Swapping to velcro straps was a game changer for me. They hold just as well on the cable housing and you can adjust them without tools if you need to reroute something later. Plus you don't have to cut them off and trash the whole bundle every time you do a tune up.

Oh man, I used to think password managers were overkill and that I could just remember a few good ones. Then my email got hacked in 2016 because I reused a password from some random forum. That was the wakeup call. Now I've got 50+ different passwords in my manager and it's annoying to pull up my phone every time I login to something. But honestly, getting that email about someone in Russia trying to access my accounts changed my whole view on it. The hassle is absolutely worth it when you've had to change every single password you own at 2am.

Had a buddy who worked a strip mall job where three different restaurant grease traps all backed up on the same Friday. Said he spent the whole day just shoveling congealed oil into buckets. Rough way to make a living.

Yeah the brush trick is huge. I use a little sponge applicator instead, zero bleed every time. Those Etsy stencils are such a gamble, not worth the headache.

Ouch, sorry you had to learn that one the hard way.