Shoutout to my local credit union in Boise for catching a weird Zelle transfer last month

I got a text asking to confirm a $1,200 payment to someone I'd never heard of... they flagged it and froze everything before I even replied. Has your bank ever stopped a scam for you like that?

Pro tip: a messy client folder in a Phoenix coffee shop taught me about file retention

Was sorting through a box of old client paperwork at a table in the back. Found a signed contract from 2012 for a project that had a dispute pop up last year. Having that physical copy saved us because their digital records were corrupted. How long do you all actually keep old client files now?

Heard a rumor about quenching in used motor oil to save cash. Tried it on a small knife blank and the results were a disaster.

Showerthought: My kombucha scoby looks exactly like a weird pancake I left in the fridge for 3 months.

I think people get freaked out by the texture and toss it, but that's the whole point of the fermentation station. Anyone have a good name for their scoby?

My old Instagram posts from 2018 get more likes now than they did back then

I posted a picture of my dog at the local park six years ago and it got maybe 20 likes. I used the same hashtags last week on a new post, and that old picture suddenly got 15 more likes in two days. The app must be pushing old content to new people now, which is a big change from when things just disappeared after a day. Has anyone else seen their really old stuff get a second life like this?

I tried using a free online template for a client contract versus having a lawyer draft one from scratch

For my first few agency clients, I used a generic contract I found online for free. It seemed fine until a project went sideways last fall and the client tried to get out of paying for work we had already done. The free template didn't have clear enough terms about kill fees or scope changes. After that, I paid a local lawyer $800 to make a custom contract for my shop. The difference is night and day, especially the part that defines 'deliverables' and what happens if the client wants to stop the project early. Has anyone else had a bad experience with a free template that made them switch to a real legal document?

Had to choose between a trowel and a brush for a delicate feature yesterday

I was working on exposing a small, fragile ceramic piece at a dig near Flagstaff and went with a soft sable brush. It took about 20 minutes of careful work, but it kept the surface intact perfectly. Anyone have a go-to tool for super fragile finds like that?

TIL to stop using a 1.5 guard on the sides after a guy in my chair said it felt like a lawnmower.

He told me his last barber used a 1 and blended up, so I tried it and the fade was way smoother, so what's your go-to guard for a tight taper?

Choosing between a solid wood and a laminate countertop for the kitchen redo

When we redid our kitchen two years back, I had to pick between a solid maple butcher block and a basic laminate top. The laminate was about $400 for the whole run, but the wood was closer to $900. I went with the maple, thinking it would age nicely with some character. It's held up okay, but I'm sanding and oiling it every six months to keep it from looking rough. Anyone have a laminate counter that's actually lasted a decent while without looking terrible?

This meme about 'the algorithm' from 2020 looks totally different now.

Back then it was just a funny robot. Now the comments are full of people saying it's evil. What changed in four years?