Heard a print shop owner say once that if the client approved the proof, it's on them even if it looks terrible. Live and learn, lol.

My uncle used to run a crane in Houston and swore by his paper load charts laminated in a binder. One time he had to set a chiller on a roof downtown and the wind was gusting so bad his charts blew off the truck and landed in a puddle. He spent 20 minutes drying them on the dash of his pickup while the foreman chewed him out. Now he uses an app on his phone and says he'll never go back. That story makes me think some things are worth paying for even if they cost a small fortune upfront.

Oh man, reminds me of when I bought a cheap gaming mouse for fifteen bucks and the left button started double clicking after a week. Like yeah you get what you pay for but still feels bad.

A guy I knew in Flint skipped straining for ten years straight without a single clog. That dried chunk in your cup makes me wonder if you're actually cursed and just didn't know it yet. I'd say you're the one who finally proved the odds are real.

Yeah "testing on real devices from the start" is exactly what saved me. I got burned once building a whole layout on my laptop only to find it looked terrible on actual phones and tablets. Now I keep a few older devices around and check stuff on them before I get too deep into the design.