Nice! That's a solid start. Honestly though, bump that goal to like $7,500. A real car repair can wipe out $5k fast.

Wasn't it just the worst at first? I totally wrote it off as another stuffy book about fancy problems. But @leoward, you're spot on, something just CLICKS later. It sneaks up on you and suddenly all that boring stuff actually matters to the people in it. The whole point seems to be watching them figure that out too. It makes you look back at the slow start in a totally new way.

Hold on, you said the roller leaves a finish that doesn't match. That's only true if you're using the wrong roller nap. A good quality foam roller made for trim gives a perfectly smooth, brush-like finish. Brushing the whole thing takes forever. The roller and brush method is way faster for long runs and, done right, you can't tell the difference once it dries. Your way just adds a ton of extra time for no real gain.

Exactly. It's like book smarts versus street smarts, but for robots.

Ugh, I feel you on that. I tried the baking soda shortcut once and got the same weird, almost slippery texture that @derek868 mentioned. It saved a ton of time, but the flavor was off, kind of flat and a little bitter. For my money, low and slow is the only way to go for something important like soup. The long cook time pulls out all the natural sugars and gives you that deep, sweet flavor you just can't rush.