Miscalling your hand on the river

I am a complete newbie when it comes to live ring game limit holdem play.

Here is a situation that happened to me yesterday that cost me 4BB in a $20/$40 limit game. I am somewhat lucky it did not cost me 8BB. This kinda thing doesn't happen online. Sigh....

Hand #1 - overcalling your hand
10 seated $20/$40 limit ring game. Chip stacks of relevant participants: TazmanianDevil (TD) ~7BB, SB ~20BB, myself in BB w ~20BB. TD has only been at the table for less than 2 orbits, and has already rebought once for a small amount, and has been playing very loose and sometimes, but not always, very aggressively.
- Folded to TD in MP+2 who limps. Folded to SB who completes. I check in BB w AsTc
- Flop comes AdTd5d. SB checks, I check, TD bets, SB calls, I check raise. TD calls, SB folds
- turn comes offsuit J, I bet, TD calls
- river comes offsuit Q, I check, TD bets, I think for 10 seconds and call.

Now at this point in the story, I should give just a little bit more background about the situation. I am sitting in seat #2, TD is in seat #8. The cardroom has recently installed larger than normal tables (I guess to squeeze in more cattle, and give all the dealers major back problems...), and the distance between us is almost the maximum. Lighting is fair, and my eyesight is avg to slightly below avg.
- TD turns over 2 black cards that are actually Ts9c just in front of him (he didn't throw them any closer to me). He announces straight. The dealer moves up the TJQ on the board and calls out straight. I toss my cards slightly forward landing about 1/2 way between me and the muck. My cards did not hit the muck. I squint because I'm thinking I see a Ts on the table. I reach forward for my cards, but the dealer beat me to them and pushed them in the muck.

At this point everyone on the other side of the table is calling out the mistake. The floorman is called, and the story is recounted. TD makes a huge stink over the situation insisting the pot is his. I'm actually not too familiar with the exact rules, so I don't say much of anything except respond to any direct questions from the floorman. This was no big deal since there are multiple players at the table that are very quick and very vocal to describe the same sequence of events I listed. The floorman takes the pot and goes upstairs to review the tapes while the game continues. After reviewing the tapes, the floorman summarized that TD has overcalled his hand, the dealer had miscalled the hand, and that he saw on the tape that I was reaching for my cards when the dealer pushed them in the muck. He decreed a chopped pot.

The expensive lessons are the ones easiest to remember. I guess it was "only" 4BB, and it is up to me to be certain I had the losing hand before mucking. I had mentally prepared myself for the floorman to give TD the entire pot. Still it was annoying to watch TD piss off his stack in less than another 1.5 orbits. I've really got to stop caring about those kind of things, and just not make any mistakes.