PSA: I stopped posting my art online for a month and my work got way better

Last week I finished a piece that actually felt like mine for the first time in years, because I wasn't trying to make it fit a trend. I just worked in my sketchbook in Chicago without thinking about likes. Has anyone else taken a break from the showcase grind and felt the same?

My local burger place keeps messing up the 'no onions' request and I finally asked why

The manager told me their new system flags it but the kitchen crew just grabs the pre-made patties anyway. Has anyone else's go-to spot gotten worse with custom orders lately?

I dropped $500 on a thumbnail design course and I'm totally split on if it was worth it

The course promised to teach the 'psychology of clicks' and had a bunch of templates. I learned some solid stuff about color and font pairing that I use now. But honestly, a lot of the advice felt super generic, like 'use a face' or 'add an arrow'. I could have probably found similar tips for free on YouTube over a few weekends. Part of me thinks the structured lessons saved me time, but the other part feels like I paid for repackaged basics. Has anyone else taken a pricey course for one specific skill and felt this torn about the value?

Honestly, my hike past those experimental barley fields in Iceland got me thinking about climate-proof crops.

Auto-renewals that hit your bank account without a heads-up are the worst! Time for a change!

Client wanted me to pour over dirt to save a few bucks

I was setting up for a basement pour last Tuesday, and the guy told me to just lay the concrete right on the ground. He said the plastic sheet was a waste of money and time. I know for a fact that moisture will wreck that floor in a year or two. I felt pretty awful because taking his money for a job I knew would fail felt wrong. But turning down work is tough when bills are due. Has anyone else been in this kind of bind? How do you deal with it without sounding like a know-it-all?