diff --git a/cmd/observerd/main_test.go b/cmd/observerd/main_test.go
index a1c7ef7..2911dd2 100644
--- a/cmd/observerd/main_test.go
+++ b/cmd/observerd/main_test.go
@@ -15,7 +15,11 @@ import (
 // newTestRouter builds the observerd router with an in-memory store
 // and a workflow runner with no modes registered. Closes R-005 for
 // observerd.
-func newTestRouter(t *testing.T) http.Handler {
+//
+// Returns chi.Router (not http.Handler) so chi.Walk works without a
+// type assertion that would panic if a future refactor wraps the
+// router in plain net/http middleware.
+func newTestRouter(t *testing.T) chi.Router {
 	t.Helper()
 	h := &handlers{
 		store:  observer.NewStore(nil),
@@ -34,8 +38,7 @@ func TestRoutesMounted(t *testing.T) {
 		"POST /observer/workflow/run":   false,
 		"GET /observer/workflow/modes":  false,
 	}
-	router := r.(chi.Router)
-	_ = chi.Walk(router, func(method, route string, _ http.Handler, _ ...func(http.Handler) http.Handler) error {
+	_ = chi.Walk(r, func(method, route string, _ http.Handler, _ ...func(http.Handler) http.Handler) error {
 		key := method + " " + route
 		if _, ok := want[key]; ok {
 			want[key] = true
diff --git a/cmd/pathwayd/main_test.go b/cmd/pathwayd/main_test.go
index d0d00c8..8b44dfe 100644
--- a/cmd/pathwayd/main_test.go
+++ b/cmd/pathwayd/main_test.go
@@ -14,7 +14,11 @@ import (
 // newTestRouter builds the pathwayd router with an in-memory store
 // (nil persistor). Closes R-005 for pathwayd: 9 routes mounted with
 // no router-level test prior to this file.
-func newTestRouter(t *testing.T) http.Handler {
+//
+// Returns chi.Router (not http.Handler) so chi.Walk works without a
+// type assertion that would panic if a future refactor wraps the
+// router in plain net/http middleware.
+func newTestRouter(t *testing.T) chi.Router {
 	t.Helper()
 	h := &handlers{store: pathway.NewStore(nil)}
 	r := chi.NewRouter()
@@ -36,8 +40,7 @@ func TestRoutesMounted(t *testing.T) {
 		"GET /pathway/stats":            "",
 	}
 	got := map[string]bool{}
-	router := r.(chi.Router)
-	_ = chi.Walk(router, func(method, route string, _ http.Handler, _ ...func(http.Handler) http.Handler) error {
+	_ = chi.Walk(r, func(method, route string, _ http.Handler, _ ...func(http.Handler) http.Handler) error {
 		got[method+" "+route] = true
 		return nil
 	})
diff --git a/scripts/playbook_lift.sh b/scripts/playbook_lift.sh
index bc33376..04fc251 100755
--- a/scripts/playbook_lift.sh
+++ b/scripts/playbook_lift.sh
@@ -68,7 +68,16 @@ if ! curl -sS http://localhost:11434/api/tags | jq -e --arg m "$EFFECTIVE_JUDGE"
   echo "[lift] judge model '$EFFECTIVE_JUDGE' not loaded in Ollama — pull it first"
   exit 1
 fi
-echo "[lift] judge resolved to: $EFFECTIVE_JUDGE (from ${JUDGE_MODEL:+env}${JUDGE_MODEL:-config})"
+# Compute a single string for "where did the judge come from" so the
+# log line + the markdown report don't have to chain :+/:- substitutions
+# (those silently fuse "env JUDGE_MODEL" + the value into "env JUDGE_MODELx"
+# without a separator — the bug Opus caught on lift_001's report).
+if [ -n "$JUDGE_MODEL" ]; then
+  JUDGE_SOURCE="env JUDGE_MODEL=${JUDGE_MODEL}"
+else
+  JUDGE_SOURCE="config [models].local_judge"
+fi
+echo "[lift] judge resolved to: $EFFECTIVE_JUDGE (from $JUDGE_SOURCE)"
 
 echo "[lift] building binaries..."
 go build -o bin/ ./cmd/storaged ./cmd/catalogd ./cmd/ingestd ./cmd/queryd \
@@ -207,16 +216,24 @@ id,name,role
 CSVEOF
 INGEST_RESP="$(curl -sS -F "file=@$PROBE_CSV" "http://127.0.0.1:3110/v1/ingest?name=lift_sql_probe")"
 echo "[lift]   ingest response: $INGEST_RESP"
-# queryd refresh_every=1s — give it a couple ticks to discover the new manifest.
-sleep 2.5
-SQL_RESP="$(curl -sS -X POST http://127.0.0.1:3110/v1/sql \
-    -H 'content-type: application/json' \
-    -d '{"sql":"SELECT COUNT(*) FROM lift_sql_probe"}')"
-PROBE_COUNT="$(echo "$SQL_RESP" | jq -r '.rows[0][0] // "ERR"' 2>/dev/null || echo "ERR")"
+# Poll up to 5s for queryd to discover the manifest. refresh_every=1s
+# is a lower bound; under load or slow disks the manifest may not be
+# visible in a fixed sleep, which would 4xx the SQL probe spuriously.
+PROBE_COUNT=ERR
+SQL_RESP=""
+deadline=$(($(date +%s) + 5))
+while [ "$(date +%s)" -lt "$deadline" ]; do
+  SQL_RESP="$(curl -sS -X POST http://127.0.0.1:3110/v1/sql \
+      -H 'content-type: application/json' \
+      -d '{"sql":"SELECT COUNT(*) FROM lift_sql_probe"}')"
+  PROBE_COUNT="$(echo "$SQL_RESP" | jq -r '.rows[0][0] // "ERR"' 2>/dev/null || echo "ERR")"
+  [ "$PROBE_COUNT" = "3" ] && break
+  sleep 0.25
+done
 if [ "$PROBE_COUNT" = "3" ]; then
   echo "[lift]   ✓ SQL surface probe passed (rowcount=3)"
 else
-  echo "[lift]   ✗ SQL surface probe FAILED (got: $SQL_RESP)"
+  echo "[lift]   ✗ SQL surface probe FAILED after 5s (got: $SQL_RESP)"
   exit 1
 fi
 
@@ -275,7 +292,7 @@ generate_md() {
 # Playbook-Lift Reality Test — Run ${RUN_ID}
 
 **Generated:** ${gen_at}
-**Judge:** \`${EFFECTIVE_JUDGE}\` (Ollama, resolved from ${JUDGE_MODEL:+env JUDGE_MODEL}${JUDGE_MODEL:-config [models].local_judge})
+**Judge:** \`${EFFECTIVE_JUDGE}\` (Ollama, resolved from ${JUDGE_SOURCE})
 **Corpora:** \`${CORPORA}\`
 **Workers limit:** ${WORKERS_LIMIT}
 **Queries:** \`${QUERIES_FILE}\` (${total} executed)
@@ -339,7 +356,7 @@ MDEOF
    results land in one corpus, the matrix layer's purpose isn't being tested.
    Check per-corpus distribution in the JSON.
 5. **Judge resolution.** This run used \`${EFFECTIVE_JUDGE}\` from
-   ${JUDGE_MODEL:+env JUDGE_MODEL override}${JUDGE_MODEL:-the lakehouse.toml [models].local_judge tier}.
+   ${JUDGE_SOURCE}.
    Bumping the judge for run #N+1 means editing one line in lakehouse.toml.
 
 ## Next moves
diff --git a/scripts/staffing_workers/main.go b/scripts/staffing_workers/main.go
index 615199c..e981747 100644
--- a/scripts/staffing_workers/main.go
+++ b/scripts/staffing_workers/main.go
@@ -274,6 +274,12 @@ func main() {
 	)
 	flag.Parse()
 
+	// An empty prefix collides cross-corpus — exactly the bug the
+	// flag exists to prevent. Force callers to be explicit.
+	if *idPrefix == "" {
+		log.Fatalf("--id-prefix cannot be empty (use 'w-', 'e-', etc. — IDs collide cross-corpus without one)")
+	}
+
 	hc := &http.Client{Timeout: 5 * time.Minute}
 	ctx := context.Background()