That "visible line" comment is a perfect example of how one piece of honest feedback can break you out of autopilot. It happens in every job where you do the same thing over and over, you stop really seeing it. Sometimes you need that outside eye to point out what you've been missing for years.

Two full days? I almost fell out of my chair. You spent 14 hours on this? I figured it was a long afternoon, not a whole weekend marathon. That's a serious project, not just a quick scan job. Your dad stopping for 20 minute stories about each cousin is both sweet and a huge time sink. I guess you really can't rush it without missing the whole point.

Perfect click every single time" sounds like a line from a bad infomercial. I fought my boss on the torque wrench too, until I realized it's basically idiot-proofing my own work. Now I just zone out and listen for the clicks. Still think my foreman gets a little too much joy out of making us redo stuff though.

Been there, done that. What do you look for now to tell a real trail from a goat path?

That early adopter tax hits hard.