Did you try drying the shale out slowly, or was it too far gone?

Wait, you were still doing the loop thing? Yeah man, that's a killer on time. The straight push is the only way with blown-in insulation. Tape the head good so it doesn't snag, maybe add a little bend at the very tip. If you hit a block, pull it back a foot and give it a slight wiggle as you push, it usually finds a path. Saved me so many headaches.

Honestly, that's so true about MDN. I'd just add that CS50's problem sets are basically real projects too, they just give you the idea first.

Made the same call last summer. Thought I was smart avoiding the spiders until I basically became soup up there.

Sounds like a lot of fuss over some beans.