Tried a new way to hang a pork leg for curing and it worked way better

I was setting up a prosciutto-style ham in my shop's cold room and used a heavy-duty butcher's gambrel instead of just a hook. The gambrel kept the leg spread open and let air move around the whole thing. After a month, the meat is drying way more even and I'm not seeing any of the usual damp spots near the bone. Has anyone else tried this method for long cures?

I changed my mind about asking for help after a plumbing disaster

Last Thursday in my kitchen, I tried to fix a leaky faucet myself to save the $150 service call. I turned the water off at the main, but I didn't realize the shutoff valve was old and stuck. When I forced it, the whole valve snapped, spraying water everywhere for a solid minute before I could get to the street shutoff. I ended up calling a plumber anyway, and the total bill was $400 for the emergency visit and the broken valve. Has anyone else had a simple DIY fix turn into a much bigger, more expensive problem?

I finally gave 'The Bear' a shot after all the hype and I'm not seeing it

I mean, everyone from my friends to my Twitter feed has been telling me to watch it for a solid year. I binged the whole first season last weekend, and idk, maybe it's just me but I found it super stressful to watch. The constant yelling in the kitchen and the shaky camera gave me a headache by episode three. I learned that a show can be critically loved and still just not be for you at all. Has anyone else felt this way about a show everyone else seems to adore?

Just realized my corner bead work was getting roasted on a job site walkthrough

The GC in Fort Worth pointed out my 20-foot run had a visible hump and said, 'You're relying on mud to fix a framing problem,' so I now spend an extra 30 minutes with a level and shims before I even touch a sheet.

My slow cooker gave out right before a big batch of chili

It happened last Thursday night, just as I was about to start a double recipe to freeze. The old thing just stopped heating up, and I had all the beans and meat ready to go. I ended up having to use my biggest pot on the stove for over two hours, which really ran up my gas bill. Has anyone else had a main kitchen tool break and found a good, low cost way to fix it or replace it?

My word count hit 100,000 and I realized my main character has no job

I was celebrating finishing the first draft of my fantasy novel when I checked the stats. The file said 100,042 words, which felt huge. Then it hit me: my hero has been on this quest for six months in the story, but I never gave him a way to pay for food or a place to sleep. He's just been wandering around, and I wrote it all without noticing. Has anyone else missed something this basic for that long?

My book club buddy told me to skip the last 50 pages of 'The Goldfinch'

We read Donna Tartt's book for our group in April. I was about 700 pages in and getting tired of the main character's choices. My friend Mark, who had read it before, said, 'Just stop at page 754, trust me. The ending drags and won't change your view.' I took his advice and skipped to the final chapter. At our meeting, the eight people who finished it were all mad about the drawn-out ending in Las Vegas and the philosophical wrap-up. I was the only one not frustrated. Mark was right, the plot was basically over, and those extra pages just rehashed things. It made for a better debate because I could focus on the core story. Has anyone else gotten a tip like that which saved a reading experience?

Vent: Found a snake in a crawlspace near Atlanta, and it wasn't the cable.

It was coiled right on the main line I needed to trace, so I had to back out and call animal control. Anyone have a good, safe way to check a dark space before going in?

In my area, DIY drywall jobs are piling up on my repair list

I see cracked seams every day from people rushing the drying time. What's the hurry when a proper job lasts so much longer?

PSA: I always hated how close my boss watched my work, but when I messed up a client order, that extra check saved my job.