Notice how we often stick with old ways until something forces a change.

Yeah the "common interest to laugh and argue over" part is so true, @sethking. My last team got weirdly into predicting plot twists in this bad reality show. It gave us all something harmless to just talk about without any work pressure.

You know, my buddy tried that same high-ISO method after reading a post from @reed.mia last month. He dragged his old DSLR out to a dark site, used his nifty fifty lens wide open, and just blasted the ISO (his screen looked like a glitter factory, honestly). The raw files were a noisy mess, but he watched a ton of tutorials on stacking and noise reduction. He showed me the final shot, and I couldn't believe it came from his basic kit. It really drives home that idea that knowing your software can beat just buying more stuff.

Yeah like one time I found a reusable bag in my trunk I forgot about, and it had an old grocery receipt still in it. The weird part was the date on the receipt was exactly a year before that day. I mean it was probably just a total fluke but it made me stop and stare for a second.

Try making brackets or shims from those leftover pieces.