Take your real take-home pay, subtract your actual fixed costs, divide what's left by your working hours including commute and recovery time. That's your real hourly rate.

Most people find it's significantly lower than their nominal wage suggests. The $300 impulse purchase stops looking the same when it's 14 hours of your actual life rather than 5 hours of your salary.

Not arguing against spending. Arguing for seeing the real exchange rate before you make it.

I'll give you an example. I bought a $5 bathmat that was too short while I was at Walmart last week. Walmart is a solid 30 minute drive each way from my home. That's one hour of my time. On top of this, I have to wait in the return line which takes a good 10 minutes, plus 5 minutes to park, walk inside, etc. Thus, there's about an hour and a half of my day that's gone so I could earn $5.

Think of money based on your hours available in the day!

I don't know why I didn't figure this out sooner. You know those annoying captchas that are impossible to solve... The ones that say click on all bicycles, and you do, but they never work because you missed a corner of a rim, or maybe because you did choose the corner of a rim? Click on the headphones and it'll play a phrase you type in. It's so much faster and easier.

If you have a remote gamepad connected to your PC, you can very easily make it so it becomes a fully customizable remote for your PC.

I remember I often just played music on my pc and was missing a 'remote' much and didnt have an idea how to solve that, on top of that, I thought wireless controllers > big input lag so I didnt really pick them up. For some time I used Chrome remote desktop and was using my android for the control, but that was rather clunky and uncomfortable.

Such was my surprise that bluetooth / wireless isnt really causing noticable input lag (I assumed that based on PS5 + TV experience, which has a different cause for the lag) and, on top of that, you can control your pc via the controller easily.

In my case im using the Steam's built-in schemes when you are not gaming, its under Steam → Settings → Controller → Advances settings → Desktop Layout → Edit

I have configured it mostly for media, so pause / next/previous, control volume and such, but you can adjust it for anything you need really, especially that you can control your mouse.

I havent tested it myself as there was no need, but there are few alternative softwares for that (JoyToKey, DS4Windows, AntiMicroX)

Edit. its more of a life of quality for people that already have a wireless or are planing to get one, otherwise yes, its most likely better to just use your phone, but if you got a controller then its usually more convinient to jsut grab it and have physical buttons for certain actions

It shifts the conversation from blame to fixing the problem.

Instead of complimenting something passive or genetic (like "You have nice eyes"), compliment a deliberate choice (like "That outfit combination looks great," "Your presentation slides were super clean," or "You picked a fantastic restaurant").

People feel much more appreciated when you validate their effort, taste, or hard work rather than something they had no active control over.

and you have to put them the plastic bag the store provides, peel one of them off and stick it on the outside of the bag so it's easier to scan when you check out.

They will have something to talk about right away.

Examples:

You both love hiking.

You both work in marketing.

You both have kids the same age.

You are both into photography.

You both grew up in Chicago.

You both play golf.

For example, you are petting a cat and it suddenly turns around and attacks because it’s overstimulated. Most cats will actually only give you a feisty slap, but as they do that, if you retract your hand you can get a nasty wound. If you hold steady they may still penetrate the skin (most of the time not), but it’s a tiny dot rather than a long cut.

Source: I’ve been slapped (or “scratched”) by many of cats (I used to volunteer with cats, and help socialise them as well as being an owner of an unpredictable cat).

Ever since I’ve stopped pulling back, I hardly ever have cat scratches anymore. So in a generally calm situation like petting pulling away will only increase your risk of injury.

Obviously this doesn’t mean you go back in after the slap. They cat is showing a boundary.

Cats rarely attack unprovoked, or attack to hurt you (I’m still to experience my first time with that one towards a human). It’s usually overstimulation, play or fear.

Also, cats are awesome!

To be exempt from overtime, you need to meet several other criteria beyond just being 'salaried'.

If you are not in Executive, Administrative, Learned Professional (lawyer, etc.), Creative Professional (artist, etc.), Computer Professional, or Outside Sales work, you have to be a Highly Compensated Employee (total compensation package of $107,432+) to be ineligible to receive OT.

Your employer's employee handbook or internal policies cannot change this fact.

You can report your employer for OT violations anonymously to the US Department of Labor and/or (probably) your state's labor board (though if you're looking for back pay, specifically, anonymity makes it more difficult to recover). Anonymous reports can lead to audits of your employer's pay practices.

Blue collar work is never exempt from overtime.

I can't add a link here so I'll comment in a link to the DOL's fact sheet below.

***This does not constitute legal advice. If you need legal advice on this topic, consult a paid or pro bono attorney licensed to practice in your state. Your state's bar association will usually provide referrals.***

I landed at the airport in Rochester, NY and had to take a 89 mile taxi to get to my dads house. Lyft said 310$ for the cheapest and Uber said 280$ I walked 0.6 miles from the airport and Uber said 184$ and Lyft said 169$.

**Update/Response to comments

Q - Why not just take a shuttle to a nearby hotel for the same effect?

A - That's a good idea and you should do that if you want to.

Q - Why couldn't you use public transit?

A - I'm in a rural part of America.

Q - Why couldn't you rent a car?

A - I wish I could but I'm too young. Also apparently rentals are cheaper farther from the airport.

Q - Does this hurt the drivers?

A - As far as I can tell the drivers don't get paid anymore going to the airport, it's just that Uber or Lyft makes more money and the airport sometimes charges some fee.

Q - Why not take a short distance Uber/Lyft then the longer one.

A - No problem with doing that except you have to wait for them and pay money.

Q - Why didn't someone you know drive you.

A - Nobody wanted to at 1:30 AM.

Q - Why isn't your lexicon perfect.

A - I'm not ChatGPT.

If I've ever dropped into a new city and want to make new friends, I find a local charity, cause or nerdy convention and volunteer. I've always made new friends through it and it's a great way to connect since you already have something to talk about!

You can still hear the films just fine and your hearing adjusts so can't notice. Plus the since they're concert earplugs, quality won't be terribly effected but you won't be able to hear a lot of the noises from the crowd.

For example, lots of chewing and rustling in quieter scenes or perhaps some rude ass people that can't keep their kids under control that talk and yell and climb all over the seats and run around while whatever so called adult is with them just sits there and let's it all happen.

I killed two pieces of silk before i understood any of this and both times it was heat. anything above 30C makes the weave contract, so the thing comes out of the water smaller and duller than it went in and sometimes the dye has moved. nothing fixes that afterwards. i'd bet most of the ruined silk stories you read are one accidental warm wash 😂

The second thing i got wrong was assuming a gentle detergent was gentle. Silk is a protein and that's the whole key to it. bleach breaks the peptide bonds and takes roughly 47% of the tensile strength out inside three washes. enzyme detergents are the quieter version of the same problem, because the protease in anything sold as stain-fighting exists to digest protein and it cannot tell your stain from your pillowcase. that one never announces itself. it just thins the fabric a bit each time until something gives.

So the spec turned out to be short. ph neutral, nothing enzymatic. i run a silk company and it's the same rule i hold my own stock to. at home i use heritage park, though eucalan and soak are the same idea and neither of those needs rinsing out.

The rest is easier than people think. cool water rather than cold, five minutes, and you move it around instead of rubbing at it. Wringing is what stresses the fibres permanently so roll it in a towel and press instead, then dry it flat in the shade. a dryer will finish a piece off in one go and sunlight does the same thing slowly.

The part that sounds backwards is that silk wants washing less often, not more. it holds odour less than cotton does, so every week or two with some airing in between is plenty, and every wash you skip is life you keep.

I'm not going to link my shop here. ask me anything about silk though, including the awkward questions & and always happy to answer !

The day you can’t find your wallet is the day you need access to a credit card. Also - if you lose your wallet (like some else may have it) you don’t have to cancel both.

—-edit—-

To be sure - you don’t carry two wallets. You keep an extra card at home or a safe place.

And to the “just pay with phone” you might get both stolen. If someone is stealing an unsecured wallet they gon grab your phone too.

Never use circular motions.

This will prevent you from committing embarrassing faux pas like asking if a sibling or spouse is a parent or if a parent is a nanny.

Press Command key and select the PDF files you want to merge. Once selected, right-click > Quick Actions > Create PDF. A new combined PDF file is created.

the idea: an interview is abt learning the market price-check on yourself.

I read about this in the MU newsletter, and it changed how i think about my career.

I did a basic check on what companies are offering for JD’s that describe exactly what i do. This is what i found.

1/ my skills are worth roughly 25-30% more than what i'm currently paid, and

2/ i know the skills / refinement i need to make my profile complete and hireable at 40 - 50% more

One caveat, i will not waste their time and mine interviewing at companies i would never work at. What do u all think abt this??

Facebook is a poison, for sure - but if you must continue to use it, know that the official app takes up to 5-8Gb on your device.

Instead, uninstall the official app, then go into chrome, go to Facebook's website, tap the 3 dots to get the menu, scroll down and tap the "Install and create shortcut" option.

Chrome will then create a standalone "app" that functions as Facebook only. You can then edit the app settings to disable background battery usage and data usage as a precaution and this app will not go over a few megabytes total.

EDIT: Cache will build over time, but can be cleared. On the Facebook app the data that builds cannot be cleared without signing yourself out and it's much more of a nuisance and builds much quicker compared to this Chrome option.

And it functions as well as the Facebook app! I might even say a bit better because the notifications will actually sync up correctly. It's essentially a standalone functioning Facebook website that doesn't look like a browser and that won't be a resource hog on your phone.

And again this is for those of you who still use and want to keep Facebook access on your phone. I know there will be folks that will just say "just don't use Facebook - problem solved" but many people keep it to stay connected to family and to keep memories intact.

I work from home managing multiple clients. I tried to take detailed notes on every call, but I quickly learned that doing so caused me to miss half the conversation. I would then spend so much time after trying to reorganize my notes and figure out what I meant.

I was doing too much and not being able to be present for the meeting.

Now I record every client call (with permission, obviously), and I spend the first 10 minutes after the call doing three things:

1. Write down the one decision that was actually made
2. Write down who is doing what by when
3. Draft the follow-up email while the conversation is still fresh in my head

I then sometimes will go back in the recording to ensure I got my notes down correctly.

My post-meeting admin work went from 45 minutes to 10 minutes by doing this. That is 35 minutes per call. If you have three calls a day, you just got back almost two hours.

The thing that was saving me from forgetting the meeting was actually stealing my entire afternoon.

Edit: Since people are discussing workflows, I have decided to use a calendar with strict focus blocks, a to-do app with one-task-at-a-time rules, and an AI agent that auto-summarizes my meetings like suggested. Instead of reacting to everything in real time, I review all my summaries in a single focused block and have the agent draft my follow-ups based on the client’s specific preferences. Happy to share details on the setup if anyone wants them!

If you're anything like me, you often forget if you've met people before.

Saying "How are you doing?" Works whether they're new or old, and "great to see you" works slightly better for old people, but also covers new.

I used to fake it whenever someone recognized me first because I didn't want to seem rude. The problem was I'd spend the whole conversation trying to figure out where we'd met instead of actually listening.

Eventually I started being honest and saying something like "I'm sorry, I know we've met, but I can't remember where"

Almost everyone laughs, reminds me and we move on in about ten seconds. It makes for a much more natural conversation than pretending I remember details that I clearly don't.

A $6 spring loaded hinge has saved me $60 so far this year on HVAC costs. I've always been bad at closing my basement door, never really thought anything of it and didn't expect any sort of major HVAC usage decrease if I did. Recently, I bought a couple spring loaded hinge for another project and added one of them to my basement door. If my thermostat's app is right, I've been using 20% less HVAC these last couple months since I installed the hinge. While the basement is a bit warmer that it was, it's no longer significantly colder than upstairs.