Curl Chemist

What we kept the expensive model for, after moving the bulk of the work:

• ambiguous requirements, where the useful output is questions rather than code
• anything touching auth, permissions or money
• the final review pass on a large diff

Everything else, meaning the mechanical multi file edits, test writing and the "where does this happen" archaeology, went to the cheap tier and I have not missed it. The split is roughly planner and reviewer expensive, implementer cheap, and it survives contact with a big repo better than picking one model for everything.

Freezing doesn't do much to the bacteria and does nothing at all about loose indigo, which is the actual question here.

Heavy transfer for the first few weeks, much less after the first wash, mostly gone by the second or third. It's loose indigo sitting on the surface of the yarn and it has to come off somewhere - either onto your sofa or into a sink.

The "never wash for six months" thing is folklore that got taken seriously. It came from wanting sharp contrast fades, and you get most of that from just not washing them constantly. Washing at three months instead of never costs you very little contrast and saves your furniture.

If you want to cut the transfer without a real wash: cold soak in a bath for 30-40 minutes, no detergent, no agitation, then hang dry. That pulls a lot of the loose dye and barely touches the fades.

Warm-boot insertion is the detail people miss. Trees do most of their work in the first hour while the leather is still damp from your foot.

Worth adding that the dent under the sleeve head is the actual diagnostic. If the seam overhangs but there's no dent, it's a cut that just runs a touch wide and it'll look fine on you.

Second hand is your friend with a narrow shoulder. There's a lot of well made older tailoring around in cuts that suit a narrower frame, and a 40 pound jacket with 60 pounds of alterations often beats a 300 pound new one that doesn't fit at the shoulder.

Sale timing matters at that price. January and July, welted shoes drop 30-40% routinely, so a patient shopper gets a 250 shoe for 160.

Held one up to the window and it's visibly rippled across the collar band. So that's that. Looking for unfused next time.