That time I figured out shutter priority mode fixed my dog photos...

I used to just set my camera to auto and hope for the best when my border collie was running around the park. Every single picture came out blurry, and I thought it was just my shaky hands or something. Then a photographer at the local camera shop told me to switch to shutter priority mode and set it to 1/500th of a second. Now I can actually see his face instead of a brown blur... has anyone else had a similar "aha" moment with their settings?

Hot take: that lady at the library sale who told me I was wasting my money on a beat-up copy of 'The Stars My Destination' was wrong, and I proved it when I finished it in one sitting that same Saturday.

She literally grabbed it out of my hand to show me a water stain on page 47 and said 'this isn't worth your three dollars,' but I bought it anyway and that book knocked me sideways with its energy and twists, has anyone else had a stranger actively try to talk you out of a find at a sale like that?

Shoutout to my writing group for calling out my lazy ending

Last Tuesday I shared a short story in my online writing group about a guy who finds a mysterious key in his attic. After three pages of buildup, I ended it with 'and then he woke up.' One member said 'you just wasted 20 minutes of my life.' It stung but they were right. Anyone else ever get called out for a cheap twist?

Got halfway through The Goldfinch and realized I just didn't care what happened to anyone in it

Vent: I used to binge 3 episodes a night now I'm lucky if I finish 1

Back in 2019 I'd crush through 3 episodes of something like Mob Psycho 100 every night after work no problem. Now between running my pest control business and dealing with family stuff, I sat down last Tuesday to watch Orbital Children and fell asleep 20 minutes in. Maybe it's just me getting older or the shows getting slower, but has anyone else hit that wall where your attention span just tanks?

Found a hack for mudding inside corners that saved my back

I got tired of leaning over to tape inside corners and getting mud everywhere. So I tried a 6 inch taping knife with a rounded corner tip that I filed down myself. It let me get a smoother finish without the extra passes. Anyone else mess with their tools like this or am I just cheap?

I thought legacy board games were a dumb gimmick until my group finished Pandemic Legacy

My friend in Austin bought Pandemic Legacy Season 1 last year and I rolled my eyes at the whole 'rip up cards' thing. We played it over 12 sessions, and watching the board permanently change after we lost a city in June was wild. The story actually got me invested in a way regular Pandemic never did. Now I'm looking at other legacy games but don't want to buy a dud. What's one with a good story that isn't just a reskin of a game we already own?

Warning: I think we over-prune young maples in this town

Last Thursday I had to fix a client's maple that got topped by another crew, the whole crown was gone. They said it was 'standard practice' to prevent storm damage, but now the tree is just pushing out weak water sprouts. I spent 4 hours doing reduction cuts to try and save its shape, and the owner was out $500 for the bad job. Has anyone else seen this kind of damage from aggressive pruning on young trees?

Watched a new guy in Phoenix run wire right next to a power line for a whole block

He said he did it to save time on a job last week, but that's just asking for noise and false alarms. How do you even get through training without learning about that basic rule?

Shoutout to the show that finally got me to put my phone down

I had to pick between starting 'Severance' or rewatching 'The Office' for the fifth time last weekend. I went with 'Severance' and ended up watching the whole first season in two days, it just pulls you in. Anyone have a show that completely hooked you like that recently?