I was at a small con in Omaha and saw a guy just give a kid his extra copy of a key issue for free.

Can we talk about using plumber's putty on sink drains

My kitchen sink started leaking under the cabinet last Tuesday, and I found the old plumber's putty had turned to dust. Everyone online says to just pack more putty in there, but I think that's a bad fix. I cleaned everything off and used a rubber gasket instead, the kind that comes with some new drains. It took maybe 20 minutes and cost $4 for the part. The putty always fails after a few years, especially with heat from the disposal. The rubber seal makes a tight fit without the mess and won't dry out. Has anyone else switched to gaskets and had it hold up long term?

Honestly, I welded a 4 inch schedule 80 pipe with a 6010 rod in a tight spot last month and the bead looked perfect, but it failed hydro in under a minute.

Found a weird trick for a stuck damper in an old Baltimore row house

The lever was totally frozen on a 1928 fireplace, so I sprayed a mix of 50/50 vinegar and water into the hinge and let it sit for 20 minutes. It broke free with just a few taps from my rubber mallet after that. Has anyone else used something besides commercial penetrant for this?

I thought the 'glacial erratic' in my town park was just a big rock someone dumped there.

For years I walked past this huge boulder in the park thinking it was leftover from some construction project. Then I went to a local geology talk at the library and the speaker used it as an example. He said it's granite, but the bedrock here is all shale, and it was carried over 200 miles by an ice sheet. Seeing the map of the ice flow path made it click. Anyone know of other good examples of erratics in the Midwest?

Finally figured out why my derailleur adjustments never held

I was always just turning the barrel adjuster until the shifting sounded okay. A guy in the shop pointed out I was missing the initial step of setting the limit screws with the cable completely detached. Did that on a Trek FX 2 yesterday and the difference was night and day. Anyone have a favorite method for getting that initial limit screw position dialed in?

Serious question, I was torquing head bolts on a 6.7 Powerstroke for three years before a buddy pointed out my mistake.

I always used the 'three-step' method from an old manual, adding a quarter turn at the end. Last week, he watched me and said, "You're still doing the turn-of-the-nut finish? That spec changed in 2018." I looked it up and he was right, the final torque angle is different now. I've probably done two dozen heads wrong. How many of you still use the old specs versus the updated ones?

Honestly thought 'write what you know' was the worst advice until my dog ate a library book

Can we talk about how I used to organize my game nights versus how I do now after a 3-hour argument about the rules for Settlers of Catan?

I used to just throw the box on the table and let chaos reign, but after that marathon debate, I now spend a full hour before anyone arrives, with color-coded player aids and a printed FAQ from BoardGameGeek, which my friend Mark calls 'pre-game anxiety theater.'

My 15 year old fridge finally gave out on a Sunday afternoon

The compressor just quit with a sad hum, right when I had a fridge full of random stuff that needed using up. I had half a jar of salsa, some leftover pulled pork from the diner on 5th, a wilting bell pepper, and a block of cheddar that was still okay. Ended up throwing it all in a skillet for a weird but decent hash while I waited for the appliance guy. Anyone have a good go-to meal for a fridge emergency like that?