TIL a huge chunk of fence posts rot at ground level because of a capillary effect I never knew about.

Read it in an old agricultural extension bulletin from Iowa State, says moisture wicks up wood like a straw. Anyone else run into this and have a good fix besides just using metal posts?

I bought a $50 'ultralight' camp chair that broke on its first trip

Got the Trekker Ultralite from an online ad, and the leg snapped when I leaned back at a campsite near Bend. It was just cheap plastic joints under the fabric. What's a good sturdy chair that won't fall apart?

Tried a new creosote remover from a supply house in Omaha and it actually made the buildup worse.

It was a gel formula that hardened into a crust instead of breaking down, took me an extra hour to chip out. Anyone run into a product that backfired like that?

A friend in Lisbon said my packing list was a waste of space

They saw my bag and said, 'Why are you bringing three pairs of jeans to a hot city?' I swapped them for one pair and two light pants, saving a ton of room and weight. What's one thing you packed that you now leave at home?

Had a customer today who insisted our return policy was 'illegal' because they missed the 30 day window.

They yelled at me for fifteen minutes straight, saying I was personally stealing from them. It hit different because my manager backed me up for once and told them to leave. Anyone else had a boss actually stand their ground?

That fancy new magnesium float cracked on me during a pour in Phoenix last Tuesday

We were finishing a 30 yard driveway slab, about three hours into the job. I went to make a pass and heard a loud snap. The handle had cracked right at the blade connection, leaving a sharp piece of metal sticking out. I had to stop everything, grab my backup aluminum float, and finish the section by hand. Has anyone else had a magnesium tool fail like that under normal heat? I thought they were supposed to be tough.

My old house had a door that would not stay closed without a fight.

The latch plate was just a bit too high, so the bolt would not catch right. Instead of moving the whole plate, I tried a trick from a guy at the hardware store. I used a metal file to shave down the top edge of the strike plate hole by about an eighth of an inch. It took maybe ten minutes and the door clicked shut perfectly. Has anyone else fixed a sticky door with a simple file job instead of a full remount?

Rushing my fence stain job led to streaks. How can I fix this without starting over?

Update: My cabbage soup diet saga from college

I tried the cabbage soup diet during my freshman year of college. It promised quick weight loss by eating mostly cabbage soup for a week. I followed it strictly, eating bowl after bowl of that bland soup. By day two, I was already sick of the taste and feeling weak. I lasted four days before I broke down and ate a pizza with my roommates. That experience showed me that diets that cut out too much just don't last. Now, I focus on eating more veggies and less junk, without strict rules. What do you think about these old diet trends?

Debate in my coworking space: are freelance platforms a step up or a step down?

Some freelancers find platforms easy for client hunting, but others think they lower the value of our work, so where do you stand?