A chat with an old hand on the dock about silt and patience

I was grumbling about a zero-vis job in Mobile Bay last month, just wanting to get it done. This retired diver, Frank, leaned over and said, 'Kid, the silt isn't your enemy, it's your clock. You can't rush a clock.' For some reason that stuck with me more than any gear talk. I've been moving slower on the murky jobs since, and my air lasts longer. Anyone else have a simple piece of advice that just clicked for them later?

My brother swore by this one brand of duct tape for years, said it could hold up a car door.

I finally tried it to fix a mailbox post after a storm, and the thing fell over in 20 minutes. What's a brand you've been let down by after hearing nothing but hype?

For years I thought my sourdough was fine, then my friend in Phoenix said 'It tastes like you're mad at it.'