Honestly took me way too long to figure that one out too. I had this old Griswold pan that just always had a weird film on it no matter how much I scrubbed with salt and water. Finally broke down and used soap one day and it was like the pan woke up from a nap. The seasoning was way more even after that and the pan actually started getting that dark black color instead of that patchy brown look. Ngl I think grandmas meant well but they were working with way harsher lye based soaps back then that actually would strip it. Modern dish soap is totally fine as long as you dry it on the stove after and hit it with a tiny drop of oil.

Three times on that bend test? Man, I would've thrown my hood across the shop after the second fail. My buddy Mike had a similar thing with a 6G certification for a pipeline job - he kept burning through his 6010 root on the bottom side because he was trying to run too hot. A 30-year vet named Frank just walked over, turned his machine down to 75 amps, and told him to "let the rod do the work." Mike still talks about that guy like he's a saint. Glad you got it sorted, even if it cost you some fingernails.

and honestly man you got lucky. that neighborhood was a dead zone for a reason. bill probably saw 20 other guys try the same thing and lose their shirts. the whole "buy low in the hood" thing works about 5% of the time and the other 95% you end up with a building full of squatters and a tax lien. you hit a perfect timing window with the brewery craze but that could have gone south real fast if the market shifted even a year later.

Man that's a solid milestone right there. I get it, I've been keeping a rough tally myself but never actually added it all up until I hit a round number like that. It's kinda wild when you step back and think about how many stops and miles that represents. Feels good to see the work add up to something real, even if nobody else notices but you.

Wait til you notice how many cracks are in the sidewalk you walk every day. @victor_jones99 your brain edits out all the boring stuff so you can function. But drawing makes you stop and actually look. It's wild how much detail we miss. I started listening to bird calls at bus stops and now I can't unhear them. The world is way more crowded with small stuff than we think.