Rant: The new code for elevator door force limits is making our job harder

Last week, I was working on a 20 year old hydraulic lift in a Chicago office building. The doors were sticking, and adjusting them to meet the new 30 pound max opening force felt impossible without a full rebuild. Some guys on my crew say the new rule is a good safety step, especially for older folks. Others think it's a waste of time on systems that were fine for decades. We spent three hours on that one door just to get it to pass. What's your take on these stricter door force codes?

I bought a $12 stud finder that beeped at everything except the studs.

My drywall patch job turned into a weird art project with six extra holes. What's a better cheap tool that actually works?

My mentor told me to soak a hoof for 30 minutes before working on a bad quarter crack

I thought it was overkill, but after doing it on a tough case last Friday, the hoof wall was way easier to shape. Anyone have other tricks for dealing with deep cracks?

Showerthought: I heard a kid ask 'what's a phone book' and it hit me

I was at the library last week and a kid, maybe 8, pointed to an old yellow pages on a display and asked his mom that. She said it was how you found people before the internet. It made me think about how this whole 'ask anything' idea has changed. You used to have to call information or look in a book if you had a random question. Now you just type it into a search bar or a forum like this. The answers come in seconds from all over the world. I wonder if getting answers so fast makes us value them less. What's the weirdest old-school way you ever found an answer to something?

PSA: My map reading fail on the Lost Coast Trail took 3 hours to fix

I mean, I got turned around looking for a creek crossing and ended up bushwhacking through a whole patch of poison oak, idk maybe it's just me but has anyone else had a simple navigation thing blow up like that?

Debate: Are those $2,000 online 'career accelerator' courses worth it? I feel like I got scammed.

My phone's battery got worse after a factory reset

I did a factory reset on my Samsung Galaxy S21 last month to try and fix some lag. I backed everything up first, so it was a clean start. After the reset, the battery life actually dropped from about 10 hours to maybe 6 on a full charge. I learned that sometimes the phone needs a few full charge cycles to relearn your habits after a wipe. Has anyone else seen their battery act weird after a reset, and how long did it take to settle?

Pro tip: someone told me my laptop screen was too bright for coffee shop work

I was working at a cafe in Portland last month, and the person at the table next to me leaned over and said, 'Hey, your screen is like a lighthouse beacon.' I always kept my brightness maxed out, thinking it helped me see better. They pointed out it was distracting for others and made me look like I was in a rush. I dropped the brightness down to about 40 percent and it was a total change. My eyes felt less tired after a few hours, and I stopped getting those quick glances from other people. Now I make it a point to check my screen level as soon as I sit down. Do you adjust your setup to be less noticeable to people around you, or do you just focus on your own comfort?

My water bill hit exactly 666 gallons last month and I felt weird about it

I was looking at my ABC Water bill online, the one that came in the mail last week, and I just stared at the number. 666 gallons used, right there in black and white. It's not even that high for our house, we have a little patch of grass out back we try to keep alive. But the number itself made me laugh. My husband walked by and I said, 'Hey, look, the devil's watering the lawn.' We spent a good ten minutes trying to figure out what we did that day to make it land on that. Did I run the dishwasher on a holy day? Was it the extra long shower after my hike in the Sandias? It's just one of those silly things that sticks with you. Has anyone else in town gotten a weirdly specific or funny number on a utility bill that made you pause?

My entire cherry tomato harvest almost went down the drain because of a hidden pest

I was watering my plants in Chicago last Tuesday and saw a single, tiny whitefly, which led me to discover a full-blown infestation on the undersides of all my leaves that I had to spray down with neem oil for a week straight to save them. Anyone else had to deal with whiteflies on their balcony?