I thought the same. I had no idea there was a special cloth in the box. I'll have to dig it up and search for it. It sounds like a quality microfiber cloth is still fine though.
I also back people on patreon. Isn't it irrational to expect something for free? If you don't like the service or it doesn't align with your values, simply don't use it.
Also, isn't patreon also a middleman by your definition?
What is slow about them? I've never had issues with my ultra and frequently stream 4K HDR content. I have not found a good reason to upgrade to Google TV and prefer the cast-only behavior. I do have it connected to Ethernet though. Also, some services' casting implementations are less than ideal though.
This post made me wonder whether they quietly removed the feature. It's still there though. All my uploaded music from the Google music days is still there and there is still an option to upload new stuff.
It's not as well-integrated as it use to be in the Google Music days though.
I've been using ChromeOS as my primary OS for a couple years now (though, not sure I'd be willing to use it for work just yet). The officially supported Linux container integration is extremely well-done. I get all the benefits of a stable OS, but with (almost) all the flexibility of a real Linux environment. Linux and Android apps seamlessly integrate into the ChromeOS desktop environment.
I got a few "Won't you get bored" or "I'd get bored" comments before I started my career break. I honestly don't understand it. I like software engineering (despite burning out), but there are so many other things in the world. I'm a year into my career break and I still don't get the "boredom" comments.
I'll add that one thing is for sure: it took a while, but I've slowly started to feel like my old self again -- or at least the self I want to be. I'm also infinitely more relaxed now when it comes to handling traditionally stressful events.
Wow, I have not really been keeping track, but this post made me realize I'm now almost a year into my career break (and now about four months into my road trip of mostly camping). I can't say I ever worked extreme hours, but I definitely reached a tipping point. It's only recently that the idea of working again and having a stable place to live is starting to sound nice/exciting again.
I still have another 2.5 months planned on the road though and I'm still not sure what I want to do after. Finances have worked out much better than expected, so I kind of want to do international travel, but between covid concerns and concerns of being out of my field for so long, I've been a bit on the fence. On the other hand, I'm very unlikely to get rid of my apartment, downsize my belongings, and put the rest in storage ever again.
I wonder if this is why LastPass is down. It has completely locked me out of my vault. You'd think it'd continue to work offline in a case like this. :/
I've become more and more content/happy with not having any particular grand goals. Taking an extended career break right now (currently doing a six month US road trip) and not really sure exactly what I want to do when I'm done. But that's ok.