Mikes got a point. Bleeders are dirt cheap and worth it.

Sounds like your buddy got lucky. But surge protectors only stop power spikes, and it sounds like your capacitor just died from heat fatigue in 104 degree weather. That's a wear part, not a surge problem, so you might be tossing money at something that won't change anything.

Dried dough drips on the cabinets at 2am sounds like a horror movie. I can't even imagine waking up to that sticky mess everywhere. You gotta go way bigger on the jar, like a half gallon at least, or put a loose towel over the top instead of a lid.

Not convinced a tool saves that much time if you still have to clean everything twice anyway.

That little bottle thermometer idea is cute. You know though, drawing a tiny bottle every day still sounds like a bit of work compared to what I do. I just put a simple dot in the corner of my daily page each time I finish a glass and connect them into a little line as the day goes on. It's not fancy but it takes zero time.