My old phone's battery swelled up after I left it on a cheap wireless charger overnight

I got a generic wireless pad for about $12 last month and used it with my three year old phone. I woke up to find the back of the phone popped off and the battery puffed out. I always thought those chargers were safe if they said 'Qi', but I guess the cheap one didn't manage heat well on an older battery. Has anyone else had a gadget fail because of a budget accessory?

I thought those cheap overnight buses in Vietnam were a scam, but they saved me a ton.

I was sure the $12 sleeper bus from Da Nang to Ho Chi Minh City would be awful, but it was clean, had a flat bed, and saved me a hotel night. The company, The Sinh Tourist, was totally legit and on time. Has anyone else had a good surprise with a super cheap transport option in Asia?

Back in 2010, I kept all my property listings in a big binder and drove around with printed maps. Now it's all on my phone.

Pro tip: I see people still using broad match keywords for direct response campaigns.

I've seen a 60% drop in CPA when I switched to phrase and exact match after a test last quarter. Anyone else find broad match just burns budget without driving real conversions?

Am I the only one who had a catering gig go from a total disaster to a huge win in one day?

We lost our main protein delivery for a 200-person wedding in Asheville, but the local butcher pulled through with a last-minute special on ribeyes. What's the closest you've come to a complete kitchen meltdown that you managed to save?

Had to choose between a new sand mixer or fixing our old furnace at the Tacoma shop

The old Simpson mixer was down to 60% capacity and the main furnace needed a $15,000 rebuild. We picked the furnace fix because we couldn't risk a full meltdown during the winter rush. It worked, but now we're hand-mixing a lot of facing sand... anyone else had to make a call like that between equipment?

Serious question, I was checking a door lock on a KONE unit for years the same wrong way

It finally clicked when a new guy in our shop asked why I was using a flathead to adjust the cam instead of the 5mm hex key that comes with the kit. I had just assumed the old way was the only way. Anyone else have a basic thing they were doing wrong for a long time?

Saw a hotel lobby in Charlotte with the worst carpet seam I've ever seen

I mean, it was a nice place downtown, but the install in the main hallway was a mess. The two pieces were maybe a quarter inch off in height, and the pattern didn't line up at all. You could catch your toe on it walking by. Has anyone else run into a job that bad in a public space?

My barista in Portland told me to stop swirling my pour-over and just let it bloom, and I'm kind of shook.

My neighbor's old elm tree finally came down after the storm last month

It was leaning over my shed on San Mateo for years, and I always worried about it. The city crew showed up with a crane and had it cleared in about three hours, which was a huge relief. Has anyone else had a close call with a tree on their property around here?