Saw a 'diesel mechanic' at the county fair using a can of WD-40 on everything

I was at the fair in Boise last week and the guy running the tractor pull had a sign that said 'Diesel Mechanic On Duty'. Watched him try to fix a fuel line drip by spraying it with WD-40 and saying 'that'll hold'. Has anyone actually seen that work, or is it just a new kind of magic?

I used to think dried beans were a waste of time until my power got cut for two days

My fridge died, so I had to cook a bag of pinto beans I'd bought for 79 cents. Just boiled them with some onion and a ham hock from the freezer. They were so much better than canned, and the whole pot cost maybe $3. I've been making a big batch every Sunday now. Anyone have good ideas for using the leftover bean water?

Spotted a clever winch line anchor setup at a trailhead near Moab

A guy had welded a simple D-ring tab onto the front of his frame, just behind the bumper. It let him run a direct, straight pull from his winch without the line rubbing on anything. Anyone else run a setup like that instead of using the factory tow points?

My laptop screen went completely dark after a small spill last Thursday

I carefully took it apart, dried the board with a hair dryer on low heat for 20 minutes, and it powered right back on. Has anyone else saved a gadget this way, or did I just get lucky?

I finally caved and bought a $200 'AI art assistant' subscription and it basically just draws extra fingers.

Bought a $400 thermal camera for my phone to check a panel, ended up finding a bad connection in the wall.

Was on a service call for a flickering light in a kitchen. Customer said it was just the bulb. My Fluke meter showed voltage was fine at the switch. Pulled out this little thermal camera that clips to my phone. Scanned the wall near the outlet. Saw a hot spot about six inches up from the floor. Cut a small hole, found a loose stab-in connection on a receptacle that was getting warm. Fixed it in ten minutes. The camera paid for itself on that one job. Anyone else use these for quick trouble shooting?

My main forge burner sputtered out halfway through a commissioned gate hinge

It happened yesterday evening, right as I was getting the steel to a good welding heat. I had to shut everything down and finish the piece cold in the vise, which took an extra three hours. Anyone have a reliable burner design that won't quit under a sustained run?

PSA: I tried to watch the first season of The Wire in one weekend

I figured it was only 13 episodes, so it should be easy. I didn't count on each episode being so dense that I needed a break to think about it. It ended up taking me almost three weeks to finish because I could only do one or two episodes at a time. Does anyone else have shows they have to watch slowly like that?

I was watching a show and totally missed the point for months

I kept complaining that the main character in 'Vinland Saga' was too violent, until a friend in Denver pointed out last week that the whole first season is about showing why that path is a dead end. I'd been focused on the action scenes and missed the entire theme of the story changing. Has anyone else had a show where they misunderstood the main idea until someone spelled it out?

Question about a shellac disaster on a 1920s oak dresser

I was applying a fresh coat of shellac in my garage in Portland last week, and a huge dust clump fell from the ceiling right into the wet finish. I tried to pick it out with a toothpick but it just smeared and left a nasty, rough patch. What's the best way to fix this without stripping the whole top again?