Worth knowing that the sealant itself isn't really the problem, it's what it's made of. The old tar based stuff traps water and rot, but the newer water based types actually let the wood breathe a bit, so the blanket "all sealant is bad" thing isn't fully true. The bigger issue is people painting cuts that never needed it in the first place, like small ones the tree can close on its own.

Love that a bedtime story is what cracked it for you, because that kind of thing happens to me all the time. I had a similar moment watching my roommate make a sandwich, layering the same three things over and over, and suddenly nested loops made sense in a way no tutorial ever managed. It's funny how a dumb real life thing can do what hours of reading docs could not.

Does a shop owner get to say who counts as a real fan? I used to think that was way out of line, since you put the book on hold and it's yours, and the shop should honor that deal no matter what. But then I started thinking about how many pull boxes are just full of stuff people flip online, and a guy who's been running a shop for years can usually tell who's actually gonna read the thing.