I eventually decided on openSUSE Tumbleweed for a few reasons: rolling release, because I like to stay up-to-date; non-derivative, not a fork or dependent on other underlying distros; European, for (perceived) privacy reasons; a relatively well known and large distro with a decent community, for troubleshooting reasons; backed by a company, though that has both its ups and downs; lastly, support for KDE Plasma.

I actually had trouble finding a distro that suited all my criteria at the time, but openSUSE is good enough for now and I am pretty much satisfied.

Sometime in my early 20s I realized I was starting to dread social interactions. It was gradual, but for a long time I could feel myself getting worse and didn’t know what was happening or where it would end. Those were scary times.

The Matt Parker? Of Parker Square fame?

I can sometimes see auras around people. It’s fascinating stuff, but the strain of it can cause debilitating pain.

Western medicine calls it “migraines”, but what does science know?

Of those two, I think Fedora is the better choice since the packages are more up to date. Fedora with Plasma is a great choice anyway. It’s also a large distro with lots of online support. Try it out!

For me it’s about letting go. The depression is telling me to slow down and no matter what my plans were, I have to respect that. If I don’t, it’ll just get worse and stay longer. This can be a hard pill to swallow with my personality, but I’ve learned that I don’t really have any options. If I feel I need to lie down on the sofa, or even the floor, I do that. I know I’m at my worst when I only have the mental and physical energy for lying down and listening to a podcast. From experience, forcing myself is the worst thing I can do.

I’m reading The Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan, the fourth book in The Wheel of Time series. I’m starting to get a bit sick of the characters, frankly. Petty, angry, dishonest liars most of them, looking to make the worst decisions for any given situation. I still like the book, oddly enough, but I wish the characters like, grow up sometime soon.

Honestly, guys, gals and others, Microsoft is making it crystal clear they don’t want you to use their OS. It’s not your OS, it’s theirs. Stop trying mangle it into something it is not. If you need registry edits just to make the OS usable, it’s not worth it. It’s not for you. Please, please, please look at alternatives that respect you, your intelligence, your privacy and your data. One day Microsoft will push an update that will lock you out of your machine unless you create an account. Jumping through these hoops is just delaying the inevitable. Using an OS is not worth all this effort and stress.

The president of the United States of America is angry that starting a trade war has started a trade war. I would be appalled, if this wasn’t just par for the course at this point.

I landed on Claws Mail myself. It does look a bit dated, but the UI is functional and the client works. I’m content with it.

Anecdotally, I don’t trust Klarna one bit. A few years ago I was making a payment and Klarna directed me to a third party site that wanted my bank credentials. It was at that moment I stopped using Klarna and requested they delete all information they have on me. Apparently, Klarna wanted to see my account activity. I now go out of my way to avoid them. I have a similar issue with PayPal, where connecting a Credit Card requires entering information in a way I’m uncomfortable with.

So for now I’m just using a CC directly. This may not be the best approach, but it feels the least intrusive - for now. I don’t know what the optimal solution would be. Maybe when GNU Taler becomes an option…

I would to hear him cite the exact laws he thinks they have broken and in what way.

Despite the inherently probabilistic nature of quantum mechanics, do you think the universe is deterministic?

So good. I wish OpenOMF matures soon.

With Japan, they only have so much inhabitable land anyway. It’s a mountainous island where all viable land is already pretty much taken.

I will always have a soft spot for Birmingham for giving us Black Sabbath. Luckily, I have never been there though, so the reality will not ruin it for me.

I had a good, deep, cathartic laugh at this I didn’t realize I was in need of. UK politics has been an interesting but unfun mess for a long while.

Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson.

Peter was not quite like other boys; but he was afraid at last. A tremour ran through him, like a shudder passing over the sea; but on the sea one shudder follows another till there are hundreds of them, and Peter felt just the one. Next moment he was standing erect on the rock again, with that smile on his face and a drum beating within him. It was saying, ‘To die will be an awfully big adventure.’

Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie. Kids’ books are rad.

My immediate first thought also. And my favorite character in the game.