JSFetzik

You can control pretty much any addressable RGB LED strip easily with any Arduino compatible device. With the right software. For running at 5V just buy 5V strips. It really is that simple. Going 6 meters you will start getting into voltage drop issues and may need to use power injection to keep the colors looking good. Check out the following video for more details about voltage drop and what to do about it. QuinLED: LED strip voltage drop, is it real? How to prevent or combat it! To make it really easy use a NodeMCU and an already built software image of WLED. Check out out the following video for a walk through of how to set things up. He also has some additional videos about how to hook this up to home automation systems as well. WLED - New RBG wifi control software!

I would also go with an ESP variant. Mostly because I have a bunch of them already. Easy to use and there are a lot of examples out there. Check out the following article by someone has already done this. https://blog.zakkemble.net/remote-mail-notifier-and-gps-tracker/

Hoping for a moderate deal on a couple 5700XT's to upgrade my wife's and my machine, from the Radeon 480's.

I have owned a Monoprice Maker Select v2 for a bit more than two years now. This is the ~$260 big brother to the Mini. I have done a number of mods, including setting up Octoprint, so the total cost for me is about $400. I agree somewhat with Pixel5. Working with a $200-$300 3D printer can be a very frustrating process. It can also be a good learning experience. The problem is that the quality control at this price point is all over the place. So for the same model printer, from the same manufacturer, one will work great and the next can be a complete lemon. Considering the above if you are willing to treat it as a learning experience and not counting on an out of the box plug and play experience, then go for it. I would not suggest getting the Monoprice Mini however, not because it is bad, but because of the size of the community out there. I would suggest getting something like an Ender 3/5 or CR-10 that have a huge number of users, and thus a large community out there that can help you out. Also the Mini has a really small print bed, so you are very limited in what you can print.

Try a brim and see if that helps. The extra surface can help keep things stuck to the surface. Also as suggested above give hairspray a try, I found it works better than glue stick for me. I use this Aquanet spray. You could also try a different type of glue stick and see if one is better than another.

I also use it to run Octoprint for my 3D-printer.

My wife and I mainly play MMOs together. Currently Elder Scrolls Online. Previously Star Wars: The Old Republic, Guild Wars 2, The Secret World, City of Heroes/Villains. We have also played a little bit of Borderlands co-op. Waiting to see what form of multi-player BL3 will have.

Depends on what you consider a PC. The first computer I owned was an IMSAI 8080 back in the late 1980's. Toggle switches and LED's for the win. Didn't have a monitor or keyboard. My first DOS based PC was an Epson Equity II. Had a NEC V30 CPU which could run in either 8086 or 8080 modes. Also ran at a blazing 10MHz IIRC, faster than any of the Intel 8086 based machines. ?

I have been running 3 machines 24/7 for over a decade. For some components it is better for some a little worse. Power cycling will shorten the life of chips. Constant on will short the life of motors in fans and possibly hard drives. In the end it is a wash that you won't really notice, unless you keep your PC for many years, meaning 5-10 years, before refreshing or completely replacing. In the end the real cost is the extra electricity you use and any additional air conditioning your home may need. That cost varies greatly depending on where you are in the world. Where I am electricity is fairly cheap.

For some extra safety use "waterproof" LED strips. The strip is enclosed in a clear plastic sleeve, so it will help insulate from shorts. You still need to be careful with the terminations. Potential downside is the plastic sleeve does make the strip significantly thicker, so it may not fit.

The 518 has been my only mouse for years and have not found anything else I like. To the point where I have 4 spares in the closet obtained from eBay. ?

Should be pretty easy. Check out the following tutorial on the Teensy site about emulating a USB keyboard. https://www.pjrc.com/teensy/td_keyboard.html

N9KUB Here. Got my Technician license here in the US back in the early 90's, when it was a brand new thing. Took the test on a dare when visiting a friend on the weekend he happened to be taking one of the higher level exams. My college degree was in electronics so they figured I should be able to pass the first couple tests. I almost passed the one after Tech. Had a Yaesu handie talkie for a couple years, but never got all that involved. Haven't done any HAM stuff since the mid 90's.

Yeah you can do a lot with an Arduino, or one of the many clones. My favorite is the Teensy family. You can emulate a USB keyboard, mouse, joystick, MIDI controller, etc. There are some good examples on the Teensy site and their forums. Encoder example Keyboard example Mouse example MIDI example

1962 Corvette. Undecided on color.