I love the way you explain economics stuff! Very easy to follow.
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Thank you for your detailed response! I hope you no longer have to deal with your co-worker soon too.
I see what you mean about the definition being important.
Another one that probably matters is “in the past.” There were absolutely times “in the past” when the things you list were not easily affordable.
There was also a time “in the past” when those things were affordable for a family on a single income for most workers!
I think the economist’s definition misses that those standard wages today are often paying for things that they didn’t have to pay for in the past - student loans, higher health care costs, and recently higher housing costs. I think quality of life for the average worker, using the economist’s definition and factoring in all of reality, has gone down over the last few decades. Just my $0.02.
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Can phone based blocker extensions block portions of sites or apps?
I’ve realized infinite scroll videos are really bad for me - so like Facebook/Instagram reels, YouTube shorts, and TikTok. I’ve blocked TikTok because it’s so obviously the cocaine of unproductive dopamine fountains for me. But Facebook and YouTube I use pretty responsibly aside from those parts of the apps. I actually can, I think, block them in the browser, but what about blocking that section of the app specifically on phone?
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Oh, I forgot to respond to this, but you did an excellent job.
It’s also worth thinking about how much tech we now have, and how affordably compared to when they first came out, that wasn’t a standard part of the basket of goods a family was going to get. $1000 cell phones, two car families, personal computers, dishwashers, smart watches. The expansion of what is needed for a family to achieve a middle class standard of living is notable.
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Depends on the product. but I generally trust Thorne across the board. I also never order vitamins on Amazon. I use iHerb or target for those, because of the counterfeiting/stacking by SKU issue with Amazon.
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Best advice for saving a laptop after half a cup of coffee spilled all over it? 
Powered it down, wiped up everything I could and turned it upside down with a fan pointed on it. Nothing seems to be dripping. I don’t have any tools that will allow me to take off the back panel or remove the battery.
The general advice just seems to be to let it dry for 24-48 hours and hope for the best but is there anything else I can do? I’m really screwed if I can’t use it for work today and tomorrow, and also really, really screwed if it short circuits a few weeks from now because it will be prohibitively expensive to replace in this country.
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Yes! I did exactly this (actually an entire cup of coffee). Hopefully you’ve left it powered off so far. You need to get some kitty litter (the crystal kind, not the clay kind) and a few XXL ziplock bags. You put the laptop in one ziplock, leave it open, then put that ziplock into another ziplock and fill the outer ziplock with kitty litter. Leave both bags open, but make sure no litter is spilling over the sides into the ziplock that contains the laptop. After about 24 hours, your laptop should be dry! I got this tip from a computer repair guy in my old town, it was a life saver!
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Absolutely do not power it on for the next 1-2 days. That’s the main thing! Resist the temptation!
The kitty litter trick works well too.
I used to be a computer repair tech and have seen lots of laptops survive coffee incidents. Fingers crossed!
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Does anyone use a steam mop? Are they worth it? Any recs?
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I have one that I sadly can’t use anymore because vinyl floors, but I loved it for my tile! I have a Shark one, I got it at Kohls for around $70…I don’t think it’s anything fancy but it works really well! It’s nice because you really don’t have to scrub much, or use any kinds of cleaning products.
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Ooh we have tile in the kitchen, living room, and bathrooms, so that’s good to know! Thank you!
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How do you properly clean hardwood floors? And what happens to them if you do not clean them properly?
I do not know what our cleaners have been using but I want to make sure it is good for them.
Before that we…ummmmmm… mopped like twice a year and just swept alot 
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I’ve always used Murphy’s Oil Soap on wood floors. It’s the best IMO.
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Yes. I have one that someone on MMM recommended- it wasn’t very expensive. We have tile in the bathrooms, and once/month I run it over the sealed hardwood in the kitchen.
Otherwise I hand wash the hardwood with Murphy’s oil soap. This is not as grueling as it sounds and doesn’t actually take any longer than regular mopping but I get into the corners better.
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Thank you (and @mountainmustache29) for the reassurance!! I have resisted the urge so far but will really need to turn it on tomorrow at least briefly to grab some work files.
Only the clay type of kitty litter seems to be available nearby… is it worth trying this with rice or is that mostly useless?
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I think rice is worth a shot! I think they warn against clay litter because of the dust that can get into the electronics but @iualia might have a different recommendation
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Yeah I would be nervous about clay litter but rice is a decent alternative!
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