Found a way to watch that banned documentary about the 2019 Hong Kong protests. It involved a specific browser extension and a server in Taiwan.

The Teton Crest Trail versus the Wind River High Route for a real challenge

I did both routes in Wyoming last summer, and the Wind River High Route wins hands down. The Crest Trail is beautiful, but it's basically a well-marked path with other people around. The High Route near Pinedale has no real trail for about 80 miles, just pure cross-country navigation over passes above 11,000 feet. You feel completely alone out there, which is the whole point for me. Anyone else think the popular 'classic' routes are getting too crowded?

Serious question, how long did it take you to set up your first business bank account?

I thought it would be a quick afternoon task when I launched my LLC last month. I spent three hours just comparing fees and minimum balances between five different banks. Then, gathering all the required documents, like my Articles of Organization and EIN letter, took another two days because I had misplaced a file. The actual appointment at the local credit union was 45 minutes, but the whole process from start to finish was about a week. Has anyone else found a simpler way to handle this step?

I got banned from a book group for one question about a character

I was in a Facebook group for a popular fantasy series, and I asked why a main villain's backstory felt rushed in the third book. I just said, 'Did anyone else think his turn to evil happened too fast?' The mods deleted my post within an hour and banned me, saying I was 'spreading negativity.' I mean, it was just a book talk question. Has anyone else been kicked out for asking a simple question like that?

Hot take: I think the whole 'mud vs. pre-mix' debate for repointing a 1920s chimney in Albany comes down to the weather you're working in.

Had a sudden downpour hit my fresh lime mortar mix last fall, washing out half the joints before I could even grab a tarp, so now I'm curious if anyone else has a hard rule for when to switch to bagged stuff.

Appreciation post: The night we ran out of the special and I had to improvise

Last Friday, we sold out of our duck confit special by 7:30 pm, and a four-top ordered it. I told my line cook to grab the last two duck legs we had for staff meal and pan-sear them. We built a new plate with a pear gastrique, crispy polenta cakes, and braised kale in about 12 minutes. The table sent back a note saying it was the best dish they'd had all week. What's your best 'make it work' moment when the menu failed you?

Overheard my boss say 'we can always find another analyst' and it hit different

I was grabbing coffee yesterday and heard my manager on a call in the next room. He said, 'Don't worry about Sarah's workload, we can always find another analyst if she burns out.' I've been putting in 60 hour weeks for three months straight. It made me realize I'm just a number here. How do you even start to push back when you hear something like that?

PSA: My school library blocked a search for 'historical protest signs'

I was doing research for a paper on campus activism and the library database flagged that search term. The librarian told me it was because the word 'protest' triggered the content filter. Has anyone else had a basic research topic get blocked like that?

A client told me my invoices were confusing and I finally fixed them

I had a regular client in Austin tell me last month, 'Sarah, your invoices look like a ransom note, I can't tell what I'm paying for.' They were right, I was just listing a total and a date with no details. Now I break down every hour by project phase and include a short description of the work. It took me about two hours to set up a new template, but I haven't had a single payment delay since. Has anyone else had a client call them out on something basic that you just got used to doing wrong?

I always thought lens fungus was a death sentence until this old Canon FD

Had a guy bring in a Canon FD 50mm f/1.4 last month, front element looked like a spiderweb. Usually I'd just say it's toast. But he really wanted it saved, so I spent an hour with a 50/50 mix of hydrogen peroxide and household ammonia on a cotton swab. Cleared about 90% of it off, no etching on the glass. The coating was fine. Now I keep a bottle of the mix in my kit. Anyone else find a good way to tackle bad fungus without wrecking the coating?