My old boss told me to never trust a paint code from a 90s GM truck

He said the factory records were a mess and to always spray a test card first. I finally learned why when a '99 Sierra came in and the code gave us a shade three steps off. Anyone else run into this with older vehicles?

Just read that a single medieval suit of armor could take over 800 hours to make

I was looking at a book on armor from the Met museum and it said a full plate harness for a knight wasn't just one person's work. A master armorer might need a whole team, and the whole process from start to finish could be 800 to 1000 hours. That's like working a full time job for six months straight on one suit. It really makes you think about the scale of the craft back then compared to how we work now. Has anyone here ever tried to make a single piece of historical armor and tracked their time?

Tried to fix my old iPod Classic with a new battery, now it just shows a sad folder icon.

My balcony worm bin in Seattle finally clicked after a month of mess

I tried a small plastic bin with holes last month and it got way too wet, like a swamp. My friend in Ballard told me to add a whole newspaper shredded up for browns, not just a little. After a week of mixing that in, the smell went away and the worms got busy. Anyone else have a good browns source for a tiny setup?

Tried the new ghost kitchen burger place versus the old stand on Melrose

The ghost kitchen's 'Smash Deluxe' was a total letdown, dry and cold, while the Melrose stand's classic double is still perfect. I think the difference is the real grill and someone actually looking at the food before it goes in the bag. Has anyone else had a bad ghost kitchen meal this month?

My biggest client fired me over a single missed deadline

It happened last Tuesday, a $15,000 roofing job for a new build in Tempe. We were two days behind because of a material delay, and I figured a quick call would smooth it over. Nope. The project manager said 'Your lack of planning is now our emergency' and cut the contract on the spot. I had three guys already on site and had to pull them off, losing a full week's pay for my crew. I spent the next day just calling every contact I had to fill the gap, which was brutal. Honestly, I got too comfortable and stopped giving updates like I used to. For anyone who runs their own show, how do you handle a supplier screwing up without it blowing back on you?

I finally tried a new way to plate fish after a dinner in Portland

I was at a small place called Le Pigeon last month and they served a halibut dish on a warm stone slab. The fish kept its heat for the whole meal, which was a big change from our cold ceramic plates. Now I'm looking for a good supplier for those slabs that won't break the bank. Has anyone found a good place to buy them in bulk?

Drove past the old Miller place near Springfield and saw something that got me thinking

Was heading to a job last week and took the back roads. Passed the Miller farm, where old man Miller ran a big draft horse operation for decades. The barn is still there, but the forge chimney is cold. Saw a brand new, shiny aluminum horse trailer parked where the shoeing stocks used to be. Made me remember helping him as a kid, 30 years ago. He'd have six Belgians lined up, all needing work. We'd be there from sunup, using his hand crank forge. Now it's all about the show horses and the fancy trailers. The real workhorse knowledge is just fading away. Anyone else see a shop or a farm from the old days that's just gone now?

Found a 1930s newspaper stuffed in a flue near Albany

It was a slow Tuesday cleaning a farmhouse chimney, and the pages were perfectly preserved behind some old mortar droppings. Reading about a local baseball game from ninety years ago while covered in soot just hit different, you know? Ever pull something truly weird out of a chimney?

PSA: That weird bulge in a wall in Charlotte took me two full days to figure out

Was repointing a 1920s chimney and the mortar line kept bulging out after I fixed it. Turned out the original builders shoved a piece of scrap lead flashing behind the brick as a shim. Had to pull 15 bricks to get it out. Anyone ever find something that weird hidden in a wall?