Thanks for playing the game! I appreciate the thorough feedback. I will say though that the lightning is not actually random. I did intend for it to be a little difficult as I wanted to catch people off guard, but I would say it is "fair" once you notice the pattern. A hint I will say (and it technically says this if you click the "how to play" in start screen) but the items you mentioned all have different timings, so the goal is to figure that out. I realize I could have pointed that out a little more clearly but where's the fun in that.
Also funny game design peek behind the curtain but actually the lightning always strikes your position. If you have the jar out then it goes to it and you get points, if not it strikes the other side and you lose a life.
I agree that figuring out that there is a pattern to begin with is not well communicated but I thought it would be too easy if I pointed out the exact timings.