Trying to build a simple planter box turned into a three day mess

Last Tuesday I decided to make a 2 foot by 4 foot cedar planter for my patio. I measured wrong on the first cut, so I had to go back to the hardware store for more wood. Then I used the wrong type of exterior screw and split half the boards. Has anyone else had a simple project spiral like this? What's your best tip for getting back on track?

Hot take: My friend in the Denver book club argued that 'The Great Gatsby' is a shallow story about rich people.

She said it over coffee after our meeting, claiming the characters lack real depth beyond their wealth. Has anyone else had to defend a classic book's themes from a hot take like that?

PSA: My $400 digital angle gauge was a total game changer for installs

I used to fight with my old magnetic level and a speed square for every single cabinet setup, especially on floors that were not flat. Bought a Wixey digital gauge last year and it cut my install time on a big kitchen job in half because I could get perfect reveals and shim points in seconds. Anyone have a different brand they like better for this kind of work?

My entire weekly spread bled through the page after I switched to a new fountain pen ink, a 'permanent' black one called Platinum Carbon Black.

I had to carefully cut out the ruined pages and glue in new ones, which took me over an hour last Sunday, so what's a truly bulletproof ink that won't wreck my Leuchtturm notebook?

My friend's comic shop versus the big chain store downtown

I started going to a local shop called 'The Panel' instead of the big store in the mall. The owner at The Panel remembered my name after two visits and actually talked to me about what I was reading. Do you think that personal touch is what makes a shop worth supporting?

Spent $450 on a ground penetrating radar rental for a dig site and it showed a clear void, but some say it's a waste versus old school test pits.

I'm arguing the tech saved us weeks of digging in the wrong spot, while my partner says the cost wasn't justified for what might just be an old animal burrow.

That week in July where every single post hole turned into a rock fight

Honestly, a job in Boulder last summer had us hitting granite after 8 inches on every hole, and my crew spent three days straight just on the digging, which completely blew our schedule and budget.

TIL my old 20-degree bag is a furnace now compared to my friend's new 30-degree one

We camped at Lake Tahoe last week and I was sweating while she was freezing, so I guess the old rating system is just a suggestion. Anyone else find modern temp ratings way less accurate than gear from a decade ago?

Tried a 'write what you know' prompt about my accounting job and accidentally wrote a horror story about a haunted spreadsheet.

Saw a clever use of native grasses in a display at the Denver Botanic Gardens

They mixed blue grama and little bluestem with sunflowers, which held up way better than filler fern in the dry heat. Anyone have other drought-tolerant combos that work for arrangements?