Serious question, has anyone else had a street name change overnight?

The sign for Maple Avenue near my apartment in Tacoma was definitely 'Elm Street' yesterday morning, but it was back to Maple by the evening. Anyone experience something similar?

I used to laugh at the guys who carried a $150 Klein toner and probe set, but after tracing a buried line in a 1950s house last week, I'm a total convert.

What's one tool or method you were totally wrong about, and what specific job changed your mind?

Can we talk about how many old laptops just need a simple battery reset?

I was reading a repair forum thread from last month and someone posted a stat that blew my mind... they said in their shop, over 40% of 'dead' laptops brought in just needed a battery disconnect and reconnect to boot. I thought that was crazy high, but I tried it on the next three 'no power' units that came in. Two of them fired right up after I pulled the main battery and held the power button for 30 seconds. It's wild how many people, and even some repair folks, jump straight to board-level work or power jack replacement when the fix is literally free and takes two minutes. It's made me completely change my first step in diagnosis. How many of you have seen this be the actual fix more often than you'd think?

Question about using a hair dryer to speed up stain drying

I was finishing a maple dresser last week and needed it ready for pickup in a day. I tried a trick from a guy at the Tacoma Woodcraft store and used a hair dryer on low heat over the second coat of General Finishes gel stain. It dried in under an hour instead of the usual six. But my buddy says this can cause uneven curing and adhesion issues down the road. Has anyone else tried this and had good or bad results?

My first Python script for my garden data totally crashed after 3 days of work. Should I have started with something simpler?

Had a client ghost me after I finished a $1200 website redesign last month. What do you do with the finished work?

Unpopular opinion: I think using a string line for straight runs is a waste of time now

For years, I set every single post run with a string line, thinking it was the only way to get a perfect fence. I'd spend an hour just setting up lines and checking them with a level. Then about 2 years ago, I had a huge job putting up 300 feet of vinyl in Austin with a tight deadline. My helper was sick, so I tried just using my laser level to shoot a line on the ground and setting posts to that mark. Not only was it just as straight, I cut my setup time in half. Now I only break out the string for really tricky ground or curved sections. The laser is faster and, for me, just as good. Am I crazy for ditching the old method, or has anyone else made the switch?

I finally picked a route for my brother to try backpacking

He's nervous about the distance and carrying a pack. We're looking at the Lost Coast Trail in California, but some parts seem hard. Are there easier coastal trails with good campsites? How do you help a new person feel comfortable on the trail?

Shoutout to the sudden spike in 5G conspiracy flyers around town

These things are popping up on every pole. Makes me wonder who's behind it all.

My dad's trick for stretching chili to feed all my cousins

Involving everyone in the kitchen cuts costs and makes meals more fun.