In this TronicsFix video, Steve buys 7 broken NES game cartridges, priced from $5 – $30, to see how hard it is to fix them. Most of the repairs come down to cleaning the “golden finger” contacts on the edge of the circuit boards and Steve finds that a combo of pink eraser, IPA on a Q-tip, and a metal polishing cloth does the trick. One game had badly corroded pins on a chip and was therefore DOA, another had a short in one of the chips (same), a few required jumping wires to repair broken copper traces. But, in the end, only a couple of the games were beyond basic repairs.
Awesome Woodworking Tips from Lloyd Khan
When I was a teen, I was obsessed with the Whole Earth Catalogs and completely enamored with the work of often-featured designer-builders like Jay Baldwin, Greg Baer, Malcolm Wells, and Lloyd Khan. Khan was responsible for the very WEC-like outsized Shelter publications, featuring crazy, cool, and arty owner-built dwellings. Lloyd is still around, still doing his thing. His Instagram is worth a follow. This particular post is loaded with a number of high-quality construction tips.
Getting to Know the 555 Timer Chip
In this DroneBot Workshop they provide a clear and concise 42-minute introduction to the ubiquitous and versatile 555 timer chip. They discuss how the 555 works, its various modes, and some of the basic projects you can use it in.
A Chemist Explains How Super Glue Works
Brent, of the excellent game crafting and miniature painting channel, Goobertown Hobbies, also has a Ph.D. in chemistry. In this video on his channel, he explains the chemistry behind cyanoacrylate (aka Super Glue) and how the glue actually works.
Electroplating 3D Prints
Via Donald Bell’sMaker Update comes a recommendation for this article on Makezine about how to create faux chrome finishes on 3D prints. The process involves lots of sanding and smoothing of the print, a spray with a copper conductive paint, then an electroplating bath. The results are pretty spectacular.
Testing and Ranking Heavy-Duty Staplers
In this Project Farm video, Todd tests out 14 different brands of heavy-duty staplers. He looks at units from Makita, Milwaukee, Ryobi, Arrow, DeWalt, WorkPro, Bauer, Neu Master, Ework, Bielmeier, Stanley, and Citadel. The staplers were compared for resistance to jams, stapling speed, capability to drive staples into spruce, oak, and composite decking. Bottom line? The Ryobi performed very well and offers the best value, at $84 (at time of testing). The stapler that tested best overall was the Makita, at a whopping $210 at time of testing.
Shop Talk
Newsletter reader Paul Cryan asks:“How do you know if a tip you’ve come across is original enough to report?”Good question, Paul. A lot of it comes down to experience and intuition. I’ve been writing in the DIY space for over 30 years, so I have some sense of the saturation of tips and techniques that are shared. But ultimately, I don’t sweat “originality” as much as I do practicality. If it’s a great tip, even if it’s been around for a while, even a very long while, it’s worth sharing with those for whom it’s new and as a reminder to those who may already know it. I see tips all the time that serve as a reminder for me to finally break down and try it out (or bring it back into my work flow).
***
I got a lot of responses to my “Shop Talk” post about areas of DIY where you say “Hell, no, get me a pro.” Everyone seemed to be on the same page. Reader Craig best summarized the responses I received:“My dad did almost no home or auto repairs. Not because he didn’t know how, but because he freakin’ hated doing them. Mom, however, might have been able to build a house with a pocketknife and a pair of vise grips. She just had skills…lots of them.”I have done a wide spectrum of things but as I’ve gotten older, I triage everything:If I want to try something, I do.If I don’t want to, I don’t.If it absolutely must be done and I don’t want to do it, I hire it out.No guilt, just a depleted treasury.”
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University of Colorado philosopher Michael Huemer offers a refreshingly clear introduction to the big questions — knowledge, reality, ethics, free will, and more — defending the radical idea that common sense is usually right. Philosophy doesn’t have to overthrow everything you already believe; it can sharpen and deepen what you know.
Core Principles
Trust Appearances Until Given Reason Not To
Huemer’s central epistemological insight is “phenomenal conservatism”: if it seems to you that something is true, and you have no specific grounds for doubting that appearance, then you have at least some justification for believing it. This isn’t naive — it’s the only non-self-defeating starting point. Any theory that rejects appearances as evidence undermines itself, since we can only evaluate theories based on how things seem to us.
Common Sense Deserves the Presumption of Innocence
Just as courts presume innocence until guilt is proven, philosophy should presume common-sense beliefs are true until proven false. The burden of proof lies with the skeptic, not the believer. Most philosophical “problems” dissolve when we stop demanding impossible certainty and accept that reasonable belief doesn’t require bulletproof foundations.
Moral Intuitions Are Evidence
Huemer defends ethical intuitionism: our basic moral intuitions — that cruelty is wrong, that fairness matters — provide genuine evidence about moral reality. Ethics isn’t a different kind of truth from other truths; moral facts are as real as mathematical or physical facts. We don’t need to derive ethics from something else; we can know some things directly.
Perception Connects Us to Reality
Against skeptics who claim we’re trapped behind a “veil of perception,” Huemer argues for direct realism: when you see a tree, you’re aware of an actual tree, not a mental image of one. The external world isn’t hidden from us — we perceive it directly. Skeptical scenarios are possible but give us no positive reason to doubt what we plainly see.
Try It Now
Identify a belief you hold that “just seems obviously true.” Instead of defending it with elaborate arguments, ask: Do I have any specific reason to doubt this? If not, you’re justified in believing it.
Notice when a philosophical argument leads to a conclusion that strikes you as absurd. Consider: Maybe the argument is flawed, rather than common sense being wrong.
Think of a moral intuition you hold strongly — something feels clearly wrong or right. Ask yourself: Am I treating this as evidence, or am I dismissing it because I can’t “prove” it?
When someone makes a skeptical argument (”How do you know you’re not dreaming?”), ask: What positive reason do I have to believe that scenario? Mere possibility isn’t evidence.
Pick a philosophical question that seems hopelessly complicated. Try stating the common-sense answer first, then ask what’s actually wrong with it.
Quote
“Having feelings does not make you irrational. Believing that the world must be a certain way because of your feelings does.”
