Yeah man, that's rough, hate hearing about stuff like that.

The leaves are turning a deep maroon right now" - give it a few years and that color won't be as strong, oaks are slow to show their true fall color. And those acorns are gonna be a bigger headache than you think, they'll stain the sidewalk and bring squirrels digging up everything.

That white roof trick is legit, I did the same thing on my house in Tucson a couple years ago. The key is making sure you get the right kind of elastomeric (the one with ceramic beads in it if you can find it) because cheap paint can peel off in the sun. Another cheap fix that helped me was adding a gable vent fan with a thermostat switch, like $50 on Amazon and it sucks the hot air out of the attic before it can seep into the living space. Also, swapping out old incandescent bulbs for LEDs cut my heat load more than I expected, since lights generate a surprising amount of heat when you run them for hours. Just be careful not to paint your roof if it's under warranty, some manufacturers get cranky about that.

Wait, did you do any testing on a hidden spot before going all in with the steel wool? I've used 0000 on plenty of old finishes and never had micro-scratching, but maybe it's different with walnut veneer because it's softer than oak or mahogany. The real issue might be that you were bearing down too hard or the varnish was gummy and grabbed the wool weird. I'd honestly stick with the steel wool but switch to a lubricant like mineral spirits so it glides better and doesn't dig in. Have you thought about trying a card scraper instead, since those leave a glass-smooth surface without any scratches?

Filed a chargeback with my bank the same week I noticed the site was down. Took about 3 weeks but they clawed back the whole $120. I also left reviews on Trustpilot and Reddit warning other people, which got the company to actually respond to a few people before they fully vanished. Lesson learned the hard way though - now I never pay upfront for more than 3 months of any online service. If they fold, you're out way less money. Sucks that your students got stuck with those broken links though.