Just spent $80 on a thermal camera for my phone... and it actually found a short in a laptop board I was ready to scrap

Shoutout to the old bridge pilings in Mobile Bay

Honestly, I was just fishing off the pier near Daphne last weekend and really looked at the concrete pilings for the first time. The amount of marine growth and erosion at the waterline was way more than I expected, like a solid 8 inches of difference between the high and low tide marks. It got me thinking about inspection schedules and how often we actually check structures in brackish water versus full salt. Has anyone else worked on a bridge job there and noticed how fast the barnacles build up?

Update: I tried a reverse search on a viral 'government leak' photo and found the original source in 10 minutes.

I saw a picture of a weird aircraft being shared as proof of a secret project, but the metadata looked off. I used TinEye to do a reverse image search and it traced back to a 2018 art student's portfolio site. Has anyone else found a simple tool that cuts through the noise on these image-based claims?

PSA: I stopped cold-emailing Austin startups with generic pitches

For my first year trying to get freelance dev work here, I sent the same basic email to about 50 companies I found on LinkedIn. I got maybe two replies. Then last quarter, I started spending 30 minutes before each email to find a specific project or news item about that company and mention it. My first email doing that got a meeting with a small fintech firm on South Congress. What's the best way you've found to actually get a founder's attention in this city?

My cousin found a 'dinosaur bone' in his backyard that was just a weird shaped rock

He called me over last month in a total panic, holding this big, bumpy rock from his garden in Portland. He was sure it was a fossil and kept saying, 'This changes everything, I'm gonna be on TV!' I had to gently point out the 'joints' were just natural cracks and the whole thing was solid granite. He still has it on his mantel as a conversation piece. Anyone else have a friend who got way too excited about a weird rock?

Update: I switched from using a chalk line for layout to a laser level about 6 months ago after a job in Tacoma.

I'm torn because the laser is faster and my lines are perfectly straight, but I miss the tactile feel and permanence of a snapped line, so what's your take on old school vs. new tech for marking?

I finally understood why my dad always stopped to watch the trains

Three years ago I was stuck in traffic outside of Bakersfield, super annoyed, when a freight train started rolling by. I mean, I was about to honk but then I just watched it, all the different cars and graffiti. It hit me that my dad wasn't just killing time, he was taking a minute to watch something big and simple do its job in a world that feels so messy. Has anyone else had a moment like that with something a parent always did?

Just cut my 1,000th brisket flat for burnt ends... that number hit me

I was cleaning up after a big weekend order and counted the tickets in my book. I've been doing burnt ends for about three years now, but seeing that exact 1,000 mark on my tally sheet was a shock. It made me realize how much muscle memory I've built up for trimming and cubing that specific cut. I can almost do it with my eyes closed now, which is a weird feeling. Has anyone else hit a personal number like that in their shop that made them stop and think?

That one week where everyone wanted the same 90s brown lip liner

I went through three tubes of 'Spice' in four days and had to drive to the next town over to find more. Has this ever happened to you with a specific product blowing up out of nowhere?

Tried a new way to hold my clippers and my hand feels way better

I saw a video from a barber in Chicago where he held his clippers with just his thumb and two fingers, not his whole hand. I tried it for a full day of cuts last week and my wrist didn't hurt at all by the end, which is a first for me. I think it forces you to use your arm more than your wrist for the motion. Has anyone else changed up their grip and had it help with pain?