That supervisor line about "it only dings the slackers" is the same thing my gym app did when it started locking me out of peak hours after I hit 40 visits in a month. Feels like every company just trusts the black box and calls it fair. If they won't show the rules, the rules are basically whatever saves them money.

Took me 3 full days of cranking and cussing" is basically my whole resume with old iron. I once pulled a carb apart twice before realizing the ground was the problem, so yeah, been there. Now I check grounds first and feel real smart about it, right up until the next dumb thing gets me.

My buddy Dave grabbed a can of pureed beets at the store in Toledo last month thinking it was fancy cranberry sauce, and his kids still bring it up at every holiday dinner. Point is, a ton of cans are just one veggie with a boring label, and people walk right past them. Toss that pumpkin in your next batch of taco meat too, it does the same trick.