Nah, counting miles just turns the trail into a checklist. You were probably crushing your own limits from day one, you just didn't need a number to prove it to yourself.

Snow usually messes with those sensors, just wipe the dome off and you'll be fine.

Nah man, I bet your new lab isn't actually giving you grainier negatives - they're probably just developing them at a higher temperature or agitating them way more aggressively than your old shop. I've seen this happen where a lab rushes the process and uses hotter chems to speed things up, which literally cooks the silver in the emulsion and makes everything look like sand. Your old Austin shop might have been one of those places that takes their sweet time with cold development and gentle agitation, keeping that grain super tight. The other thing nobody talks about is how some labs reuse their fixer way too long, which can leave residue on the film that makes it look grainy even when it's not. If you're feeling bold, try sending a test roll to two different labs at the same time and compare - I bet the difference is HUGE.

Left my brioche on a heating vent one winter and came back to what looked like a greasy pancake. I used to think more warmth meant faster rise, but that experience totally changed my mind. Learned the hard way that anything above 80 degrees just turns your butter into oil and kills the yeast. Now I use my oven with just the light on and it stays around 75, works way better. That radiator mistake taught me slow and steady is actually the way to go with enriched doughs.

Swap the light bulb color temp between warm and cool and see if it still bugs you.