kalkulat @ kalkulat @lemmy.world

Background in hard sciences, computing (FOSS), electronics, music, Zen.

---

Read more

Posts

53

Comments

362

Joined

2 yr. ago

If you could retire and have enough to keep you comfortably housed and insured until you're 90, that's wealth enough.

I had hated the commercials on local TV (and their insipid local newscasters), and the way Cable networks chopped up films to the point where a 90-minute film took 2-1/2 hours to watch. NOT to mention their 200+ channels with 7 worth watching (for many $$$).

When they shut down analog TV in 2009, that was it for me. I didn't even grab a ~~free HDTV converter for local stuff. Nothing but Internet ever since. Music? HUNDREDS of online stations.

Try this: 1) download a Linux distro ISO (recommend Mint Cinnamon because of help forum) 2) Use ETCHER to burn it onto an EMPTY USB stick (4G is enuf; ERASE it if it's not new). 3) Insert the stick into a USB port, reboot and get into your BIOS. 4) Do not use SecureBoot, Try to use a LEGACY boot instead of UEFI (if your BIOS has that option).
4. Now use your BIOS to boot from the stick.

If all of that works you have booted from the stick and see the Mint OS Icon. Then you're in a 'LIVE USB' session with the option to install Linux to your drive at the upper left (I think, don't use Cinnamon). No hurry. Just live there, and maybe go through all of that 1 or 2 more times.

Just take time to get used to the OS for a while. You need to make sure that there's room on the drive for the install. 20-25GB is plenty. So your 'BOATLOAD' should be more than enough. (You can also install it on -another- drive if you like. SO easy!)

Find a web page or video that comfortably helps YOU understand the install process (a snap, until you get to the important page where you tell it WHERE to install the OS). Be sure you have prepared the drive (if need be) before you do the install. ENJOY (I've done a -lot- of LM installs. Only ONCE from a Windows environment, NEVER again.)

In case of any snags, the busy and help Mint Forum page is here: https://forums.linuxmint.com/

Big companies become like alien organisms that are embodied in big buildings and employ human beings as blood cells. They are predators that consume human life energies.

Best to do what you think is right ... as for Democracy, it's a good idea, I hope we'll see it show up one of these days. 'All men are created equal' ... but then someone's gotta pick the crops.

The Romans managed to figure out that lead was bad for you. That didn't stop it from being used for the next 1500 years. Including in gasoline. And in paint.

https://www.epa.gov/archive/epa/aboutepa/lead-poisoning-historical-perspective.html

Up until recently, a lot of US plumbers used lead pipes in homes to bring drinking water to the faucet. Even if home lead plumbing is replaced, the pipes leading to the water meter may be lead.

https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/protect-your-tap-quick-check-lead-0

One dollar won't buy much of anything. Give me a magic ten instead.

First of all, the meagre 'search' in 'Manage Bookmarks' does not tell you where a 'found' bookmark IS, which makes it next to useless. (If ONLY it would tell you that in the list you see when you click the URL.)

Over the years (on DESKTOP, I can only guess the horrors on tinyscreen) I've developed a system of folders with generic names that I use to sort BMs as I add them. My 3 top categories - the only ones visible in the 'Toolbar' are OFTEN (frequently visited sites grouped by folder), RESOURCES (folders at the top are most-visited) and LOCAL (most-visited on top). I also use the 'New bookmark order' extension, which adds new bookmarks to THE TOP of whatever folder I put them in (easy to open and drag-into folder topic).

Works, but it's hardly ideal, that's for sure. Don't think anyone at Moz has addressed this design in years.)

Yeah! A lot of times, hanging around with people you share things in common with leads to friendships. In friendships you might discover a few more things in common. No worries ... if it's fun and the chemistry is good, the rest will follow.

There are multiple kinds of 'smart'. The following section in Wiki breaks them down into IQ, emotional, social, and moral. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligence#Human

Historically, a lot of 'high IQ' people didn't necessarily 'fit in' to society. See the story of William James Sidis ... 'He entered Harvard University at age 11 and, as an adult, was claimed by family members to have an IQ between 250 and 300'.

Also historically, people smart enough to see that a lot of the world is about shuckin' and jivin' and not giving a crap? may not be not interested in playing the game. Some find other interests and don't see the point in 'accomplishing' things that will mostly be forgotten. Ramanujan had a HUGE talent for math ONLY, unrecognized until he wrote a professor halfway around the world.

We were all born without a manual. There are ways to enjoy life on your own terms.

There are different kinds of smart. A person can be quick and creative at something (math, mechanics, music, marketing ...), and less so at everything else.

If the something is -complicated-, then a lot of learning is needed, and a good qualified teacher will help you sort out what is really important to know. Chess is complicated, and you need to learn basic strategies of how to move and not get eaten alive. There are some books that can help with that. But a human teacher can get you there a lot faster. If you're really motivated but you're not remembering enough? it may not be your 'something' !

Practically speaking, probably not.

After many years of using FFox, I just tried a Zen install on Linux. It did not turn out as well as I hoped.

I did not have FFoxesr installed in the way the OS would have installed it (though it was still in the user folder). This meant that Zen did/could not see my bookmarks, extensions or passwords ... and the options it offered didn't work out. (It wanted an HTML bookmarks file ... I had them saved as JSON ... and a 'CSV' (??) passwords file ... wherever that is ... and it found no extensions folder.) So, for starters, years of customizations had to be manually restored.

But, fair shake, I did manually re-install bookmarks AND a few extensions that had saved databases (e.g. UBO, NoScript, Block site). (It ignored the sub-folders in the JSON bookmarks folders, dumping all bookmarks into the top-levels.) And I had to re-create all the settings. (Most of which exist in the .mozilla folder on Linux ... easy to find.)

I played for an hour with what I put there (without a menu bar ... or a tab bar, all URIs are shoved together -by name- in a sidebar ... I did figure out how to see a bookmark bar). I could discern no -truly useful- advantages to it. None. That was not offset by some pretty cosmetics. So even if you do get all of your customizations past the one-size-fits-all install, for long-time FF users I see no substantial advantages to the Zen browser.

No cavalry ... and no calvary either ... is going to ride over the hilltop and save us. We can only keep healthy, keep learning and keep doing the best we can for each other. Yeah, it matters today. And it's always today.

GEOLOGY can be intriguing when much of it is set outdoors (in videos, no bug bites, no poison ivy) and being explained by a professor at a small college with a great love of the topic and a talent and desire to share it with a large audience. Yes, I'm talking Nick on the Rocks himself. Danger:He's often accompanied by other interesting geologists. It might be catching.

https://www.youtube.com/@GeologyNick/videos

If you're new to the topic or have children, then Nick also does short (under 10-minute) shows that are shown on PBS, which you'll find here:

https://www.pbs.org/show/nick-rocks/

Oh, I'm thinking about 20 minutes in line outside a small community center, back when I lived in North Dakota (pop of whole state about 600,000). As a lifelong nomad, it was the only state I lived where I actually attended a Democratic party caucus. It was an enjoyable excursion into a behind-the-scenes election process that most will never venture into. Best part was, I escaped without being signed up for anything more!

THANKS for alerting me to another source of XKCD madness!

All pets were at one time wildlife. Killing one to save it... wow.

Some way of grouping Communities other than by name (not very useful). E.G. search on 'Climate' and you don't get the name of one of the busiest communities.

In other words, group them a step up the taxonomy. Create 10 or 15 groups (sci/tech, history, music, culture, media, nature, issues, locations....), see what mods have to say about that list. (Could do worse than the Wikipedia taxonomy.)

One thing that seems to be missing from most Zen promotion is that Firefox has a huge collection of add-on options/extentions. Hard to beat of you're reliant on several of them. Keeps me from even trying it.