Worst dates? How about bizarre ones? I’ll omit my actual worst dates because I suspect they’d be too intense or bring down the mood, and I’m guessing that may not be the intention of the post.

I briefly dated this one girl in Portland, Oregon. Let’s call her Marie. I planned everything for the first date, drove all the way across town for the sake of meeting at a memorable place on a pleasant day - effort I put in when I think there’s a chance for something with real potential.

We met up at a farmer’s market, awkwardly scooted around looking at various produce and tasted spicy chocolates while talking about who knows what. Positive, light-hearted conversation. Cool, Marie passed the vibe check, so I took her to my favorite bakery in the area. Better conversation this time - enough to want a second date. We started walking maybe two blocks until she excused herself and dipped out - no hug, kiss, or handshake. Huh. Well, it was less than a 90-minute date. OK, bye bye.

A few days passed as we kept in touch over text and agreed to another date. I, again, made all the plans; I don’t remember what they were exactly but do recall that it was a very thoughtful and cute idea based on some cute thing that we bonded over when we were last together. Marie said no, she’d actually prefer to go to a book signing at Powell’s (which is downtown, across the city for me) in the middle of the week at, like, 5pm. Hmm, OK, I’ll give it a shot. I appreciated her proposing a date idea and hadn’t been to a book signing in a long time, anyway.

The day came. I scrambled after my last meeting for the day to shower and prep and whatnot, hopped in my car and enjoyed a ~45 minute drive in heavy traffic toward the heart of the city. I eventually found paid parking about 4 blocks away, tossed a few coins to my Parking Kitty, and rushed off to the bookstore.

I composed myself while looking around but saw no sign of Marie. 5 minutes until the signing, whew. I texted her to say I’d arrived. I started to meander, peeking around the stacks to see if she’s browsing but stayed to the entryway. It’s cold and drizzly outside, enough where people weren’t loitering around, so I didn’t think we’d miss each other that way. 0 minutes until the signing. 5 minutes late. I texted again. 10 minutes late. Then there she is - there’s Marie! A brief “hey!” later, we scurried upstairs and, thankfully, saw that the group was seated but the crowd was still murmuring, so the event hadn’t yet begun.

We grabbed our seats and enjoyed the event, after which I anticipated that we’d walk and talk around the bookstore or do… something date-y, but she said “OK I’m gonna head out.” Uh. “Alright, can I walk you to your car?” She nodded, and off we went. We made it about two blocks and only chatted for maybe 2-3 minutes before reaching her car. “OK, bye!” she said as she got in her car with a timid wave.

After I got back home, I texted Marie, asking if she was OK because it felt like we only shared a few sentences before departing and I’m not used to that kind of communication, especially on dates. No response. I waited two days, still no response, so I told her that it was nice seeing her but I need better communication with people I’m dating.

I’ve daily-driven my Librem 5 since March 2023. I will certainly not state that this device will meet everyone’s needs or expectations and would consider myself a patient prosumer, but comfortable daily use is possible and is proving easier in testing the next major PureOS release (crimson).

Yes, I am a Purism staff member. Here are a couple Purism forum search results of things I have posed related to the Librem 5 version 2:

• https://forums.puri.sm/t/librem5-v2-design-opinion-on-headphone-jack/29875/11
• https://forums.puri.sm/t/esim-on-librem-5/29843/14

the PinePhone Pro looks the most promising one of the bunch

I’ll have to advocate for the Librem 5 over the Pinephone Pro for the following reasons:

1. The Pinephone Pro has officially been discontinued as of August 2025 [source].
2. The Librem 5 and Liberty phones are still in production [source].
3. Librem 5 PCB board design files are also available - not just schematics [source].
4. Purism is already working on a Librem 5 version 2.
5. Purism is pushing toward FSF RYF certification for the Librem 5 and future models.

I’d consider it a significant advancement. Phones have much tighter regulations than many consumer devices and this may not necessarily align with Valve’s long-term business objectives, however, so I have some skepticism but would be pleasantly surprised if they pursued such an endeavor.

I would imagine that most of our brains, interests, communication styles and socialized behaviors are immensely multifaceted where it would require a reasonably nuanced stimulus to trigger a response within the realm of their expectation. I don’t expect many people to appreciate my niche hyperfixations and, frankly, some of them aren’t even popularized in a way that I can easily articulate. I struggle to imagine a situation where it would slip out during everyday conversation.

It only takes 1 opportunity to change your life.

Like the backpedaling of Trump’s T1 phone to initially be claimed as “Made in America” until being publicly called out, not only by inquisitive people but also by a company furthest along in producing a fully “Made in USA” phone. The T1 phone marketing has been relegated to featuring a “proudly American” design.

There are alternatives to Google and Apple products. I recommend the MNT Pocket Reform if you’d like a full keyboard, or a Librem 5 if you prefer a more typical smartphone form factor.

Disable suspend when the laptop lid is closed:

sudo sed -i 's/#HandleLidSwitch=suspend/HandleLidSwitch=ignore/g' /etc/systemd/logind.conf
sudo sed -i 's/#HandleLidSwitchExternalPower=suspend/HandleLidSwitchExternalPower=ignore/g' /etc/systemd/logind.conf
sudo systemctl restart systemd-logind

If you are in a TTY, you can blank the screen before closing the lid to prevent burn-in. After running this, come back later and press a key to turn the screen on again.

alias blankscreen='setterm --blank=force; read ans; setterm --blank=poke'

I wrote this suite of scripts a few years ago and still use them to:

1. Boot into Ventoy and select a Debian Live environment
2. Optional: connect a storage device (local partition, USB drive, etc) for persistent storage
3. Modify cfg/cfg.sh if it’s the first time using the tool
4. Run setup.sh to configure the environment into a familiar/productive state

The tools are flexible on hardware (more directed toward x64 systems at this time), and I (almost) never have to worry about OS upgrades. Just boot into a newer live OS image once it’s ready. They are still a work-in-progress and still have a few customizations that I should abstract for more general use, but it’s FOSS in case anyone has merge requests, issues, suggestions, etc.

OPSEC. I have history disabled on my phone. If anyone were to somehow access it, they would have more difficulty figuring out who is close to me.

When exiting an airplane, it is more efficient to remain in your row until the row ahead of you has accessed their belongings. This includes people that have no overhead luggage. Sometimes someone’s overhead luggage is behind their seat and it causes noticeable congestion/delays if there are people standing in the aisle obstructing their path. An exception could be made for patrons that need extra time for mobility issues, but this is usually arranged in advance with the flight attendants. Having said that, it’s best to make every effort to exit with expediency because there could be others that have very little time to reach their connecting flight.

It’s safe to generally assume that most others are equally (or more) tired of being on the plane and want to leave ASAP.

Linux has been ready for some time within various educational programs, but maybe you are referring to relatively early education curriculum in public schools? The general anecdotes I’ve heard from teachers within a variety of grade levels in the USA (mostly elementary and high school levels, but some doctoral engineering/scientific as well) convey that the largest hurdles to overcome are:

1. Teaching the teachers. Teachers are usually very smart and capable, but are often chronically overworked, overstressed, and underpaid for their labor. They have limited mental bandwidth in learning new tech workflows while having the added obligation of teaching these workflows to students which may be at an attention/interest deficit.
2. Challenging the status quo at the administrative level. Schools often receive incentives, grants, steep discounts, etc, for installing certain types of hardware or software packages. The software baselines of some schools are restricted at the district level; many public libraries are restricted by the city/county. Perhaps the best approach here is to install Linux as a “secondary” option (similar to how a smaller number of e.g. Macs may be installed in a computer lab comprised mostly of Windows computers) until it’s more widely adopted.
3. Advocating for equivalent Linux support for popular proprietary software. This is especially true for the creative design community, such as graphic design and professional music production. Adobe is usually the target of criticism here; Linux does not currently hold enough market share to capture Adobe’s attention while their patrons usually have unwavering brand loyalty or are unwilling to make any tooling/workflow compromises as to maintain their livelihood.
4. FOSS-friendly awareness campaigns. Showing people that they can remain productive while not being at the mercy of Big Tech. Not using public funds for private industry.
5. Feature parity case studies compared to proprietary options.
6. Overcoming the stereotype that Linux is only for techy people, shrouded by gatekeepers, or subject to drama/infighting.

In the meantime, the Liberty phone seems to be the closest option for a US-made smartphone. While not entirely comprised of US-sourced components, the PCBs are manufactured in California, as well as device packaging and assembly.

April 10 update: Right on time, the author of the OP’s linked article has now published an article on the Liberty phone.

If anyone remembers the Mycroft Mark II Voice Assistant Kickstarter and was disappointed when development challenges and patent trolls caused the company’s untimely demise, know that hope is not lost for a FOSS/OSHW voice assistant insulated from Big Tech…

FAQ: OVOS, Neon, and the Future of the Mycroft Voice Assistant

Disclaimer: I do not represent any of these organizations in any way; I just believe in their mission and wish them all the success in getting there by spreading the word.

There is nothing more permanent than a temporary solution that works.