That is indeed Don Quixote and I believe you'll find that he is tilting at that windmill
cdombroski
Having 3 or more identities often causes authentication to fail before it gets around to trying password authentication (or even all the possible keys). Recommend configuring the client to turn off PubkeyAuthentication by default (so that hosts that you don't have a key for will prompt for a password) and specify which key to use on the appropriate hosts using IdentityFile (might need to specifically turn PubkeyAuthentication back on, I don't remember how openssh handles having a default host block with specific host blocks)
You mean odometer, resetting the speedometer wouldn't be a bad thing.
Do you have any specific price/model recommendations?
The calibre content server also serves OPDS. Once you have a OPDS server in place you'll need to point a capable reader at it, but after that syncing and reading happens in the reader.
Debian does include sudo by default (and sets it up so that the initial user can use it) if you skip setting the root password during install
Using systemd-boot with the shim is definitely doable, you just have to name the systemd-boot loader as grubx64.efi in the EFI/BOOT directory. After that, you just need to sign any dkms modules with a key imported into MOK and register the hash of systemd-boot with MOK
although if one wants they can actually take full control of the Secure Boot process by replacing the Platform Key (PK) with their own.
Fun fact, actually replacing the platform key will often end up with the motherboard not being usable until you do a firmware install or nvram clear. This is because various modules (most relevantly GPUs) on the motherboard have their own signed firmware that's loaded at boot and if you replace the platform key they can't be loaded anymore as they don't have a valid signature. See: https://github.com/Foxboron/sbctl/wiki/FAQ#option-rom
Typically xdg-ninja will tell you how to set things up so as many dot files and directories as possible end up in the correct xdg location instead of cluttering up the top level of your home directory.
self hosted alternatives for smart home and porn
How does self hosted porn even work and how am I the first person to notice that sitting there and mention it?
NetworkManager (network interface/connection management)
Pretty sure you mean systemd-networkd here. I find systemd-networkd to be very nice for headless systems, but NetworkManager seems to be a better fit for desktops because of the integrations it has available with KDE/Gnome/system tray
You don't have to wait for the enthusiasts to buy it up, these days the scalpers will take care of that for you. Not sure that that's going to help the 7800 price though.