I think we might be kindred spirits. The stuff I own because suddenly Hobby X was the most critical thing in my life… There is a recorder (the instrument) sitting on my desk right now because I decided a couple of months ago at 2AM that it was high-time I learned to read music. Thank goodness I didn’t buy a violin.

I took a couple photos mid-molt today, but they are so stinking blurry. It’s a mix of low-skill, low-light, a phone camera, and trying to photograph through reflective enclosures, I think. I have thought about looking into better equipment before, but having read your story I don’t think that’s a good idea!

I have (so far) been mercifully spared by the photography bug, so I’m not sure where it falls in terms of cost, but keeping inverts can actually be done really cheaply while still providing very good care. Now that I’ve said that…run for your life, lol.

I can’t really speak to insects, but I do keep tarantulas and have really had to set firm bounds on myself. Not just money-wise (because oh, the beautiful terrariums you can build), but also in terms of what I can reasonably care for, what I reasonably have space for, etc. That said, this is probably the most fun I’ve ever had with a hobby. I have two prepping to molt as I type this and I feel like it’s Christmas morning.

This is a little off-topic, but if you are okay with spiders, you might enjoy this video from Dave’s Little Beasties that shows the development of a tarantula (Theraphosa stirmi) from an egg. This is an very large species with very large eggs, so you can really get a good look. I believe Dave does touch on bad eggs briefly here as well.

Video link

Oh that’s funny, I forgot beehaw didn’t have downvotes. I actually can downvote and see the downvotes, but maybe those are just going off into the ether.

Oh, and I also suspect the user(s?) doing this is using other accounts to upvote the posts.

The ones I’ve been reporting have all been lemm.ee users and it is a violation of the lemm.ee rules to use your account to advertise on lemm.ee or any other instance. I don’t know how other instances are handling it.

I actually don’t know who gets the reports I’ve been submitting, either, so I’m not sure if it’s doing anything.

I’ve been reporting them. It seems that a lot of the posts contain affiliate links, so it’s someone trying to make money from that - not because they wrote the books that are getting posted.

Some have been banned, but they keep coming back. Some may be bots, but not all - I saw at least one come back with a hateful response when called out.

I’m glad you’ve had better luck with Katchy than I did. I bought it because of a personal recommendation, but it didn’t really work long enough for me to determine if it was better than sticky traps.

Plus I’m the weirdo with a soft spot for moths, so I just generally leave them to fight it out with the spiders :). I cannot handle the fungus gnats flying up my nose, though. It doesn’t seem to matter if there is one fungus gnat or fifty - they all think there’s a party in my nostrils.

Me, too. I have always been pretty neutral about Tom Hanks, but now I am wishing he read more audiobooks.

You mentioned pest control in the soil - have you tried mosquito bits? I ended up mixing some in with the soil for a Monstera and I also put a layer over the top and it does seem to make a difference. I do have to combine it with those unsightly yellow sticky traps, though. Between plants and the inverts I keep, my house is full of containers of damp dirt.

In case anyone is thinking about getting a katchy, you can read the reviews, but I give it a thumbs-down. I used it only a few times before fall and it worked okay, but when I pulled it out again in the spring I just get orange error lights and no response when I reached out to them.

That was a very good one. I also loved her last novel Dutch House. I read it when it came out and then listened to the audio read by Tom Hanks a couple times during the early days of the pandemic when all I could really do was go for long walks. It’s not exactly a cheerful book, but I found it very comforting.

I am very, very excited for Ann Patchett’s Tom Lake. I don’t even know how to explain it but her novels are like some sort of mix of hypnosis and dopamine to my brain.

I hope to one day have someone that defends me the way you do peanut butter.

Real word, although I’ve never heard an American use it. I just associate it with Great British Bake-off haha

Well that is a very good point. There are several gyms in my neighborhood that I’ve been going to and I certainly don’t need anyone egging my house or worse, lol.

Thank you, that clicked it for me! Somehow I was just not getting that the coins were not cumulative, so that makes sense now.

In fact, it sounds like regular turnover actually benefits everyone, since you don’t get extra coins for staying multiple days. I feel much better! I didn’t want to be the adult that showed up and ruined everyone’s fun, but I just looked up the average age of a Pokemon Go player and it looks like I’m not actually very likely to come across many children, haha.

I love animals with very basic human names. So one of my tarantulas is named Jennifer.

Ah, maybe it is just a bug in the comment calculation then. I did think it was odd when I replied that an hour old post on a brand new forum about plants already had 17 replies, haha.

I’m jealous of everyone with bright indoor spots :) I actually don’t know if it makes any difference taste-wise for herbs if they get leggy, but it does make for a scraggly, sad-looking plant.

I can’t see all the comments, so this may have been mentioned, but make sure you have a good spot that gets bright sun most of the day. I don’t even bother with herbs indoors because my kitchen faces East and I don’t have a bright enough spot. If you notice your plants starting to look a little “leggy” (sending out long shoots with lots of distance between the leaves) that’s a good sign they are not getting enough light.