hit 150 jars... and didn't even notice" - I gotta say, I don't get that at all. If I was making that much hot sauce I'd be counting every single jar from day one. How do you lose track of 150 of something you put work into? That's like forgetting you brewed a whole batch of beer. I mean if you're just cranking them out without paying attention, what's the point of fermenting in the first place?

Wait, did the school actually do a proper inspection after you finished, or was it just a quick walkthrough? I've seen too many jobs where the seams looked good on day one but the problem was they weren't compacted enough or the lifts were too thick, and that's what really causes issues later. Hitting 600 yards in a day sounds impressive, but I've always thought it's better to take a little extra time and make sure everything's done right, rather than rushing to hit a number. Not saying your crew messed up or anything, but a lot of times those big numbers come with shortcuts that don't show up until the next season.

Dude, the grain direction thing got me too! I spent almost a year wondering why my saddlestitched zines kept curling up. I was at Powell's City of Books in Portland talking to a clerk about it, and she just pointed at the paper grain on my covers and said "you're fighting the paper, not working with it." I felt so dumb, like all that time I could have fixed it. Now I check every single sheet before I cut, it's become a weird habit. That moment when someone points out the obvious that was right in front of you the whole time. It's such a humbling part of bookbinding honestly.

almost quit the series" is exactly how I felt my first time through too lol. I actually did stop watching for like a month after season 2 started. But then my buddy kept telling me to stick with it so I gave it another shot and man I was wrong. The dock worker stuff feels slow at first but it ends up being super important to the whole city's big picture. By the time you finish season 2 you'll see how it all connects back to the street stuff and it makes the whole show way deeper. Trust me push through it, it's worth it.

shifted how flour absorbs water permanently" - that's a big claim. Are you saying the 2007 rules basically rewrote the chemistry of flour itself, or just changed how bakers have to handle it now? Like, is the absorption difference something you can see in the dough or only feel later when the bread turns out dry? I've always wondered if those regulations were more about keeping gluten out of things that shouldn't have it, or if they accidentally messed up the whole system for everyone else.