Ha, but is it really though? Common sense is basically what people already agree on, which changes depending on who you ask and where they grew up. I feel like "common sense" gets thrown around to shut down conversations or make people feel dumb for not knowing something. Honestly, a lot of stuff that seems obvious now wasn't obvious at all a few decades ago. So I'd argue it's more like a social shortcut than actual universal truth lol.

Gotta push back on something here, @uma896. That "twenty bucks" claim is probably underselling it unless you got a real basic one. Maybe it's just me, but decent instant read thermometers usually run closer to thirty or forty if you want one that actually lasts. I mean, I've bought two cheap ones that gave up after a few months, so the real curse might be replacing them over and over. But yeah, you're totally right about the whole vibe shift. There's something lost when you can't just poke a steak and guess by feel anymore. At least my chicken never comes out dry now, so I'll take the trade off.

Wait, she actually came back after you said "good luck with that"? That's wild. I would've bet money she found someone else for $500 less. The fact that she came crawling back two weeks later tells me she either got quoted way higher or found out the hard way that "same work" doesn't mean same quality. Honestly I'm shocked she lasted that long. Most people like that just disappear into the wind.

Saw a YouTube documentary about the last guys who repair these old Komoris. They talked about how the ink train on those 90s machines is just built different, more rollers and more contact points. The dot gain is supposedly way more predictable on gloss stocks compared to digital where it can get all fuzzy on the edges. Read somewhere that the mechanical grippers also exert a more consistent pressure across the whole sheet, no micro-banding from the digital belts or whatever. It's wild that parts are still floating around though, must be getting harder to find someone who knows how to adjust the cylinder timing without the manual.

That "strip mall mailbox place in Newark" line hit hard. Once immigration or a bank decides to actually verify, a Delaware PO box is about as convincing as a Monopoly Get Out of Jail Free card.