Appreciation post: My esthetician friend called me out on using too many products

Met up with an esthetician from Minneapolis last week and she told me I was doing too much with my facial routine, like layering 4 serums when my skin only needs 2. She explained that my barrier was getting stripped from over-exfoliation and that simple products with fewer ingredients actually work better for most clients. Anyone else had a mentor or peer change how you approach your own treatments?

Picked up a tip from an old drafter at a trade show in Cleveland last weekend

He showed me how he uses a 0.5mm mechanical pencil for all his technical drawings instead of the usual 0.7mm, and the line consistency is way better for tight details. Has anyone else found a weird pencil or tool that just clicked for their workflow?

Tried the 4-inch knife for inside corners after doing them with a 6-inch for years

Tried both a speed square and a combination square for framing

Picked the speed square after using my dad's old combo square for years and honestly I'm kicking myself for not switching sooner. Anyone else find one just clicks better than the other for certain jobs?

My kid's teacher said something about board games that got me thinking

I was at parent-teacher night last week and Mrs. Jenkins, my son's 4th grade teacher, mentioned she uses board games in class to teach teamwork. She said she has a collection of about 15 different games, from simple ones to more complex ones. It made me realize we're not just people who like games, we're a resource. I started wondering how many other teachers or community groups could use help picking games or learning the rules. Has anyone here ever volunteered to run a game night at a school or a library? I'm curious how you started.

Remembering a chat with a stranger at the old 124 Street market

I was buying honey from a local beekeeper's stall about five years ago, and the person next to me just started talking about how the market used to be half the size. They said, 'You used to know every face here on a Saturday.' That simple comment made me see our whole city's growth differently. What's a small moment from an Edmonton chat that stuck with you?

Vent: My whole anime watchlist spreadsheet got corrupted right before the new season started

I mean, it happened like two days ago. I had this Google Sheet with every show I planned to watch, color coded by genre and everything. I was adding the new spring 2024 shows when the whole file just froze and turned into gibberish. I tried the version history, but the last good save was from January, so I lost months of updates. I spent maybe three hours yesterday trying to rebuild it from memory and my browser history. It's just frustrating because I had notes on which episodes to watch next and everything. Has anyone else had a tracking system totally fail on them? What do you use now?

My 'waterproof' sleeping bag failed at 2 AM in the Oregon rain

I was at Silver Falls State Park and woke up soaked because the seams leaked. Anyone have a truly waterproof bag they swear by for heavy rain?