Found out the average fashion designer owns 47 white t-shirts

I saw this stat in a Vogue article from 2022 and now I'm counting mine in the closet... I'm at 32, how many do you have hiding in your drawers?

That talk with my dad about his old 1950s bull float made me realize how much we traded feel for speed.

He said 'you kids never learned to read the concrete' and I couldn't argue because I've been using power floats and mix additives for 15 years now, so has anyone else gotten that kind of reality check from an older hand?

Vent: my brand new belt sander died after 20 minutes of use

Picked up a new belt sander from Home Depot last Saturday to refinish a pine table in my garage. Got through sanding one leg and the motor started smoking and just quit. Took it back Sunday and the guy at the counter said I wasn't the first person that week with that same model. Anyone else had a tool fail right out of the box like that?

Found the exact law that forces late payment interest in my state

I dug through my state's business code last night and found a statute that lets me charge 1.5% monthly interest on invoices over 30 days past due. Has anyone else actually used one of these laws to get a slow payer to finally send a check?

Tried planting mint directly in the ground instead of a pot last spring - huge mistake

Thought I was being clever by saving $12 on a container. Now mint is taking over half my raised beds and my wife's tomato plants are drowning in it. Anyone else got a plant they wish they'd kept confined?

I finally got that sourdough starter to cooperate after 3 tries

My neighbor Linda came over last Saturday and saw my sad flat loaf, then just quietly said 'your water's too chlorinated' and left me a jar of her filtered water. Has anyone else had a random tip from a stranger totally change their bake?

Spilled a whole bucket of peonies at a wedding in Omaha, now I never carry more than 10 stems at a time

A lawyer friend told me to always include a kill fee in my contracts... he was right

Last spring I was working with a small startup in Austin on a website design. The client seemed great at first, super responsive. But about 3 weeks in they just stopped answering emails and calls. I was already 15 hours deep into the work, maybe $1,200 worth of my time. I had a standard contract but no kill fee clause. So I was stuck with no payment and no way to get it. My lawyer buddy Mark had warned me about this exact situation over coffee at Thunderbird. He said a kill fee protects you when a project dies halfway through. Now I put a 50% kill fee in every contract for design work under $5,000. Has anyone else learned this the hard way or found a good way to word it?

Debate: should a book club read the movie adaptation before or after the original book?

My book club is split right down the middle on this. Half of us think you read the book first so you can form your own opinions without the movie coloring things. The other half says watch the movie first because it's shorter and gets everyone on the same page quicker, then the book adds depth. We tried it both ways now and I'm still not sure which works better. What do you all do in your clubs?

My steamer died mid-shift yesterday and I had to improvise with a hot towel cabinet

Right in the middle of extractions on a Saturday. Client had congested pores and I'm standing there with a lukewarm towel wondering what to do. Had to switch to a double towel method and use my hands more. Took twice as long and my wrists are killing me today. Anyone else had their equipment fail at the worst possible moment and had to think on their feet?