I heard of someone trying to get a refund because it “disappeared”.

Do not put a Himalayan salt lamp in there. A dry cloth will do if you really want to clean it.

I swapped my mother’s computer to Linux (Mint). She had no issues using it, because I put the desktop icons in the same place, and copied the browser profile.

Steam is almost flawless on Linux, and I’ve rarely seen a game that doesn’t work out of the box (just remember to press “enable proton for all titles” the first time you install steam).

I’ve never had to do any tinkering with Linux Mint, and I’ve heard the same about Bazzite.

Linux has come a long way in the last few years. You might be pleasantly surprised.

I’ve been using Steam on Linux for a few years. Check out Proton DB for game compatibility.

If you intend to install both, install Windows first. It has a habit of overwriting other bootloaders.

When you install Linux second, it should install a bootloader that will let you choose which OS to boot each time you turn on the computer.

Always backup data you care about. Installing an OS carries some risk of data loss.

House insulation.

I live in Australia where the minimum insulation required by law is a long way below inadequate, and many cheap contractors go below the minimum because it’s so hard to prosecute them.

I already had solar and a house battery, so the next obvious step was replacing the insulation. With my already very low electricity bills I cant say that it literally paid for itself (although it would have without the solar and battery), but it has made the house so much more comfortable. On some summer days, the AC would be using 7kW and barely keeping the inside temperature down to 30°C/85°F. Now it uses 3-5kW and the whole house stays comfortable.

Also, finding and patching the massive gaps from the previous “landlord special” house extension made a huge difference to the temperature of that room, and explained how lizards had managed to get inside.

I’m using an old thinkpad with Ubuntu Server as the OS. Almost any OS will do, but Ubuntu server has a single button to install docker during the OS install, so it’s easy.

I’m using docker compose instead of docker so that I can look at and update any scripts, and don’t have to remember anything. For the file sharing, I’m currently upgrading from Samba to Copyparty - the best software I have seen in a long time.

I’m also using WireGuard and Syncthing to duplicate the storage to an identical laptop in a family member’s house, rsync for weekly backups, and calendar reminders to do a monthly offline backup (automated with a script except for remembering to connect and disconnect the external drive).

I doubt you need all of this, but an old laptop with docker has so many options that you might start adding more stuff just because you can. I’ve also added HomeAssistant, Immich, and even a Factorio server to the same laptop using docker.

The majority of early EV fires were from a single battery factory accidentally placing battery terminals too close together. This affected only Chevy Bolts, and has been fixed with a recall.

Even including this data, combustion engine cars are over 60 times more likely to catch fire than EVs (1,529.9 fires per 100,000 vehicles for ICE vs 25.1 for EV).

It looks like you’re the one who might need to start carrying around a fire extinguisher, just in case.

My 15 year old EV is still driving like new. I had the battery replaced last month, not because the battery didn’t work, but because newer batteries have much more range and are cheap enough to be worth the upgrade. I’m planning to keep driving it for at least another 20 years.

This 100 year old EV is still driving with minimal maintenance. I don’t think EVs need to be scrapped particularly quickly.

It depends entirely on who bought the car and who uses it.

I met someone who was told to use the company car (a plug-in hybrid) for all trips. Nothing was explained to them, they were just given a company fuel card.
They had not charged the car in the 6 months they had been using it, and didn’t even know that it could be charged. They assumed it was just a more efficient petrol car.

Another person I know bought a plug-in hybrid for around town trips with occasional long distance trips. They charge it every day, sometimes more than once a day.

The first case would use more fuel than a mild hybrid due to the extra heavy battery, and would have no benefit over a mild hybrid.
They second case would be almost as good as an EV, with a flight penalty for carrying the weight of the engine.

Unfortunately, I suspect the first case is by far the most common for plug-in hybrids.