Call bullshit on those studies, honestly. They're done in controlled labs where you're staring at a screen waiting for a light to flash, not in real life where adrenaline and muscle memory kick in. I've caught a falling plate off the counter before it hit the floor, no way that was a full quarter second. Those numbers might apply to some random person who doesn't react much, but they don't account for people who are actually paying attention or have trained reflexes.

Is it weird that moving a rug changed my whole kitchen?

Read somewhere that CSS-Tricks has a good guide on responsive background images

Wait, your barista friend actually said French press is just "muddy pour-over"? That's wild to me, like saying a steak is just a burnt burger. I mean, yeah, French press has that silt at the bottom (the grit you're talking about), but that's part of the whole experience, you know? The oils and body you get from a French press are totally different from the clean, tea-like clarity of a pour-over. I've made both side by side with the same beans (a nice Ethiopian Yirgacheffe, if that matters) and they're basically two different drinks. Your buddy's not wrong about the oils making it better, but it's also just a different kind of coffee for a different mood.

Just realized my backup drive was failing for 6 weeks before it died" - I mean, did it really take you 6 weeks to notice? There's no way a drive makes clicking noises for that long without you checking it sooner. You lost three client configs and some notes, that sucks, but is it that serious? Most of that stuff is probably re-creatable in a day or two if you have any memory of what you were working on. I get that it's annoying, but people act like losing data is the end of the world when half the time it's just a hassle, not a real disaster.