>OTOH, wondering why bad things happen when you are not following recommended shutdown procedures is like wondering why it hurts when you bash your foot with a hammer.

Here's an odd one: I always close CD bays by shoving them lightly shut, not pushing the stupid little button that's hard to find with the bay open. One day, a LAN hardware fellow was around and gave me a lecture about doing that, like I was going to break it. So, "why would it close so easily by pushing, if they didn't want you to do it that way?" Fell on deaf ears...