Man, I wish I could say I learned that lesson the easy way but nope, I got cooked like a microwaved burrito first. Now I keep a whole folder of archived threads just for when I'm about to type something spicy, it's basically my digital safety blanket. The funny part is half the time I find old posts that make ME look bad too, so now I'm just scared of my own footprints. Honestly the internet never forgets, but at least now I get to be the one holding the shovel before I dig.

Yeah, frozen is the way to go for anything you don't eat within a few days. The trick is treating frozen stuff like the base and fresh stuff as the special treat, so you're not wasting money on wilted spinach every week. Once you get used to it, you barely notice the difference in most dishes anyway.

...and that right there is why I always check the heat shrink now before I even pull out the meter. Had almost the same thing on a Piper last year, corrosive white powder hiding under perfectly good looking shrink wrap. The wire even flexed normal, so you'd never suspect it. My trick now is to give any suspect splice a gentle squeeze with my thumb and forefinger, if it feels even slightly crunchy or soft, I cut it out right there. Saves me from the classic three visit job where you replace everything except the actual problem. Also, invest in a good pair of strippers that have a cutter built in, makes ripping out old splices way less painful on the fingers. Nine hours stings but the next guy will have it fixed in ten minutes, so take some comfort in that.