Burned a whole Saturday on a bad coax crimper from Harbor Freight

I was redoing some antenna runs on a Cessna 172 and grabbed a cheap coax crimper from Harbor Freight to save a few bucks. The thing couldn't hold a consistent crimp to save its life, and I wasted about 4 hours redoing connections before I gave up. Ended up costing me a $300 Saturday side job. What's your go-to crimper brand that actually works right the first time?

Can we talk about how I used to think all feedback was just nitpicking?

A regular at the store said my 'helpful' product demos were actually confusing because I talked too fast. I slowed down and started using my hands to point at features instead, and people seem to get it now. Has a small piece of advice ever totally flipped your approach to something?

Shoutout to the guy who asked for a 'subtle' design and then showed me a picture of a dragon

I spent 45 minutes trying to blend this intricate fire-breathing creature into a fade, and he left looking like a medieval knight. Anyone have a go-to response for when a client's idea of 'subtle' is way off?

Got called out for using a 4-inch grinder on a trim job... changed my whole approach.

My buddy told me to skip 'The OA' because it was too weird, but I finally watched it and now I'm mad it got axed.

He said after the first season, 'It's just going to get canceled, don't waste your time.' I listened and ignored it for years. I finally binged both seasons last month and it's one of the most unique things I've ever seen. The cancellation after that wild season 2 cliffhanger is a crime. I wanted to see where that third dimension and the whole crew went next. Was he right to warn me off a show that ends on a huge unresolved note, or should I have watched it anyway for the experience?

My first kimchi in Phoenix turned fizzy after just 2 days

Our house is so hot it basically became a science project. Anyone else have a ferment go turbo in a warm climate?

Appreciation post: The old-timer who showed me why you never skip the back-blocking on a long ceiling run

I was helping a crew in Denver last fall, and they were slapping up 12-foot sheets on a vaulted ceiling with just a few screws and glue. An older guy on the site, Frank, stopped us and insisted we back-block every seam with a 1x4. He said, 'That glue will let go in a year, and you'll have a wave you can surf on.' We grumbled but did it. Sure enough, I drove by that house six months later and the ceiling looked like glass. How many of you still back-block long spans, or is that a lost art?

Appreciation post: An old timer at the salvage yard changed how I see parts.

I was pulling a door for a 2015 Civic at the yard in Lancaster last Tuesday, and the guy next to me, who must have been doing this for 40 years, said 'You're looking for straight metal, but you should be hunting for good factory sealer.' He pointed out how the factory stuff on a clean panel from a dry state car will always beat aftermarket goop for keeping water out. I've been chasing leaks on quarter panels for years and never really thought about it that way. How many of you guys actually check the sealer condition before you pull a used part?