Just realized my whole 'write a chapter a day' plan was killing my novel

Honestly, I was forcing myself to write 1,000 words every single morning for my fantasy book, but after 6 months I had 90,000 words of stuff I hated. Ngl, what tipped me off was reading a single paragraph I wrote last week and feeling nothing. Has anyone else scrapped a huge chunk of work and found a better way to keep going?

I dropped $300 on a 'smart' home security camera system and it's been more trouble than it's worth.

I keep seeing people call the Orion Nebula a galaxy and it's driving me nuts

It's a nebula, not a galaxy, and the difference matters because one is a stellar nursery inside our own Milky Way and the other is a whole separate island of stars. I learned this from a planetarium show at the Griffith Observatory years ago. How do you guys explain the difference to new folks without sounding like a know-it-all?

PSA: My brisket almost went up in flames at a cook-off in Memphis

I was managing the fire on my offset when a big gust of wind blew embers right onto my paper towel roll. It caught fast, and I had to dump my water pan on it before it spread. Anyone else have a close call with fire safety at an event?

A developer in Austin told me AI will make most coding jobs vanish in 5 years

We were at a meetup last spring, and he said his team is already using a model that writes whole modules, which really shook me. I argued that it just changes the job, letting coders focus on bigger problems, but he was dead set on his view. So, who's right here, is AI going to replace developers or just be another tool they use?

I booked a flight to Rome for $400 by checking on Tuesday at 3 PM.

Everyone says to search on weekends, but I saved $150 by checking a random weekday afternoon. Has anyone else found a weird time that works better?

Tried cooking a brisket at 275 degrees for 8 hours like everyone says, and it came out tough as leather.

Appreciation post: How a dying tree in my yard taught me about soil health

I used to ignore the soil in my garden, thinking plants would grow fine on their own. Last spring, an old oak started losing leaves, and I panicked. A friend who loves plants told me to check the soil pH and nutrient levels. I got a test kit and found the soil was too acidic and compacted. After adding lime and organic matter, the tree bounced back in months. Honestly, I never gave soil much thought before, but now I test it each season. Tbh, it saved my whole garden. Ngl, I feel like a better plant parent now.