The "it's not ... it's" phrasing though definitely stands out as a bit odd when repeated.

Interestingly (or maybe not?), the things that rise to this level have a much higher activation threshold the older I get.

This is pretty much the key in my experience.

To add a finer point: good faith listening is validating. Validating doesn't mean telling them it's ok, or giving in, doing what they want, etc.

It's the difference between "yes I understand you're feeling A, B, C, but we're doing it anyway because X" and "I don't care, stop it, be quiet and do it".

It's not replacing dumpster-diving, nor would I consider myself to be part of dumpster-diving subculture. I don't talk about it to my friends. It's just cheap food.

A ~year later, anecdotal evidence: it works.

But the fact is, ARIMA models work. So people keep using them. And you can see what they're doing, and understand why, and how to tune them.

No video games, no PC tinkering and overlocking, no EE degree.

So it's not just actually executing M&A. Once the target is identified, the actual deal execution often falls to lawyers/bankers.

It usually ends up being more expensive to replace the battery (even doing it myself with an iFixit kit) than to get a new one with carrier subsidies and whatnot.

Otherwise, I'd imagine the cost of the mask set and validation to far, far outweigh any reduction in unit cost you might see from a custom chip. MCUs are already extremely cheap, especially if you're buying significant quantities.