I had to pick between butter and shortening for my pie crust

My grandma always used shortening but I wanted a flakier crust. Tried butter only and it tasted great but the dough was a mess to work with, stuck everywhere. Then I did half and half with 2 tablespoons of ice water and it came out perfect, flaky layers and easy to roll. Has anyone else found a good ratio for mixing fats?

Came around on using a tag line after a close call in Jersey City

I always thought tag lines were for rookies who couldn't handle a load solo. Then last month on a job near the Holland Tunnel, a steel beam started spinning on me in a gust and nearly clipped a foreman. That guy with the rope saved my butt and probably kept us from a fines from OSHA. Anyone else eat crow about a tool they swore they'd never use?

5 years on the same crane seat - do you swap cranes or stick with one?

Used to baby my orchids with distilled water now I just use tap

I spent two years driving to the store every week buying distilled water for my phalaenopsis because I read online that tap water would kill them. Then a local grower in Portland told me most city tap is fine as long as you let it sit out overnight to let the chlorine evaporate. Has anyone else tried this switch and noticed a difference in their plants?

Spent 20 minutes trying to hammer a hot piece of metal only to realize I was holding the tongs backwards

Bought a $60 bread machine on a whim and it actually paid off

I grabbed a used Zojirushi off Facebook Marketplace last month thinking it would collect dust, but I've baked 8 loaves already. Store bread here runs like $5 a loaf, so I'm already ahead $20 and the machine still works great. Anyone else get lucky with a random impulse buy that saved cash?

The day my bone folder snapped in half

I was in my garage workshop around 11 PM trying to finish a leather-bound journal for a client's anniversary deadline. The glue was setting weird on the spine and I put too much pressure on my cheap plastic bone folder. It cracked right down the middle and sent glue and leather scraps flying everywhere. Has anyone else had a tool fail at the worst possible moment or do I just need to upgrade to a Teflon folder?

Just hit 72 inches of desk space and it's the sweet spot for me

I finally measured my new setup after adding a second monitor and some speakers. That extra 12 inches gave me room for my coffee mug without knocking things over. What's the magic desk length that works for your gear?

Tried pocket hole plugs on a beech butcher block countertop

Sanded them flush and the grain matched up so well they basically disappeared. Anyone else had that luck with a specific wood species?

Had a chat with an old saturation diver at the dock last week

He told me he quit after 15 years because his doctor said his bone density looked more like a 70 year old's and that made me think twice about pushing through those deep bounce dives without proper table time, has anyone else gotten weird health feedback from their doc they didn't expect?