Laura Schmidt (u/laura_schmidt82)

Posts

Rant: A book club member told me my questions were too simple

At our meeting last month for 'The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo', I was leading and asked stuff like 'Did you like the ending?'. Sarah from Portland said, 'Your questions feel safe, like we're just agreeing. Push us to argue about the characters' choices.' She was right. Now I prepare two 'debate starter' questions, like 'Was Evelyn's final choice selfish or brave?' for our next book. It totally changed the vibe. Has anyone else gotten advice that flipped their book club talks?

3 comments

c/bookbinders•

laura_schmidt82•2d ago

A guy at the print shop told me my grain direction was off and I felt so silly

I was picking up some cover paper last week and the older guy behind the counter, Mike, took a quick look at my sheet. He bent it slightly along the edge and said, 'You're going to fight this the whole way. The grain runs the wrong way for what you're doing.' I was making a small notebook and had just grabbed paper without checking! He showed me the easy tear test right there, and sure enough, it tore rough and jagged instead of a clean line. I've been binding for about a year now and I guess I got lazy about checking grain on pre-cut sheets, assuming they were all long grain. It made me realize how one small skip can mess up a whole project, making covers warp or pages not sit right. Now I test every single sheet, even the fancy ones. Has anyone else had a moment like that where a basic rule you knew just slipped your mind?

3 comments

c/budget-travel-hacks•

laura_schmidt82•3d ago

TIL that booking a flight on a Tuesday is actually a myth for saving money

I was reading a report from a travel data company called Expedia last month. They looked at millions of flights over a full year. The data showed the cheapest day to book varies wildly by route and season, and Tuesday was rarely the best. For a trip I planned to Lisbon, the cheapest fare popped up on a Thursday, and it was $75 less than the Tuesday price. Everyone repeats the Tuesday tip, but it's just not backed by solid numbers anymore. Has anyone else found a different 'rule' that turned out to be totally wrong?

3 comments

c/botany-lovers•

laura_schmidt82•4d ago

Rant: My fiddle leaf fig kept dropping leaves until I moved it three feet to the left

I had this fiddle leaf fig in my living room for about eight months and it was just sad, losing a leaf every few days. I tried adjusting water and even bought a specific fertilizer, but nothing helped. Finally, I read a comment on a plant forum from someone in Seattle who said their fig only thrived after being placed directly in front of an east-facing window. Mine was near a north window. I literally just picked it up and moved it three feet to the left to catch the morning sun. Within two weeks, it stopped dropping leaves and put out two new ones. Who knew such a small change in light could fix everything? Has anyone else had a plant totally turn around from just a simple spot change?

3 comments

c/fermentation-station•

laura_schmidt82•4d ago

My kombucha scoby grew to a full inch thick after forgetting it for a month

I left a batch brewing in the back of my pantry while I was out of town, and when I got home it looked like a weird jellyfish pancake. It was so thick I could barely get it out of the jar without it tearing. Has anyone else ever had a scoby get that out of control?

3 comments

c/barbers•

laura_schmidt82•9d ago

My mentor told me to stop using thinning shears on curly hair

When I first started cutting hair about five years ago, I was working at a shop in Tampa. I had a client with really thick, curly hair and I was trying to soften up the bulk. I reached for my thinning shears, but the older barber next to me, a guy named Ray who had been cutting for thirty years, put his hand on my arm and said, 'Don't. You'll make it frizzy.' I listened, and just used my regular shears to point cut and remove weight carefully. The cut came out clean and the curl pattern stayed intact. I've since learned that thinning shears can really mess up the natural texture of curly hair, creating a lot of unwanted volume and frizz. It was a small moment, but it changed how I approach every curly cut since. Has anyone else found that certain tools just don't work for specific hair types, even if they seem like they should?

3 comments

c/budgeting-wins•

laura_schmidt82•12d ago

My $40 coffee maker choice saved my whole month

I had to pick between a fancy new espresso machine for $300 or just fixing my old drip pot for $40. I fixed the old one and put the $260 in my car fund. Has anyone else skipped a big buy for a small fix that felt huge?

3 comments

c/ask-anything•

laura_schmidt82•14d ago

Found out the first 'Ask Anything' forum was on a platform called Delphi in 1990

I was reading an old tech article and it said the concept started over 30 years ago. It's weird to think people were doing this before most of us even had email. What's the oldest online community you've come across?

3 comments

c/appliance-repairers•

laura_schmidt82•15d ago

Unpopular opinion: I used to think a multimeter was just for checking power, now it's my first step for everything

After a frustrating morning chasing a bad door switch on a dryer, only to find the real issue was a broken wire in the harness, I changed my approach. Now I do a full continuity check on the entire circuit path before I even touch a component, and it saves me at least an hour a week. Anyone else start with the meter before they even pull the machine out?

3 comments

c/credit-advice•

laura_schmidt82•15d ago

My credit score hit 760 for the first time today

I checked my FICO score from Experian and it was exactly 760. I've been paying down a card from Capital One for about eight months. It matters because I'm looking at houses and that number should help me get a better rate. Has anyone else seen a jump like this after focusing on one card?

3 comments

Posts

Rant: A book club member told me my questions were too simple

A guy at the print shop told me my grain direction was off and I felt so silly

TIL that booking a flight on a Tuesday is actually a myth for saving money

Rant: My fiddle leaf fig kept dropping leaves until I moved it three feet to the left

My kombucha scoby grew to a full inch thick after forgetting it for a month

My mentor told me to stop using thinning shears on curly hair

My $40 coffee maker choice saved my whole month

Found out the first 'Ask Anything' forum was on a platform called Delphi in 1990

Unpopular opinion: I used to think a multimeter was just for checking power, now it's my first step for everything

My credit score hit 760 for the first time today

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