jcrabtr

I just finished "The Art of Loading Brush," which makes many of the same arguments with some modern updates. Highly recommended.

My favorite from python are decorators, especially the built-in ones like @property. They can improve readability immensely, so the don't feel extraneous.

Seconded. While Art of Electronics is the classic text, this one is a bit more accessible. It has less depth but more breadth, and is less intimidating because of it.

Right. Why play an acoustic instrument when we can accurately synthesize its sound, or use a tube amplifier when we could use a digital modelling amplifier that perfectly simulates it? Because nostalgia is one of the enjoyable aspects of music. That being said, one should realize that paying for nostalgia isn't necessarily paying for objectively better performance.

Cool project! This reminds me of an idea that you're awfully close to: optimized small-volume part kitting. I can order boards from OSHPark and stencils from OSHStencils, but figuring out which distributor has parts in stock for the lowest price and in the preferred packaging still takes an inordinate amount of time. The Octopart BOM tool is the closest thing I know of, but it will only let you fill a cart at a single distributor. Going in one step from BOM to ordered parts from multiple optimal distributors would save a lot of time.