The coworking space membership I swore I'd never pay for finally won me over

For two years I was dead set against paying for coworking. I figured why drop $200 a month when coffee shops and libraries work fine. But after three straight weeks of bad wifi at a cafe in Medellin and a guy taking a loud Zoom call right next to my table, I caved and tried a WeWork day pass. Honestly I was mad at myself for waiting so long. The internet was rock solid, I got way more work done in 4 hours than I did all week before, and the free coffee was actually decent. Now I split my time between a budget coliving spot and a shared office about twice a week. Has anyone else been shocked by how much a proper desk changes your productivity once you finally try it?

That time I tried to hand wire a keyboard without a guide

Last month I decided to build a 40% ortholinear board from scratch because I wanted something truly unique for my desk setup in Austin. I ordered a blank PCB, some Gateron switches, and a Pro Micro controller, thinking I could just figure it out as I went. Big mistake. I spent 3 evenings soldering and resoldering the rows and columns because I kept mixing up the diode directions. After the fourth try, I got it to type but every key output the letter 'k' no matter what I pressed. My buddy who builds keyboards for a living laughed and said I needed to flash the firmware first. Has anyone else jumped into a handwired build without enough prep and ended up with a total mess?

Wasted $350 on a fancy diamond blade that barely outlasted a cheap one

I dropped $350 on a top-tier diamond blade for cutting cured concrete last spring. Figured it would last forever, you know? But after maybe 30 cuts on 4-inch slab with some rebar, it started losing teeth and wobbling. My buddy swears by the $80 blades from the local supply house and says he gets the same life out of them. So now I'm wondering: is it really worth paying triple for the premium brands, or are we all just getting played by marketing? What's your longest lasting blade brand that didn't break the bank?

PSA: SSA changed how they calculate partial work months back in March

Remember when everyone played Catan until 3am?

Last week my group dug out my old 2008 copy of Settlers and the tiles are so warped they barely fit together. Three years ago nobody would touch anything newer than Carcassonne, now I can't get them to stop pulling out Everdell every session. Anyone else's group slowly ditch the classics?

Talked to an old building inspector in Chicago last winter

I was at a job site in Wicker Park, six years back, and this city inspector came through. He told me that my whole method for wiring old buildings was safe but lazy. He showed me a trick for running conduit under original wood floors that took me an extra hour but saved a redo. Anyone else pick up a weird trick from a city official?

Hot take: the 'dry brine overnight' advice is wrong for pork shoulder

My buddy Rick from the Franklin BBQ line back in 2019 swore I had to dry brine a pork shoulder for 24 hours minimum. Tried it on a 8 pounder last Saturday and the crust was tough like leather, not bark. Next week I did 4 hours with just salt and pepper, wrapped in butcher paper at 275°F, and it came out perfect with a real bite-through texture. Has anyone else had better luck with a shorter rest time on butts?

Fell for a $200 'pro' CLA that left my shutter running slow

I paid a guy on eBay $200 to service my Pentax Spotmatic and now the shutter drags at every speed below 1/60 - did I just get scammed or is this normal for mail-in repairs? Anyone else have better luck with local shops instead of shipping out?

Two weeks of fighting a spider mite outbreak vs just buying ladybugs on day one

Found a nasty spider mite infestation on my 12 tomato plants. Spent 14 days spraying neem oil and wiping leaves every single night. Should I have just ordered ladybugs for $15 from the start or is the chemical route better for large gardens?

My old VCR chewed up a tape I found at a garage sale

Happened two days ago. I picked up a box of unlabeled VHS tapes from a garage sale in Tacoma for five bucks. The first one I tried to play got eaten by my VCR about ten minutes in. The tape got all tangled in the mechanism. I had to carefully take the VCR apart to get the tape out, which took me an hour. The tape is pretty much ruined now, which is a real bummer because the first few minutes looked like a home movie from the 80s. Anyone know a good way to clean a VCR's heads before I try another tape?