It is indeed awful. :) Have you tried the sink test for finding good acorns? I learned that if you carry a cup of water with you as you're picking them up, drop the acorn in the water. If it sinks, it is healthy, if it floats, it's been used by bugs or fungus already. It still takes time, I think I got one good acorn out of every ten or so that I picked up. But after about half an hour, I had six healthy acorns. Unfortunately for me, it looks like the tree that I want to get my acorns from is done dropping for the year, so I have to wait until next year to try again. That said, planting indoors by itself might not work, because the acorns need to be cold for months to germinate. Fridge option aside . . . maybe a storage shed would work? I don't have one, but my neighbor does. I could ask next year if they'd let me use a small corner of it for a modest fee in return . . .Yes, how much of your relentless positive energy and failure to complain are we supposed to take?
Oh, the sink test sounds great; I'll use that. I was going by shape to pick a winner. Now I see mk went for safety in numbers. New plan: collect a dozen of the heaviest acorns available. Plant some in an indoor pot, and chill the rest for a month or two before planting.