Oof, that's brutal. Just a small thing, but it wasn't really plastic wrapped around wires. Those cheap cable locks are almost always just a plastic coating over a single, thin braided steel cable. It looks thick, but it's one cut with bolt cutters and it's done. A proper U-lock has a solid hardened steel shackle. It's a totally different level of security. That single cable is basically just a polite suggestion.

My fence picket project ended up looking like a sad beaver attack, but @caseyflores is right about that aged look.

Ever mark your tape with a sharpie for the right height? Saves my butt now.

That condo job in Seattle actually made me change my whole setup. I stopped using those big box fans because they just move the bad air around. I bought a small HEPA air scrubber for about three hundred bucks, and it pulls the fumes right out of the room. You can rent them too, but it's the only thing that actually clears the smell instead of just spreading it through the house.

My uncle was a cabinet maker and taught me to scribe with a block of wood and a pencil. There was a real art to it, watching the line form against the wall. I still do it sometimes on small jobs just for the peace of it. The new tools are amazing and save so much time, no argument there. But that old quiet focus is a different kind of skill. It feels like you're really connecting the material to the space.