Bought the $120 'Evangelion' art book and it made me see the show in a new way

I was always confused by the ending, but the book has these early sketches and notes from the director that explain the ideas. It's basically a big book of concept art and production notes. Anyone else find a guide or book that cleared up a confusing anime for them?

Went to a job in a 1970s apartment block and saw a real mess with the main panel

The building manager in Tacoma called me to look at some flickering lights, and when I opened the main electrical room, I found a bunch of double-tapped neutrals on the old Federal Pacific panel. This is a known fire risk, and the whole setup looked like it hadn't been touched since the Carter administration. How do you guys usually break this kind of news to a property owner who just wants a quick fix?

TIL a 30-year mechanic thinks our whole trade is going soft

I was bench testing a Garmin G1000 interface module at the hangar in Mobile, and this old-timer working on a King Air's engines just shook his head and said 'You boys just plug things in and read a screen, you don't fix anything anymore.' It made me wonder if we're losing the hands-on troubleshooting skills for just swapping LRUs. How do you balance using modern diagnostics with actually understanding the underlying circuits?

Warning: Heard a guy at the electronics counter say he just throws out consoles with disc drive issues

He was telling his buddy it's never worth the fix. I've brought back three PS2s with that exact problem just by cleaning the laser lens with a cotton swab and some isopropyl. Has anyone else had a win with something people usually give up on?

Just dropped $800 on a heated vest for a winter river job

It shorted out in the first hour, so I spent the whole dive shivering and thinking about my terrible purchase. Anyone know a brand that can actually handle being submerged?

TIL a simple trick for old stuck seatposts that actually works

Had a 90s steel frame come in last Tuesday with a seatpost totally frozen in place. The guy said it hadn't moved in maybe ten years. I tried the usual stuff, like letting penetrating oil sit overnight and some gentle heat, but nothing. Then I remembered an old forum post about using a two-tooth gear puller. I had one in the back from a car job. Clamped it on the post, gave it a slow, steady crank, and after about five minutes of pressure, it popped free with a loud crack. Didn't hurt the frame at all. It was such a small win but felt awesome after thinking I'd have to tell the customer it was a lost cause. Anyone have a different go-to method for the really stubborn ones?

I thought bokashi composting was just a weird fad until my friend in Chicago showed me her setup last month.

My old fiberglass extension pole snapped clean in two on a job in Tacoma last Tuesday.

Hit 10,000 hours on the torch and it hit me different

I was cleaning out my old work truck last week and found my first logbook from my apprenticeship. Did the math and realized I've put in over 10,000 hours with a cutting torch in my hands. That number just sat with me. It's not just the big pressure vessel jobs in the shipyard, it's all the little cuts, the bevels in tight spots, the times you're hanging off a ladder trying to get a clean line. You don't really notice the skill building up until you look back and see how automatic it all is now. My old foreman used to say 'the torch is an extension of your arm,' and I finally get it. Has anyone else had a moment like that, where a number made you stop and think about how far you've come?

Opened my 500th camera this year and it was a Pentax K1000 from 1980

I keep a simple tally on my shop wall, and hitting that number made me realize how many film bodies are still in daily use. The shutter was stuck, but a basic clean and lube had it firing like new in about an hour. Are you guys seeing more old mechanical cameras come across your benches too, or is it just my area?