That "actually came out better" part is real. A buddy of mine had a cheap rice cooker die halfway through a batch, so he finished it on the stove and the crusty bottom was the best part. Sometimes the plan failing is the only way you find the better way to do it.

That "180 gallons on paper vs 95 that actually drained" part hit home for me. We pulled a mud drum on a D-type last spring and got about half of what the spec sheet claimed, straight sludge at the low end. I go by what drains now, not the book, because the book doesn't know how hard the water's been.

Learned this the hard way too. Scalped my bermuda every spring thinking it would wake it up, and all I got was weeds and bare patches. Started cutting high like your uncle said and now it actually survives the summer without me babysitting it lol.