See this relevant article on Firefox and Mozilla’s funding.

https://slrpnk.net/post/12621021

I saw these a few days ago and they reminded me that I am a moderator of a sleepy little community. 😆

Thankfully the mod tools were very effective in banning the user and nuking comments.

On the off chance this is a real question, if it’s your first time, don’t install Arch, install Linux Mint. It’s simpler to use and will probably be an easier transition.

To get it installed, download the ISO image for the latest stable build (22.3 as of this post). You can then use a tool like Rufus (https://rufus.ie/en/) to create a bootable usb.

Reboot your system with the completed usb and boot from it. If your system automatically starts windows again, note that you may need to press either F2 or F12 when booting up to get a menu that allows you to boot from the usb.

You’ll be able to try the os before you decide to install it. If you like it and want to install it, you can choose the appropriate option from the os once it’s loaded.

You can dual-boot windows and Linux Mint if you want to, usually a good option for first time, so you can go back to windows if you need to. I’d recommend using Mint for a while before deciding whether you can move fully over. If all you use your system for is web browsing, viewing media, and gaming (I.e., no MS Office work) you’ll probably be fine to move over full time.

Also, get your grandson to help you out! :)

Thanks for the summary. I signed up for it just in case, but don’t think I’ll end up using it. I have a similar experience with Mastodon, but then I was never really into Twitter, either.

I share your feelings on the importance of open platforms. While reddit may have been shitty for a while, the whole third-party apps thing was an eye-opener for me, and started me thinking about (and moving toward) open source.

My next big challenge will be to de-Google, but I’m increasingly up for it. Problem is I have a ton of site identities associated with my email address there, so we’ll see how that works out.

I feel for you. We have always had a lot of pets (4 cats, 2 dogs atm) and dealing with their end of life stage is heartbreaking every time. Just grieve your loss however you need to.

We always take comfort in knowing how much our departed friends brought to our lives, and, particularly for our rescues, how much love and care we were able to give them. Our relationships with them are a gift.

Take good care and trust that you will know if and when the time is right for another one in your life.

No problem! I think you could probably still improve performance with a scrap piece and good clamp pressure before you’d have to spend any money. Good luck!

I would clamp a scrap piece underneath your work piece and then drill. Should take care of the tear out better than tape.

The other way to go would be to use a lipped brad point bit or a forstner bit depending on the size of your holes. Those bits have a cutting edge around the circumference of the hole to prevent chatter when starting to drill and to produce a cleaner pass. A good set of brad points will cost you $100 or so but are a great investment imo.

I agree that if you’re finding it hard to go in every day it may be time for a change. The main strategy I have used is to try to get clear on what you want, what you would consider to be need-to-have vs. nice-to-have. You can do this by making lists of things you like where you are now and things you don’t. The things you like are what you want to try to replicate somewhere else.

The main thing is to try to be more about moving toward something you want, and less about moving away from something you hate. Not always possible, but good to strive for. Otherwise you could end up repeatedly changing jobs to get away from bad people and drama, which, as many others have pointed out, will always be there to some degree.

I wish you well in your search. Stress is a real killer, and sometimes we don’t know how bad it is until we’re out of that environment. Trust your gut.

Like others here, I dumped Reddit and moved here (and to Mastodon) full time. I also moved to Linux full time on my home laptop and haven’t missed Windows one little bit. I’m looking forward to experimenting more with a couple of other distros of interest (currently Pop_OS) and am having actual fun using my computer again. Heavy emphasis on adopting as many FOSS alternatives as possible in ‘24, and starting to separate myself from the big G.

Sounds like a great experience! Congrats.

I switched from full-time windows to full-time Linux with Pop_OS and haven’t looked back. I’m very happy with it and enjoy finding FOSS alternatives to my former go-to apps. So far so good. I’m also keeping an eye on Vanilla OS as that sounds like a very cool project that is headed to beta by summer.

Sorry, Memmy only let me add one image to the original post. Really should have provided some sense of scale as you suggest. In the image above it is filled with candy (full-size bars). It’s only about 2 feet long, but I will add precise dimensions later.

Absolutely worth checking into IMO. If your e-reader device does support library connections, so much the better, but if not, your phone/tablet will.

In addition to e-books, your library also likely offers access to other services including streaming. I have access to Kanopy, which has an interesting catalog of movies and shows that is well outside the mainstream. I’ve found some interesting stuff on there to consume even though I don’t use it as often as Netflix/Apple/etc.

Regarding Libby and the Palace Project, I used Libby for some time but shifted to Palace after reading (here, here) about the e-book lending market space and how ripe for enshittification it is at present. (Overdrive, the company behind the app of the same name and the Libby app, was recently sold to private equity firm K.K.R., notorious for horrible business practices. Overdrive controls about 90% of the library lending market, so I’m a little fearful for what might come.) The Palace Project is a non-profit, so I’m supporting it as a competing platform in case Overdrive starts to tank. The Libby app is more polished, but the search, borrowing and reading experience on Palace is largely comparable and still just fine.

Not sure if your device supports connection to your public library, but I have been reading literally hundreds of books since Covid on my iPhone using Libby at first, and now the Palace Project. I still purchase the odd book if it’s one I know I will read repeatedly but I haven’t bought an ebook in some time due to using the library.

Good list, btw. I loved the Arkady Martine books. You might want to try Gideon the Ninth and the sequels.

Wish I could invite this more than once! My favourite series, hands down.

Agreed, great book. There is a second book in that series, The Boy On the Bridge, I believe. Also quite good.

I found the movie on Kanopy through my (Canadian) public library. I’m not sure how easy to find it is on other services, as it’s not exactly blockbuster stuff. I discovered it quite by accident.

The Girl With All the Gifts was pretty good, based on the book of the same name.

For comedy, one of my faves is Stranger Than Fiction.

Maybe not exactly what you’re looking for, but if you know of a program that already does the thing you want, you can search for a variety of alternatives on alternativeto.net. It lists paid and FOSS alternatives.

I used to be responsible for the app portfolio in a 1000+ user company, and every 3 years or so I would go back out to the market and try hard to replace Adobe, just for PDF operations. Couldn’t do it because so many products were integrated with them, often in ways we could not reproduce with other products. The best we could do would be to pay for a different product for 1/3 of the cost for Adobe, and then still end up having to carry a significant number of Adobe licenses for cases when integration failed with the other product. No-win situation, and just easier to stay with the evil we knew.

I hate them.

I’m glad to hear that.

Very much yes, on the “does it help” question, but you get results in direct proportion to what you are willing to put in. The great thing is that a therapist is someone you can be completely honest with, but it takes time and effort (and courage) to show up like that.

I wanted to point out that some health plans seem to be offering CBT (computer-based therapy) options since Covid, and these are often complementary to other psychology coverage. (I live in Canada, so ymmv.). They may be a good way to “try out” therapy to see if you can gain any insight, but remember they are not much like talking to a live therapist.

My experience is that you will know when you need to go. It may be a while after that when you actually do go, but it takes what it takes. Pain is a pretty persistent motivator.

Even if you are not in crisis, your awareness of your situation and your need for help in dealing with it are really positive and a great starting point. Follow your instinct and try to find someone you feel safe with. I would say that one or two sessions with someone are usually enough to tell if you can work effectively with that person, and it’s fine to decide they are not working and you need to keep looking. There are good and less good therapists, just like in every other career and walk of life.

Good luck to you! I hope you find what you are looking for.