That "hauntingly real" comment sounds like someone just being nice. I fight dust and hair every time, it's a sign of a messy darkroom. A clean negative and a clean print are the whole point of the craft, otherwise you're just making flawed work.

Oh man, my uncle said "cowhide" once.

Man that's a classic hose water mistake. Did the same thing with my dog's bowl for months last summer. The water gets so hot sitting in that hose in the sun, it's basically cooking in there. My poor guy was drinking what felt like tea. Now I always run it for a minute to clear out the hot stuff first. Makes you feel pretty bad once you realize.

Honestly the rolled up fleece thing still works for me. Those fancy pillows take up too much room in the pack and they never stay put. I woke up with mine on the ground half the time. I'll stick with my jacket in a stuff sack, it's free and it works.

The furnace kicking on was probably the ground fault, not the interference. Minimum separation is twelve inches in the code book.