OH man, you are NOT kidding about the freeze-thaw thing in Phoenix! I swear, one morning I thought my driveway was just being dramatic, then I walked out and saw a crack that looked like it was trying to evolve into the Grand Canyon. I once patched a joint in July and watched the filler practically melt and run away like it was scared of the job. That self-leveling stuff in the MORNING is the only way to go, anything else is just asking for a goopy mess that'll make you question your life choices by noon.

Had a similar thing happen with my table saw a few years back. Was ripping some oak for a bookshelf and the arbor nut just came loose and the blade wobbled right off the spindle. Took out a chunk of the throat plate and scared the living daylights out of me. That old saw was probably twenty years old and had seen better days but it always got the job done. Had to finish that project using just hand planes and a circular saw, which taught me a lot about patience but cost me a whole weekend. Sometimes I think these machines know exactly when to break down, right when you need them most.

That's fair @the_jana, but dead alternators can be dangerous on I-95 at midnight since a lot of that road has zero shoulder room. I've had a car die on the highway before and it's scary when you're coasting with no power steering and brake assist fading out. People end up stuck half on the road or blocking an exit ramp sometimes. It's not just about calling a tow truck, you gotta worry about getting rear ended while you're waiting. So yeah it's not the apocalypse, but I think calling it just "inconvenient" undersells the situation a bit lol.

Man, that's wild. Buddy of mine had one jump and it split his table in two.

Wait, calling it a "hobby" like it's something you actually enjoy doing for fun?