echindod

Fish? I like fish.

I like the ideas some other people mention. Specifically: read about your specific hardware and the distro of Linux you want to install. Then, make sure you are using as many open source cross platforms apps as you can, so when you do switch, you will be in familiar territory. I do think the criticisms of Ubuntu as a bad first choice are interesting, and maybe true, but I wouldn’t over look downstream distros like Pop!_OS. It’s Ubuntu, but with Flat packs and a distinctive Desktop Environment. Mint might also be a good choice, I know lots of people who like it (I don’t personally, but to each their own).

When I started on Linux, I installed Arch on an old MacBook. In those days apple was using amd64, but they were not friendly with Linux or the rest of the computing world. However it was older hardware, and the Arch Wiki had a great page on how to install Linux for that particular configuration. Arch is not a beginner friendly distro, but the wiki is fantastic, and so well documented.

But my main piece of distinctive advice is just do it. If you have read a few articles and have a pretty good sense of what is required (and are running common, last generation hardware), just jump in. You will probably never “feel” ready, and you will come across unique problems that no starter guide will prepare you for. So just go for it, and learn along the way.

I totally get why you wouldn’t say Arch is fun. I’m not sure if I actually like arch or if I’m a masochist, however I will say, I learned a lot about the whole OS by installing it, and fixing it when it broke. It made me much more comfortable with using Linux. I haven’t used it in a couple of years, but I am thinking about reinstalling it. Nostalgia is a bad thing :-)

It’s kind of a fun idea, but as everyone has pointed out: every school is different, even of there is some centralized board of education, some times teachers just say dumb shit.

Also, when does a fact become a fact? Like, dinosaurs had feathers. It was theorized, then debated, then clarified, and now there are some reasonable consensus about it, but theropauds probably still aren’t presented as having feathers in some books. And what teachers know this?

Or you get common misconceptions that were never facts. Like you only use 10% of your brain. I don’t think science ever said that, but man the idea is/was really common.

Oh. Yeah. That’s a good point. When I taught a dead language, I would tell my students that all grammars lie to you, but some of the lies are useful.

The Wittgensteinian Ladder. The pedagogical expedient misinformation.

Oh gawd. That would be so horrible! Is there a project o compile JavaScript to bytecode? With like LLVM? There must be, but I haven’t heard of it. I shouldn’t even say anything because I will be better off pretending it doesn’t exist.

Bidet or washlet? I have a toto washlet that has a built in air dryer. Love the damn thing, but I still use a few squares of toilet paper to make sure it’s completely dry.

I’d probably use selenium. But that depends.