MuttMutt

It's just a fact of life. I'm similar in that white screens hate me. I use my tablet in the evenings and the blue light filter and ultra dim modes help a lot. Still always an issue on some apps and web pages.

I'm rewiring my house so have started installing Sonoff ZBMINIR2 on one in certain locations. My outlets are being put in boxes large enough for a pair of double outlets (total of four individual plugs) so making one switched is kinda easy. Just wired it up without any switch at all and stuffed it in the box. Just have to break the tab on the positive side and wire the unswitched outlet as usual. I then get three always on outlets and one zigbee switched outlet, I'm going to create a label for the face plate front to show the switched one and the back side had the breaker and branch location info so it will be easy to figure out later on if needed.

I tested a couple of the ZBMINIR2's switched side and if you bring power and ground through the ZBMINIR2 the switched contacts are only about 6v dc. The only disadvantage I have seen so far is that when a switch is wired up and rapidly turned on and off it goes into pairing mode so kids flipping switches are a bad thing but it's easy enough to pair back up if you have your phone handy when it happens.

I came across Symfonium last night and it looks like it will be a good alternative to plexamp and it's supposed to work with multiple servers. I've used plex for around 10 years and have had a lifetime plexpass for nearly as long. The recent changes they have made pushing streaming first is the main reason why i am working to switch to something else.

No clue. Not really a social person. I can say that for every day there will likely be a new trend starting and an old one dying.

My content rarely has me showing up in it and even then microphones tend to not work very well at 60 feet under water. Then again that gives me an idea, I can take a fake fish under water with an attached fake mic and do a voice over later on for some fun....

It actually makes a copy on my phone of both the Playlist and Music it references.

However, Plex seems to be moving towards things other than local media so you may want to avoid it. The recent app design changes are putting streaming media and corporate profits ahead of the actual users. That is why I am looking to switch to Jellyfin.

I have Plex so it automatically copies selected playlists and such to my phone. Going to be switching to Jellyfin soon though but I'm guessing it has a similar feature.

I use SyncThing as well to keep certain files and such synced from my server, phone, and tablet. I also sync pictures and video to my server from my phone and tablet.

I sync my music to my phone from my home server.

Reminds me of AN0M https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Trojan_Shield

You truly have to find what helps you. For some people it's minimal activity and relaxation, for others it's something frantic and crazy(but not their job), some people turn to sex and relationships, others turn towards absolute control, while someone else may prefer to fully relinquish control of everything and just plain let another person be in control of every aspect of their life.

Being burned out takes a while to figure out sometimes. I personally want to be 70 feet under water on a reef every chance I get so I don't have to think about or really deal with people. Nature often helps people who are in jobs where they are stuck indoors and time with very few people and minimal communication if they normally deal with a constant stream of people. Basically the polar opposite of their job.

Going for a walk in a park our on a beach is a good place to start it you can. Find something that allows your mind to just exist and be a part of your surroundings. In a pinch you may find that searching for an asmr nature video may help if you can't figure out what you want to do or don't have easy access. Sometimes it's about finding your element. If the idea of being in water sets you on edge and stresses you out it's probably not going to help, at the same time if you don't like heat going for a jog in a desert won't be your cup of tea either.

This, this, and this.

As computer cases have gotten smaller the heat buildup has gotten bad. My mother in law had one of the SFF pc's from 10 years ago and after about a year the HDD died. Replaced it with a used one I had that was 7200rpm vs 5400rpm and it was dead in 6 months. That drives twin still works today but was always in a tower case.

Heat kills CPU's, RAM, MoBo's, and everything else in the computer.

Upgrades are limited to RAM and SSD but those upgrades generally mean even more heat so then you end up thermal throttling. You could get an external GPU but now you have a huge brick sitting next to your little box pc. IMHO they agree great fir something like retro gaming/emulation but you will generally be better suited by a full size computer especially if you buy a board that has a long lived socket.

Warranties are great but the issue is that the warranty fairy will try to get out of it as often as possible. Generally this is done by pushing the blame onto someone else, usually the purchaser.

I personally buy a cheap case without a psu, then get a good power supply. A mid range MoBo like an AM5 B850 with a cheap compatible processor. Add some RAM and a SSD with a budget GPU then you end up with something to get started and closer to the end of the socket lifespan you can grab a better cpu and GPU then buy a cheap case and MoBo and have something you can sell, give to someone else, or use a a server. You will start with a better computer and end with a MUCH better system.

I started with an x470 with a Ryzen 1600 and 16GB of RAM and a used 1080ti. I doubled my ram (not as easily done on with ddr5 sadly) upgraded to a 5800x and am waiting for a GPU that isn't outrageous in cost but will double my fps. My old cpu was dropped in a B450 with a used RX480 16GB of ram and a 1TB SSD for my stepson to use as a gaming machine similar to a steamdeck (ChimeraOS) and he upgraded the GPU to an RX7600.

Brave browser. It's simple and it works. Also don't allow links to open up the Youtube app.

As an added bonus it blocks other stuff on websites too.

And these devices are controlled both hardware and software by an oem.

PC's are hardware and software agnostic. Some OEM's have done weird stuff with the hardware and bios/uefi to prevent users from upgrading and don't some things but as long as you can buy a motherboard, gpu, ram, and other parts is going to be tough to convince three manufacturers to prevent an end user from using it how they see fit.