offbeatmammal

the Aga - https://www.agamarvel.com/aga/who-we-are/history-of-aga/ - that we had in our house growing up literally lasted longer than the house! It was a 1940s model that was still in use about 10 years ago when subsidence caused the kitchen to need a major rebuild! If my Mum hadn't wanted to update to a modern gas stove it would probably have still been going strong today...

shame that Gabapentin didn't help you, for me (spine surgery, couple of months before they opened me up, and now in recovery) it was a lifesaver when funnily enough the opiates seemed to make no difference (post surgery expecting pain to be higher for a while they switched me, when the Gabapentin ran out and I had a very uncomfortable night!). Was really glad, given all the scare talk about opiates, how easily I have been able to get off them - if you're seen me with a bag of chocolates, or when I don't get my coffee I'm pretty obviously a candidate for addiction :) I do find the Gabapentin given me the dizzy/drunk feeling, but I'm lucky enough that I can dose late evening and sleep through most of the side-effects and remain functional (with the occasional Tylenol) during the day

with Linux the 'cost' is largely the effort you need to put in to get things up and running properly. admittedly this has got a lot better over the years and the need to be a self-reliant woodsman is considerably diminished (I'm an ex-Solaris admin, so I know pain!) but like someone who chooses a classic Pontiac that they know how to maintain every aspect of it's a valuable skill and 99% of the time it'll run better and you'll have more control than someone who rents a Google self-driving car by the trip...