Uhhh, I don't want to argue with those instructions, and yes, you understand them correctly. But I suspect you will have stable gravity on Day 4-5, meaning primary fermentation is done, so after an equal amount of time (4-5 days perhaps) your diacetyl rest is finished and the beer can be...

I can see them (good photo!). I think there are too many scratches.

Cold crashing the starter is fine, but you should let it warm up again before pitching it.

Hm, I can plainly also see a wood chisel there. You have more tools than you think...

The MO will add a nice richness to a hopoy brew. The whirlpool and dry hops will really enhance that citrusy fruity hop aroma. If you go with a 90 minute boil, it will be mildly darker than 6 srm, but I wouldn't fret about color at all. Some whirlfloc and (if possible) a cold crash will go a...

I am speculating, but I suspect your brewhouse efficiency (which seems otherwise reasonable at 73%) is set too high. Can you describe your equipment?

Good deal! That looks more 1.054-ish tho. Could just be the angle.

Good plan.

A new plastic bucket should be inexpensive. I agree, if your fingers can feel scratches, buy a new one.

Sooo clear!

Today I am waiting for my mildly-underpitched Oktoberfest to start fermenting. One pack of S-23 in 5 gallons of 1.058 wort, at 54 F.I suspect it'll be a few days...

You can always cut a hole in the mattress where the shoulders fit in... (OK, not that funny. But you're really not supposed to laugh, it'll pull out the stitches)

While owning your own tank is great, 'renting' one from the welding place is just fine too. Kinda like 'renting' a propane tank from the local hardware store - hand back the empty, grab a full one and go.

Ice is expensive. Water is relatively inexpensive. The idea is to bring the wort down to water temperature (70-75 summer) first, using inexpensive water, and only then drop the last 10-15 degrees using ice. The alternative is using only ice to drop from 200F to 60F, which seems to me like a lot...

Welcome! Palmer is the book most people recommend. Although not very new, brewing has not changed much in the last hundred years or so (although equipment has!). As a chemical engineer, you might be tempted to over-think things, so just beware. But, many things are the same, like...

You won't have the time. Trust me.

...and it has a cool name. That's also good.

Not yet implemented, but I have this idea: use my counterflow chiller to get the wort to groundwater temperature (as I do now), then in summer (groundwater at 70+) run the wort through a second coil immersed in a bucket of ice water. I suspect 10 lbs of ice will get 5 gallons down another 15 F...

Good luck Ben. Taking care if yourself and your family is job #1. You will be missed here.

Has that many years ago, and as I remember even driving was difficult after 3 or 4 weeks. Best wishes for a painless recovery. Maybe have a beer or two next week...