That joke is solid because it works on two levels and the clerk probably hears "just here for my license" fifty times a day. Dad jokes live and die on timing, and your dad clearly knew she needed a break more than he needed a laugh. Best one I ever heard was a guy telling the pharmacy tech he was there to pick up his "refill of patience.

A $45 probe that survived a 14 hour brisket in El Paso is basically a medal of honor in the BBQ world. My cheap one gave up the ghost somewhere around hour 6 last summer, so it spent the rest of the night as a very expensive paperweight. Sounds like you finally got your money's worth instead of just buying another gadget for the drawer.

Did you check the error counters per port before swapping everything?