Totally agree with you harperc79, that's how you find the real stuff. Got lost in this little town in Mexico once, asked a guy fixing his bike where to eat, and he walked me three blocks to his cousin's place. Best tacos I ever had, just a couple plastic tables in a garage. You're right about tours moving too fast, feels like you're just checking boxes. I'd rather spend an hour in one weird little shop than see ten "must-see" spots from a bus window.

Placeholder labels are the worst, I've definitely lost a weekend to something similar.

That wet slurry trick is a lifesaver for those thin cuts that usually crack on you.

Design tests should happen on a cracked phone in a parking lot at noon.

Last year at a hospital site, their automated cart system kept faulting. Engineers were ready to swap the main logic board. Turns out a single photo eye was just dirty, not broken. It's wild how often the fix is just cleaning a sensor or re-seating a cable, not a thousand dollar part. You save so much downtime just by checking the simple stuff first.