The difference between Upstart and LendingClub after 3 loans each is night and day

Upstart funded my $8,000 loan in under 4 hours with zero follow-ups, while LendingClub took 11 days and kept asking for bank statements I already uploaded. Has anyone else noticed one online lender actually gets faster and one gets slower over time?

Had to pick between leveling a slab with a $50 bag of self-leveler or re-pouring the whole thing.

Spent $12 on a bag of avocados and got burned

I grabbed one of those mesh bags of avocados at Aldi last Tuesday because they looked perfectly ripe, but when I cut into three of them at home they were all stringy and brown inside. So I basically threw out half the bag and wasted six bucks. Has anyone else had luck picking single avocados instead of the bags, or do you just avoid them altogether?

Just realized I was ruining my chili by adding the tomatoes too early

For years I always dumped in canned tomatoes at the start when I was browning the meat. I thought simmering them longer meant deeper flavor. Then my aunt visited last month and watched me cook. She said I was making my chili sour and killing the texture. I tried her way - holding the tomatoes until the last 30 minutes of simmering. Huge difference. The chili came out richer and the meat stayed tender instead of getting tough. She told me the acid from tomatoes breaks down the meat fibers if they cook too long together. Total game changer for me. Anyone else have a cooking habit they thought was right but turned out wrong?

Was dead against LED landing lights till a 767 proved me wrong last week

I always swore by the old halogen landing lights, thought LEDs were just a gimmick. Swapped a set on a 767 at LAX and the difference in heat output alone was crazy. Plus the pilot said he could see a solid 2 miles further down the runway. Anyone else have a similar turn around on LED upgrades?

I finally stopped being a snob about volunteer training videos

Our food bank director made us watch a 20 minute video on stacking cans. I almost walked out. Thought it was a total waste of time. Then I saw a new guy crush 6 boxes of tomato sauce because he stacked them wrong. That video explained the weight limit per shelf. 50 pounds max. I had been overloading them for months. Now I actually pay attention. Anybody else ignore the basic training and regret it later?

Old timer in Columbus taught me a lesson about creosote buildup

I was sweeping a flue for this retired carpenter last fall and he watched me like a hawk the whole time. Halfway through he stops me and says 'you're missing the smoke shelf, son' - and sure enough I had skipped it like I always do. He made me spray a mirror on a stick up there and I saw this thick crust of creosote I'd been ignoring for years. Has anyone else had a customer call them out on something you thought was standard?

Warning: stop throwing away your broccoli stems, seriously

I keep seeing people in cooking groups toss broccoli stems in the trash like they're worthless and it drives me nuts. A whole pound of broccoli costs me about $1.80 at the local Aldi, and you're literally throwing away half of what you paid for. I peel the tough outer skin off with a vegetable peeler, then chop the inside into little cubes about the size of dice. Last week I threw a handful into a stir fry with some leftover rice and soy sauce, and my roommate actually asked what the crunchy bits were because they tasted so good. You can also slice them thin and roast them with salt and oil for 20 minutes at 400 degrees, they come out sweet and tender. It's not some fancy chef secret, it's just not wasting food and money. Has anyone else figured out a good use for these things besides the trash?

My grandma's old cast iron skillet finally cracked after 40 years

I was making my usual Sunday chili last month when I heard this loud ping. Looked down and there was a hairline crack right across the bottom. That skillet was her go to for everything from cornbread to fried chicken. I tried to patch it with some high heat epoxy I found at the hardware store but it just burned off after one use. Now I'm stuck using a cheap nonstick pan and everything tastes different. Anyone else had an old piece of cookware just give up on them? What did you replace it with?

Reading a chapter out loud to my cat fixed my comprehension problem

I kept zoning out during dense nonfiction books. My book club picked a 400 page history of the transcontinental railroad and I was completely lost by page 50. One night I started reading aloud just to stay awake and my cat walked in. I finished the whole chapter without drifting off. Now I do it every night in my living room in Portland and I actually remember what I read. Has anyone else tried reading out loud to get through tough sections?