My pork shoulder stalled for 8 hours and I almost gave up

I put a 10 pound shoulder on my offset at 225 degrees, and it hit 160 internal after 5 hours. It then sat there, stuck, for over 8 hours before finally pushing through. I was checking my fire every 20 minutes thinking my thermometer was broken. Has anyone else had a stall last that long on a standard cut?

A caseworker said my letters were too much about me, and it stung

I was sending updates to my son's adoptive family every month, full of my own news and feelings. After a year, the caseworker gently pointed out that the family really wanted more concrete stuff about his growth and interests, not just my updates. I started focusing on things like 'he's reading chapter books now' or 'he made the soccer team' instead of my own life. It felt weird at first, but the replies got longer and more open. Has anyone else had to shift what they share in letters or visits?

Rant: I was setting my outriggers wrong for a solid year

I was on a site in Boise, lifting a big HVAC unit onto a roof. My load chart said I was fine, but the crane felt 'soft' every time I swung. An older operator from another crew walked over and just said, 'Your front pads are floating.' He was right. I'd been setting them on gravel without digging down to solid ground first. I dug out six inches of loose stuff, packed it with road base, and reset. The difference was night and day. Anyone else have a basic thing they missed for way too long?

I was at the new meat market in Portland and saw a butcher using a scimitar for breaking down a side of beef. Never seen that tool used outside of a textbook before.

My old foreman told me to always run the cutter head at half speed in rocky ground, but a new guy said full power is better.

We were working a stretch of the Ohio River last fall, pulling up a lot of broken limestone. The foreman's way kept the teeth from chipping, but it was slow. The new operator, Jake, said he'd always run full power and just check the teeth more often. I tried his method on a small section and we finished that cut a day early, but we did lose two teeth. Who's right here? Is saving time worth the extra wear and tear?

Just lost a whole Saturday because a customer insisted they had a 'secret warranty'

I work at an auto parts store in Fresno, and this guy came in absolutely convinced his car's sensor was covered by some hidden factory extension. He made me call three different dealerships and look up like fifty bulletins, which took over 4 hours. Turns out he just misread a forum post from 2018. Has anyone else had a customer waste your entire shift on a wild goose chase like that?

Took a hike during a work call and it was a game changer

I was on a long conference call and decided to walk the nearby pine ridge trail. The fresh air made me focus better and I actually contributed more. Now I try to do this once a week. It's helped me deal with work stress a lot.

Yesterday's basil shipment was pure mush, again