The flash on my D750 actually melted part of a wedding cake once, so I feel your pain. Drop the exposure compensation by 1.3 stops and bounce the light off a white ceiling if you can, it softens things way more than you'd expect. Did you try converting the raw file to black and white to salvage any detail in those blown highlights?

Hmm, I gotta push back on this a little. I think people overhype how much indoor plants clean the air. You'd need a jungle to actually match what an air purifier does, not just 200 plants in pots. And yeah, tripping over pots is annoying, but that's more of a lifestyle problem than a sign you've gone too far. Everyone has their thing, you know? Some people collect sneakers they can't even wear, I don't see why plants are any different. Honestly, if you can still use your couch and your kitchen table, you're probably fine.

Yeah, you're right on that. The bend test for Section IX uses 1-inch plate, not 2-inch. The 2-inch is standard for Charpy V-notch impact testing, so it's easy to mix them up. Definitely double check that paperwork.

Three hours is wild... but honestly I've done dumber stuff with tools.

Man that's wild, I always thought shears were basically indestructible too but now I'm definitely keeping my fingers crossed every time I use mine.