But its the march towards having a call for everything to cover the possibility of below average skill that I have an issue with.
I am firmly in that kind of sect. Especially after the last 10 years or so of practicing a "silent cockpit" approach (both on boeing and airbus) and now being forced to use the OEM airbus procedures which are focused on continuous talking. So much so that most of us get tired of it and simply say "checked" every few minutes, it's gonna cover everything anyway...
Having extremely long checklists while taxiing is not safe, same for approach and landing. Before we had no checklist between after start and parking and we operated safely. And yes, the OEM procedures were introduced to save money, not because they are better.
Anyway, we do not have a stabilized call, only an incapacitation check at 1000ft AGL, which is kinda ironic as we have to talk all through the approach anyway and just read that darn landing checklist. The gate is still fixed at 1000ft, no matter how the weather is. And it is probably one of the most violated things on the line, since common sense often makes continuing the better option when it is clear that we will be within criteria at 800ft.
As for the vest and hearing protection on the apron, well, an old captain once told me when i started out flying jets: the vest is so that the tug drivers can better aim at you, and the hearing protection is there so you don't hear them coming. And i believe it is kinda true. Funny enough, not wearing the vest is usually the recipe to get noticed very fast by those ramp sheriffs, which begs the question, what is more visible nowadays, wearing or not wearing the vest?