I decided to burn a forest down and empty an aquafer for you. I hope you appreciate it!

My 94yo friend is still going strong. His advice is to keep moving. Even just going for a short walk does more than you realise.

Look after your eyes, ears, and back, and always wear the recommended protective gear. People who say you look stupid using the correct technique or wearing protective gear will either die first, or regret their decision after it’s too late to do anything about it.

Most of all, learn from other peoples mistakes. You don’t have enough time or luck to make them all yourself.

That’s one reason why we really need right to repair. A screen shouldn’t be the same price as the entire device.

I replaced a damaged USB C port (module) and degraded battery instead of replacing the whole device.

Those people must have a lot of disposable income.

I’m still disappointed that tags are absent from the mobile app.

I have used AI to give me the syntax and function names I need, then researched those functions and found better ones instead.

I once asked AI to show me how to do something and it gave me a 20 line script. After 2 hours working with it, I finally got it to work. Another 30 minutes of optimizing and got it down to 3 lines. A bit more research and I discovered that what I wanted was actually a language feature, and I just needed to call a single function with a single argument.

AI occasionally saves me time, and usually causes a significant time waste.

If you intend to install both, install Windows first. It has a habit of overwriting other bootloaders.

When you install Linux second, it should install a bootloader that will let you choose which OS to boot each time you turn on the computer.

Always backup data you care about. Installing an OS carries some risk of data loss.

House insulation.

I live in Australia where the minimum insulation required by law is a long way below inadequate, and many cheap contractors go below the minimum because it’s so hard to prosecute them.

I already had solar and a house battery, so the next obvious step was replacing the insulation. With my already very low electricity bills I cant say that it literally paid for itself (although it would have without the solar and battery), but it has made the house so much more comfortable. On some summer days, the AC would be using 7kW and barely keeping the inside temperature down to 30°C/85°F. Now it uses 3-5kW and the whole house stays comfortable.

Also, finding and patching the massive gaps from the previous “landlord special” house extension made a huge difference to the temperature of that room, and explained how lizards had managed to get inside.

I’m using an old thinkpad with Ubuntu Server as the OS. Almost any OS will do, but Ubuntu server has a single button to install docker during the OS install, so it’s easy.

I’m using docker compose instead of docker so that I can look at and update any scripts, and don’t have to remember anything. For the file sharing, I’m currently upgrading from Samba to Copyparty - the best software I have seen in a long time.

I’m also using WireGuard and Syncthing to duplicate the storage to an identical laptop in a family member’s house, rsync for weekly backups, and calendar reminders to do a monthly offline backup (automated with a script except for remembering to connect and disconnect the external drive).

I doubt you need all of this, but an old laptop with docker has so many options that you might start adding more stuff just because you can. I’ve also added HomeAssistant, Immich, and even a Factorio server to the same laptop using docker.

I use Shotcut. I only use basic features like cutting and stitching, but it’s never let me down.

If it was just a screen, general purpose processor, and customisable OS then I’d have one already.

I don’t feel like paying a monthly subscription fee for a product to lie to me every time I ask a question, and relay everything I do back to a company who will sell my personal data to anyone.

I love my Pebble watch and enjoy playing with new tech. If a company like Pebble can make one without the spyware, bloatware, and AI, then I’ll probably get one.

I don’t like the idea of saying that a few nuclear plants exploding is better than burning coal, but you are correct.

The problem is very similar to the exploding cigarette problem. On average, a person will smoke 625,000 cigarettes before it kills them*. If cigarettes were completely harmless except for 1 out of every 625,000 that exploded violently and killed the user, it would most likely be banned for being unsafe.

Coal power plants kill many people every year and cause significant physical and mental health problems to many more, but because it’s all indirect and gradual, no-one stops them**.

If coal plants were required to capture and safely store 100% of the C02 and other harmful emissions they produce, the would likely be far more expensive than nuclear plants.

*This also counts cigarettes smoked by people who died from unrelated causes. The number is for demonstration purposes only and is not intended to be particularly accurate.

**Many people have protested and are trying to stop coal plants. Please keep trying. I’m complaining mostly about corrupt politicians, not citizen inaction.

In Australia the anti-nuclear argument actually does make sense. Not because nuclear is dangerous, but because it’s expensive.

Australia has so much open land for solar and wind power, and an enormous coastline of offshore wind. It’s already cheaper to build new solar power and battery storage than to continue running a newly built coal plant.

Nuclear makes sense in space-restricted areas like Japan, and can be used to replace fossil fuels anywhere, but the focus should be on the cheapest solution (renewables) where possible.

It was the best option at the time, and I didn’t feel like setting up Windows more than once as I gradually added new software and removed other software.

That particular VM doesn’t get booted very often anymore.

I use it in a VM because it’s better than Windows 10, some programs refuse to run on Linux, and I don’t need to provide the VM with an internet connection.

My actual server is an old laptop and it does not run Windows.

Even my friend who insists that Windows is superior still uses Linux for his gaming server because it’s easier to set up and manage.

I guess this is the last kick I needed to buy a new phone and move away from Google permanently.

Clippy never sold your data or demanded a subscription fee for something you already bought. Clippy just tried to help.

The clippy movement is not about clippy as a program, but as an idea that companies need to be held accountable, and that we will hold them accountable.
If a company tries to make a feature a paid subscription after you paid for the product, or releases and update that removes your privacy, we will be watching and we will hold them accountable.

Companies can lie to one person or hide changes from a few people, but they can’t handle all of us. Samsung has already reversed their added subscription fee for a smart TV as a result of community action.

If you still want (or need) to use Windows, I’ve found Ninite to be a great time saver.

I really need to try Ventoy. I’ve had 3 people recommend it to me so far.

I don’t care about gender. If you want to identify as a man or a woman, then you’re free to do that. If you want to identify as something else, that doesn’t bother me.

But if you want to take someone’s rights away because of who they are and not for what they’ve done, then I’m against your ideals.

If you call me a feminist for that, then I’ll happily accept that title too.