ChingShih's recent activity
-
Comment on The death of mass market paperbacks in ~books
-
Comment on US users: how are you watching Olympics coverage? in ~sports
ChingShih Link ParentIf you're going legit, but want to skip the commercials, I believe this still works for web browsers with uBlock Origin (and maybe other ad blockers): Go to NBCOlympics.com's live stream(s) or a...If you're going legit, but want to skip the commercials, I believe this still works for web browsers with uBlock Origin (and maybe other ad blockers):
- Go to NBCOlympics.com's live stream(s) or a full replay (Example: 7 Feb prime time livestream or UK vs US curling replay)^[1]
- Sign in with your Peacock or TV provider info (larger cable providers don't need you to actually sign in if you are at your home IP)
- You'll have to allow/install the Google Widevine extension, as necessary
- Make sure adblock is installed in your browser and you'll get dead air instead of ads :)
After that, it's up to you how you get your web browser's screen cast to your "TV" display. Either way, life is better without the commercials (even dead air is better during live events). I haven't run it too much this way, but after the commercials are cut out, the stream resumes like it's supposed to. No refreshing required.
^[1] If you haven't watched curling, let me suggest that you give this hot, mixed doubles round-robin curling a try because it will have you hammering that button from the first end to the last end for two hours of non-stop action.
-
Upcoming book tours for authors you think are worth seeing?
I happened across Veronica Roth's blog post via GoodReads about a book tour for her upcoming book Seek the Traitor's Son. She'll be visiting various places around the US and UK. I can't say I've...
I happened across Veronica Roth's blog post via GoodReads about a book tour for her upcoming book Seek the Traitor's Son. She'll be visiting various places around the US and UK. I can't say I've ever really thought about going to a book signing or a book tour, but recently I've been thinking it would be a nice change of pace to go to an event like this and support an author or other creative this way. Roth is not first on my list, but it did get me thinking about how to find other events and hopefully get my hands on some cool merch as well.
Do you know of any creatives (but mostly authors, since this is ~books) who are doing tours this year? How do you keep informed about dates of book tours and festivals?
6 votes -
Comment on 'The Grand Tour' revs up with new hosts Thomas Holland and James Engelsman (from Throttle House) and Francis Bourgeois in ~tv
ChingShih LinkAfter Clarkson got removed from the BBC, yet also got a pass to keep being himself, and then Top Gear (UK) not really inspiring the same level of greatness, it's good to see some all-around good...After Clarkson got removed from the BBC, yet also got a pass to keep being himself, and then Top Gear (UK) not really inspiring the same level of greatness, it's good to see some all-around good folks getting to fill the shoes that they've been destined to fill. As far as entertaining car series go, Throttle House is at the top of my list and I am super proud of Thomas and James for making it so far in an otherwise quite competitive climate (Hagerty puts out some great videos with high production values, which is kinda gross since they're an insurance company).
To paraphrase Doug DeMuro ... this is gonna be epic.
-
'The Grand Tour' revs up with new hosts Thomas Holland and James Engelsman (from Throttle House) and Francis Bourgeois
11 votes -
Comment on You are being misled about renewable energy technology in ~enviro
ChingShih Link ParentI'm a big proponent of solar and wind, I just want to caution people against a perception that wind farms are always operating throughout the day and night. In video games windmills are often...It works at night, reducing the need for fossil fuels during the winter
I'm a big proponent of solar and wind, I just want to caution people against a perception that wind farms are always operating throughout the day and night. In video games windmills are often generating ~100% of their capability all of the time, however this isn't typically the case in reality. Some games like Cities: Skylines have added realism by building in pseudo-weather where wind capacity diminishes during certain periods of the day/night or there will be seasonal shifts.
In reality, wind is a climate phenomenon that is affected by areas of different temperatures attempting to reach an equilibrium (atmospheric circulation), which could involve warm ocean waters and cooler air passing over it, or heat rising from the desert and catching moist ocean air in the atmosphere. Convection and the Coriolis forces create by low-pressure and high-pressure systems, they redistribute energy and even particulate matter that can cause blizzards or intense thunderstorms.
Windmills require a certain amount of wind energy to activate (this can be as little as 11 kph (7 mph)). Without reaching that threshold, the turbines either won't overcome the mechanical friction to spin up, or the operator of the wind farm will have it disabled because at very low speeds it's wearing out parts without providing enough financial benefit to pay for the maintenance. Further, without reaching their optimal operating speeds (which can be 35-88 kph (22-55 mph)) windmills won't be generating electricity at their most efficient.
Some wind farms almost exclusively operate during the day because the climate conditions are ideal at those times. Others operate primarily at night because that's what's optimal in that region; that's very useful because it does offset solar production and also can be used to load balance/grid balance the power grids at a regional scale. Nuclear and fossil fuel plants help to maintain the correct balance (and load factor) at night be reducing the amount of electricity they're supplying (although ideally nuclear power plants don't spin down from their optimal levels), however they always have to provide a margin for error so that a sudden change in usage (sporting events, blizzards) or power line frequency doesn't trip the system and cause a partial blackout taking down a large swath of the regional power grid (and even causing fail-overs into other grids). I would imagine that wind farms can load balance by simply turning individual windmills on or off as-needed, without having to wastefully over-provision. However that's only possible for wind farms currently generating electricity. Obviously, the opposite situation is also possible: wind energy falling off unexpectedly leading to a shortage for the grid, but that's another topic.
TL;DR: A friendly reminder that wind farms are built in different areas to take advantage of the wind, but the wind doesn't have 100% uptime and is influenced by atmospheric circulation (day/night and seasonal) and the Coriolis effect. Wind is still beneficial as an offset to solar generation and helping to balance the power grid's load.
-
Comment on Apple says Patreon creators must switch to subscription billing in ~tech
ChingShih Link ParentThe limited choices of the consumer are definitely a problem. Fortunately, there are sometimes alternatives within the Android ecosystem, Google Play (as big a chunk as that is) isn't the entirety...Where else are they gonna go? Android, which has the same problem?
The limited choices of the consumer are definitely a problem. Fortunately, there are sometimes alternatives within the Android ecosystem, Google Play (as big a chunk as that is) isn't the entirety of the app ecosystem so we can leverage that to our advantage.
For instance, since Google and its Play store had the in-app dispute with Epic, Amazon made it so that you can't buy kindle content through the Kindle app from Google Play as a means of cutting Google out of the revenue. But you can download the Kindle app via the Samsung (Galaxy) store and still make in-app purchases with the Kindle for Samsung app. Audible for Samsung is the same way. I would imagine that whatever store LG has probably has something similar, though I'm not familiar with their section of the Android ecosystem.
If people would look for these alternatives and popularize them, it would let people help themselves somewhat and hopefully segment the ecosystem in a way where there's more competition. Patreon should also put a version of the app out on the alternative Android stores as well.
-
Comment on Gold tops $4,900/oz; silver and platinum extend record‑setting rally in ~finance
ChingShih LinkGold being up 3-5% today, and silver up by around 3-7% is just crazy. Reuters chart (Edit: % increase depends on when your trading day starts, so I revised the percentages to a range to be more...Gold being up 3-5% today, and silver up by around 3-7% is just crazy. Reuters chart (Edit: % increase depends on when your trading day starts, so I revised the percentages to a range to be more accurate.)
Since the US Federal Reserve had their press event today, I wanted to mention the Trump admin has been saying that inflation is a "solved issue" and not really a problem. U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was on TV the other day, and apparently had been saying this for a while, that growth in the US is great and that he thinks we'll have a 5-6% increase in GDP.
A CEO of a wealth management company just said on TV that US Real GDP will be something like 3.25% (if I heard correctly), while Nominal GDP will be over 6%. And it's only January so these forecasts may change. Anyway, changes in GDP, without changes in wage growth, purchasing power, etc. is inflationary. So when moderate governments target 2% GDP growth, that's because they're trying to keep inflation to a relatively stable amount so there aren't large fluctuations that are uncomfortable for the consumers who will feel it the most (and small businesses as well as businesses that may depend on international trade).
Further reading:
How GDP Growth Drives Inflation (Investopedia)
Asset Price Inflation (i.e. stocks, commodities) vs. GDP: Understanding the Key Differences (Investopedia)
Real GDP vs. GDP: When Economists Prefer Inflation-Adjusted Metrics (Investopedia)
-
Comment on Gold tops $4,900/oz; silver and platinum extend record‑setting rally in ~finance
ChingShih Link ParentI don't know that people will give the link a view without an explanation attached, so here's a quick synopsis: It's a 20+ minute recapping recent economic reactions to Trump's stance on Greenland...I don't know that people will give the link a view without an explanation attached, so here's a quick synopsis:
It's a 20+ minute recapping recent economic reactions to Trump's stance on Greenland as well as some methods that the EU and adjacent countries have taken or thought about taking in order to put economic pressure on the US and US voters without putting EU citizens at risk (who are severely leveraged into US assets, companies, software ecosystems, and bonds among other things). The video then discusses why some policies sound good on paper, what EU efforts could be effective, and what wouldn't be effective without harming the EU economically and Europeans financially.
Worth a quick listen (and on 1.25x or 1.5x should be easy enough) for individuals interested in a recap in the recent events surrounding Greenland and the ... let's call it "north Atlantic economic situation" ... surrounding Trump policy.
-
Comment on Gold tops $4,900/oz; silver and platinum extend record‑setting rally in ~finance
ChingShih Link ParentIf you can find someone interested in "90% coins," and that's a big IF because lots of people are dumping, then you'll get whatever a bulk buyer is willing to offer you. I would expect that to be...If you can find someone interested in "90% coins," and that's a big IF because lots of people are dumping, then you'll get whatever a bulk buyer is willing to offer you. I would expect that to be 25% less than spot if they're being nice to you (so 75% of the melt value). But silver/gold dealers really prefer pure because they'll be able to flip it immediately or hold onto it for a little bit.
90% coins (1964 and earlier for many US coins, but most pennies of course have 0% silver) have to be melted down to get out the impure metals. So it's a process with some expense associated with it which is why gold/silver dealers aren't going to get anywhere near spot price. Buyers of silver would prefer the .999 stuff anyway.
Outside of dealers, individuals may have some interest but you would have to figure out how to safely do that transaction person-to-person.
-
Comment on Gold tops $4,900/oz; silver and platinum extend record‑setting rally in ~finance
ChingShih LinkSince some people have asked adjacent questions, I'll post this here: ‘Repatriate the gold’: German economists advise withdrawal from US vaults (The Guardian)Since some people have asked adjacent questions, I'll post this here:
‘Repatriate the gold’: German economists advise withdrawal from US vaults (The Guardian)
Shift in relations and unpredictability of Donald Trump make it ‘risky to store so much gold in the US’, say experts
Germany is facing calls to withdraw its billions of euros’ worth of gold from US vaults, spurred on by the shift in transatlantic relations and the unpredictability of Donald Trump.
Germany holds the world’s second biggest national gold reserves after the US, of which approximately €164bn (£142bn) worth – 1,236 tonnes – is stored in New York.
(continued in the article)
-
Comment on Gold tops $4,900/oz; silver and platinum extend record‑setting rally in ~finance
ChingShih Link ParentOn Friday the silver melt value of a Morgan (or Peace) one-dollar coin was nearly $80. Franklin half dollars are around $37. Nearly half that value has been added since late November. This is like...On Friday the silver melt value of a Morgan (or Peace) one-dollar coin was nearly $80. Franklin half dollars are around $37. Nearly half that value has been added since late November.
This is like watching the watch collecting craze all over again, but the valuations really are skyrocketing right now. I feel bad for the casual coin collectors, but maybe this will start a whole new generation of collectors/hobbyists who are curious about other coins more for their history and their affordability than chasing the top value/rarity/condition.
I have some from colonial Africa and South America that are interesting. Also some Philippine centavos that were minted in the US. They've been in the family a while, though I don't know how many generations -- and they were certainly picked up second-hand.
-
Comment on What are your favourite historic anecdotes or stories? in ~humanities.history
ChingShih LinkWhen lexicographer James Murray crowd-sources the citations of the Oxford English dictionary he receives help from an unexpected source: Source: The Surgeon of Crowthorne: A Tale of Murder,...When lexicographer James Murray crowd-sources the citations of the Oxford English dictionary he receives help from an unexpected source:
By accident," [Sir James Murray] continued, "my attention was called to the fact that [Dr. Minor's] address: Broadmoor, Crowthorne, Berkshire, was that of a large lunatic asylum. I assumed that perhaps he was the medical officer of that institution. But our correspondence was of course entirely limited to the dictionary and its materials and the only feeling I had towards him was that of gratitude for his immense help, with some surprise at the rare and expensive old books that he evidently had access to."
This continued for many years until one day between 1887 and 1890 the late mister Justin Windsor, librarian of Harvard College was sitting, chatting in my Scriptorium and among other things remarked, "You've given great pleasure to Americans by speaking as you do in your preface of poor Dr. Minor. This is a very painful case."
"Indeed," I said with astonishment, "in what way?"
Mister W was equally astonished to find that in all these years I'd corresponded with doctor Minor that I've neither learned nor suspected anything about him. And he then thrilled me with his story."
Source:
The Surgeon of Crowthorne: A Tale of Murder, Madness and the Love of Words also called The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary in North America (GoodReads). By Simon Winchester.
The Surgeon of Crowthorne: A Tale of Murder, Madness and the Love of Words (Wikipedia)
Further Reading:
Dr. W. C. Minor (Wikipedia) -
An AmericanA surgeon who served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. (Later edit: Apparently he was born in the English colony of Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and had become increasingly unwell after the war. He murdered a man, but was found not guilty by reason of insanity, and was incarcerated at the Broadmoor asylum in the village of Crowthorne, Berkshire. Living off his pension from the Army, he was afforded reasonable accommodations and allowed to purchase books which lead to his ability to assist in providing citations for the dictionary.Sir James Murray (Wikipedia) - Teacher, lexicographer, philologist, and finally head editor of the Oxford English Dictionary, Sir Murray was a really interesting man and likely a savant. It's worth reading the Wikipedia page about him if nothing else.
Broadmoor Hospital (formerly Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum) 1863-present (Wikipedia)
Berkshire, England (Wikipedia)
-
Comment on What are your favourite historic anecdotes or stories? in ~humanities.history
ChingShih LinkJ.P. Morgan was feared and seemingly unapproachable, but his son “Jack” Morgan was both business savvy and personable: Source: The House of Morgan: An American Banking Dynasty and the Rise of...J.P. Morgan was feared and seemingly unapproachable, but his son “Jack” Morgan was both business savvy and personable:
He had a marvelous sense of humor which surprised many people who imagined that Morgan bankers must be dour and self-important. He once said of an enemy that if he had ordered a trainload of sons-of-bitches and received only that man, he would consider that order amply filled.
Source:
The House of Morgan: An American Banking Dynasty and the Rise of Modern Finance, (2001) ISBN 0-8021-3829-2 by Ron Chernow.
Notes:
I have a couple other anecdotes (and of a more quirky historical flair) from this book if anyone is interested in some excerpts about the Morgan family or tycoons, generally.
Further Reading:
John Pierpont Morgan – Interesting if you’re into reading about tycoons and “industrial consolidation” in the US, such as the merger of Edison General Electric and Thomson-Houston Electric Company to form General Electric, or the rise of America as a financier of European powers.
J.P. “Jack” Morgan, Jr. – A vastly more interesting person who expanded the Morgan financial empire during two world wars and beyond.
The Progressive Era – Social activism and political reform from the 1890s to the 1920s.
The Sherman Antitrust Act – Trust-busting!
-
Comment on What are your favourite historic anecdotes or stories? in ~humanities.history
ChingShih LinkI used to post some things to /r/HistoryAnecdotes back in the early days of the subreddit. I'll post a couple of my favorites here. Suriname, 1986-1991 - As told by Alan 'Bowen' Source: Someone...I used to post some things to /r/HistoryAnecdotes back in the early days of the subreddit. I'll post a couple of my favorites here.
Suriname, 1986-1991
Before leaving [on the mission to assassinate the Tacujana leader], the mercenaries were provided with a local guide: he was contemptuously dismissed.
[...] They were all corporals in the [French Foreign Legion's Parachute Regiment], and they thought, “We’ll just walk down this trail here, and turn off at this branch here, and that’ll take us to the village,” – about 200 kilometers away! I said to them, “You can’t go like that. The trails shown on the map might not exist anymore – the jungle grows so quickly – so take compasses and maps.” These guys told me they didn’t need maps and compasses. I repeated, “You’ve got to use them or you won’t get there. You’ll get lost and die in the jungle.” Then one of them admitted, “We can’t read the map,” which absolutely amazed me, because they were corporals in the Legion.
Mick put it like this: “We’re fucking Paras. We’re airborne. When we need to go somewhere, we parachute in, and then we get taken out after we’ve done the business. We don’t have to learn how to map-read.”
So, obviously, they got lost.
- As told by Alan 'Bowen'
Source:
Someone Else’s War: Mercenaries from 1960 to the Present, by Anthony Rogers
Notes:
The Surinamese Interior War (Dutch: Binnenlandse Oorlog) was a civil war waged in the remote interior region of Suriname between 1986 and 1992. The war was fought between the Jungle Commando led by Ronnie Brunswijk, whose members originated from the Maroon ethnic group, and the national army led by then-army chief and de facto head of state Dési Bouterse. - Wikipedia
Further Reading:
History of Suriname - Also known as "Dutch Guiana" and "Surinam." (Wikipedia)
Légion Étrangère (French Foreign Legion) (Wikipedia)
E. A. Pan: The French Foreign Legion - An American in the FFL. (Warning, Geocities-level website with a green background. Great perspective on the modern FFL and with more links to FFL stuff.)
Rhodesian Light Infantry - One of Rhodesia's primary counter-insurgency (COIN) units during the Rhodesian Bush War (1964-1979) and composed of some foreign nationals, including Australian and American veterans of the Vietnam War as well as Canadians, British, and South Africans.
-
Comment on Hooters | Bankrupt in ~food
ChingShih Link ParentI agree with the other responses you got to your post. On this particular subject, the answer is yes, some of them do feel that way and are just speed running making money from tips as best they...I wonder if they acted that unnatural because they felt as if they had a gun to the back of their heads.
I agree with the other responses you got to your post. On this particular subject, the answer is yes, some of them do feel that way and are just speed running making money from tips as best they feel they can. It may not be just for general economic/financial reasons, but they may have a specific need for a good amount of money fairly quickly and they feel that working at one of those establishments is preferable to working at a strip club or getting a high interest rate loan. For every story of an American getting into the porn industry to pay for college, there are a thousand Americans who worked at that kind of establishment as waitstaff to do the same thing, or pay for their sibling's braces, or make a downpayment on a car. There are less honorable reasons, too, I'm sure, but either way a lot of them are gritting their teeth and doing what they can to make the tips.
-
Comment on How to practically liquidate lots of little things of moderate value in ~finance
ChingShih Link Parent(@DeaconBlue) Going into more detail in a separate comment because this will take more time for me to write. But I've done a variety of these things over the past few years so I can offer some...(@DeaconBlue) Going into more detail in a separate comment because this will take more time for me to write. But I've done a variety of these things over the past few years so I can offer some answers:
Is there some version of a business that takes Stuff and sells it on ebay, pocketing some percentage of the sale? Is there a different kind of business that I should be looking for?
Yes, there are "pickers" who buy bulk from individuals/estates. They are a dying breed due to a variety of factors. I could write a whole post about how Mercari, eBay, and antique middle-men/scalpers are killing that industry. But the short answer is to find flea markets or "antique malls" (not just small stores) and get business cards for everyone even remotely adjacent and to your theme and give them a call or email/FB DM.
Conversely, people bidding on storage units seems to have grown a lot due to pop-culture. Those people don't frequent estate sales typically, but there should be some crossover. You should be able to make inquires via Craigslist and maybe have someone reach out to you, but I wouldn't do this first. I'd do an estate sale first and try to get the most you can, then incrementally lower expectations. If there are things that are really high dollar value ($300 comic book alt art, a mildly valuable signed poster, etc.) then I would list those individually.
For comic books, DnD, and Warhammer, I would go to your local indie comic book stores and inquire with them. If they have a "no soliciting sign" obviously don't ask them directly, but you could walk around the store for a few minutes and then go up to the owner-manager and ask if they know of anyone who would buy comics by the box. If they seem interested themselves, you could casually drop a "well ... I do have a box in my car ..." :) Otherwise, they might have some leads of local collectors who appreciate volume or specialty items (like alt covers, framed stuff, etc.). Plus, you know it's going to a good home and maybe they'll come pick it up from you rather than the other way around.
Stuff that is worth selling, but not huge collections that I can get an auction house involved with.
There are estate sales companies and they have different styles (and styles probably vary by economic region). My experience is different from chocobean's because my family went with a different "style," but their experience is very relevant. Here's what ours was like (and this was in a nice area):
They will run a "yard sale" inside your home. Some will run auctions right there in your home at a specific time and make it very formal, then the rest of the time is basic yard sale activity. Items for sale are laid out, people can bring them up to the estate sales associate and bargain with them a little, and the sales associate is responsible for sticking to your wishes (whether you're willing to come down in price a certain percentage, drop the price up to 50%, take any offer, whatever). So they do a day's worth of yard sale work and you don't have to stress.
These companies do all the advertising and stuff themselves, saving you time and money in some ways -- and probably reaching better audiences in the process. Most of these entities will be looking for estates of grandma's old furniture and jewelry, not 30s-male-collectibles, but you might find an estate sale company that is willing to give it a shot.
They'll come to get a sort of appraisal of what's being sold, how much time they should dedicate to the process, who to send (you wouldn't want their silverware expert...), and whether they will charge you or take a commission of sales. If you don't have at least a certain value to sell, they probably won't work solely on commission. But if you have some really valuable stuff, or enough of it that would be parted out rather than be sold as a set, then an estate sales company would know how to manage this and they'll also help you price things for sale.
-
Comment on How to practically liquidate lots of little things of moderate value in ~finance
ChingShih LinkJust want to confirm that putting out a (free?) listing on Craigslist titled "Estate sale with <collectible franchise> and <collectible media format>" still works in metropolitan areas and...Just want to confirm that putting out a (free?) listing on Craigslist titled "Estate sale with <collectible franchise> and <collectible media format>" still works in metropolitan areas and actually brings in the right clientele. Even a whiff of vinyl, comic books, even cassettes (sold by the box of course), will turn up the sort of value-collectors who understand that you're looking for good money but that they can still get a deal.
My father put up a listing of my grandparent's vinyls and specified a few to give a flavor of the eras covered, along with how many boxes there were. We had three or four enthusiast type people show up, reasonably presentable, personable, and they paid cash to buy whole boxes with minimal fuss. There wasn't any "let me camp in front of this box for two hours and pick out the several I actually want" or "can I just buy five for $2???" kinds of things that leave you with boxes of stuff and a wasted morning. They are experienced and knowledgeable and usually have some kind of quirk that makes collecting bulk that way more economical, yet they have the money to make real offers.
So don't be afraid to give that a try first because that'll be much better than ebay (unless you live super rural).
-
Comment on Regarding travel agency exoticca.com in ~travel
ChingShih Link ParentI heard "doumo" a lot when I was being welcomed into a restaurant or certain places, but can't remember hearing it elsewhere under any contexts. Is this a thankfulness kind of thing more than...I heard "doumo" a lot when I was being welcomed into a restaurant or certain places, but can't remember hearing it elsewhere under any contexts. Is this a thankfulness kind of thing more than "thanks" is in English, whereas English-speakers might be expressing gratefulness by saying "thanks for visiting, please come in"?
If I bought something I always got an arigatou gozaimasu(uuu~). Is that the experience for white people as well or not? The Asians out there definitely did not think I was light skinned, haha. But it was always very cute when old ladies at a bakery or someone would say it, sounded like something out of an anime. I also got the biggest grin out of housekeeping when I would say good morning to them and they would reply that way too.
-
Comment on Doppi, the nicest player for your music files in ~tech
ChingShih Link ParentI've used PowerAmp for something like 13 years (and love it). I just discovered that it has equalizer presets that can be chosen when it detects specific headphones. It looks like it imports a...I've used PowerAmp for something like 13 years (and love it). I just discovered that it has equalizer presets that can be chosen when it detects specific headphones. It looks like it imports a library of EQ settings from Rtings by default, but there are also manual import and export settings. There's so much to fiddle with in the app, I'm shocked by how feature-rich it is and a little disappointed I never really looked underneath the hood before.
On desktop environments I use WinAmp.
Same here, I specifically pick up used paperbacks to put on my bookshelves -- especially sci-fi and fantasy from the 80s and 90s with fun cover art. I appreciate some of the sci-fi covers from the 50s and 60s as well, but it tends to be a little outlandish.
When I'm at a used book store I look for paperbacks of some fantasy novels I missed out on earlier in life along with specific versions of some popular books (GoT with pre-HBO covers, for example). I like to get early editions of the books because they have a certain hue to their printings, sometimes have embossed lettering in the titles, and maybe they have the old style of the publisher's logo or something mildly interesting.
I have a small collection of cover art in the form of poster prints (Michael Whelan art, mostly). A lot of posters are getting hard to find cheaply -- as are some of the paperbacks with versions of the covers I really want. Mass market reprints were sometimes done with different color hues/temps, art was cropped differently, lettering for the title wasn't embossed, and things like that.