Thanks for posting this! Being male and being abused is a very isolating experience on many levels. I wish good things upon you, friend.

Based on your post, you sound like you don’t want to use it but feel obligated to. You aren’t obligated to use it. I purchased a Linux machine and daily drive it for everything I can. It was a little rough to start but I have picked up on it pretty quick. You will deal with weird quirks from time to time. Most issues I run into are common enough that a quick Google search will fix me up or get me pointed in the right direction. If you want to try Linux, just know that there is a learning curve and be patient with it. As far as Distros, start with a “Just Works” Distro. I recommend Linux Mint or Pop_OS. They work well out of the box while having plenty of room for tinkering. I’m by no means a programmer or Developer but Linux is still accessible without a deep arcane knowledge base of CS information to draw from. Regardless if you use Linux or not, I hope you enjoy your new PC!

Little bit of Insider Baseball on knives. Anytime a knife doesn’t list the blade steel, I assume we’re looking at 7Cr17MOV, 440C, or D2 with a bad heat treat. That price point is quite a bit higher than these cheap Chinese steels. Just another “True Patriot” grift. Pocket knives are cool tools and there are a slew of American brands that won’t break by cutting into cardboard. These Trump Combat Knives will last a couple months maybe.

Ahh, beans!

I guess I’m kind of confused as to the debate between Bleeding Edge vs Stable. I get the concept on paper, but what packages are so imperative that you need a Distro that is “Bleeding Edge”. I run Pop_OS and it works great on my hardware(System76 so it kind of has the home field advantage). I have an old laptop running LMDE that doesn’t ever need rebooted and it has every package I need for it to accomplish its job.

Others have given better advice than I will, but maybe determine why you need something that’s bleeding edge. If the only answer is “Cuz Shiny new stuff!” I don’t think it’s needed that bad and tailor your setup for stability and functionality. I prefer Just Works Distros though. VM’s are also a thing if you want to do some Distro Hopping

Listened to it at work today. Can’t say it’s my favorite, but it’s got some bangers.

Pop_OS and I are going to be able to make it home and have fun with you. Huh…

One of those games you can only experience once. Such a masterpiece!!