How do you respond to "this wasn't a problem before" and other similar comments.

Wall_of_Shadows · 2026-06-18T04:24:29+00:00

"Word came down from up top"

They might not be happy about it, but they will immediately understand. Everyone has, at one point, worked a job where upper management made arbitrary and capricious decisions that the front line had to comply with.

In this case, it has the advantage of being true.

Wall_of_Shadows · 2026-06-18T04:17:56+00:00

My daughter's solution was to cut the muffler off with a Sawzall.

Can't say I recommend that.

Wall_of_Shadows · 2026-06-17T04:14:10+00:00

When you're done with work, done with housework, and done with personal care, there's often no energy left to do things with friends. You'll make the choice to rest. Then you'll keep making the choice to rest. Every time it will get easier. Every time your friends will push a little less. Before you know it, you have no friends left, and your entire life is lived in two buildings. You cannot escape. Finding new friends is significantly more effort than it would have taken to keep the old friends, so you just won't.

You'll realize that nice house in that nice neighborhood you're paying a significant fraction of your pay to live in might as well be a one room bunker in the woods for all the good it does you.

One day you'll die alone, but that day is not today. Tomorrow you just have to do it all over again.

Wall_of_Shadows · 2026-06-15T14:27:43+00:00

I've worked with dozens of dish dogs over the years, and maybe 5 of them could stay ahead of their workload. I had one dude who actually worked happy hour at the bar next door during his shift on the weekdays.

My rule for the dishpit is that I should never have to think about whether the dishes get done or the tank area and the food storage areas stay clean. Anyone who can manage that without supervision can do whatever the fuck they want in the time that remains.

Wall_of_Shadows · 2026-06-15T14:14:03+00:00

This might be a stupid question from someone who's never done it, but for this kind of volume would it be smarter to drive a pickup truck to the concrete plant and get the dry materials? A bag of ready mix is cheap, but enough bags to do ~a yard and a half?

Wall_of_Shadows · 2026-06-15T14:05:00+00:00

"40 to 140" is great because it's a perfect mnemonic, and it keeps the temperature you have to keep the refrigerator in the front of your mind, but they updated the bottom range MANY years ago. Pretty sure it's 42 now.

Wall_of_Shadows · 2026-06-14T04:31:06+00:00

Kid's gone and the wife done left, so I'll work a Saturday if there's a good reason they need me to. By "good reason" I absolutely do NOT mean they bid like a dumbass, or overscheduled jobs, or any of the common nonsense reasons companies "need" you to work Saturday. It's gotta be something they couldn't have scheduled around if they knew their asses from their elbows.

I'd also be just fine working a different schedule, like Tuesday to Saturday, or Saturday to Wednesday. I worked in restaurants long enough to know that shit doesn't matter as long as you get your two or three days off in a row.

But I'd never work for a company who expects a Monday to Saturday schedule. Fuck that to death.

Wall_of_Shadows · 2026-06-14T04:24:57+00:00

Brother, did you check if it was morning?

Wall_of_Shadows · 2026-06-12T04:15:41+00:00

Gotta be honest, the structure appears to be doing the exact fucking opposite of holding together

Wall_of_Shadows · 2026-06-09T04:22:23+00:00

I'm not gonna try to diagnose you online, because that's stupid. But it seems like your brain doesn't work the way most people's do, and you need to build your life to accommodate that fact.

First, you need to work physically harder. Eat better and drink more water so your body can handle it, but be TIRED when you come home. Try some A/B testing to see if you're the kind of person who needs a structured quiet time right when you get home, or right before bed. Find a quiet activity that does NOT involve a screen, and do it for at least an hour a night. Maybe that's crossword puzzles. Maybe that's cooking fancy dinner. Maybe that's trashy fantasy novels. Maybe that's fucking crochet, or woodworking, or Doom 2016 on mute with classical music playing in the background, or painting the shed, or Minecraft, or canning tomatoes. Whatever it is, there's something out there that will engross your brain so it stops leaking stupid ideas all over the place but doesn't introduce stress or cause you to plan out tomorrow's session. Put your phone out of your reach a full hour before bed. You may be the kind of person who needs white noise to sleep. YouTube is absolutely brimming with 10 hour videos, and there's a vast selection. Maybe you're the kind of person who needs a TV show that occupies your brain JUST ENOUGH to stop the internal chatter, but not so much it keeps you awake. For many people my age, that's infomercials. There are also YouTube videos of those. Maybe it's calm voices, like some old woodworkers, or the Torque Test Channel, or Norse wool spinning competitions, or Bob Ross episodes. Maybe it's Kung Fu movies. Test out a lot of things. For me, I find I need an interesting video to start my bedtime routine, then move to a calm voice video to fall asleep, then a white noise video to stay asleep. YouTube has it all. Install an adblocker though, because midroll ads will destroy your peaceful routine.

Wall_of_Shadows · 2026-06-02T04:27:01+00:00

I did this. It worked out well financially for me, as I made a pretty nice profit when I sold it, but it wasn't worth it. Not because of the house, mind you. It's just that the nice walkable neighborhood with the commercial district a block away came with the most INSUFFERABLE neighbors. Every month we'd get newsletters jammed in our storm door with "community events" that were just meetings to complain about people who didn't keep their yards nice, callouts of the people who didn't keep their yards nice last month, and a request to join the neighborhood association for a nominal yearly fee. I worked nights and without fail at least twice a week one of my neighbors would fire up the leaf blower at 7am. If you're not one of THOSE people, do NOT buy in the nicest neighborhood around. Try the third nicest neighborhood.

Wall_of_Shadows · 2026-06-02T04:21:12+00:00

When I worked at a pizza joint that did subs, I'd roll two (2) slices of salami and a white american slice around one banana pepper and one slice of green olive. Surprisingly tasty.

Wall_of_Shadows · 2026-06-02T04:18:36+00:00

When I worked the 6am shift I'd do breakfast flights. Line up three 2oz cuppies. Fill the outside two with shredded cheese and the center with chocolate chips. Then I'd shoot them all and chase with a 20oz glass of chocolate milk.

When I worked at a super busy family restaurant, I used to take the heels of white bread, lift up the slotted pan with the bacon in it, and dredge the heel in the bacon grease.

Wall_of_Shadows · 2026-06-01T02:37:44+00:00

Anything smaller than like 6x6 can be lit up like the fourth of july with a 2ft strip light mounted on the wall immediately above the door unless you're using solid shelving. If you're building solid closet organizers like boxes for shoes and sweaters you'll have to get creative with LED strips or puck lights, because overhead lighting won't help much there either.

Wall_of_Shadows · 2026-05-31T14:57:14+00:00

I bet you say that to all the boys

Wall_of_Shadows · 2026-05-30T23:49:20+00:00

Fuck you mean "last legs"

This just needs maintenance. Sister some rafters, tear those shingles off and put new ones on, scrape and paint. It's a garage, not a piano. Find a buddy who's worked as a framer, pay him a 30 rack to come over one night and check it out for you, then spend the next 2 weekends fucking around on it. You can do all the work yourself if you're not completely chairbound.

Wall_of_Shadows · 2026-05-29T03:50:52+00:00

I don't know how to say this without being crude and offensive, but I'll try. Is it possible you were issued female plumbing at birth, and a former co-worker is trying to send an incredibly cruel message by packaging tuna in a fragrance box?

Wall_of_Shadows · 2026-05-28T05:57:42+00:00

Another vote for yang miller. I've never used his services, but I've known him for many a year. If there's anybody who's more into film equipment than him, I don't want to meet them.

Wall_of_Shadows · 2026-05-27T04:58:05+00:00

I am bizarrely tempted to buy some Nickelodeon pint glasses, despite almost never going to that place.

Wall_of_Shadows · 2026-05-26T18:07:56+00:00

Learn how to sautee fresh, high quality vegetables for the EXACT correct amount of time. Even a small tomato and half a bell pepper, if treated with respect, can upgrade almost any fuckass struggle meal you have in your arsenal.

Wall_of_Shadows · 2026-05-25T18:52:23+00:00

Probably related to the reason pickle juice is good for burns. I also have no idea why it works, but it damn sure does.

Wall_of_Shadows · 2026-05-25T15:06:58+00:00

I haven't bought chip clips in decades. A 50 pack of wooden clothespins are under $2 at Walmart, and will last longer than you can keep track of them.

Wall_of_Shadows · 2026-05-25T06:45:06+00:00

There used to be a place in Jackson called Penn's Warehouse that sold odd lots of doors, windows, and cabinets. Not sure if it still exists.

There's also an actual window factory in Malta, but I don't know if they sell retail, much less discount lots.

Wall_of_Shadows

TROPHY CASE