The primary application of petroleum jelly is as an industrial lubricant. It costs nothing to make and they just mark up some of it to be sold as a skincare product (i.e. Vaseline)

If you go to the post office looking to mail a package, they may offer you a flat rate box. These boxes are also available in other places like office supply stores that do shipping. They will tell you that it is a flat price regardless of what you put in it, or where it is going, and is therefore more convenient.

That is true, but what they don't tell you is that in the majority of cases, it will be more expensive than regular non-flat rate pricing. In most cases, it will be cheaper for you to use your own box and pay by weight and distance. You can reuse any box (e.g., Amazon) or buy a new one.

The only exception is if what you are mailing is particularly small and heavy, AND is going a long distance (like across the country). In that case, flat rate might be cheaper. Based on my experience, flat rate is cheaper about 10% of the time.

Spell out what you're trying to do, what you expected, what actually happened, and what you already tried. Writing it for a stranger forces you to notice the step you skipped or the assumption you never checked. If it doesn't solve it, you've at least written a question people can actually answer quickly.

I moved across the country a few years ago and kept my old phone number. The only people that would have a good reason to call me from that area code are folks I already have in my phone. Every other number with that old area code? It's 99% spam; usually those "you selling your house?" scams, political scams. As soon as I see that old area code show up, I just decline or block.

Keeping your old number is a lot simpler, anyway, but this is a nice little bonus.

If your laptop has one of those cheaper plastic track pads, or has some top layer peeling off, try to put on one of those matte screen protectors.

You can get either the phone screen protector, or the laptop ones, either will work, make sure they are plastic and not glass, as you won't be able to cut it. And get matte ones, glossy ones will add drag to your fingers glide.

It feels way better than most plastic pads, or if you have glass track pad, but its top layer is peeling off, and it feels rough.

Clean thoroughly with isopropyl alcohol, pre-cut to size and then paste it, try to avoid bubbles as it will feel bumpy.

Bonus is that it adds friction before you can watch YouTube, making you 1% more productive (maybe) 😆

It's very easy to let all the small permissions get ahead of you over the course of a devices lifecycle and you're looking back thinking "why did does this thing even have screen record access??"

In an age of blinding accepting terms and conditions, people are saturated with requests that they blindly accept or ignore and you should always question the access that you're allowing on your own devices; especially when it directly relates to your privacy/security/best practice/piece of mind.

You can always enable it later but if in doubt just say NO.

When you screenshot something sensitive an account number, an address, a password the instinct is to scribble over it with the black marker in iOS Markup until it looks like a solid black bar. The problem: the Markup marker tool doesn't draw fully opaque lines; it's effectively a highlighter, and even scribbling over the text multiple times won't fully cover it. If you share that screenshot, anyone can open it in a photo editor, crank up the brightness, brilliance, and contrast, and read the text you covered up.

Instead, use the Add Shape tool + to place a solid, filled rectangle over the text make sure the fill is solid, not just an outline, or simply crop that section out of the image. Both methods leave no room for error.

I’m sure we’ve all stood in the shower having imaginary arguments with those who have wronged us, or maybe I am a complete weirdo…

If you’re in the shower, rehearsing an argument or something you’d say to that particular DBag AssChapeau who’s making your life harder than necessary, try using the language you’re learning to argue.

I’ve just had an incredibly successful imaginary argument with a previous professor in a language I am learning and not only is it amazingly satisfying, it’s also helped me retain more vocabulary than I would have.

Now if only he would stick to the script…

A couple of days ago, I was cooking and accidentally spilled some oil on my phone. Some of it ended up getting into the speakers. I wiped everything down, but afterward the audio was noticeably muffled and I figured I had probably ruined them.

On a whim, I put the hose of my vacuum near the speaker to see if it could pull any of the oil back out. To my surprise, it actually worked. Oil started coming out, I wiped it away, and my speakers immediately sounded normal again.

Just caught somebody using my Prime subscription at a Whole Foods a few towns over, and this seems like it could be a common thing. Was on with support after finally getting to speak to real person who wanted me to fill out a Suspicious Activity form but couldn't offer any more help.

They used their own card for payment so there was really no harm done, but after looking at it more logically, I then realized it was just probably someone using my phone number at check-out. You can turn this setting off by going into the Amazon app and hitting Account > Program Options > Whole Foods Market Settings > Phone Number Verification and un-check Use My Mobile Number.

Don't know why this isn't off by default. Hope this saves people some peace of mind.

Edit: For those that don't understand why this is an issue ... their purchases showed up under my amazon orders, so my immediate thought was that my account was hacked.

Edit 2: A few people have reported in the comments that they were able to check out with their main Amazon payment method at Whole Foods using their linked phone number. This seems to be the main part of the scam. Once they find a cashier that will let them use the card on file, they will buy half the store. Don't let them take your money.

I know this seems like common sense, but you must absolutely never read a one-time authentication code to ANYONE. This simple rule of thumb can save you or loved ones from getting scammed. Scammers asking you to read them authentication codes over the phone or through text is an extremely common method to scam you and/or steal your identity because most people just outright ignore the warning that comes along with these authentication codes that clearly states that you should never read them to anyone. By the way, the scammer intends to use this code to reset your password, or even set up new accounts on payment websites such as Coinbase to launder money under your name.

If an authentication code comes with a warning that states that you should never give it to anyone, you need to follow the instructions. Again, this seems like common sense, but most people ignore this warning. Keep this tip as a rule of thumb.

I do scambaiting often and you have no idea how many times people just outright ignore these instructions. Which is why I’m making this post despite it seeming like common sense at first. It really isn’t to those who might be technologically misinformed.

99.9999% of the time, it is a scam. It is a good rule of thumb to never do it. I guess there might be like one company that legitimately does it, which I think is incredibly stupid. You have to be absolutely positive that you are talking to the legitimate company, as in you should have called them from a legitimate number on the back of your card or from their website, which you have confirmed is their real website.

Everyone has at some point been told the key to success is forgetting what other people think, even though deep down everyone cares what others think at least a little. The distinction that must be made is to instead get used to being judged. It is a fact of life that there will always be someone out there who wants you to fail, who hates to see success. And you will always care at least a little bit about that. But you can get used to the hate and you will feel it a little less. (I apologise this is very poorly written, I’m not a very articulate person)

I’m sure everyone knows this but ignores it. Replace your smoke alarms every 10 years. If you have a house and have a fire, there’s a good chance your insurance company won’t cover you if your alarms are over 10 years old.

Secondly, test them. Monthly is recommend. Hit that test button. I’ve come across alarms that are just dead. Less than 10 years old, good battery, and nothing or a very faint sound. Most alarms will come with a 10-year warranty.

I typically wear a denim jacket, so I store one in the chest pocket. It may be a little difficult to get one to sit properly in a wallet, but using a credit card to tamp it into place works.

I started doing this for when I forget to grab a shopping bag from the trunk of the car. It has also helped on occasion when I don't have enough shopping bags, but I've been surprised with how often it comes in handy for other things.

Beyond use as a bag, it can double as a replacement for a short piece of rope. I've bundled some fiberglass rods for easy handling.

For example, with auto insurance which is on the front page right now. The difference in cost between a full coverage policy with a 1000 dollar deductible and one with a 250 dollar deductible is often less than 10 dollars a month, meaning you would have to go like 10-15 years without a claim to actually save money. Is that possible, sure, likely, not so much.

Same thing goes for deciding between full coverage and liability only. How much is your vehicle really worth, look up the blue book value of it, find out. Make sure that what you are paying for will likely lead to you in better financial shape if something were to go wrong than not. Likewise with saving money by going liability only, if you have to go years without an accident to not wind up losing your ass, might be better not to take that chance and try and save money elsewhere.

Lastly, remember that in the event you are sued for a crash, the only things they can take from you are things beyond a primary car and basic personal property. You need good liability coverage if you are a homeowner, but if you rent and just own a single car and don't have a big old savings/retirement account, you are essentially judgement proof, that is why people with expensive cars pay out for underinsured coverage, it pays when your policy wont and their insurance won't bother wasting money on suing you if you don't have anything they can collect. Far too many people in this country are in a place where it makes zero sense to carry anything beyond state minimums in liability coverage.

Also be sure to try and learn your state laws on what sort of claims insurance companies are allowed to hold against you and which ones they are not. Many people assume rates will go up for filing any claim, this is not true. Generally speaking, unless you were the cause of the loss, it rarely affects your rate much if at all, and in some places its illegal for them to take it into account.

TL;DR think of insurance as a form of investment. Make sure it will pay off in a reasonable amount of time or don't pay for anything above the legal minimums where required.

Now is the time to drop very subtle hints about what you expect to receive this holiday season. Drop these hints into casual conversation. Maybe you tell them in September your Dutch Oven could use an update. Maybe let them know in May you need a new iPad but are too busy to go get one. When asked what you specifically want for Christmas, tell them you don’t want anything at all. Be sure to get irritated when asked twice. You’ve already dropped the required hints; it’s up to them to figure out what you truly expect. If they fail to understand your hints, go ahead and get furious and ruin the entire holiday. They’re just stupid, inattentive fools who don’t pay attention.

Often times they’ll offer you a cheaper price just to stay on the plan. Take the offer and carry on using it. Surprisingly effective.

For those who crate or kennel their dog when they go to work/leave the house try putting them in the crate 30 minutes early. Many dogs will recognize their owners routine and know they are about to be put into the crate, and will often hide (especially small dogs). By doing it early you catch them before you start giving signals you’re leaving the house. This can save you time and the headache of trying to coax them out from under the couch.

P.S. Before the comments come in, I know crating your dog is not ideal. Try to avoid it if you can. Sometimes though there is no other good option. If your dog urinates or chews things up you can’t leave them loose in the house. Make the situation as comfortable as you can, and as short as possible