chlorox Thank for the suggestion. I discovered something far more obvious - my hand span can pull the pressure relief and reach the steam toggle to flick it off. And here I was literally using my head. I recall someone mentioning it would make more sense to have the paddles swapped, but I’m now very glad the pressure relief is near the steam toggle.
Also the blocking of one steam hole is working wonders for the small 100 mL of milk I steam. It has allowed me to up the steam pressure/temperature without it aggressively introducing too much air into the milk, yet still keep a ton of thermal energy in the water to outsurvive refills/purges. It lengthens the steaming time so it typically finishes just after extraction so I don’t come across the simulataneous finish much anymore either. With Charlies high level latte art, I can see why he likes to steam simultaneously, as is also done in latte art champs.