Oh jeez that's brutal, sorry about your Cherokee Purples. I read somewhere that some people out in Colorado are using a double layer of shade cloth as a budget hail fix, not the real netting but it's way cheaper and apparently stops the smaller stuff decently.

Three months is about when my seasoning started flaking off with chainmail. Had to strip mine back to bare iron and start over. Salt scrub takes longer but I never had that problem with it.

Can't believe people actually think electricity is magic

Man, are you really checking tension on a commuter bike with a meter? That feels like bringing a torque wrench to tighten a picture hook. I mean sure, if you're building a race wheel or something, I get it. But a beater commuter? Just ride it until the wheels wobble and then give 'em a wiggle with your fingers, it's a bike not a spaceship.

That's the thing about personal achievements these days, they don't mean much to anyone else because everyone is wrapped up in their own stuff. My buddy hit a 500 day DuoLingo streak and his own mom just said "oh that's nice" and moved on lol. It's like we're all collecting these invisible medals in our own private games. Meanwhile, people will lose their minds over someone posting a picture of their lunch.