I used to think my dad was paranoid for writing his passwords on a piece of paper in his desk drawer.

After my cousin's entire Instagram got hijacked last month from a keylogger, I realized that physical paper in a locked drawer at home is way safer than reusing the same password on five different sketchy websites. Has anyone else had a similar wake-up call about an old-school security habit?

I got my whole block to stop using leaf blowers by starting a 'loudest rake' competition.

The day a parrot in Scottsdale tried to help me install

I was laying carpet in this huge house, and the owner's African Grey kept yelling 'stretch it tighter' every time I used the knee kicker. Then it flew down, grabbed a tack strip in its beak, and waddled across the room with it. I had to bribe it with a cracker to get my supplies back. Has anyone else had a pet completely derail a job?

I just hit 100 writing prompts in my idea notebook and it feels like a weird turning point.

I started jotting down one prompt a day back in January, and now that I'm here, I'm stuck on whether to start a new project or just keep collecting them.

Had a client's server room flood from a burst pipe above the drop ceiling last Tuesday

Found my great-aunt's 'sugarless' fruitcake recipe from 1972... what a mess

I was totally skeptical of this crumbling card in her old tin, but I baked it for a family reunion. The thing was a dense, weirdly savory brick that convinced me some heirlooms are better as stories than recipes. Anyone have a family food item that just did not translate to modern tastes?

My stubborn calcite vein took 3 whole days to map right because I kept mixing it up with the quartz next to it.

I had to re-check my field notes from the Arizona site and use a fresh bottle of acid to finally be sure, so has anyone else had a simple ID turn into a huge time sink?

I mocked my coworker's ring light setup... now I won't do a meeting without mine.

Showerthought: Local broker websites got way clearer this year.

Finally figured out which fee structures to avoid, saving me a headache.

My brother changed his mind about leftover rice

I always saw my brother toss out leftover rice. Last month, I decided to show him how to use it in fried rice. We grabbed some eggs and old veggies from the fridge. He loved how easy and tasty it was. Now he saves all our rice for our weekly cook-together night. This simple trick cut our food waste and brought us closer. I'm glad a budget meal can mean more than just saving money.