I watched the first and last seasons of a show back to back this weekend

Started with season 1 of 'The OA' and then jumped to season 2. The vibe changed so much, it felt like a totally different show. The first season was all mystery and slow burn, but the second one got super weird with jumping dimensions and stuff. It happened over just a couple years between seasons. Anyone else think a show changed too much after the first season?

Question about a crawl space job that went sideways in Tacoma

I was under a house in Tacoma last week, trying to run a new line through a tight crawl space. The ground was wet from a leak, and I was about halfway through when my drill bit snapped off inside the joist. I had to crawl back out, get a new bit, and then spend an hour trying to dig the old piece out with pliers in the dark. My back was killing me and I was covered in mud. The customer kept asking if it was done yet, which just made it worse. I finally got the line through, but it took me almost four hours for what should have been a one hour job. Has anyone else had a tool break at the worst possible moment like that? What do you do to keep your cool when everything goes wrong at once?

A client in Omaha asked me why I always use a 3/4 inch plywood base for cabinets.

She said she saw a video where they used a 1/2 inch base for a built-in to save weight. I tried it on a small linen closet project last week, and honestly, it worked fine and saved a bit of material cost. Has anyone else moved away from the standard 3/4 inch for certain jobs?

Had a real call on a bridge piling job in Savannah that forced a gear choice

We were doing a visual check on some concrete spalling, maybe 40 feet down in the Savannah River. The current was picking up faster than the tide chart said. My choice was to stick with the standard Kirby Morgan hat I was in, or switch to the full face mask with coms that was on the boat but I hadn't used much. I went with the full face, thinking talking to topside clearly would be safer if things got hairy. Good call. About 20 minutes in, the viz went to zero with stirred-up silt and I got a line snagged on rebar. Being able to just talk and not fumble with a slate while working blind let the tender talk me through the tangle. Took ten minutes, but I got free without having to cut anything. Anyone else had a situation where switching to a different comms setup mid-job saved your skin?

PSA: My first solo overnight in the Wind River Range went from scary to awesome in 24 hours

I did the Cirque of the Towers loop last week and was totally overwhelmed the first afternoon. The altitude hit me hard and I was moving slow. I set up camp early, ate some food, and just rested. Woke up the next day feeling way better, packed up, and finished the last 8 miles strong. The difference a good night's sleep and some calories made was huge. Anyone have tips for adjusting to high elevation faster on a short trip?

Appreciation post: I used to think collecting variant covers was a waste of money, but a guy at my local shop in Akron changed my mind.

Unpopular opinion: I used to think buying the biggest bag of rice was always the cheapest move.

Then I saw a receipt from my neighbor, who buys the 2-pound bags on sale for $1.50 each... and realized my 20-pound sack goes stale before I use half of it. Anyone else have a 'bulk buy' fail?

A client in Denver said my color work saved her wedding day

She came in with a box dye disaster two days before her ceremony, and her hair was a patchy orange mess. I spent six hours doing a corrective color and a full balayage to get her back to a natural blonde. What's the most stressful last minute fix you've ever pulled off for a client?

Update: I thought composite repairs were just for the big shops until I had to fix a cracked fairing on a King Air in Wichita last month.

Our old lead showed me the portable hot bonder kit and walked me through the cure cycle, now I'm looking at getting my own cert. Anyone here done the Abaris training course?

Heard a pilot on the ramp say his autopilot was 'acting funny'

I was doing a walk around on a King Air in Phoenix yesterday and the pilot mentioned the autopilot kept trying to bank right during his climb out. He just shrugged and said he'd fly it manual. I spent the next four hours pulling the flight control computer and found a cracked solder joint on the roll servo amp board. It's wild how a casual comment can point you straight to a gremlin. How often do you guys find that pilot reports are actually pretty spot on?