I'm still trying to reconcile my zealot and pragmatic aspects. One thing that's for sure is that if you're going the Linux route, you have to be smart about the choices you make. It's not permadeath, but the training wheels are off: the choices you make will have more sway than they might on a Windows install. Nvidia/AMD; peripherals; apps without Linux support. You also often have to make compromises, which is an art in itself: how will you deal with something not working when you want it to just work?

Personally, I'm working on accepting personal computing as it currently is and trying to let go of wanting to change every second thing. In other words, I'm trying to look at what can be, rather than what could be.