Yeah, that drives me nuts. I had a writing group that got obsessed with cutting every single adverb, even when they were the right word for the mood. It just made everything sound weirdly flat and robotic.

Totally get that. Closing my eyes sometimes helps me focus on the texture and weight of a piece. It cuts out the visual noise.

What did the sales guy say when you tried to get a refund? Those trade show deals are the worst, they vanish after the weekend. I've had good luck with the basic Wahl cordless model for a few years now. It's not fancy but it just works. I'd skip the gimmicks and stick with a brand you see in real shops.

Man, that is such a common story with those fancy inserts. Read a whole thread last week where people were saying the exact same thing about Terraforming Mars. The sheer number of cards makes it a nightmare for any one-size-fits-all solution. Honestly, the best setup I've seen just uses a bunch of those cheap plastic deck boxes for the different card types, all tossed in the main box. Lets you grab what you need fast and actually fits sleeves without a fight. That foam core stuff looks great on a shelf but totally falls apart in real use.

Honestly it was the part about him losing his old tusks and growing new ones. That whole cycle of losing something you think defines you, only to find a new version, hits different. You see it everywhere, like when people have to change careers or start over in some way. Makes the walrus feel less like a cartoon and more like a weird, blubbery metaphor for getting through tough changes lol.