Yeah, it's exhausting. We're all just trying to keep up with a new job we never asked for. I feel the same way.

Honestly, how often does that actually happen though?

That manual might be talking about a mobile crane counterweight. Tower crane counterjibs are heavy, but the actual counterweight blocks are usually concrete and not that dense. I saw a 750 ton crawler setup in Texas where each counterweight block was 12 tons. They stack a bunch to get the total weight needed. A single 20 ton block would be almost impossible to lift into place on a tower crane. The big numbers come from adding multiple blocks together.

Always thought that was overkill, but seeing how often it catches mistakes changed my mind.

That's actually just a new scoby forming on top. They layer up like that when the brew gets vinegary, which happens if you forget it. It's totally normal, not the culture getting creative or anything.