fluffman86

Element/Matrix is pretty much what you're looking for if you need self hosted. Could also look into Jabber/XMPP or IRC but Matrix is going to be way more modern and useable.

5 grams is about a teaspoon

If the web is DRM'd in a way that requires chrome or windows then it could be difficult to bypass.

I remember the days of, "sorry, you must use Internet Explorer to use this website" when visiting my bank.

Get the Paperwhite Kids. Like $10 more than the ad supported version, no ads, free cover/case, 2 year accidental protection warranty instead of just one year manufacturer warranty. Just be sure to cancel the free trial of the kids service. Also, be sure to never connect it to wifi and just transfer your books through Calibre.

Ah, didn't realize this. I never connected mine to WiFi

Ah, didn't realize this. I never connected mine to WiFi.

Akshully, get the Paperwhite Kids. Like $10 more than the ad supported version, no ads, free cover/case, 2 year accidental protection warranty instead of just one year manufacturer warranty. Just be sure to cancel the free trial of the kids service.

It feels really weird to go to one website and enter my credentials for another website. How secure is that? I guess whatever app I'm using could be storing credentials instead of using an API, but the fact I can see a URL and enter the wrong creds from my password manager feels off.

That sounds like a great idea!

/s

Last few books I've read I have thoroughly enjoyed, and I'm not a huge reader and very slow when I do read, but here you go:

Looking for Alaska by John Green. Picked up some books by this author because he's been in the news for his books being banned from certain schools and classrooms. Might actually agree that this book shouldn't be on the shelf for younger readers, but it's very real and gritty and definitely something I would have loved to read in high school or college, but still enjoyed it as an adult. I read Perks of Being a Wallflower in high school and haven't re-read it since, but it had a similar vibe to me.

Speaking of John Green, I saw an interview that his brother Hank Green did with Mary Robinette Kowal about her book The Spare Man. It's a murder mystery set in space on a cruise ship going from Earth/Earth's Moon to Mars. Think Hercule Poirot / Miss Marple, but in space, and with updated/modern sensibilities.

Currently reading the Tripod series by John Christopher. (Note that When the Tripods Came is a prequel, read that last.) Feels a little weird as a modern reader who's seen Star Wars / Star Trek and consumed modern sci-fi media. Maybe not weird, but certainly feels not fully fleshed out in the first book. I'm on book 2 now and it's taking a more sci-fi and even more dystopian tone. Books aren't super long, designed for younger readers to enjoy, so the plot moves quick enough without getting bogged down in too many unnecessary details. I hate books like Great Expectations by Dickens because it could have been a better story if it weren't being stretched out for periodical release. I felt like Dickens spent way too much time in his books describing things I care nothing about instead of progressing the story and explaining as necessary. The Tripod books are the opposite of that: just enough description to get you going, and a few reminders of the scenery as required, but otherwise you just fill in the blanks with your own imagination, which I think is wonderful.

Most important lesson I learned in DG, I learned early on: It doesn't matter if you throw 50 ft further than the competition if they can make 50 ft putts.

For your 400 ft hole scenario, imagine throwing 425 long, you go OB, pull it back in, miss the putt, hit it for 4. OR, you throw 300 nice and controlled, little putter upshot of 100', drop in for 3.

Drop that down to a 330 foot hole and throwing 300 and hitting a 30 ft putt gets you a 2, throwing 350 and missing the 20 foot comeback gets you a 3 at best, probably worse if you have an "interesting" green.

Practice driving if you want, but working on upshots from 50-100 feet and putting out to 20, then 30, 40, 50 ft will make you a SIGNIFICANTLY better disc golfer.

All that said, if you really want to increase distance, know that it's all about speed, not necessarily strength. You also need to be smooth. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast. Watch some YT tutorials from a normal sized human like Dave Feldberg, especially older stuff from him, or maybe watch some of the ladies who throw well. Learning how to throw far from Big Jerm or Shoestring doesn't help as much (at least for me) because they can do almost everything wrong and still throw far because they have 7 foot wingspans, LOL. Feldberg is 5'11".

Oh, and make sure you're throwing the correct disc for your current arm speed, and one with plenty of glide. Try something slow with a lot of glide like a Kite. It's kind of flippy. If you throw it flat and it flies straight, you don't have the speed for a driver yet. When your Kite gets flippy, try a fairway driver like a Leopard or Cheetah. When those get flippy, try a Valkyrie or Roadrunner. You should be hitting 400 with a Valk or Roadrunner before trying anything faster or more stable than that.

Also check your disc weights. Only throw max weight mid ranges and maybe fairway drivers, or if you really need something overstable to fight a headwind. You'll probably want a 150-160 class leopard/cheetah and a 150-160 Valk/Roadrunner to start with to get that extra float.

Finally disc plastic as that ties into weight. Champ/Z plastic is super overstable and takes forever to beat in and give you the S curves needed for distance. Champ and Z are also awful for your grip. If you need something premium for durability in the woods try Star/G Star and ESP/ESP FLX or equivalents. For long bombs in the open, look for DX or Pro or equivalent. It'll give you better grip and beat in a bit for more glide and longer throws until it eventually gets too flippy.

Saint IGNUcius of the Church of Emacs.