Element/Matrix is pretty much what you’re looking for if you need self hosted. Could also look into Jabber/XMPP or IRC but Matrix is going to be way more modern and useable.

The info given above is incorrect. Normally, you’d need to forward ports on your router, but if you’re on a VPN your router doesn’t come into play. The VPN creates a tunnel directly from your PC to the VPN provider’s server, and whatever ports are open from that server are then forwarded to you, assuming they’re allowing port forwarding.

I used Nord a couple years ago and didn’t renew after they were breached and failed to disclose it to their users. I then tried Mozilla, but it regularly crashed when torrenting too fast. Slowing my torrents down to under 100mbit worked but sucked when I have a gbit connection. Then a family member passed away with an active expressvpn account so I used it and it was pretty fast for normal browsing, and just as good as Nord and better than Mozilla for torrents.

Now that ExpressVPN is expired, I just switched to proton and HOLY COW it is so much faster for torrents. Just check the button for port forwarding, and you’ll be assigned a random port. Plug that into qBittorrent and you’ll connect and start downloading so much faster it’s insane. Also go into the advanced setting in qBittorrent and you can set it to only use the ProtonVPN network connection, then if proton disconnects, qBittorrent won’t keep downloading on your normal ISP connection.

5 grams is about a teaspoon

A crime isn’t a crime if the only punishment is a fine. In that case, it’s just the cost of doing business for the rich.

If the web is DRM’d in a way that requires chrome or windows then it could be difficult to bypass.

I remember the days of, “sorry, you must use Internet Explorer to use this website” when visiting my bank.

Coffee doesn’t give you energy. Coffee lets you borrow energy, and you pay it back with interest.

Ah, didn’t realize this. I never connected mine to WiFi

Ah, didn’t realize this. I never connected mine to WiFi.

Akshully, get the Paperwhite Kids. Like $10 more than the ad supported version, no ads, free cover/case, 2 year accidental protection warranty instead of just one year manufacturer warranty. Just be sure to cancel the free trial of the kids service.

It feels really weird to go to one website and enter my credentials for another website. How secure is that? I guess whatever app I’m using could be storing credentials instead of using an API, but the fact I can see a URL and enter the wrong creds from my password manager feels off.

That sounds like a great idea!

/s

Saint IGNUcius of the Church of Emacs.

Looking for something physical? Try Disc Golf! Most courses are free to play and you probably have one at a public park near you. See https://dgcoursereview.com for lists and maps.

Same basic rules as normal “ball” golf apply: throw a disc (basically a frisbee) from a tee to a basket in as few throws as possible. A normal cheap frisbee you already have might work OK on a small short course, but just like golf clubs there are disc versions of putters, mid range, and drivers, including ones that are more likely to “turn” to the right (if you throw righty backhand) or “fade” left at the end of the flight.

I’d recommend picking up a starter pack from Innova or Discraft (two of the big disc golf brands) which can be had for about $20 on Amazon, or buy individual discs on discgolfcenter.com or a local store that sells them so you can get some tips and tricks for playing. The starter pack usually has lighter weight discs that are easier to throw. They are also generally “slower” and “float” more. Don’t believe the marketing about “super fast long range drivers” - they only go farther if you have the arm speed to throw them properly, and if you don’t you will probably throw your mid range or fairway driver further, so start with those discs for now.

Also search for local clubs in your area. Despite the reputation for DG players being stoners and hippies (lots of us are! 😉), we are also a generally friendly and helpful crowd. Find out when a club is meeting for a friendly round or family night (or maybe even a paid tourney), or ask at a local shop that carries discs if they know when and where the club is playing. Show up, find someone who looks old and in charge 🤣 and introduce yourself and tell them honestly you’ve never played and show them your discs and ask them if you can join. They’ll probably invite you into a group. If you find a group playing doubles or “Captain’s Choice” that’s even better - you and your partner both get to throw, and you take the best shot (probably your partner’s) and you won’t get as frustrated at 50-60 terrible throws as you would at 100 terrible throws playing by yourself.

Remind them you’ve never played and ask for help for everything, from what disc to throw to how to throw it. Most importantly, TAKE CRITICISM AND ADVICE WITH A SMILE. That old guy may not be amazing, and he may sound gruff, but when he suggests a different stance or disc, he’s got your best interest at heart. Maybe what you were about to do might work, but he know percentages and that a different shot will more likely work better. Or maybe he knows from experience you’re going to destroy your knees or elbows with a certain form, and you can get by with it as a teenager but you’ll regret those decisions in 20 years.

Once you get practice at the course a little bit, you won’t even need to go and play rounds all the time. A local empty football or soccer field or an empty lot can make a great driving range for practice. Tie some rope around a tree in the back yard about the distance between the bands of a disc golf basket and now you have a place to practice putting. If it’s raining and you have a big garage or open room, you can buy a collapsible indoor basket to practice putting or you could even aim at a piece of paper or pie plate taped to the back of the couch.

Finally, just have FUN! Disc golf will be super fun when you have low expectations. As you finally start to figure it out again couple of rounds you’ll get some beginner’s luck, then you’ll try to replicate that and get super frustrated. Just chill and remember: you’re still a beginner and I’ve played for 15 years and still can’t shoot under par consistently. 😂

That’s…um…interesting. Really thinking more simple, understated kind of light, that just kind of disappeas and doesn’t make a show. That light screams Rolls Royce, while I’m looking at upgrading from a Kia to a Camry, or maybe an Audi.

Don’t stay at a shitty job just because you’re scared of new things or because you think it’s good pay. Put yourself out there and interview. Some interviews will suck, some job offers will be insultingly low, but eventually you’ll find something better. And guess what? Maybe that one will end sooner than you’d like, but you’re already practiced up and know how to interview and write a resume, so you can just dust yourself off and move on.

Also, if you get a huge pay raise, try to live at the same expense level as the old job. Maybe get a treat here and there, maybe fix that problem in your house or car you’ve been putting off, but don’t blow all the extra money. Save some in case that new job ends and it takes a little longer to find more work than you’d like.

How hard would it have been to just add another octet or two? I like using my 10key and if I have to type letters for an IP address it’s a bad system.

I have 15-20 domains with Google so it’ll be a pain to manage something else. Even if I can’t trust Google’s privacy or product continuity, I do trust Google’s security and have multi factor enabled already, so having my domains protected by them is a great thing. I’m pretty much always logged into my Google account on my PC so it’s one fewer account to manage.

Squarespace is probably fine, but I bought my first domains through a web builder and web host years ago and they slowly raised prices and reduced features until I had to leave them and moved to Google.

Hahahahaha! 😂 This is amazing! That sub was probably the main one I enjoyed visiting lately that didn’t really have an off-reddit alternative. (Signal and Bitwarden I went to to help others with questions, but they have their own community forums.)

And when someone asked why NewYuzuPiracy didn’t go dark, they got down voted to hell with some of the top comments saying how it was dumb to go dark, nobody cares about 3rd party apps, etc. Well jokes on them now!

I love how y’all have just invented what we used to refer to as “a forum” 😂

Before reddit, Badger and Blade was a forum dedicated to traditional wet shaving, with sub forums for double edged razors, single edge razors, old school straight razors, badger hair brushes, different shaving soaps, and some other nice manly things like knives or fountain pens or leather goods or what have you.

If people didn’t like B&B, there was also The Shave Den, a similar forum with different mods and different rules and some similar sub forums.

For tech you could (and still can) join linustechtips.com or there were probably others for Chris Parillo or TWiT or Cali Lewis or whatever.

Bob’s Burgers! Gotta catch the joke on the empty building and the pest control van!