I was putting 20% down on a house in Denver until my lender showed me the math on a 5% down payment.

My cat just hit 100 successful door handle jiggles

I started counting after the third time she opened the bathroom door last month. She's a little calico named Mochi, and she's figured out that if she hangs from the lever with her front paws, her weight pulls it down. Today was number 100, and she used it to let herself into the pantry where her treats are. I'm honestly impressed but also a little scared of her problem-solving skills. Has anyone else's pet learned a trick that got a little too effective?

Rant: I almost skipped the line at the hardware store last Tuesday

I was in a huge rush to get some mulch for a job and had to choose between waiting in the long checkout line or asking a random guy in the aisle for help. I asked the guy, named Ben, and he not only showed me a better mulch brand but also gave me his card because he needed his yard redone! Now he's my newest client. Has anyone else gotten a job from just talking to a stranger in public?

Had a customer's old Ford truck stall out on a test drive in the middle of nowhere

We were on a back road near the shop when the fuel pump just quit. I had to walk a mile to get cell service and call for a tow. Anyone else had a simple test drive turn into a major headache?

Question about the real number of people who finish online courses

I was looking at a creator's public report on their course platform and saw only 12% of people who bought their $200 video course actually finished it. That stat from their own dashboard really surprised me, it seems so low. Has anyone else seen numbers like this for their own digital products?

Update on my automatic grocery delivery subscription

I signed up for a 'convenience' service that sent me a box of random food every month for $35, but I ended up tossing half of it because the stuff was weird or went bad before I could use it. After three months, that was over a hundred bucks down the drain for food I didn't even want. Has anyone else had a similar issue with these auto-delivery plans?

Update: I keep seeing people use regular PVA glue for spine lining and it's going to crack in a year

Honestly, after seeing three customer repairs this month from binders using Elmer's instead of flexible bookbinding glue, I need to ask, what flexible adhesive are you all actually using for your spines?

My coworker told me to always pack a spare pair of socks in my bag

I take the bus from my apartment to downtown Chicago every day, and last Tuesday we had that crazy downpour. My bus stop is a block from my building, but that was enough to completely soak my shoes and socks. I remembered my coworker Sarah, who also commutes, told me a few months ago to always keep a dry pair of socks in my work bag. I laughed it off as silly at the time, but I was so miserable sitting in wet socks for the whole 45-minute ride. The next day, I threw an old pair in my backpack. Sure enough, we got another quick shower yesterday afternoon, and changing into dry socks before the ride home was the best feeling ever. It seems like such a small thing, but it totally changed my mood. Does anyone else have a weird little item they swear by for their commute?

Remembering the choice between crimp connectors and compression fittings

Back in my first year, my boss gave me a box of cheap crimp connectors and said 'this is how we do it.' I saw the other guys using compression fittings on a big apartment job in Austin. I spent my own cash on a pack of compression fittings to try, about $15 back then. The crimps kept failing in the heat, but the compression ones held up perfect. Anyone still run into that old crimp vs. compression debate on older lines?

Showerthought: The abandoned train station in my town has a single, perfect writing prompt carved into a bench.

I found 'She only came here on rainy Tuesdays' etched into the wood, which makes me wonder if a writer should use that as a locked-in rule for a character or see it as a springboard for breaking expectations.