Actually, silicone spray is a dry lubricant that dries to a film, so it's fine on pivot points. But you might want to be careful with it on the track itself. I found that out the hard way when my garage door started sticking after a few months. The silicone built up on the nylon rollers and left a residue that grabbed the track when it got cold. WD-40 Specialist makes a PTFE dry lube that works better for the track since it leaves almost no film.

Heard a podcast a few days ago that basically said the same thing, how our brains trick us into thinking the same patterns are brand new. The host was a psychologist and she talked about something called "routine blindness" or whatever. Apparently it happens when your brain gets so used to the daily grind that it stops actually processing small differences. Makes sense though, I catch myself zoning out during meetings and then realizing I've heard the exact same complaints before.

The break in period is real but honestly I think most of it is the user figuring out the grinder not the grinder itself. I spent a week making terrible coffee before I realized I was cranking it to the finest setting because it felt more "precise" or whatever. Ended up with a cup that tasted like someone yelled at the beans through a megaphone. @paul_lane80 your buddy Tom's story about the scale hits close to home, I still use a measuring spoon like a caveman and just pray the ratios work out. Maybe I need to accept that coffee involves math and stop pretending I can eyeball it.

Oh boy, this takes me back. I still remember my first hand-wire job - it looked like a spider had a seizure in there. But you know what nobody talks about? Getting the right iron tip makes all the difference. I used a chisel tip for years until someone at a local meetup let me try their fine point conical tip and suddenly those tight spots were way easier to manage. Also sounds obvious but a good flux really helps the solder flow where you want it instead of globbing up. I kept fighting with cheap solder and cheap irons forever before I learned that lesson. Anyway congrats on getting it working - that feeling when every key registers is something special.

Adopted people often carry pressure to be grateful, and that can shut down real connection more than anything else. When that guard drops, it's not just relaxing - it's finally being allowed to be a normal person instead of a symbol.