Remember when my buddy tried to use his phone's measuring app to lay out a deck. He spent an hour fighting with it, holding it just right. I finally tossed him my old tape measure and he had the lines marked in five minutes. Sometimes the simple tool you know how to use beats the fancy one that needs perfect conditions. It's like that with string versus laser, you work with what gets the job done right. His deck turned out great, by the way, all square.

Read how things from our past look strange buried, causing mix-ups.