Saw a pitmaster say 'no sauce is cheating' - got me thinking about how we judge BBQ

I was at a competition in Austin last Saturday and overheard one of the judges tell a guy that using any sauce on ribs is basically hiding mistakes. That got under my skin lol. On one side, I get that if your meat is cooked perfect and has a good smoke ring, you shouldn't need to cover it up with sweet sticky stuff. But on the other hand, I've been to places like Franklin's and they serve sauce on the side, and nobody calls them cheaters. I've personally ruined a brisket by oversaucing and hiding the fact that I pulled it off too early. But I've also had dry pork shoulder that a good vinegar sauce saved for me. So where's the line? Is a dry rub and a mop sauce different from slathering on something thick at the end? Has anyone else here had a judge or a buddy call them out for using too much sauce? What do you all think about saucing being a crutch versus just part of the flavor?

Found a weird trick for my morning routine that actually works

I spent months trying to wake up earlier with alarms and apps but nothing stuck. Then I started leaving my bedroom curtains open a crack and the sunrise wakes me up naturally before my alarm even goes off now. Has anyone else found a dumb simple fix like this that beat all the fancy planning?

Stopped by a used bookstore in Austin and noticed something odd

I popped into this little place on South Congress last Saturday and saw three copies of the same bestseller from 2019, all with the same note scribbled in the margins. The notes disagreed with each other on page 47 about the main character's motive. Has anyone else found books with previous reader arguments written in them?

Hot take: I stopped using those cheap glue-on shoes after a 3-month trial in Kentucky

Back in February I put a set of budget glue-ons on a client's gelding to save them money. Fast forward to last week and those shoes were barely holding on, hoof wall was chipped and the glue was peeling off in chunks. Switched back to a mid-range brand and after just two weeks the difference in adhesion and hoof health is night and day. Has anyone else had better luck with a specific glue-on brand that doesn't break the bank?

Just crossed 1000 hours in Krita and finally get why people rave about the brush stabilizer

Hit 1000 hours on my Krita timer this morning, and it took me until about hour 600 to really dial in the brush smoothing settings for line art. Anyone else find that the default stabilizer settings make your strokes feel sluggish instead of smooth?

That one guy on Reddit was right about fluoride filters

I used to think water filters were a waste of money, straight up. Been drinking tap water my whole life in Austin and felt fine. But someone over on this sub named u/chem_dude49 posted about how fluoride buildup can mess with your pineal gland over time. I figured it was just another health scare thing. Last month I bought a $40 Berkey filter off Craigslist after my buddy swore by his for 2 years. I tested my tap water with a fluoride test strip from Amazon and it showed 1.2 ppm, which is higher than the CDC recommends for kids. Now I run everything through the filter and I swear my headaches dropped off by like 80% in 3 weeks. Has anyone else here actually tested their local water or just trust what the city says?

Started doing weekly spreads in pencil first before ink and it totally changed how I lay things out

Used to just go straight in with my favorite pen but after one too many smudged erasures last month I tried mapping everything out lightly in pencil and now I actually leave room for the stuff that comes up midweek instead of cramming it in the margins, anyone else switch up their process like that for a simple reason?

Back in 2012, a pump failure on the 'Mississippi Queen' near Baton Rouge made me rethink my whole maintenance schedule.

My neighbor painted his house a color that makes it look like a giant pumpkin

He went with this bright orange shade, said it was 'sunset glow' from the hardware store, but now the whole street calls it the pumpkin house. I tried to gently suggest a trim color to tone it down, but he just added dark green shutters, which honestly made it worse. Does anyone know a good way to talk to someone about a paint choice that's, well, a lot?

Heard a neighbor in Phoenix talk about his container home's insulation fail

I was grabbing coffee this morning and overheard a guy at the next table telling his buddy about his container build. He said he used basic fiberglass batts and his summer power bill hit over $400 a month. The metal just conducted all that Arizona heat right through. It made me realize how critical a continuous thermal break is with these things, not just stuffing the walls. Has anyone here used spray foam or rock wool in a hot climate and seen a real difference?