Good Coffee... an art or a science?

Why can I never seem to make the right balance of coffee grounds with hot water in our coffee maker? lol It is always way too strong or way too weak, and usually too strong. Here's what I'm wondering: does it taste the same if you have mild coffee with a little bit of milk, as if you have super strong coffee 50/50 with milk? Just curious. hahaha. I am trying option B right now.

I think my problem is a combination of not putting the filter in right (it's a liiiiiiittle tiny filter) and not measuring it right, either.

Anyway, I had the most random dream last night. I was at Disney World, and I had met this girl who was a new friend, and we decided we were gonna go swimming. So I changed into my swimsuit, and went out to find her. I think we were staying in a hotel. Anyway, we got our signals mixed because she meant going swimming in the hotel pool and I thought she meant in Disney World somewhere. Now I have never been there which made the dream crazy - apparently my subconscious has very vivid ideas about what Disneyworld looks like! I got on some outdoor elevated train, and it was just the conductor and me. Actually it kinda felt like being just in a van, but it was definitely a train, almost like a train that takes you between airport terminals. We were driving from one attraction to the next and I finally realized she must have meant to meet her back at the hotel, not out and about. I asked the guy how long the loop was and he said about an hour. (That must be from the weekend because we were talking about city loops and length of time. We inadvertently drove the whole Raleigh beltline.) Anyway, he seemed a little annoyed with me, but the day was so beautiful and everything was so happy there. I woke up before I found her.