That "body just shuts down" thing happened to me on a bus to Prague, woke up in a totally different country.

Oh man, that torque spec is no joke. I mean, I chased a weird heading flag for weeks and it turned out to be that same connector just a hair loose. It's crazy how sensitive those pins are. Using a torque wrench like you said was the only thing that made it stick for good.

So the guy's big tech secret is writing stuff down on paper? What's next, using a sundial to track sprint deadlines? I guess my method of trying to remember everything and then panicking is the weirdly complex alternative. Does anyone actually have the discipline to do that every single day for two years?

That wallpaper story from @jessejohnson is wild. Perfectly dry in a chimney flue? I found a 1938 grocery list tucked behind a baseboard once, and the paper was so brittle it turned to dust when I touched it. My attic had a stack of newspapers from the 50s that were basically glued together with damp. Makes me think his chimney must have been sealed up tight with zero humidity. Old houses are full of surprises, but that level of preservation is just lucky.

Wait, is this a brag or a cry for help? After 500 doors I'd be seeing them in my sleep. That's a lot of time spent on one tiny part of the whole machine.