Vent: I had to pick between a viral audio clip and a quiet video for a post last Tuesday.

My buddy sent me a clip of a song that was blowing up, but I wanted to post a video of my dog just being calm. I went with the quiet video because the audio felt too forced. It got about half the views my usual stuff does, but the comments were way nicer. Anyone else skip a trend lately and feel okay about it?

Can we talk about the 'artisan' label at craft fairs

I heard a guy at the Springfield market say 'if it holds an edge, it's a tool, not art,' which made me think about whether we're pricing simple forged items too high just for the story.

I bought a 'viral' comment analysis tool for $300 and it just highlights swear words

My professor told me to ignore the hype around small language models.

He said they were just a fad and to focus on the big players. That was a year ago, and now I'm seeing them power everything from my phone's assistant to a new customer service bot in my town. Anyone else get advice that aged poorly with how fast things move?

Showerthought: A client's comment about her wedding photos made me see my work differently

She said, 'I didn't realize how much my hair color faded in the sun until I saw these pictures from last summer.' Now I'm adding a specific sun exposure warning to my color aftercare sheet. Do you guys mention sun protection during consultations?

Thought my new deck stain was dry after 8 hours... a bird proved me wrong.

Appreciation post: My old spray gun clogged on a big job last week

I was putting the final coat on a maple dresser and the tip just gummed up with finish. I had to stop, clean everything with lacquer thinner, and start over, which added two hours. Anyone have a good trick for keeping shellac from setting up in the gun so fast?

TIL a trick for stuck washing machine pumps from a hotel maintenance guy in St. Louis

I was fixing a commercial washer at a hotel there last week, and their head maintenance guy showed me his method. He keeps a 1/4 inch drive socket extension in his kit just for tapping the pump housing a few times before trying to remove it. He said the vibration from a few light taps with the metal bar almost always breaks the seal on a stuck impeller without risking damage. Has anyone else tried this, or do you have a different go-to trick for those stubborn pumps?

Started putting 30% of every check in a separate account for taxes, and it changed my whole year

For my first two years freelancing, I'd just guess at my tax bill and get a nasty surprise every April. This January, I opened a new checking account and set up an auto-transfer for 30% of every single payment that hits my main account. Over the last quarter, I've already got over $4,200 sitting there, ready for the IRS. It doesn't feel like my money anymore, so I don't spend it. Has anyone found a different percentage that works better for them, or a different system?

Overheard a guy at the grocery store say he'd never buy a whole chicken

Honestly, he said it was too much work, but breaking one down myself saves me like $8 a week. Anyone got other cheap cuts that are worth the extra prep time?