Same, it's nice throwing on a whole album too, something that gets lost in the shuffle streaming.

Usually either try to buy from the bands directly or on Bandcamp. For older stuff, I'll check out local record stores or Discogs.

Banana is hard to beat for convenience. I'd say a close second for me is either mixed nuts or sumo oranges

That's tough for indigenous communities. I read some time ago of something similar happening to quinoa and people who depended on it (in Peru if I recall) as a dietary staple were having trouble affording it because of how popular it got globally as a "super food".

I've been buying more physical media lately because I don't like the idea of paying for digital copies that someone can decide to pull from my library with no recourse.

Also, have found that a way to partly combat being productized online is to build a life, hobby, or community offline. Time not spent on the algorithms is usually better for my mental well-being anyway. YMMV

Lego and foot are also up there

I'd rather live in Illinois over many other states, especially ones with worse climate like Mississippi or Texas. Chicago alone puts it in the top 5 at least for me

Even if you don't end up using it, the process of learning something often shapes us into who we are. So it's tough to say something isn't worth the effort.

For example, I learned to read sheet music when I was younger and taking piano lessons. It took a while and I don't really use that skill today since I mostly play by ear or tab (fretted instruments). However, I appreciate understanding what the notes mean and think it made me more musical overall.

Can also vouch for Ortlieb. Back when I bike commuted to the office, I used an Ortlieb single pannier for my laptop and accessories. Was pretty convenient to clip my bag to the bike and not get my back too sweaty from riding with a backpack.

Was going to post Infinite Jest as well. It's amazing how many things he predicted in it just by looking at where society was heading. He also actually attended AA meetings in Boston as part of his research for it.

Another mind blowing part for me, among many, was realizing that you have to read the book several times to catch every little joke, subplot, reference, etc. So it actually mirrors the titular movie in the book, which is so addictive you just watch it over and over.

There's a great interview DFW did on Book Worm where he says the structure of the book is modeled after a Sierpiński gasket. So for me, it's all the layers and world building that make it special.

She really locked in after dropping the first set. Won 10 of 13 after the restart with a dominant third set.

Glad it was rescued, hope it makes a full recovery. There are only about 400 pairs of Philippine Eagles left so each one is crucial for the future of the species and genetic diversity

GoldenEye N64