So I've just been using basic earbuds my whole life, never felt like spending big bucks on good headphones. Recently though, I've been really interested in what I've been hearing about IEMs. Youtubers and forum users have been name dropping a few of them, such as Moondrop Chu/Chu II, Salnotes Zero, etc. So I looked them up, and was shocked to find how cheap they are. They're like $20, in the same price range as the crappy earbuds I buy anyways! These kind of headphones seem like a whole world I know nothing about, with pros and cons I don't fully understand, so what would be the best recommendation for a first set?

Recently my daughter (third grade) has started learning to type at school. It's a Montessori program, so it's a pretty low tech environment overall, which I mention because I don't necessarily expect them to have a nuanced view of technology issues.

One of the typing programs they use is nitrotype.com, which adds a competitive gameplay element. However, it also has mechanism to friend another player. Friends can only communicate with stock phrases, so there's not too much "Internet leakage" beyond being able to choose a username.

I set it up for my daughter on her Linux Chromebook (I whitelist things I want her to have and everything else is blocked at DNS). Seeing her interact with it the first time, I realized that she spends as much time "adding friends" as doing the typing.

On its face, this activity is pretty harmless. But I am worried about the patterns it might be creating for her. I'm worried about her uncritically engaging with the dopamine hit of getting a new friend. Or how it shapes her idea of how many friends she has or where idea of her self worth comes from. Or what she thinks friends are.

So after that long preamble, here are some questions:

• How would you explain "friends" in this context?
• Would you distinguish them from other kinds of friends, either real or virtual?
• Would you attach a moral component to the activity? E.g. that it is good/bad or helpful/harmful
• How would you frame it to the teacher? Not so much in terms of whether or not they should do it in the classroom, but what kinds of conversations should they be having about the friends experience?
• If I'm asking the wrong questions, what questions should I be asking instead?

I'm really interested in seeing the perspectives people have on this. My own ideas are a bit murky, but I will put them down as a comment.

First, I headed to ChatGPT to pipe in my top 5 artists (as noted by Spotify). These may not really be my top 5, but I obviously listen to them a lot :).

Me: Spotify lists my top 5 most listened to artists as Greta Van Fleet, Mott The Hoople, Television, Steely Dan, and The Kinks. can you recommend 10 more artists you think I'll like?

ChatGPT: Based on your taste, you might enjoy Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, Cream, The Who, Fleetwood Mac, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Eagles, Jethro Tull, The Doors, and Deep Purple. Give them a listen and see if they resonate with your musical preferences!

Me: Can you recommend some lessor known artists you think I'll enjoy?

ChatGPT: Certainly! Explore the source of The Black Angels, Rival Sons, Ty Segall, Temples, The Sheepdogs, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Khruangbin, Parquet Courts, Dr. Dog, and Allah-Las. These lesser-known gems might align well with your musical taste.

I've actually never heard or listened to any of these artists! Next, I listened to each artist's most popular songs. Here's my take:

The Black Angels: Listened to Young Men Dead and Black Grease. Both are really good songs. Definitely right up my alley. Added to my playlist.

Rival Sons: Listened to Do Your Worst and Open My Eyes. Really liking this artist and added to my playlist.

Ty Segall: Listened to My Lady's On Fire and My Room. On the fence, there's something here that I like. Continued to listen through to Every 1's a Winner, Feel, Girlfriend, Void, Eggman, and Tall Man Skinny Lady. I think Void and Eggman sealed the deal for me. This is definitely an artist I'll listen to. Really enjoyed some of the interesting, and unexpected, things that happened musically in these songs.

Temples: Listened to Shelter Song and Paraphaernalia. Not feeling it here.

The Sheepdogs: Listened to Feeling Good and I Don't Know - EP Version. On the fence, but it's not bad. Continued to listen to Please Don't Lead Me On and Nobody. Added to the playlist at this point. This artist has a Lynyrd Skynyrd vibe that I like.

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard: Listened to Gila Monster. Really enjoyed the musical composition, but the voices just aren't for me. I've never been a fan of this voice style and then the chanting of "Gila Gila" really isn't my thing. I decided to listen to more anyway and was suprised to hear vastly different styles with Work This Time, Sense, Slow Jam 1, and Theia. Still not going on my playlist, but some interesting tunes from this artist.

Khruangbin: Listened to Texas Sun, People Everywhere (Still Alive), Mariella, White Gloves, and B-Side. Love the mix of RnB and funk. Some really good grooves happening here. B-Side had me moving in my seat and this artist will definitely be on the playlist.

Parquet Courts: Listened to Tenderness, skipped Total Football due to the explicit tag and my preferences around that, and then continued listening to Outside, and Careers in Combat. I am a fan of this genre of music, but I am very particular in what I like and what I don't. I love The Dead Milkmen, Ramones, Television, and Dead Kennedys. This artist isn't giving me the feels.

Dr. Dog: Listened to Where'd All the Time Go, Nellie, Heart it Races - Cover Version, and The Breeze. During the first song, I knew this artist was going on the playlist. Got to Nellie and there was absolutely no doubt. Love the voices, the simple melodies, and the entire vibe.

Allah-Las: Listened to Houston, Caramaran, and Raspberry Jam. Really like the organ in this and it takes me back to The Doors, Steppenwolf, and The Animals. Both Houston and Raspberry Jam were instrumentals, and I wanted to hear more vocals, so I listened to Dust as well. This is some good music and is going on the playlist.

Overall, ChatGPT did a great job of recommending music that is now on my playlist. I'm desperately waiting for the day that I can have a conversation with my personal assistant, have it queue up music for me automatically, and then I give it feedback on what I heard. My personal assistant would then continue to shape my playlist based on my feedback. I know this day is coming soon, but it can't get here fast enough for me.

As a bonus, after I conducted this experiment Spotify immediately jumped into another artist I never heard of -- Drug Cabin. The first song played was Steely Dad and this is just a fantastic song.

I am looking for an e reader with specific features, honestly I don't know if what I want even exists, but I figured this might be a good place to ask. Here's my wants:

• Charge via USB-C
• Open, allows .epub files (I understand some brands don't)
• interfaces with Calibre
• Does not have any wireless radios ie bluetooth, wifi (I know lots of people would say just turn those features off, but I would just prefer the device doesn't have them to begin with)

Have you guys seen any devices that meet this criteria?