Decided between chuck roast and brisket for tonight's pot roast. Went with chuck.

Grabbed a chuck roast on sale for $4.99 a pound at the Piggly Wiggly near me. Brisket was $7.49. Threw it in the Dutch oven with carrots and potatoes around 4 pm. It's been simmering for 2 hours and the house smells good. Fork goes right through it. Anyone else stick with chuck over brisket for weekday dinners?

Just learned the PCT loses about 3 feet of trail each year to erosion

I was reading a trail maintenance blog and found out the Pacific Crest Trail loses roughly 3 feet of tread annually from weather and hiker use. That really surprised me considering how many people hike it every season. Has anyone else come across stats about trail wear on long distance routes?

Chat with a roofer in Lethbridge changed how I think about attic vents

I was up on a job last Thursday and this old roofer named Pete pointed out my ridge vent setup was basically useless because the soffits were blocked with insulation. He said in our Alberta winters that trapped moisture can rot out the whole roof deck in 2 or 3 seasons. Has anyone else checked their soffits after a big snowfall?

Shoutout to the lady who traded me her half-used gouache set for my old watercolors

I got this Kuretake gouache set that was like 60% full and it's SO much better than my cheap watercolors for flat illustration work. The pigment is way more opaque and you can layer it without it turning muddy. Has anyone else made the switch from watercolor to gouache and noticed a big difference?

Hit 100 episodes of my podcast on my phone and it changed how I organize files

I always just let my podcast app pile up episodes without deleting them. Last week I checked and I had 100 episodes saved. That's like 50 gigs of space. I started cleaning them out and now I delete as soon as I finish. My phone feels way faster. Anybody else let their storage get that bad before doing something about it?

Took me 3 hours to realize my peace lily was mad about the tap water

Spent 4 hours trimming brisket before I realized my knife was junk

I always thought a sharp knife was a sharp knife, right? Been using this old chef's knife from a garage sale for years. Last weekend I bought a packer from Costco and spent FOUR HOURS trying to get the silver skin and fat cap right. Kept tearing the meat, got frustrated. My buddy who competes in local KCBS events stopped by and handed me a Victorinox 12 inch slicer. Night and day. Trimmed the second one in like 20 minutes. I just never knew the difference a proper brisket knife could make. Anyone else fight with bad gear way longer than you should have?

Overheard a guy at REI say he tests rain jackets in the shower

I was grabbing some new tent stakes last week and heard this guy tell his buddy he literally puts his rain jacket on and stands in the shower for 5 minutes to check for leaks. Tried it with my old one and found two spots I never would have caught otherwise. Anyone else got a weird gear testing trick that actually works?

Hot take: I thought cross-platform play was going to be a disaster

For years I avoided games with cross-platform play. Figured PC players with mouse and keyboard would just wreck console folks like me. Then I tried Fortnite with my buddy on Xbox while I'm on PlayStation last summer. Lost the first round badly but honestly? The skill difference wasn't that huge. Matchmaking seemed pretty fair. Now I'm actually looking for cross-platform games on purpose. Anyone else change their mind after giving it a real shot?

TIL that pine shavings vs straw is a bigger deal than people think

I spent my first year using straw in the nesting boxes cause that's what my neighbor did. Then last spring I noticed one of my hens kept sneezing and had crusty eyes, turns out straw holds moisture and grows mold way easier. Switched to kiln-dried pine shavings (like $6 a bale at Tractor Supply) and the difference in smell and cleanliness was night and day. Has anyone else had respiratory issues with their flock from bedding choices?