Medical tourism and paying in cash wherever is convenient/inexpensive might also be an option to consider - there are a lot of places that will be cheaper than Europe.
For local media streaming to Chromecast or Apple TV devices, I highly prefer Airflow app[0] over Plex. The experience for playback really is a night and day difference. Scrubbing/seeking is instant and it basically avoids transcoding whenever possible, including when using subtitles.
I don't know what the interest or accessibility of edaravone (Radicava) treatment might be for your dad, but I'd be happy to share my experience with you by email if that is useful - my address is on my HN user page.
From the current research, the best conclusion I've been able to arrive at is we still don't really understand ALS. My opinion is that there may be several distinct motor neuron diseases, each with accompanying cause[s], currently grouped together in what we call ALS. There are notable differences in early vs. later onset ALS, slow vs. rapid disease progression, initial primary symptoms, genetic links vs environmental factors, etc. (I'm not a doctor or professional academic in the field, but I've studied ALS research extensively - a relative was diagnosed and died from it, suddenly, in their early 60s.)
Stephen Hawking is definitely inspiring, with a few unique points - he had an early onset of the disease, slow disease progression, and extensive resources/access to the most advanced care. With mechanical ventilation, caregivers, sheer will, some luck (basically, not contracting a fatal case of pneumonia), tracheotomy and feeding tube, etc - life expectancy with ALS can certainly be extended far beyond what was once thought possible though.
My experience with Lutron's smart switches and blinds has been great. For any new home construction, I would wholeheartedly recommend adding a lot more LED lights than any builder would normally put in, wiring in smart+motorized blinds, and using smart dimmer light switches. The way to avoid fussiness from smart home devices is to choose ones that are controllable in both the classic ways, like with a switch on the wall and/or remote control - and also through an app or by voice with your preferred device from Amazon, Apple, or Google.
With Lutron, beyond the things you mentioned, two more of my unexpectedly favorite features have been:
1) being able to add additional wall switches anywhere and program them to control any set of lights, without any extra electrical wiring (for 3-way or 4-way switches, or controlling multiple lighting circuits with one switch)
2) range-based programming (e.g. automatically turning on lights for rooms from the garage to kitchen when you're arriving home)
Other devices like smart locks, smart garage doors, water leak alarm sensors, and AV equipment have all been useful and generally worked well for me. Some of them have been slightly fussy, but not as a general rule and certainly not to an "unbearable" extent. Overall, they really do make things significantly better, at a surprisingly low cost compared to the rest of home construction.
I can't recommend Calakmul enough. It is a far larger and more interesting site than Chichen Itza, by a substantial margin. And, there are at most a few hundred visitors per day (we saw maybe ~100 total the day we visited) vs 6000+ per day at Chichen Itza. You can climb all the structures at Calakmul and the understanding you get of the scope, views of the rest of the site and surrounding area, etc are incredible.
Here are a few pictures I took at Calakmul of two of the many large structures:
The "Mayan Train" is currently under construction and may eventually bring many more tourists to the area - I would highly suggest going before that happens and everything there changes. (It will be great for the region in terms of economic impact, but the status quo with few visitors on incredible sites is really magnificent.)
The ruins at Becan, Xpuhil (Xpujil), and Coba are all also really incredible - and only a handful of people visit them per day. You can easily stay in Bacalar, visit Chetumal in the morning, drive to see Becan and Xpujil in the afternoon, and then visit Calakmul the next day. (Driving back to Tulum/Playa del Carmen/etc makes for a long drive afterwards, but is certainly doable.)
Fly into Cancun, rent a car, and then go drive down the coast and plan various stops for a really great trip. Playa del Carmen and Tulum are fun, of course, in an "international tourism" sense. Bacalar and Chetumal are also "tourist towns", but they are very different - think of a small, charming beach/lake town with an older, more original/authentic feel.
Prepay for the rental car, too. If you prepay, you'll get the agreed upon price. If you don't, you may find your rental car doubles or triples in price. Best to book on the rental car's website.
100% agree, I flagged it since it's in obvious bad faith/disrespect of HN's guidelines: "Please don't use HN primarily for promotion. It's ok to post your own stuff occasionally, but the primary use of the site should be for curiosity."
This person has literally only contributed posts promoting his site, and at this point it's clearly abusive - two submissions of it today (this one and another), once a day ago, and once 3 days ago:
What is a "real friend" then? Many would argue that shared interests or experiences can certainly be the basis of at least some level of friendship.
There are certainly some people who might claim that the label of "real friend" only applies to those you could "trust to help bury a body", or some other extremely unlikely/intense situation. Like most things, the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle. There are likely varying degrees of friendship. Qualifying them as "real" (or not) comes across more like the informal logical fallacy of an appeal to purity (e.g. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_true_Scotsman) than anything.
Real friends will help out, not just greet you in a shared setting. Would they buy you lunch if you forgot your wallet? Loan you their vehicle? Help you move? Visit you in the hospital if you broke your leg? Actively try to help you with life in general?
As the saying goes when the chips are down, you will know who your true friends are.
Kenji and Serious Eats' work on cooking meat and roasts has transformational. When time allows, sous vide with a reverse sear is my current favorite/unbeatable technique for perfect results without any extra work or active time beyond the initial water bath setup.
Not to lightly throw around the phrase "life changing", because I honestly don't eat that many grilled cheese sandwiches where the difference substantially changes my life, but using mayonnaise instead of butter is definitely a revelation. I think I learned that from another source before Kenji, but I know Kenji has highlighted that tip at various points and it's well worth repeating.
