Read somewhere that the guy who wrote those early Expanse books actually worked with George R.R. Martin back in the day, so that explains why season 3 gets so bogged down in political squabbling and slow-burn tension. But season 4 is a total shift, it basically becomes a frontier survival story with all these settlers fighting over a new planet. The whole "we gotta figure out how to live here" angle is way more straightforward and keeps things moving at a good clip. Plus the bad guys in season 4 are more immediate, like that religious nutjob trying to start a war with the Belters. Definitely worth pushing through the slog for.

Huh, that's a good catch. You think the switch to the redder bark is mostly about people using less pepper or changing how they trim the fat cap?

Read a tip somewhere from a drywall crew out in Vegas that deals with this all the time. They said to mix in some ice water instead of room temp water, keeps the mud cooler longer so it doesn't set up as fast. Also heard you can add a tiny splash of dish soap to slow down the drying time, just a drop or two per pan though or it gets too slippery. Phoenix heat is no joke for mud work, I bet the garage was like an oven. Might be worth trying a bag of all purpose instead of lightweight too, I heard it holds moisture better in dry climates.

Have you considered how the noise level changes with propane versus solid fuel? That's something I don't see people talk about much. With coal you get that constant crackling and the blower humming, but a propane forge is almost silent except for the gas hissing. I switched to propane about two years ago and the quiet really changed my whole shop experience, especially since I work late nights. The other thing is humidity, propane burns cleaner and drier, which matters more than I thought for certain techniques like pattern welding. Your mileage may vary on this, but for me the lower noise and cleaner burning made the switch totally worth it.

Four of my riding buddies have had this happen over the years, and two of them ended up with broken collarbones from it. First thing I do before any ride is flip the bike over and give each wheel a hard tug sideways and forward to make sure it's actually locked in. Some quick releases will look tight but if the skewer isn't seated properly in the dropouts it can still pop off with the first big bump. Also a lot of people don't know that you should always have the lever facing backwards on the front wheel and forwards on the rear so it can't catch on stuff and open.