I have maybe 20 pair that I think all got bought together years ago. I used to wear each pair probably once every other week for 2-3 years. They all started noticeably thinning around the toes and heel. No holes but close enough to be nearly no difference. I switched to another brand of socks for work and these still get worn on weekends occasionally. This is all to say, I've definitely worn them out even if it takes a bit longer than dirt cheap ones.

> Ate the grooves in records

No it didn't. It uses a decent quality AT cart and has fairly low tracking force. This isn't a Crosley. I've had a vintage one for years and this is just BS from people who have never used one and just go "portable player must be shit"

C-41 at home isn't much harder than black and white. You just have to watch temperature and time more closely. I did it at home pre-covid when I was still travelling and shooting a ton. I did all my development with one of those dark canisters and a dark bag and scanned in the negatives on my flatbed scanner.