Question about those expensive rock identification kits

I spent $75 on a fancy mineral test kit last year, but the streak plates were junk and the hardness picks broke on the first quartz sample. Is it better to just buy separate tools or are some kits actually worth the cash?

Trying to find a specific issue of The Amazing Spider-Man from 1991 took me three months

I was looking for issue #350, the one with the silver cover, because my buddy swore it had a printing error in the first panel. Checked every shop in a 50 mile radius and scrolled through so many online listings. Finally found a copy at a tiny convention in Omaha last weekend, tucked in a dollar bin. Anyone else get stuck hunting for one comic way longer than it should take?

Unpopular opinion: I used to think you had to fill every silence in a conversation.

I'd ramble about anything, like the weather in Toledo, just to avoid quiet. Now, after a super awkward coffee date last month where I did that, I let pauses happen and it's way less stressful. Anyone else learn to stop the word vomit?

Grandma's depression soup: from bland to meaningful in one story

I always found grandma's vegetable soup too watery. It lacked flavor, and I'd add salt every time. Last fall, she told me it was a depression-era recipe, stretched to feed many with little. The wateriness was intentional, to make it last. Hearing that, I had a bowl and saw it in a new light. Now, I make it when funds are low, and it feels like history. It's not restaurant quality, but it's real. Sometimes, the backstory is the best seasoning.

Hot take: I count on writing prompts for my weekly writing group, but the generator we use keeps suggesting 'alien coffee shop' plots (it's funny once, not every time).

Used to dread updating my resume on paper. Now, I keep a live document that I tweak after each project.

A chance talk with a welder at the hardware store improved my torch technique

My feed is flooded with 'best anime ever' polls that all say the same thing

I keep seeing polls on anime sites asking for the best show, and it's always the same five titles. No one mentions older series or less known ones. I tried starting a thread about hidden favorites, but it got buried fast. Now I just lurk because the talks feel stuck and repetitive.