On the subject of not knowing most of the things you mentioned, I’m with the other commenters. As a (hopefully) Linux newbie, do you know of any thorough guides I could use to install Linux on my 10 year old Asus X550J laptop?

They could’ve said “Thanksgummer.” Count your blessings

Also the costs of planting corn, protecting it, the emissions from equipment used to harvest, transport, and manufacture, and the amount of water needed to make it all happen, it’s extremely inefficient. Solar panels are just there. It’s not always simple to set them up, and the up front cost might be high, but the long-term benefit far outweighs the cost of corn.

What part of Shenandoah is this?

Well with ±400 million guns circulating nationwide, and one in three people are gun owners, consider how many of them would use them in defense of the current government now. There’s a reason behind allowing 2A to go unchecked, when in the time it was written, it made sense. Now it’s a civilian army that, while keeping the population divided, a not insubstantial percentage will blindly defend any unjust actions this government decides to perpetrate.

The conduit isn’t painted red so it might not have been life safety, unless it got painted over to match the column after it became abandoned. My guess is an emergency light, which wouldn’t have needed to be easily discernable. However, it does seem to have definitely had a purpose at one point because the (original) cover more than likely would have been painted to match as well, or would have not been necessary if was a device.

Regardless, even if it was an abandoned fire alarm circuit, the conduit should still be red.