Even more capable than a pi5, with built-in battery, wifi, bluetooth, no need for cooling, etc, I think it would be more fun to make a cyberdeck that looks like it's built on an RPi but is really hiding an old cellphone inside.

When you put up a roadblock, teens will take it as a challenge to get around, even if they would otherwise never have pursued the goal of whatever is beyond the restriction. And teens are very creative; they will break these guardrails in so many ways. It'll be a black-hat/white-hat back and forth for awhile. We'll all learn something, I would hope, without too many casualties along the way.

May I suggest "Variable Star" by Robert A. Heinlein and Spider Robinson. Heinlein's widow found an unfinished manuscript and chose Spider Robinson to finish it. The story does read as if Heinlein wrote it, especially once they leave Earth.

A good description is that they are amplifiers. They magnify everything in your sensorium to the point of distortion. Every thought, sound, emotion; all are pumped up to eleven. You don't have separate senses; they all blend into interacting feedback loops of synesthesia. Your thoughts become tangible, perceivable objects and sensations. It can get overwhelming and almost requires a light-hearted attitude.
It can be enlightening, fun as hell, or deeply terrifying, all depending on your attitude as you go into it.

If he did it alone this was a BIG mistake. Who you are with and in what circumstances is extremely critical for such an experience, even for those not struggling with issues. I suspect your friend didn't provide himself with a safe and comforting enough environment. Which is truly sad and my heart goes out to him.

I apologize. I was speaking from my own experience (my father was medically discharged from a career in the Marines), which is not as extensive as yours. I still maintain that I've heard far more negative than positive anecdotes about the VA and their medical care in particular, but there you have it: Anecdotes.

Psilocybin has great potential for treatment of many types of psychological distress. I would normally laud this development. However, the VA is staffed by health professionals who are there because they can't cut it in private practice. I suspect this particular trial will go sideways for many participants. I honestly think they'd have a higher success rate if they let the patients go camping with friends and dose themselves that way instead of including a "professional" who keeps them focused on their problems.

Had I mod points, you'd be getting an Insightful. Altho, if you statically linked an entire distro it would get pretty huge.

I suspect a letter from a few congresscritters mentioning "Contempt of Congress" will soon be delivered. A year in jail would make it hard to enforce their illegal decision.

I'm kinda impressed with this 'surreptitious' business model. I don't condone it, but I wonder what the money flow looked like before this hit the fan?

See my answer to
CaptQuark, less snark got
him a nice answer.

I admit my info is out of date. I lost a customer to this error message over 16 years ago and have since retired. Thanx for the correction.

The TDF should sue microsoft for slander. Specifically, when you try to open an ODF in an M$ product, you get a screenfull of FUD claiming it's malware, designed to scare away any non-technical user. It's an open format; they could just display it and try to save it in their own format later. This suit won't cure the problem, but it's a good start.

I doubt that drones can reach the altitudes that helium balloons can. OTOH, balloons are a one time shot; drones come back home for a charge and reuse. TCO and ROI must be a lot better.

On a side note, I live near the beach. Everyday I see small planes dragging a banner. I've been waiting for years to see a banner with just a drone at each corner, flying by itself with no plane.

One of my recent favorites was: "Lindsey Graham beats Mitch McConnell to Death"