Have you tried heat-setting the fabric paint with an iron after it dries? I think the cracking usually happens when people skip that step with stretchy materials. Dye gives a cleaner look for spandex-type fabrics but you're right about the extra cost and hassle with mixing. For hoodies specifically, I'd stick with paint but go with a brand like Tulip or Jacquard that flexes better than the cheap stuff. What kind of base fabric are you working with?

I read somewhere that some guy actually did a controlled test with his Tacoma on a closed highway loop and logged the data. He ran stock intake for a week, then switched to a cold air intake for another week, same driving conditions and fuel from the same pump. His mpg actually went down by about 0.3 because the hot engine bay air was getting sucked in during low speed driving. But at sustained highway speeds above 60 mph he saw a tiny 0.5 mpg bump from the ram air effect. So it's not zero benefit but that 2 mpg claim from the guy in Tucson sounds like he's just trying to justify the money he spent.

Man, that's rough. I'm glad you made it out okay. I had a similar scare with a used regulator setup. Got it cheap off a buddy. First dive at 40 feet and the second stage started free-flowing bad. Had to breathe off my buddy's octopus the whole way up. Scared me straight. Now I only buy new or from shops I trust. That neck seal thing sounds terrifying. Water that cold hitting your skin is no joke. You're lucky you didn't get hypothermia on the way up.

Hold up @kim_sanchez19, I gotta push back a little on that 36 inch thing. That's not exactly right for most of Ohio, especially if you're not dealing with a deep frost line. The frost line here varies a lot depending on where you are, but down in southern Ohio it's usually only around 30 inches. Up north it can be deeper, maybe 36 or even 40 in some spots. You really gotta check the local building codes for your specific area before digging. I learned that the hard way too when I helped my cousin outside Cincinnati and we went way too deep for no reason. It's better to call your county inspector instead of just guessing.

Is that cold solder issue specific to the 7050s or does it show up on the 7040s and 5060s too? I've seen some chatter about the Optiplex line in general having SATA controller problems after a couple years but nobody ever pinpoints which exact models. Did you actually have one lock up on you or did you catch it before it went bad? Trying to figure out if it's worth avoiding the whole series or just the 7050 specifically.