Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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Never Learned to Cook? One Class Is a Good Place to Start
Plenty of adults never learned to cook, and honestly, it’s not a big deal. Maybe a parent ran the kitchen and you were only allowed to set the table. Maybe work got busy and delivery apps got way too good. Either way, looking at a recipe can feel like reading furniture instructions in a language…
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Counterfeits Aren’t Just Handbags: How to Check a Vape Box
Say “fake goods” and most people picture knockoff purses or a too-good-to-be-true watch. But copies show up way past the mall, and vape products get hit a lot. Printing a convincing box is cheap. Making sure what’s inside matches it? Not so much. Read the Packaging Closely Brands that care about their name spend real…
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Before You Cut: What to Do With a Storm-Damaged Tree
The morning after a big storm sounds the same on every block. Chainsaws. Somebody’s dad is already out there in a T-shirt and safety glasses, cutting limbs into pieces that will fit in the yard waste bin. It’s a good instinct, mostly. You want the mess gone. But a hurt tree is one of the…
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Keep the Receipt: A Texas Deductible Rule Most Homeowners Miss
After Hurricane Beryl hit the Houston area in July 2024, a lot of our neighbors filed roof claims. Most of us knew we’d owe a deductible. Fewer of us knew that how you pay your Texas roof deductible can affect when the rest of your claim money shows up. Here’s what we learned while working…
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New Construction Dust Takes About a Year to Settle
You move into a brand new house. Everything is spotless. Two weeks later there’s a gray film on every flat surface and you can’t figure out where it’s coming from. This surprises people. A new house should be the cleanest house you’ll ever own. It usually isn’t, at least not for the first year. Where…
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A Shop Vacuum Will Not Dry Your House
After a flood or a burst pipe most people reach for a wet vacuum and a pile of towels. Reasonable first move. The mistake is thinking it finished anything. Two different jobs Extraction takes standing water out. Drying pulls water back out of the materials it soaked into. The second one is slower, needs equipment,…
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Understanding Maryland Utility Easements and Property Owner Rights
Most Maryland homeowners never think about easements. Then one day a utility crew shows up to chop down a tree near the power line. Or the gas company digs a trench across the back forty. Or a surveyor wanders onto the property uninvited. That’s usually the exact moment people start asking what their rights actually…
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Why That New Patch Always Looks Wrong At First
Quick story. A friend of mine had a small patch done on the side of her 1950s house last spring. The contractor mixed the color, applied it, stepped back, and called it done. The patch looked terrible. Like, obviously terrible. She was furious. She thought he’d botched it. He hadn’t. The patch was wet. Wet…
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Fleas and Ticks: The Spring Problem Every Pet Owner Has
Every year. Same pattern. First week of consistently-warm weather, pest control offices across the Northeast start getting the same two calls. Fleas in the house. Ticks on the dog. A lot of the time, both. It’s not a coincidence at all. Fleas and ticks run on the exact same calendar, and once either one gets…
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Is a Tankless Water Heater Actually Worth It for an Older North Jersey Home?
If you’ve ever run out of hot water halfway through a shower, you’ve probably wondered if a tankless unit would fix the problem. Short answer: usually yes. Longer answer: it depends on your house, your gas line, and how many people are fighting for the bathroom at 7 a.m. Tankless heaters (sometimes called “on-demand”) skip…
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