Ubuntu actually. I hated Ubuntu for a long time, until there was a game which only ran on Ubuntu. And now, after installing it, I’m actually pretty impressed and like it a lot. Yaru is a very good-looking theme, and the customizations Ubuntu made to stock GNOME are actually pretty logical (like adding windows buttons). It has among the best documentation and package support in the whole Linux universe. I’m a guy who likes to tinker, but for whom it is more important that the PC runs well, and I haven’t encountered a single problem with Ubuntu yet - no kernel panic, no weird Bluetooth stuff, no apps which don’t run for some reason,…

Everything just works. And that makes me happy. So Ubuntu it is.

I think that’s a good way to watch these movies, actually. For no money of the world you won’t get me to watch them seriously, but maybe I’ll rematch them as a bad parody ;)

Yes, exactly - it is the idea of “well, you can gain life experience and serve for the state”. However, it is (rightfully IMO) criticized as just a cheap way of gaining labor forces. I think that German culture is generally more connected with respecting authorities, rules etc., so this attitude of " you need to return something to the community who raised you up" is still prevalent.

Since 2011 the service was not enforced anymore (but not abolished - in German it’s called “ausgesetzt”), but now there is a debate again to reintroduce it in light of the war. I personally am highly skeptical of it, for the exact reasons you outlined. A year ago I have went through the process of refusing to serve in the military in a defense case. We have something here called Kriegsdienstverweigerung: you can refuse to be drafted and serve under arms if it is incompatible with your conscience. I am glad to have went through the process, but I wouldn’t have done so if I were younger; in fact, I probably would’ve been absolutely okay with serving in the military. So instead of training people to shoot, I advocate for providing opportunities for people to learn medicine and science and stuff and leave war to professional soldiers, who aren’t 18- or 19 year old enscripted boys. It is also widely known that lots of guys cheated their way out of serving (e.g. drinking a lot the evening prior, so they make a bad impression on the recruiting officer), so the system was weird anyways. So I think the current debate is between “Russia and China are a threat, we need to get ready to fight, let’s pump up our military production” and “War is no option, our infrastructure is in a state of disrepair, we need to invest into schools and hospitals instead of arms, and drafting teenagers can’t be the solution of the problem”.

I think we have a different view in Europe on it - Germany had a model of national military service until 2011 (with the option of civil service), the Nordic model includes military service etc. So it isn’t completely unimaginable - we just have a different view on the topic.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c988jdxl02vo

Debian_12_bookworm_non-free-firmware.iso

Great meme :))

Well, just the same as everyone else :)

No, seriously: I personally see my autistic traits as a strength and weakness at the same time. Often these traits are incredibly beneficial to me (e.g. how deep I can dive into topics, and that I love working on them and researching them deeply), but also they can be hindering (e.g. how to interact in social situations and/or regulate sensory overload).

For me, a diagnosis provided the framework to sort my life into. I don’t have to fake anymore that I’m ND, and frankly speaking I notice myself masking far leas than before. I am learning how to put up boundaries for myself - e.g. how much stuff I do per day, or how much time I see my friends. A diagnosis thus gives me the certainly that it isn’t because I’m dumb, I’m just different.

I am in the process of learning how to make my surroundings so that I can flourish. It doesn’t mean subjecting people to my will, but instead choosing the people and surroundings which will make me feel good and who will have fun with me. I think for me personally, it helps to recognize that I’m not normal in the sense that I have a different “neuronal code” than the rest of humanity. I’m not good in group social interaction, or dealing with sensory overload, or managing my time. But other humans don’t get excited when they see a crow or know stuff about the fall of the Western Roman Empire. So I try to associate myself with people who love crows and the Roman Empire, and less so with people who love going to parties and doing lots of sensory stuff. I think these people are cool, they’re just… Different, yk?

Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t easy in the common sense. I, just like a lot of us autistic people, struggle with mental health and self-worth. But overall, I’d say life is pretty okayish. Lots of cool stuff, lots of bad stuff, and a bit of neutral thrown in between.

Sorry for the late reply - thank you for your reply though! I appreciate it a lot.

Especially your last paragraph really hit a spot :) You’re right, we all just try to fight our way through life - and it is easy to forget that others struggle with it as well. I’ll try to keep it in mind. Thank you for your input!

Thank you! Well, sadly to become a practicing psychologist here you need to do a masters degree, and there is a high competition for those. The system is pretty bad - but yeah, grades matter; if you aren’t good enough, you don’t get into the masters degree.

And it is an interesting thought - I’ll keep it mind that a lot of people feel like me. We of course struggle with different things, but the general question of “how to adult” and “how to do life” and “how to happy” is probably something I’m not the only one struggling with. So thank you, that helps me in getting some perspective :)

Well, I actually already am in therapy for almost a year :) Luckily my insurance covers it, so I will continue it for some time. I am working through it, but - as is kinda typical for therapy - I uncover new problems after solving the old ones.

Thank you for your comment - I think for me your words resonate very deeply. I also come from a rural province, where I was one of the best in my class. Psychology in Germany is very competitive to enter into, and I’m in one of the most competitive psychology colleges out there; basically there are only the best of the best. So of course there will be people who are better than me in many areas, and I’m not really at the top of hierarchies - which is also kinda to be expected.

I haven’t thought that I can use this fact to my advantage in the way you described however. This is a very interesting thought… It reminds me a bit of advise from Epictetus, that life is a carriage: you can either let it drag you, or walk with it. There are people around me who are better than me; there’s nothing I can really do to change it. What I can change, however, is my outlook: instead of that dragging me down, I can use it to uplift me.

I really appreciate your comment. I will need to think about it, but I haven’t thought that I can use comparison to my advantage. It is something I’ll meditate upon. Sincerely thank you!

Thank you for your suggestion! I sincerely appreciate it. It reminds me of how I found my D&D group: I just asked in our group chat if someone wants to participate, a few people replied - and that’s how we found each other. I will think on how to build on that experience and to use it for more areas of interest of mine. I sincerely appreciate your suggestion, and I’ll keep them in mind!

Gnome, hands now. Before coming to Linux, I was an Apple user. I was a fan of their design philosophy - minimalism, clarity and simplicity. Well, I can’t tolerate Apple as an enterprise, and there are also a lot of very weird design desicions which I discovered while using their devives - but the core principle is something I stand by. Gnome in my opinion is exactly that - KISS, and all the options are really polished.

I’ve tried KDE as well, and have a lot of respect for the developers of it. But after using it for a few days, there are just a lot of inconsistencies in the KDE applications which don’t make sense to me.

Gnome for the win!!!1!1!1!1!1!

Thank you! I also already have done steps into this direction - e.g. by hosting a D&D group. I just am not sure how to build up/ extend that… But I’ll think about it. Thank you for your thoughts!

Yeah, sometimes. In Germany, if you’re a college student, you can get access to the app 7Mind for free (see Campus College). I think for me it really depends on the day. Sometimes it works really well, sometimes it doesn’t help a lot. It usually doesn’t harm - I just sometimes am not really able to relax. Part of the practice though is to learn that that’s okay. I am still in the process of learning that not being able to relax and be with your thoughts is absolutely okay! Thus, meditation for me is more about checking in with me how I’m feeling. If it helps me relax - great! If not - perfectly fine, then I now know that I’m not relaxed.

True, hood point. I remember to have read a study according to which a disproportionate amount of people at the top (aka CEOs) display narcissistic behavioral traits - so it can make sense to suspect the same applies to other personality disorders. It just feels ahhh to me - that these people dont utilize their talents and itelligence to improve the world, but to build up ways to monetize every last bit of your time. Like come on :/

Am I the only one who gets the feeling that this is kinda dystopic? Like come on, this just gets crazy. It amazes me that some people think this is an ethically acceptable way to earn money.

I haven’t heard of it! Thanks for the suggestion! :)

Yes, definitely. For me, it is kind of a meditation - while I work out, I can’t really think a lot, and after working out I’m exhausted. It is just a reset for thoughts.