Worst Monday I have had on a job site in a long time

I showed up to a job over in Easton last week and the lift we rented was dead on arrival. Had to wait two hours for a replacement to come, which threw off the whole schedule. Then my wire feed welder started acting up halfway through the afternoon, just sputtering and jamming every few inches. I spent more time fixing the machine than actually burning rod. Ended up working until almost 10 pm just to get the tank patch done, and it was still sloppy. The foreman gave me some lip about the quality the next morning, like I had any choice in the matter. Has anyone else had a day where everything mechanical just decides to quit on you?

Cracked my phone screen in a parking lot and it left this wild pattern

I dropped my phone getting out of the car at the Walmart on Elm Street last Tuesday. The screen shattered into this perfect spiderweb pattern that caught the sunlight just right. A lady walking by actually stopped and said it looked like abstract art. I took a picture before I got it replaced the next day. Has anyone else had a broken screen that looked accidentally cool?

I swore those self-leveling compound pouches were a gimmick but after fighting with a bag mix that set up in 15 minutes on a 60 year old sloped kitchen floor in my rental last week I'm never going back to the bucket method

Anyone got tips for getting the air bubbles out without a spike roller or should I just accept a few pinholes?

Old timer at the paint supply counter saved me $200 on clear coat

Stopped by FinishMasters in Portland a few months ago to grab some clear for a job. The kid at the counter tried to sell me the top shelf stuff, $85 a quart. This old guy came out from the back, put his hand on the can and said "that's overkill for a 2004 Camry, grab this one instead." Saved $50 a quart right there. Has anyone else had a paint supply guy just set you straight like that?

Vent: My 'perfect' Chiang Mai cafe spot had its power cut for 8 hours straight on Monday

I had a client call at 2 PM local time and had to sprint three blocks in the rain to a backup spot, so what's your go-to plan B when your main workspace suddenly dies?

Question about figuring out the watch order for a show with a weird timeline

I wanted to watch the Monogatari series, but the timeline is a total mess. I spent 3 hours last night just looking at different watch order charts online. One site said to watch by release date, another said to follow the novel order, and a third had a totally mixed up list. I finally just went with the novel order after reading a long Reddit thread. Has anyone else had this problem with a show that jumps around in time?

Just realized how many people at the coffee shop were using the same e-reader

I was at the Public Library in downtown last week and counted at least five people using the latest Kindle Paperwhite. It was the white model, and they all had the same dark mode setting on. It made me think about how gadget reviews must really push people toward the same few popular items. Has anyone else noticed a single gadget becoming super common in public after a bunch of positive reviews?

PSA: I dropped $1200 on a new high flow pump for my 8 inch cutterhead and it either saved my season or was a total waste.

On one hand, it chewed through that heavy clay in the river bend like nothing and kept me on schedule, but on the other, my old pump was still running and that's a lot of cash for just a bit more speed, so what do you think, is the extra production worth the major upgrade cost or just a nice to have?

Just realized my fermentation station's airlock was clogged for a week because of a fruit fly. Found it stuck in the grommet.

My uncle swore by using a 4-inch drywall knife for seam glue, and I finally saw why.

He told me for years that the wider blade spreads the adhesive thinner and more even than a trowel, especially on a big commercial job. I always used my standard 6-inch trowel and thought he was just set in his ways. Last month on a 2,000 square foot office install in Tacoma, I tried his way on one room as a test. The seam practically disappeared after stretching, and I saved a bunch on glue. Now I'm wondering if this is a common trick or if I just got lucky with that particular carpet backing. What's your go-to tool for seam adhesive?