I finally had to mortar a patio around a full kiddie pool in Akron.

Question about picking a comic con for my first big trip

I had to choose between going to San Diego Comic-Con or a smaller local con in my state. The big one costs over $800 for tickets and a hotel, but the local one is just $40 for the weekend. I picked the local con because I could actually talk to artists without huge lines. It was amazing! I got 5 sketches in my book and met a writer I really like. Has anyone else skipped a huge event for a smaller one and been happy with it?

Rant: A guy at the flea market said he 'cleans' lenses with rubbing alcohol and a paper towel

I was picking up an old Minolta body from a seller in Phoenix last weekend and he started bragging about his lens cleaning method. He said he just dabs some rubbing alcohol on a paper towel and wipes the glass in circles. I almost dropped the camera. I tried to gently say that's a good way to strip coatings, but he just shrugged. Has anyone else run into this kind of advice out in the wild, and how do you handle it without starting a fight?

I thought those cheap plastic fence post caps were a total waste of money.

My buddy in Omaha insisted they stop water from getting into the post tops and rotting them out. I finally tried them on a job last month and cut open an old post that had them for five years. The wood inside was still dry and solid. Anyone else have a simple fix they doubted that actually worked?

My basement drywall was always a mess until I started using a $20 drywall rasp instead of a knife for final shaping.

It took three attempts on a ceiling patch before I realized the rasp gives you way more control over those last little bumps and feathered edges, so what's your go-to trick for smoothing drywall seams?

Heard a crazy number about drywall dust at a supply house in Cincinnati

I was picking up some 5/8 firecode sheets yesterday and the guy behind the counter said a single sheet can put over 2 pounds of fine dust into the air if you cut it dry. Found that wild because I never really weighed it, you know? He said he read it in some safety bulletin from a few years back. Makes you think about the masks we use, right? What's the best respirator you all have found for that kind of super fine dust?

Tried a new way to check my load charts on a big job in Spokane

Used to just eyeball the chart printout in the cab. This time I took a picture with my phone and zoomed in on the details. The difference was huge. Spotted a capacity note I missed about wind speed limits for that specific boom length. Probably saved me from a risky pick last Tuesday. Anyone else use their phone like a digital magnifier for the fine print?

Pro tip: I gave up my morning latte for a week to see if my home brew could match it

The choice was simple: keep spending $6 every morning at the shop down the street or force myself to perfect my own pour-over. I picked the home brew challenge. For seven days straight, I used my gooseneck kettle and a single-origin Ethiopian bean, grinding fresh each time. By day four, my coffee was actually smoother than the cafe's, and I saved over $40. It turns out control over the water temp and bloom time makes all the difference. Has anyone else done a side-by-side test like this and been surprised?

Donating comics to a youth center sparked some unexpected conversations.

We gathered extra comics for a local center. The staff said the kids are now having fun debates about heroes. What kind of community stuff does your group do?