Wait, did you spend $38 total on both the dress and shoes or just the dress?

I mean that sounds pretty normal to me, those dollar bins add up fast and you don't even notice. The spreadsheet is what does it, once you see the real number it hits different. Maybe it's just me but 1,000 books over 10+ years is like one a week, that's not a problem that's just a habit.

The part about the whole what if scenario being built on a myth really hits home for me. I had the same thing happen when I found out that the "dark ages" weren't actually a big drop in knowledge like everyone says, and that always bothered me too because it gets repeated everywhere. It sounds like you actually did the reading instead of just going with the cookout version, and that takes some effort when the myth is so much easier to repeat. The Ptolemies funding question is a much better one because it's about choices people made, not some random fire. Sorry the guy at the grill was so sure of himself, that kind of thing is annoying when you know better.