Picked a book about a guy building a boat for our club and it split us down the middle

Our group in Austin voted on 'The River Why' for this month. I thought a fishing story would be a nice change. Half of us loved the quiet, thoughtful parts about nature. The other half got bored and called it slow. One member, Jen, flat out said 'I kept waiting for something to happen.' It made me wonder if a book needs a clear plot to work for everyone. How do you pick something that keeps a whole club hooked?

Just switched from a 6-inch to an 8-inch cutterhead on my suction dredge for a river job near Pittsburgh.

The 8-inch head moved almost double the material in the same time, cutting my project schedule by a full week, so what's the biggest upgrade you've made to your setup that paid off?

Changed my mind about using a heat gun on old TV boards

A tech in Tampa showed me how the localized heat can warp the fiberglass substrate, which explained my 40% failure rate on certain Sony models. Anyone have a better method for stubborn BGA rework on those?

Shoutout to the smithy at the Living History Museum in Williamsburg, I used to think coal was just coal

I was there last weekend and got to watch them work for a good hour. The smith was using this super clean, dense anthracite, and the fire was so much more steady and hot than the bituminous stuff I usually get from the local supplier. He said it burns cleaner with less smoke and clinker, which honestly, I never really considered. I've always just bought whatever bag was cheapest. Has anyone else made a switch like that and noticed a real difference in their forge work? I'm thinking of hunting down a source, even if it costs a bit more.

Met a guy at a game cafe who only plays games from 1995 or earlier

He was at a table in the back of The Rook in Cincinnati, setting up a copy of El Grande from 1995. He told me, 'Modern games are just reprints of old ideas with nicer art.' It made me wonder how many other people have a strict cutoff year for their collection?

I finally switched from a cheap $20 fitness tracker to a proper watch, and the difference is insane.

Used that basic band for like 8 months. It was fine for steps, but the heart rate was always way off during workouts, and the sleep tracking was just a guess. Upgraded to a Garmin last week. The before and after on the data is wild. The old one said I slept 7 hours, the new one shows I was actually awake for 45 minutes of that. My running pace is way more accurate now too. Makes me wonder how many people are making decisions based on junk data from budget gear. Anyone else have a gadget that totally misled them before you upgraded?

Why I never buy broth anymore, my scrap bag does it better.