I was at a friend's place in Portland and they had this whole wall of floating shelves they built with just a 2x4 and some pipe flanges.

Overheard a couple arguing about a $40 airport taxi in Barcelona

They were at the baggage claim, and one was mad they didn't book a transfer ahead of time. I always just take the Aerobus for 6 euros. It goes right to Plaça Catalunya. Made me realize how many people just grab the first expensive option they see. What's your go-to move from the airport to save cash?

My neighbor's oak tree made me see cabling differently

I was helping my neighbor in Portland look at her big oak after a storm, and she said, 'It's stood for 80 years, why fight it now?' I always pushed for heavy cabling on mature trees like that. But she pointed out a huge, healthy limb that had grown around an old cable, basically swallowing it. It hit different because I saw the tree had already fixed its own weak spot. Now I'm rethinking when a cable is really needed versus just letting a tough old tree do its thing. Has anyone else backed off on cabling after seeing how a tree adapted?

TIL most people think topping a tree is a good way to control its size

I just did a job in Springfield where the homeowner was mad because his topped maple grew back even thicker. He said the last guy told him it was the only way to keep it from hitting the roof. I had to explain that topping is just bad tree care. It creates a ton of weak, fast-growing shoots that are more likely to break. It also stresses the tree and opens it up to disease. A proper crown reduction or thinning would have cost about the same and kept the tree healthy. I see this at least once a month. How do we get people to stop asking for this?

Showerthought: I just found out how much food waste adds to climate change

I was reading a report from the UN and saw that if food waste were a country, it would be the third biggest source of greenhouse gases after the US and China. That fact really hit me, especially since I throw out old veggies every week. It made me look at my own kitchen habits differently. I started a small compost bin in my backyard last month to help. Has anyone else tried cutting down their food waste and noticed a difference?

Appreciation post: I spent 6 hours last night trying to get a single kettle stitch to lay flat on a leather journal

I know everyone says to just use more glue and press it longer, but after three attempts with different weights and drying times, the solution was actually to slightly pare down the leather at the spine before sewing.

A guy at the repair meetup in Austin said 'sometimes the fix is just cleaning the ground' and it stuck with me

Update: I've been quenching my leaf springs wrong for years

I was making a set of kitchen knives from old truck springs and kept getting hairline cracks along the edge. A guy at the local guild meet in Springfield watched me quench one and just said, 'You're putting it in the oil too hot, you can see the steam flash.' I never let the steel cool enough after forging before the quench. Has anyone else had this happen with 5160? What's your soak time before the oil bath?