Vent: My entire field sample from the Cascade foothills got soaked in a surprise downpour last Tuesday.

The rain ruined my notes and turned the shale I was collecting into a muddy mess... has anyone else had a day that bad and managed to salvage anything?

Hot take: I spent $80 on a Blu-ray box set for an anime I ended up hating, just because the forum hype was so loud.

Tried learning Python with a book first, then switched to Codecademy's free course

I spent about two months trying to get through a big textbook, but I kept getting stuck on the examples and couldn't figure out how to apply it. I switched to the free Python 3 course on Codecademy last week and the interactive exercises where you type code right away made everything click so much faster. Has anyone else found that a hands-on platform worked better for them than just reading?

Warning: a bad crimp on a 737's main radio antenna almost cost me a whole day in Dallas

I was doing a routine check on a 737-800 in Dallas last month and the VHF comms kept dropping. Traced it back to a coax connector in the tail section that someone had crimped with the wrong tool, leaving a tiny gap. Had to re-run the whole cable, which took about 4 hours in that tight space. Anyone else run into a simple connector causing a huge headache?

Serious question, has anyone else tried that 'pre-ride checklist' from the Ontario safety course?

I always thought it was just busywork, but after my chain snapped near Sudbury last month, I realized I'd skipped checking the master link. Anyone have a shorter version that actually works?

My trusty rice cooker gave up the ghost last Tuesday

I was halfway through making a simple chicken and rice bowl when it just stopped heating. The pot was full of half-cooked rice and raw chicken, which was a real problem at 7 PM. I had to dump it all into a big skillet and finish it on the stove, which took twice as long. Anyone have a good, simple one-pot skillet recipe that doesn't rely on a rice cooker?