Oh, that fizzy stage. I've had that happen when my kitchen was too warm. The carbonation can get intense. I usually just poke the kimchi down with a clean spoon a few times a day to let some gas escape before it builds up. That super sour, fizzy batch is perfect for kimchi jeon, the pancakes. The tang cuts through the batter really well. I've also just let it keep going in the fridge until it mellowed out a bit.

Yeah, that bit about the puckered jersey dress is so real. I tried the same thing on a tee shirt once and it looked awful. What finally worked for me was using a really thin, flexible binding tape on the inside of the seam allowance instead of leaving it fully raw. It keeps that flat, unfinished look from the outside but stops the fabric from going all weird and wavy. You have to be super careful with the tension though, or it still bunches up.

Did he ever actually try a worm bin, or is he just guessing? (Because a cup of dirt sounds like a setup problem.)

Glad that worked for you. I usually skip the sandpaper unless there's deep scoring. My go-to is brake cleaner spray, the non-chlorinated kind, followed by a good wipe down with a clean rag. Then I do exactly what you said, those hard stops to get the pads seated again. The noise usually comes from a thin layer of transfer or contamination, and that process cooks it right off. Found that method works better than just alcohol for the greasy film you sometimes get from road spray.

My shop teacher drilled that into us, always pre-drill for pocket screws.