Well put Jim - and graphically so!
I don't trust the sticks either because right now after five days very lean and green I feel great, have lost 7lbs, am far less interested in food and also drinking my water - and yet, the sticks still refuse to turn even the palest shade of pink!
This is very common actually and I would say, judge ketosis from the physical changes you experience. Lots of people never make that stick blush yet they are definitely in ketosis. It is only mild ketosis, after all. Sometimes it just does not register chemically.
Good luck and enjoy your food!