For me right now, it's books followed shortly of watching things. And I mean watching things that isn't YouTube. Recently, I've been donating totes of books, books I've spent a long time having thrifted for and waited to get without having to cave to spending online.

And those books just sat there for months and months without being picked up to be read. Even books I wanted! I used to have a 5-shelf bookcase filled with books, another 3 shelf filled with books, a structure compromising of a shoe shelf and TV-stand filled with books. Now after donating things, I am only down to a single three-shelf bookcase just packed up with what books I have decided to remain with me.

As for watching things, I've discarded over 120+ DVDs from my collection, I still have a hefty amount, like I have nearly 5 full disc books filled with discs of a wide variety of movies and shows to watch should I ever not be online or want time off from being online. All just continue to sit there unwatched as I just keep watching YouTube video after YouTube video.

I just think I am coming around to the acceptance that I just will not give myself time to these hobbies and that they're probably dying out, I predict that if I don't do anything in the next couple years should they all sit and gather more dust, I'll just let them all go.

I've been on Reddit since 2015 and I actually had a blast on it, about a year before the inevitable one of many Reddit Meltdowns happened the following year because of the general elections.

And I really loved the communities of Nostalgia, TrueUnpopularOpinions (before it got radicalized), UnpopularOpinions (before that got very samey), Games (before they got ban happy), Gamers (before they got even more ban-happy), AskReddit, YSK, TrueOffMyChest, Rant and a dozen others.

So I was a real talker in those sub-reddits. But I think one of my first of many bans happened was because, it was now 2016 and we started seeing a flourish of bad actors and trolls run around. And they were proficient in gaslighting people, so I became one of them, said a few things, mods got pissy and banned me yet not the person who did the gaslighting.

This would be a trend for the next 8 years. Where I would try to stop engaging trolls, shit would hit the fan, some oversensitive user got uppity on me, trolls came around again and so on. I estimate that I got banned probably about 30 some odd times by now in a near 10 year span.

I would go through so many e-mails and user names that it started to seem like a profile was being made on me because of how many times I tried coming back just to partake in the old communities I could. Reddit was getting worse and worse every attempt.

I think the last true time I was able to talk freely on Reddit was probably some year and a half ago. I tried the whole workaround where you make a new account, build some cheap karma on AskReddit and you'll be good. But that wasn't enough anymore.

Now anytime I would join, I get shadow-banned. I would appeal, but I know better because mods/admins don't give a fuck about appeals. They're righteous in their own way. So while I do have an account on there now that's active, good luck saying anything with it because it's shadow-banned.

I think pirating from smaller ISPs is advantageous. Simply because a lot of the staff could not be as tech savvy to understand what you're downloading.

Big ISPs, it's a little harder but challenging and possible, because they know what to expect.

That thing you could've sworn you existed, remembered existed and how it has now turned into a great wonder of a chase to acquire again after so long. What is that thing for you?

Mine is discovering what music was played during an old internet radio show I still listen to was. The episodes I'm listening to are 21 years old now and for years I wondered what specific tracks were played on that show that I so want copies of. In one of the episodes, the host mentions that the backing music is from Digitally Imported now known as DI.FM.

However, that doesn't do me any good since newer music is played now on that platform and with no hint or source telling me what tracks were played on that show in show notes or even word of mouth, I've no hope in tracking them down. So for so long, I've had to listen to this show's episodes almost religiously, just because of the music that was played.

And my only hope now is tinkering with audio tools so I can figure a way to rip out the parts where the hosts are talking so it is just the music, then go around online asking people who're more expert on the genre than I am to tell me, then find them and download them.

For me, it's a matter of how little they know the world around them and how things affect other things. Case and point, when voters thought that voting Trump in, that he would magically make egg prices go down. They're going down now, from what I saw shopping earlier today, but they weren't because of him.

Another example is how when shop lifters, when they shoplift, always think that they're harming who they call 'The Man' aka corporate operating the stores, directly. That's not entirely true and I know this having worked retail several times and currently.

Who you're hurting, really, is the store itself and those that work in it. The store pulls its own profits in by how many people shop there and part of that profit, is distributing to those who work there. When you're stealing from that store, you are actively harming that store's profits and in turn, harming those that work there.

The CEOs and executives are still raking in millions and they aren't above having to shut down stores over dipshit thieves which in turn, costs a lot of jobs in that store to absorb the profits to make up whatever costs.

One of the earliest consumer internet options, AOL's dial-up service was once the most common way for people to access the early web.

Since the United States is in bed fully with corruption and nearly all bets are off, what do you expect to see happen between now and the next 3 years?

I expect that we will no longer be able to unsubscribe from marketing e-mails, it's just going to be spam and spam.

The IRS will no longer provide any service to help you file your taxes, free or paid. You will be forced to choose in having to pay top-dollar tax agents or agencies to do it for you.

You will pay a federal citizen traveling fee when crossing from state border to state border, so it'll be like a toll booth only now you're charged a flat fee if you're going from CA to TX for example.

To better clarify, I've been reading how EA is close to selling itself to the Saudis and probably other firms. And I've read some select comments who've said that they're boycotting EA, been boycotting EA and getting pissy still over what EA has done to their IPs in the past.

And this isn't the Fediverse, this is just what I've gathered outside it in observation.

All I can think is, is how pointless it is to get mad at something you've already written off as dead to you. This is applicable to so many things, you'll see that pattern. If something is dead to you and you enjoy what has been still to this day, why waste your energy getting pissed at still at the thing that ruined it?

I think it is just wasting time and energy myself. I try and don't get pissy at things I've already long resolved myself. Eh, whatever, I'll enjoy something when it was great to have enjoyed it before whatever enshittification that thing has undergone. Doesn't hurt me any.

I am about up to my neck now of people scapegoating social media as a concept, to excuse themselves from their shitty behavior. Because I sincerely doubt that malicious intent, misinformation and this overwhelming level of 'toxicity' was the core design of every social media platform in their humble beginnings.

I have been online long enough to know, that from BBS Boards to IRC Servers to Yahoo/AOL Chat Rooms to MySpace to Facebook that people who have registered onto those places, have always taken their collective dumps in them. And never owing to them so it must all be because these places just exist, right?

Wrong.

What are some things you are subscribed to that make a service worthwhile in keeping?

I only have a few I can say is worth-it but worth it in a more conserving sense, like pumping-the-brakes kind of deal. Not something you would want on all of the time.,

1. Amazon Prime.

People may be split on Amazon for activist reasons or what have you, but I find it difficult to argue against what benefits that is brought from it. I sparingly use Prime and get it only when I have things I want to shop for that will be best used with it. I don't personally use Video, Music or what have you.

2. All Streaming Services (Only if you have a work-around)

Subscribing to any base streaming service plan with ads is worthless, but worth it if you use an HDMI cable from PC to TV or whatever configuration. Then watch through a browser that kills advertisements.

Worthless Subscriptions

Spotify

You're only paying for the privilege to skip songs which should be a basic right of usage. Podcasts still aren't exempt from advertisements. Features provided aren't really that exciting to use.

Sirius XM

I just re-subscribed to this for $1 and might be personal taste, but I listen to the comedy channels. I don't go anywhere else because I find that the music-based channels played things I don't typically like or can vibe with.

Discord Nitro

You're just paying for cosmetic junk which also all have separate price tags and other useless profile things that some of which, obstruct profiles so it is pointless. Only provides minor perks to video, audio and file capability. You also get to use emotes, that you can barely see anyways, in any server you're in (unless mobile).

All news-based ones

Why pay for journalism that is all but dead and biased these days?

X-Box Game Pass

Bit 50/50 on this one. On one hand, trying out so many games is a perk, but, it also works against itself because you could be isolated by choice and what limit you have to work with.

Gym Memberships

Very parasitic and predatory. They all lock you into contracts and pretend that they're like your car dealership or even your apartment landlord into these year-long subscription models. They prey on you not using their facility, they charge you annual fees and other fees you don't know about. The only way out of them is to pay the remaining balance of the subscription or other scheming means. Very few out there actually let you cancel.

The reason I ask is because, we have a government in the USA, who has demonstrated time and time again about how little accountability and responsibility matters to them. We have a "president" who is a convicted felon, has been impeached twice and obviously isn't serving any level of sentencing whatsoever because we live in a world like that for some reason.

So why should anyone give a shit whether or not the Epstein files are released? I mean it is obvious that Trump has associated with him, it is no doubt that there are other high profile associates too, who are making their actions about how they're handling this more apparent that their words ever could.

But the point I'm getting to is - why does this shit matter to an administration and particularly Trump when he's about dodged everything you can throw at him? If he's apparently immune, his voterbase doesn't care and there is no sense of honor or anything through this administration. Wouldn't these files mean next to nothing to him?

Like come on now, why do you have to nag me to make the millionth account I don't care about maintaining, just to access your site and do what I intend to do in it. Just so you don't redirect me back to where I was prior to you nagging me to sign up? The least you could do is that.