Ep 123: Florence & The Mahogany

The crew starts off talking about Florence and the Machine and how Dog Days Are Over was that one massive hit that everyone has heard but might not realize who sings it which leads to some fun nostalgia about early 2010s music

Jess shares an incredible story about a Mexican TikToker who started with just 700 dollars in his pocket living in his car and now travels to all 50 states reviewing tacos and burritos with his cousin while helping small businesses by buying hundreds of tacos and creating massive community events with DJs and thousands of people showing up for free food

The breakfast food debate gets serious as Jess reveals that breakfast is his absolute favorite meal and he could eat breakfast foods from any country for every single meal especially American country breakfast which sparks a deep dive into everyone's perfect breakfast setup

Colton breaks down his ultimate breakfast bowl on the Blackstone griddle starting with crispy hash browns as the base then adding over easy eggs bacon and sausage with shredded cheese and Cholula hot sauce on top because griddle cooked bacon just hits different than any other cooking method

The guys discover Krusteaz sweet cream pancakes which are apparently the best add water pancake mix you can buy and Colton explains his technique of pouring the batter directly onto a pat of butter on the griddle to create these amazing thick pancakes that are almost like fat crepes

Discussion shifts to thermally modified wood and Shou Sugi Ban which is that Japanese technique of charring wood to make it last forever by crystallizing the sugars so bugs cannot get in and it turns out people in countries without money have been doing similar preservation techniques for centuries

Colton brings up his fence building plans and the debate between using pressure treated four by fours versus landscape timbers or trying the Shou Sugi Ban method with Jess strongly advocating that you should just spend the money on pressure treated lumber because it will last forever and save you from having to rebuild

The conversation gets into the new foam method for setting fence posts where you dig a bell shaped hole and pour expanding foam around the post instead of concrete and it sets in just minutes instead of waiting for concrete to cure plus it keeps moisture off the post better

Jess explains that the foam technique is way faster because you can set a post every five minutes and move on without waiting for concrete to dry and it is somewhat porous but better than concrete for keeping water away from the wood which is what causes rot over time

Ross wraps things up with an important safety reminder about always working smarter not harder in the shop and thinking about the safest way to accomplish heavy lifting tasks like moving a massive butcher block by using equipment that is actually designed for lifting heavy objects