Reminds me of a buddy who stopped torquing lug nuts to spec... said he could feel when they were tight enough. Worked fine until a wheel came off on the highway. Some shortcuts just store up trouble for later.

Honestly, that's the universe forcing you to slow down and think. My phone dying once made me actually outline a chapter in my head instead of just staring at a blank doc. The pressure to remember it all made the good stuff stick.

Yeah, the texture is just night and day, isn't it? I do the same thing with russets. For seasoning, I keep it simple most of the time. A little garlic powder, onion powder, and smoked paprika with the salt. If I'm feeling fancy, a tiny sprinkle of grated parmesan right when they come out of the air fryer sticks to them real nice. The frozen ones always taste a bit... off, to me now.

Used to think the same about gravel being a total mess. Then I saw a setup with a deep border and that coarser granite, and it really does stay put. I put down a heavy duty weed fabric underneath mine, which also helps a ton with keeping things clean.

Yeah, that "savings add up" thing is real, especially if you buy the big jugs and just refill a smaller bottle.