Man, that's rough. Next time ask for weekly payments instead of the full amount upfront, it weeds out the ones who aren't serious. Most legit freelancers will agree to smaller invoices.

Snagged a dozen for 5 bucks" - man, I wish I had that luck. I still use an old t-shirt that I swear was my dad's from the 80s for cleaning my vintage Nikon lenses. It's so soft and beat up that it probably does more harm than good, but hey, at least it makes me feel like I'm doing something right. I've ruined a few filters over the years thanks to that rag, but the sentimental value is worth the occasional scratch, right?

Wait, are you sure that's actually a good sign though? I mean, if a fridge from the 50s still has frost on the coils, that probably means the insulation is shot and the compressor is running nonstop, wasting a ton of electricity. Plus, old Freon smell just sounds like a leak waiting to happen, which is bad for the ozone and your lungs. I'd argue that finding a working appliance in an abandoned place is more of a red flag than a cool discovery, like maybe the seals are holding but the thing is basically a death trap. Bet that ice is just old melted stuff that refroze over the years anyway, not some preservation miracle.

Push through it though? I mean yeah okay the dock stuff ties into the bigger picture eventually but I'm not sure it's worth a whole month of boredom. I got about three episodes into season 2 and just started skipping ahead to the street scenes. Still felt like I got the gist of the political stuff without having to sit through long shots of shipping containers. Guess I'm just not patient enough to wait for the show to earn my attention. If a season loses me that fast I usually just move on.

Yo that's a brutal loss, I've been there with a loaf that cost me way more than $8 in time and flour. But here's what gets me - how do you actually tell when the smell changes from "bready" to "done" without burning it first? Like with my oven, the first time I tried going by nose I pulled it out at 35 minutes and it was still pale on top and raw inside. Did you have to ruin a few loaves to learn that smell difference or is there some trick to it?