Two thoughts in case unexplicable stuff happens again:

• SMART doesn’t detect all possible errors, especially not on SSDs. (It was originally designed as an early-warning system for mechanical failures on spinning rust drives, and later somewhat expanded.)
• A faulty RAM chip can cause all sorts of subtle (and not-so-subtle) mayhem but is often overlooked as a possible cause for disk troubles. If in doubt, MemTest86 is your friend!

Well that’s good news, isn’t it? Keeping my fingers crossed for you!

I have skills; they’re just no longer valued.

They may be valued somewhere; and even if that place is too hard to find at the moment, you seem smart enough to adapt and enhance your skillset as needed easily enough.

If the flight is the main issue, I might be able to help with that (and the first couple of days of accommodation), provided you’re moderately flexible concerning the date. Everything else you’d have to arrange yourself, but if a flight ticket (or the lack thereof) is all that’s missing, do get in touch!

You repeatedly mentioned that you’re a Swiss citizen. If all else fails, you could always come here and have guaranteed shelter, food and medical care for as long as you need them. I know people less deserving than you living quite agreeably that way - it sure would beat crashing in a van.

Also, if that’s a concern, one part of unemployment support is that you’ll attend paid courses to help you gain more marketable skills.

All cynicism aside, so would I, probably. What good is immense wealth if you don’t use it as a means to gain happiness?
As much as it pains me to say this as a decades-long passionate M$ hater, Bill Gates is doing something right there.

But you’re right about one thing of course …

These are not normal people. It’s never enough for them.

I don’t know. I were filthy rich, I for one probably wouldn’t mind a small (and quite likely temporary) hit on my net worth if it means I get to buy promising upstarts and some of my competitors for small change because they’re now grossly underfunded/undervalued thanks to the crash.

But then again, I’m a cynic, and probably just projecting here.

Yes, but every sensible person would likely be vaccinated*. Antivaxxers often get away with being unvaccinated just because of sheer dumb luck (they don’t get infected). A mass (self-)infection event could quickly rectify that situation.

• Everybody with immuno deficiency would probably have to stay indoors for a couple of months, but all things considered I’d say that’d be a small price to pay if it means millions of antivaxxers and Trump supporters get to see the error of their ways or outright kill themselves.

I for one am totally in support of all of his backers infecting themselves.