> The downside to using familiar syntax in a radically different language is that the differences really catch you by surprise.

Definitely agreed. It's a fine needle to thread for devs and I would not be surprised if there were tradeoffs to be made between familiarity and not importing too much of the inspiring language.

> I thought a lot about starting a blog to document the real stumbling points I hit, but it would be tedious and whiny, and I'm not interested in building an audience.

For what it's worth I personally think I'd find such a thing interesting to read. Sounds like it could make for some good feedback for better onboarding as well (well, assuming you're not talking about stumbling points from your first forays into Rust. But even those can still have some intellectual value, if the interest in Graydon's reflections on Rust's early days are any indication)