Rant: I used to think a 3-inch crown was overkill for a kitchen remodel

Did a job in a 1910s house in Portland last month where the client insisted on a 4-inch crown. I mocked up a sample and the scale was perfect with the 10-foot ceilings. My old 2.5-inch standard looked cheap next to it. Anyone else find themselves sizing up trim in older homes?

Caution on home projects: A simple paint job disabled a client's entry sensor.

A lesson from Rome markets on eating cheap

I always overspent on dining out during trips, so my budget suffered. In Rome, I noticed locals shopping at small markets. I copied them. Bought fresh pasta, sauce, veggies for a few euros. Cooked a dinner in my Airbnb. Saved over twenty euros that night. Now I do this everywhere. It frees up cash for museums or tours.

Update: The great emoji communication experiment

We thought using emojis for daily updates would make our remote team chats faster. It mostly just led to me getting assigned urgent tasks because I used the grimace face too often. What did you learn from your last failed workplace idea?

TIL that sorting nuts and bolts by thread size saves my sanity.

I can now find what I need without dumping the whole container.