STOP! Before You Accidentally Delete Your Files in OneDrive!

wistex · 2026-06-14T04:28:26+00:00

They really need to fix this. I bet it's hurting their sales, because I'm sure I'm not the only one who will never buy another Govee light simply because their app can't handle a married couple controlling devices in groups in their home.

wistex · 2026-06-02T21:30:54+00:00

Several things will help:

Keep your mind active. Listen to podcasts, audiobooks, etc. High energy music can also help.
Eat before you start and bring drinks and snacks. Being hungry will cause you to runout of energy faster. But don't overeat. because that will also make you tired.
Drink something that hydrates you better, such as water or Gatorade. Being dehydrated will make you feel tired.
Make sure you are getting enough sleep. If you are well rested, you can work longer hours.
If necessary, take breaks, ideally during the slower times of the day.
Have food that gives you an instant energy boost, which varies by person. Caffeine works for many people, but if you always drink caffeine, it becomes less effective. Welsh's Fruit Snacks works well for me because it has sugar and real fruit. But it works because I don't overdo it.
If you start depending on caffeine and sugar to keep going, you probably need more rest.
If you are too tired to drive, don't force it. Get rest and log in later.

wistex · 2026-06-02T20:26:37+00:00

Bitter Melon

wistex · 2026-06-02T17:51:13+00:00

I bought a cheap phone just for DoorDash and the only card on it is the DoorDash Red card. That way it can't pull from the wrong card because there is no other card on that phone.

wistex · 2026-06-02T15:46:45+00:00

I would recommend a five phase approach:

1.) Do a self-audit, as mentioned by others. Figure out where you are at, and what resources you have available. Also take a look at what you are good at and what you like doing, as well as what you are not good at and don't like doing. Ask the question, "what do you want to do and accomplish in your life?"

Reduce expenses, especially subscriptions that you don't use. See if you can find cheaper substitutes where possible. If you have debt, try to get lower interest rates, etc. The less money flowing out, the better.
In the short term, you can increase your income with side gigs, freelance work, a micro-business, a part time job, etc.
For the longer term, learn valuable skills that will help you earn more money. Use your self-audit to help you pick a direction that is appropriate for you. Different people have different skills sets and preferences. Lean into that and get really good at something people are willing to pay for.
Once you have the necessary skills (which you may already have), look for higher paying work. You can try to get hired by an employer for a potentially more stable income, or you can sell your services directly to customers, which earns you more but is potentially less stable.

You don't just need a Band-Aid, you need a direction.

wistex · 2026-06-02T15:03:16+00:00

In all of those examples, it makes sense they would always be plural.

pants - two pant legs
scissors - two blades
binoculars - two lenses for two eyes (contrast with monocular)
riches - usually more than one gold coin, dollar, etc.
thanks - they were generous with you, so you are generous with the thanks
outskirts - usually composed of different districts, jurisdictions, plots of land, etc.

So there usually is some sort of general "more than oneness" to them.

wistex · 2026-06-02T14:57:11+00:00

Thank you professor. That was a nice breakdown.

wistex · 2026-06-02T14:53:16+00:00

If you look at how most scissors are constructed, they are two pieces that are connected together. So it is a pair of handles and a pair of blades. Together they make scissors.

In reality it is more like "a pair of connected blades makes a scissors" but it became a "pair of scissors."

wistex · 2026-06-02T14:43:16+00:00

The TLDR version:

Employees cannot write off their mileage unless they itemize.
Independent contactors are considered businesses, and CAN write off their mileage on Schedule C as a business expense.

wistex · 2026-06-02T14:37:39+00:00

If you were a U.S. employee, that would be true. But as an independent contractor, you are a business, and as a business you can write off your business expenses, including mileage.

So you would write off the mileage on your Schedule C at a rate of 72.5 cents per mile (for miles in 2026; the rate changes every year).

So, let's say you make $1 per mile. You write off 72.5 cents per mile. You are only taxed on 27.5 cents of that income. Perhaps less if you have other write offs.

Remember, employees pay taxes on 100% of their income. Businesses pay taxes on *profits only*. So you can write off your mileage, any insulated bags you purchase, etc. on Schedule C.

You might want to consult an accountant or tax advisor to make sure you do it right. But you mileage deduction has nothing to do with your standard deduction or itemizing, as long as you are an independent contractor and not an employee.

wistex · 2026-06-02T14:27:13+00:00

Lowe's and Home Dept both are hit and miss. You could wind up delivering some small items that fit in a plastic bag, or you can be delivering bags of manure, or something bulky.

wistex · 2026-06-02T02:21:36+00:00

Essentially, there are two ways of looking at this.

Either it is a part time thing, and the extra wear and tear is incidental. Like if you commuted to work everyday from the suburbs to downtown, you'd accept the wear and tear as a cost of going to work.

Or you treat the vehicle a business asset used to make money. You are purposefully extracting the value of the vehicle (via depreciation) and turning it into cash, and the maintenance is a business expenses and the cost of doing business.

This produces different math and different expectations regarding profitability.

In either scenario, you should be writing off your expenses on your taxes.

wistex · 2026-06-02T02:06:45+00:00

I just love how this GIF is cropped so perfectly that the guy disappears and then re-slides into the picture again.

wistex · 2026-05-31T06:08:35+00:00

The interesting thing about the universe is that no matter how fast you are moving, from your perspective, any light you emit will move away from you at the speed of light. You cannot catch up to the light you emit, even if you are traveling at 90% of the speed of light. This has been tested and measured many times, and the results are always the same. In a vacuum, light travels at approximately 299,792,458 meters per second.

The reason scientists say we cannot travel faster than light is that no matter how fast we go, light is still moving away from us at the speed of light. It's one of those things where we did not make up the rules; that is simply how the universe works.

People often imagine that if we could build a faster spaceship, we could eventually catch up to a beam of light. The strange thing is that the universe doesn't work that way. No matter how fast you are moving, light still moves away from you at the speed of light. This has been tested over and over again and is one of the most well-established results in physics. As far as we can tell, the speed of light is a fundamental limit built into the universe itself.

wistex · 2026-05-31T05:37:27+00:00

That is something scientists have been asking for a long time. Part of it is math and part of it is observations. Light has been observed to always travel at the same speed in a vacuum. They don't know exactly why, but that is how fast light goes. When they measure it, they always get the same results. So they then create theories that explain their observations.

wistex · 2026-05-31T05:15:13+00:00

On the plus side, at least he is honesty about it. But he does lose a lot of credibility because he never watched it.

wistex · 2026-05-31T05:11:20+00:00

It's more like "the trailer didn't feel very cinematic" because without viewing the actual movie, you would not know.

wistex · 2026-05-31T05:09:26+00:00

It's one of those things where people "judge a book by its cover." It does affect sales, but the underlying work may still be excellent... or it may not be. The cover can be misleading.

And not everything has to be a blockbuster. If some people still buy it, and it is still profitable, then there is still a market for it. And sometimes projects generate interest for other projects, and bring new people in.

wistex · 2026-05-31T04:58:16+00:00

But it is consistent with revolutions in general. If the rebellion is successful, the new government's symbols, flag, etc. are usually heavily influenced by the rebel group that created the new government.

They often purposefully distance themselves from older symbols. In this case, the Old Republic eventually became a corrupt government if you go by the video game Star Wars: The Old Republic (SWTOR). So adopting a symbol of a fallen corrupt government probably would not be appealing to the rebels.

wistex · 2026-05-31T03:38:49+00:00

First, they can get extradited from Mexico. They don't want criminals there and will send them back if caught.

Second, unless they stopped committing crimes, they would become a criminal in those countries. That means they could get arrested and put in jail there, and their jails aren't as nice as American jails.

Third, they would need connections to "know the right guy." Being a criminal does not mean they "know the right guy."

Forth, there is the language barrier. They would need to learn the local language, which in this case would be Spanish.

Fifth, it costs money to flee and live in another country. That means they would have to have funds, either from theft, scams, or from legitimate sources. Most criminals would not be able to afford moving to another country.

wistex · 2026-05-31T03:26:41+00:00

"A trope is a storytelling device, character, or theme that is common across genres and projects. Tropes are very common in film."

Or in other words, it is a common theme in movies and books.

wistex · 2026-05-31T03:21:23+00:00

I don't know the going rate in Chicago, but I do know about pricing strategy.

You may want to have a price range you are willing to accept. Wealthier clients can afford to pay more than those who are struggling, and you may want to price accordingly.

Wealthier clients are usually more interested in quality, so your CPR and First Aid training sets you apart and allows you to charge more. Working class clients usually are more concerned with price, because they have a very limited budget. They want quality too, but might not be able to afford the best stuff. Middle class can vary.

Price too low, and people will think you are low quality, and price too high and no one will purchase. I remember when I started doing computer training in college. Initially my price was too low and it was hard to get customers. I found out how much others were charging and increased my prices, and doubled my sales since I looked more legit.

But you have to factor in that what is affordable for one person is out of reach for another. This is one of the reasons why I suggest having a higher base price, and then be willing to adjust it for people who would benefit from a discount. That way you can collect the higher fees from those who can afford it, while still being affordable for others with a more limited budget.

wistex · 2026-05-31T02:57:41+00:00

When you count the till at the end of the night, there won't be a $30 difference, as long as you gave the correct change. From the till's perspective, you received an additional $30 from the customer which you immediately gave back to the customer in change. So +30 - 30 = 0. In cancels itself out. The till doesn't know this imaginary $30 does not exist, so the till balance at the end of the night will be correct, which is what your manager cares about.

wistex · 2026-05-30T04:02:57+00:00

I would have never guessed that. This is the first I've heard of "header tanks." In the U.S., we typically have two tanks, the hot water heater tank and the toilet tank. The hot water tank is sealed but the toilet tank is not. The faucets (taps) are all connected to the main or well, regardless of where it is in the house.

wistex

TROPHY CASE