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.

The info given above is incorrect. Normally, you'd need to forward ports on your router, but if you're on a VPN your router doesn't come into play. The VPN creates a tunnel directly from your PC to the VPN provider's server, and whatever ports are open from that server are then forwarded to you, assuming they're allowing port forwarding.

I used Nord a couple years ago and didn't renew after they were breached and failed to disclose it to their users. I then tried Mozilla, but it regularly crashed when torrenting too fast. Slowing my torrents down to under 100mbit worked but sucked when I have a gbit connection. Then a family member passed away with an active expressvpn account so I used it and it was pretty fast for normal browsing, and just as good as Nord and better than Mozilla for torrents.

Now that ExpressVPN is expired, I just switched to proton and HOLY COW it is so much faster for torrents. Just check the button for port forwarding, and you'll be assigned a random port. Plug that into qBittorrent and you'll connect and start downloading so much faster it's insane. Also go into the advanced setting in qBittorrent and you can set it to only use the ProtonVPN network connection, then if proton disconnects, qBittorrent won't keep downloading on your normal ISP connection.

A crime isn't a crime if the only punishment is a fine. In that case, it's just the cost of doing business for the rich.

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.

Coffee doesn't give you energy. Coffee lets you borrow energy, and you pay it back with interest.

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.

Definitely a FLX Buzzz. Rocs have their place, but they're so inconsistent and so many versions. A FLX Buzzz is gonna be close to the same every time. Get one a little beat in and I can power grip it and make it fly the wrong way. Throw it control and it has just enough fade. Can throw flick or backhand. Up against a tree and need to throw a short arm shot or a patent pending? Buzzz. Most courses, whether a little par 3 or even something as big as Winthrop Gold, you can shoot under par just by throwing a nice, consistent 300 feet on any line, and a Buzzz will do that every day of the week.

I went through a stage early in my disc golf "career" where I tried to have a disc for everything - wound up with 20+ discs in my bag and was exhausted every round from the weight. Pared down to just two buzzzes (one to throw and one to putt, or as a backup for OB/lost disc) and ended up winning a tourney that year. Now I've been using a small bag with 10-12 discs for most of a decade, but my two buzzzes in there haven't changed.

You're not wrong, it's kind of like nuking from orbit. But there are definitely things you can do to help, like only spraying the house and immediately surrounding areas. Focus on spraying thick, decorative shrubs and not flowers where bees are likely to congregate. Spray at times bees aren't out looking for food and mosquitoes are most likely hiding in shrubs during the heat of the day.

There are lots of other great suggestions in this thread, and I'd recommend the bait and zappers if OP only had the occasional mosquito in the house, or DEET if OP is temporarily outside, but bait doesn't work on a large scale and deet is really bad for synthetic clothing/fabrics and wearing it all day in the house is a terrible idea.

The biggest thing everyone can do is clear out any standing water (buckets, tools, etc... mosquitoes will even lay eggs in a teaspoon of water given a chance), but op has already done that.

Call an exterminator, preferably a small mom&pop shop and not a big Orkin or Terminex or whatever, and have them come and and do a mosquito treatment. They'll spray a chemical on the outside of your house, under the leaves of your trees/bushes, etc. Then they'll spray inside, but just the corners for other bugs. You'll need to keep your dog out of the chemical inside for about 10-20 minutes, and out of the chemical outside for probably an hour. After that it's dry and non-toxic to mammals but will get soaked up by insects. Be sure to double check that with the exterminator, times vary depending on the chemical used.

Good treatments should last a solid 2-3 months, which ought to be enough to get you through the worst of mosquito season, unless you're in Florida or something.