Pro tip: that $30 app for stacking star photos is a game changer

I used to think my phone pics of Orion were just blurry messes, but the app aligned 50 shots from my tripod in minutes. Anyone got tips for dealing with streetlight glow in a suburban backyard?

Changed my mind about those cheap replacement cutter teeth

I bought a set of generic cutter teeth for about $800 to save cash on a channel maintenance job, thinking they'd hold up fine. They wore down to nubs in under two weeks, costing me way more in downtime and fuel than the name brand ones would have. Has anyone found a decent budget brand that actually lasts, or is it always a false economy?

A client's old PC in Dayton taught me to check the simple stuff first

I was at a house call fixing a desktop that wouldn't boot, and I spent an hour checking the power supply and motherboard. The client mentioned his cat liked to sleep behind the tower, so I finally pulled it out. The power cord was barely plugged into the wall socket! I felt so silly for missing that. What's the most obvious thing you've ever overlooked on a job?

Finally got a clear reading on that stubborn Roman floor mosaic in Verulamium

We swapped from a standard resistivity meter to a multi-frequency EMI scanner, and the difference was night and day. Has anyone else had a breakthrough with a specific tool on a tricky site?

Remember when you needed a physical SIM card for each new country?

I used to carry a little plastic case with 5 different SIMs from places like Thailand and Portugal, but after getting a global eSIM plan in 2022, my entire connectivity strategy fits in an app on my phone.

Shoutout to the old guy who taught me to listen for a worn bearing with a screwdriver

Three years ago on a Cessna 172 in Wichita, he showed me how to press the handle to your ear. Last week I caught a bad alternator bearing on a Piper before it failed, just from that sound. Anyone still use that trick or is it all fancy vibration analysis now?

Flour storage: airtight jars or keep it in the bag?

Jars stop bugs but cost more, what's your take?

Digging a fence line, we hit what looks like an old bone. Crew says bury it, I say call someone. What would you do?

A surprise at the checkout made me rethink how I buy food

I saw my grocery total was way over budget. Now I only buy ingredients that are on sale that week. What are your go-to ways to save on groceries?

Forcing myself to network never worked... my career grew when I let my work speak.