Hot take: I used to think those fuel additive tests were all marketing, but one changed my mind

I had a 2005 Duramax come into the shop last month with a real rough idle and some power loss. The owner swore by a specific cetane booster he'd been using for years, but I was sure it was an injector issue. We ran the tests, and everything checked out fine on the mechanical side. Just to prove a point, I told him to run a tank without the additive. The truck came back a week later running noticeably worse. We put the additive back in, and within half a tank it smoothed right out. I guess the fuel quality in our area has dropped more than I thought. Has anyone else seen a case where an additive actually made a clear, measurable difference on an older engine?

Just got through a nightmare glue-down job with a trick I learned from an old guy in Kansas City

Had to install about 800 square feet of solid hardwood over a concrete slab that was sweating moisture like crazy. The moisture test was borderline, and the homeowner refused a full subfloor. I was staring at a future callback for sure. An old installer I met at a supply house years ago in KC told me to roll out a coat of moisture-curing urethane adhesive first, let it get tacky, then put down the regular wood flooring adhesive right on top of it. He called it a 'primer coat' for bad slabs. I was desperate, so I tried it. Used Bostik's Best for the first coat, waited about 45 minutes, then laid the normal adhesive. The wood went down solid and hasn't made a peep in six months. Has anyone else had to use a double-glue method like this on a questionable slab?

Question about the new smart lock at the hardware store in Springfield

I was at the big hardware store in Springfield yesterday looking at smart locks. I picked up the new 'SecureHome Pro' model to check it out. The box said it had a 6-month battery life, but the small print on the back said that's only if you use it less than 10 times a day. For a family of four, that's maybe a week of real use. The sales guy tried to tell me it was fine, but that math doesn't add up at all. Has anyone bought one of these and had to change the batteries constantly?

PSA: I started adding a bit of dish soap to my finishing mix and it worked

Everyone on my crew said I was nuts for even trying it. We had a big pour for a patio in Tempe last month, and the mix felt too sticky, making it hard to get a smooth finish. I remembered an old timer mentioning a drop of plain blue dish soap could act as a plasticizer. I added maybe half a cup to a full truckload, mixed it in good. The workability was way better, and we closed the surface without a single crack showing up after a week. Has anyone else tried this trick, or am I the only one willing to test the weird advice?

Tbh, I assumed budgeting meant deprivation, but it actually let me splurge guilt-free.