Arch Linux user here to say… Ubuntu’s fine, man. Love all the derivatives that can take advantage of the core Ubuntu system (e.g., Mint, which I’ve installed for family members).

I love Arch. I use it all the time. I will not inflict it on any family members.

This is partially true. The rich have definitely benefited more than everyone else. But the actual statistics don’t lie… Wages are not actually stagnant, they’ve been ticking upward, and it’s finally happening faster than inflation. It’s not helping everyone, of course, but it’s not all doom and gloom, either. And inflation really is down - importantly, lower than the global average by quite a bit.

I’m not going to argue that everything is going perfectly, because it’s clearly not. For one thing, everything that can get passed in the House has to overcome Republican obstruction right now, only to face Republican obstruction in the Senate, too. We have a half-&-half government where one half is sociopathic, and that’s not amazing. In fact, while some economic indicators are good, the whole thing does appear pretty fragile.

Which is kinda the thesis of my original comment.

Good, but fragile.

Let’s talk about the fragile first:

• We have unrest due to the genocidal war in Gaza. Israel is a long-term ally of the United States, but… their government has lost its mind. They’ve responded to a horrendous terrorist attack with an even more horrendous war that it’s hard to see a good ending to. Lots of blame to go around on it, but as for the United States, we’re stuck with a particularly sticky political problem because of it.

  If we cut off support for Israel, it’s likely that they’ll face invasion by their neighbors, plunging the entire region into war and strengthening Russia.

  If we give them everything they need to raze Gaza to the ground, no strings attached, they’ll… raze Gaza to the ground, and probably try to destroy all of Palestine in a grotesque act of true genocide. This will also result in their neighbors attacking them, and likely cause an even more horrific war. Biden is currently trying to thread a very difficult needle between these extreme outcomes.

  I genuinely don’t know if he will succeed and ultimately convince Israel to stop the horrific destruction, but at least he’s trying. If Trump wins the next election, we - and Palestine, and Israel, and everyone who isn’t Russia or Iran - are fucked.

• We have a serious long-term problem that threatens the stability of the entire country, which I will sum up in two words: Fox News. This misnamed infotainment channel is almost single-handedly responsible for a decades-long - and horrifyingly successful - campaign to make an entire half of the country stupid, misinformed, bigoted, and angry all the time about utter nonsense.

  Have you heard about how trans people are beating all the “real” women in sports? Or raping them in public bathrooms? Have you heard about how DEI is flooding every business everywhere with unqualified employees, because white people are superior reasons that will remain carefully unspecified? Is Disney trying to turn little Timmy gay? Is the “woke mind virus” something you’re familiar with?

  Then you’ve probably either seen Fox News, or interacted with its victims. And I mean that: victims. These are people who have been intentionally targeted for, quite literally, brainwashing. If you’ve ever found yourself in an argument with a Fox News victim, you’ll have discovered that they’re remarkably impervious to facts, fully capable of believing complete balderdash without a single scrap of evidence, and are prone to become angry - sometimes violently so - in defense of their worldview and in response to anything that causes the discomfort of cognitive dissonance.

• We haven’t yet figured out how to really counter bad actors, both foreign and domestic, who take advantage of all of the above to try to destroy the United States as it is right now.

  Domestically, actual white supremacists and Neo-Nazis are absolutely thrilled with the current state of affairs in Israel and Palestine, because 1) they hate absolutely everyone involved anyway, and 2) they see it as an opportunity to try to recruit new white supremacists from college students who are angry about the genocide. Does that make any sense? Of course not; if they’re upset about the horrific slayings of thousands of Muslims in a majority non-white country, it’s absurd to believe that they’re likely to be turned by white nationalism. But it’s not like Neo-Nazis are known for their critical thinking skills, and they still might succeed in dividing enough of the electorate to help Trump get back into office. They certainly want to.

  On the foreign front, there’s Russia, of course. Russia still wants to do everything it can to destroy the United States. Putin and his ilk have long since concluded that the easiest way to become a mover and shaker on the world stage isn’t to make a strong Russia, it’s to make everyone else weak. They’ve utterly squandered the opportunities of perestroika. And they are hell-bent on making the world suffer for it.

Pretty depressing, huh. But it’s not all bad:

• We seem to be taking genuine, if tentative, steps towards actually forcing Donald Trump to experience the consequences of his actions. This will destroy him. He’s a corrupt narcissist, and even being forced to be in court is absolute torture for him. And if he’s found guilty and becomes a felon, it’s a near-certainty that he will lose the upcoming election. There’s some evidence that while it would invigorate some of his base (comprised of Fox News victims), it would also partially divide them. He would, at last, look weak to some of them.
• Our economy is actually doing quite well. Jobs are up, inflation is down, GDP is up, and overall things are actually going fairly well. You don’t hear about it much, because “Everything is going well” doesn’t make for an exciting news headline, but it appears to be true.
• Biden has made remarkable strides, all things considered, on multiple issues, from the environment to student loans. This, even with a House controlled by the likes of Marjorie Taylor Greene and a corrupt Supreme Court.
• The pandemic isn’t over - it probably never will be - but with actual grown-ups at the wheel, we’re doing much better on that front, too.

So… yeah. Good. But fragile.

If you count light outside of the human visible spectrum, it’s bright pretty much everywhere. Like, getting away from light requires specially constructed facilities.

I’ve never even heard of it. They sure weren’t putting their VPN front and center.

The vaccines actually did do a good job of preventing infection and spread initially. But thanks to anti-vaxxers, it had ample opportunity to mutate. So it did.

I mean, yeah, a few, but there are plenty with Windows too, and the overwhelming majority of games I’ve tried it with work fine.

Well, of course. I mean it’s not like you paid for a Microsoft Windows license when you bought your computer, so obviously they have to advertise to financially support it. If you’re getting something for free, you’re the product.

…

…

…

Wait, I’m being told that when people buy computers with Windows installed, they are, in fact, paying for a Windows license, too.

So this is actually Microsoft trying to turn products they’ve already sold into continuous revenue streams at the cost of usability and customer happiness.

In other news, apropos of nothing in particular, Steam on Linux is working really well these days, with lots of AAA titles running just fine via Proton. Make of that what you will…

Gonna try really fucking hard for that.

I have what can only be described as a “flagon” of water next to my bed. I’ve emptied it like five times today.

Oh, you better fucking believe I’m resting. As much as I humanly can. I’ve spent just about the entire day in my bedroom, switching between bed (when I can breathe through the mucus) and supremely comfy chair (when I can’t). There will be no “push” in this house.

I simply will not buy a washing machine where some of the options for its regular use require an internet connection. I can see adding Bluetooth to it for things like remote control and phone notifications, or even WLAN support for connecting to some kind of smarthome hub that is internet-connected so you can get those notifications remotely. But the idea that smart == device-level internet connection is terrible. Appliances for basic living requirements, like laundry, should not require an internet connection of their own to function.

This particular homeowner is baffled that anyone would buy a washing machine that needs an internet connection. I’m all for smart appliances, but a smart washing machine is a solution in search of a problem.

One of my kids is trans and pan. The other is lesbian. My niece is trans and lesbian. My other nibling (look it up) is gender-fluid. My sister is bisexual. My aunt was lesbian. I have multiple gay uncles and grand-uncles.

There are a lot of LGBTQ+ people in my extended family, on both sides, and it’s not a small family. So if either came out as gay, I wouldn’t be particularly surprised.

Especially if it’s my mother, who is already out as bisexual.

As for how I’d react? Mostly by saying, “Thank you for telling me, that must have been very hard for you.” No recrimination or anger, of course. I love my parents, and either of them coming out wouldn’t affect that in the slightest.

I’ve seen enough NileRed videos to assert this with 100% confidence: That guy will not die of old age. And however he goes, the cleanup will almost certainly require bio-hazard suits.

One of my kids shuffling around in the kitchen.

This is a huge business opportunity for someone with the know-how. They should offer a consulting service that does the following:

1. Catalogs the software your company is using.
2. Identifies which ones have native Linux versions, which ones work well under WINE, and which ones will need to be replaced with either a different native application or an online equivalent.
3. Installs and configures Linux with a Windows-like UI on your old systems, and gets them set up with the replacement software.

Offer a support contract that severely undercuts anything Microsoft is gouging selling. Offer basic training, too.

Anyone who does that can make bank.

Because it means Linux is gaining enough credibility as a desktop operating system for PC and parts manufacturers to work harder to ensure compatibility.

Everyone seems to want off the Microsoft upgrade train. Consumers don’t want to constantly fear that the OS will stop getting security updates because Microsoft doesn’t want to make them anymore. Manufacturers of PCs don’t want to pay the Microsoft tax. Parts manufacturers know it’s actually easier to write drivers for Linux than it is for Windows.

But until Linux shows signs of being a credible and attractive alternative, it’s not going to break Microsoft’s stranglehold on all three.

Thank goodness.

I’m reminded of a story I read a while back - not sure where - about how if you let a Nazi into your bar, you eventually end up running a Nazi bar. I think the same applies to online forums. You let Nazis overrun a forum, everyone else leaves, and eventually you might as well just be running Stormfront.

I’m under no illusions that Linux is a viable alternative for everyone, but if you’re just using your computer as a web terminal and light gaming system, a decent Linux system + Steam makes for a very usable option these days.

I have exactly one computer in my house that has Windows on it. It was provided by my employer, and I turn it on maybe once every two weeks or so, for special-purpose activities that can’t be done on my Linux laptop. And most of the time, for most activities my Linux laptop is the clearly superior performer - it’s not even close, despite their similar hardware specs.

I don’t think everyone should - or can - switch. But if you’ve got an old beater laptop gathering dust, try popping Ubuntu or something on it, see how it performs. See if it’s something you could legitimately switch to full or part time.