I’ve used Debian, Ubuntu, Mint, and Manjaro. All viable options. I’m currently using Mint on my daily driver, Ubuntu on my HTPCs, and Debian on my servers.

I liked the rolling release aspect of Manjaro, but I missed having a system that works with DEB files. I’m not a fan of flatpak/snap/appimage due to the size (I’ve often had to use slower internet connections). I settled on Mint for my daily driver because it has great and easy compatibility for my hardware (specifically an Nvidia GPU). It worked okay on Manjaro as well, but I’ve found it easier to select and switch between GPU drivers on Mint. And Cinnamon is my favorite DE, and that’s sort of “native” to Mint.

I’m using vanilla Ubuntu on my HTPCs because I have Proton VPN on them, and it’s the only setup I’ve found that doesn’t have issues with the stupid keyring thing. And Proton VPN’s app only really natively supports Ubuntu. The computers only ever use a web browser, so the distro otherwise doesn’t matter that much.

I’m using Debian on my servers because it’s the distro I’m most familiar with, especially without a GUI. Plus it’ll run until the hardware fails, maybe a little longer.

It’d have to be $1 million plus arrangements to move to the EU. If it weren’t for family here, I’d probably take that.

Yes.

Even more apparent is when you draw the parallel to birth defects, diseases, or literally any reason we affect our bodies.

Pretty much all bigots don’t realize it. There are almost no Bond villains in real life–humans can’t really exist in a state where they truly believe they’re the “bad guy.” Some people know they’re wrong, but they see themselves as a victim, not a villain.

Not only do they not recognize their bigotry, they believe themselves to be the “good guys” in this situation, with opinions on other people ranging from condescending pity to complete disregard.

If you’re genuinely curious, I can give you a glimpse into their rationality (though I strongly disagree with it).

Say, for just a brief moment, that you consider trans people to be mentally ill. Calling them by their preferred pronouns would be like giving a drink to an alcoholic–you’d be encouraging it, which would be to their detriment. And worse, you’d be liable to whatever diety might be displeased with your actions that caused someone else to continue in their sin.

Of course, that only works if you have a very poor understanding of both gender and theology. The real reason the bigots don’t like trans people is because it challenges their worldview, which is uncomfortable. And instead of facing that head on, they’d rather try to justify their current view.

The Oatmeal wrote a great info comic on this.

Then sell it to a demolition derby show.

Relevant self-promotion: I created a custom launcher, Mere Launcher, in part to help someone with tremors. This launcher uses no swipe gestures on the home page and the favorites are fairly large by default. Hope it’s useful!

Someone who asks for help with their laptop, then opens it to reveal what appears to be several years worth of snacks smashed into the keyboard and on the screen. No, Doug, I don’t want to drive.

To be fair, I’ll use the more convenient shortcuts (cut/copy/paste, select all, save) that are genuinely easier to do with one hand. But Alt+F4? It either requires two hands or else your hand needs to qualify for Cirque de Soleil to hit it properly. Some of the “standard” keybinds are often more trouble than moving the pointer.

Rowlf

Honey can change consistency, depending on how it is packaged and stored. In addition, you have to consider the cost and risk of storing it. But if you think the bees are going to die off, it could be a lucrative investment.

Maybe I just don’t have the context to understand this, but it sounds like some sort of a misunderstanding. I can’t say whether you might be on the spectrum, but I’d be equally confused at the person’s response. It’s possible they misunderstood or were otherwise having a bad day. But in this case, I’d say it’s probably not you.

Many fines are just a tax on the poor and would fall under this.

I had a buddy who was rich, like fuck-you rich. He’d park his hummer wherever he felt like it (handicapped spots, up on the curb, etc), and every week he’d take his stack of parking tickets and write a cheque.

A lot of wealthy people are like this. They have no concept of what $100 is worth to an average person, and if the only punishment for something is a monetary fine, it’s effectively permissable for them.

Once you get a billion dollars, that kind of thing is the only thing that is “off limits” anymore, so of course that’s what they want.

Extreme wealth is bad for everyone, including the wealthy.

Check out GetSimple. It’s a flat file system (so no database to mess with) and can run with just basic PHP (though it’ll guide you through installing modules if you want fancy urls, etc). Super easy to set up. I’ve been using it for years without a hitch.

Yeah, you tend to see the best of humanity during a shared struggle (and sometimes the worst too, but seems more often the better).

In 2003, there was a massive power outage over a big chunk of the midwest. Power was out for about three days. My entire city just kinda… shut down and took a break.

It wasn’t all great–a few elderly folks even died of heat stroke (it was hot, in the middle of summer if I remember right). But there were some positives: the city functioned as a community in a way I’ve never experienced before or since. It felt like we were all on a broken elevator together–a sudden sense of camaraderie in the face of a shared experience.

Most businesses couldn’t function, so everyone was pretty much outside in the parks and at the waterfront, and everyone seemed pretty welcoming to everyone else (they kinda had to be, there were a lot of people out). My dad had a portable generator, so we went around town taking turns at friends’ houses to run their fridges and freezers for a while, and got to just spend time with them.

I don’t expect that the world could function like that all the time, but it was kinda nice for a few days.

I have no strong feelings one way or the other.

It’s not dumb to feel sad about it. Enshittification is sad, especially when you see it from the inside.

TIL Elon doesn’t know SQL or have any basic human decency.

J/K, I already knew he doesn’t have basic human decency.

If he knew anything about SQL, he could have run a quick search to see whether any SSNs are actually duplicated. (spoiler alert: they’re not, he’s just stupid).