Tried it myself on a garage slab last week and it was way faster, plus you get a more even coat. Anyone else switch to spraying their sealer?

Can we talk about the time I said yes to a project way outside my skillset?

My aunt's sauerkraut recipe fails if you peek before week two