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    1. Are you using the latest Apple betas as your daily driver? How's it going?

      I immediately installed iPadOS 17 Beta 1. Apart from quirks with saving images from the browser, it's been about as solid as the latest 16.x.x. Anyone running the other betas as your daily...

      I immediately installed iPadOS 17 Beta 1. Apart from quirks with saving images from the browser, it's been about as solid as the latest 16.x.x.

      Anyone running the other betas as your daily drivers?

      I'm also eager to hear from Sonora users. Considering updating my i7 Mac Mini.

      9 votes
    2. Any Tildesian railfans?

      After the Reddit exodus, I was really glad this community was so open and welcoming, and it warms my heart to have something akin to the original forum days of Web 1. Some of my favourite subs...

      After the Reddit exodus, I was really glad this community was so open and welcoming, and it warms my heart to have something akin to the original forum days of Web 1. Some of my favourite subs were rail related - London Underground, Trains, Transit Diagrams - so I figured I’d ask: Are there any other railfans among the Tildes?

      I personally love all kinds of trains, but gravitate most to inner-city rapid transit. Think your Subways, Metros, Ls, the MRTs of the world. I also do a lot of train spotting, looking for interesting rolling stock and logging their NVR numbers.

      What about you? Are you a fellow trainthusiast or did you never pay mind to rail traffic?

      14 votes
    3. How do you pronounce tildes?

      Hi all, loving the site so far - big ‘old forums’ vibes here which is amazing! I was telling a friend about tildes last night and I said ‘yeah this tildeee’s……tildas, til-dess?? Place is cool!’...

      Hi all, loving the site so far - big ‘old forums’ vibes here which is amazing!

      I was telling a friend about tildes last night and I said ‘yeah this tildeee’s……tildas, til-dess?? Place is cool!’

      I’m guessing it’s Till-dsss? Cheers 🫡

      edit: Nice - came up from a coffee and morning chores and 5 posts, great to be here. No automatic auto-mod in sight. :P

      50 votes
    4. Any Elder Scrolls lore fans here?

      Just wanting to see if tildes has any TES fans, and if it’s worth making a few lore dumps to spark discussion. I’m not using reddit anymore but I miss r/teslore (and r/truestl, though it has no...

      Just wanting to see if tildes has any TES fans, and if it’s worth making a few lore dumps to spark discussion. I’m not using reddit anymore but I miss r/teslore (and r/truestl, though it has no place on tildes lmao).

      So, if any of you are well versed in your lore, I want to know: What is your favourite bit of lore?

      I’m a big fan of the book from ESO detailing different dishes in argonain cuisine, and generally love the more “mundane” elements of the world, rather than the super deep lore. I’m also a big jarthhead if anyone has read all the books ;).

      24 votes
    5. Is today a special day in your culture? Can you tell us about it?

      The internet is a very diverse place but sometimes with the "default" north american skew, it may not seem like it. If your culture or people or faith group or spiritual practice is celebrating...

      The internet is a very diverse place but sometimes with the "default" north american skew, it may not seem like it.

      If your culture or people or faith group or spiritual practice is celebrating something today or soon, would you care to share?

      Many of us used to have smaller groups on another site to celebrate things together or hold rememberances, and perhaps tildes being a together kind of community can celebrate and learn together instead of segregating into silos.

      Some suggestions:

      • today's date please
      • what cultures and groups celebrate or commemorate this day or period?
      • what is the celebration's origins and purpose?
      • how does one celebrate?
      • how has it changed over the years or stayed the same?
      • is it reoccurring and on what calendar system?

      Looking forward to learning more from other traditions and groups!

      13 votes
    6. Where my PHISH phans at!?!

      Long time Phish phan here, first show was Oswego 1999(got burned on tickets for New Haven Coliseum tickets the previous fall). A couple of my favorite shows are 3/22/1993, 3/13/1992, 8/17/1992,...

      Long time Phish phan here, first show was Oswego 1999(got burned on tickets for New Haven Coliseum tickets the previous fall).

      A couple of my favorite shows are 3/22/1993, 3/13/1992, 8/17/1992, 9/30/2000, 2/28/2003, 6/19/2004, 12/31/2010, 1/1/2011, and 7/23/2022

      What are your favorite shows?

      8 votes
    7. Geocachers in the house?

      Hello Tildes geocachers! Found any good caches lately? Going in any good trips? Going to the Greater Bay Area Mega at the end of the month? I would love to know, and meet you online! I’d love to...

      Hello Tildes geocachers! Found any good caches lately? Going in any good trips? Going to the Greater Bay Area Mega at the end of the month? I would love to know, and meet you online! I’d love to learn more about any interesting caches you’ve found lately and maybe we can discuss puzzles and challenges here.

      32 votes
    8. What's your go-to mono font?

      Let's share our favourite mono fonts and maybe we can find some new favourites. I used to use whatever was inbuilt with Visual Studio and JetBrains' IDEs, but since JetBrains released their...

      Let's share our favourite mono fonts and maybe we can find some new favourites. I used to use whatever was inbuilt with Visual Studio and JetBrains' IDEs, but since JetBrains released their JetBrains Mono, I've started using it everywhere. I override the monospace font on every website with it. Never was a huge fan of Fira Code, Consolas, or the other popular ones. Personal taste. But somethings about JB Mono just speaks to me!

      Are you a ligatures person? Personally, I love them :)

      40 votes
    9. What makes you play wargames instead of strategy video games?

      I am mostly a TTRPG player, but lately I have been becoming a bit curious on wargaming. I usually play TTRPGs because it allows a lot more freedom when compared to video games. However, I can't...

      I am mostly a TTRPG player, but lately I have been becoming a bit curious on wargaming.

      I usually play TTRPGs because it allows a lot more freedom when compared to video games. However, I can't really see that much in wargaming that you can't get in video games. Is the appeal primarily a social one?

      I am not bashing wargaming or saying that it's a bad hobby. I am just curious as to what the main draw is.
      Thank you for any answers :)

      6 votes
    10. 24 Hours of Le Mans running right now

      The 24 hours of Le Mans is about 6 hours in! Anyone watching? Thoughts? Besides the hour-long safety car during the rain, it's been a lot of fun so far. It's my first year watching after getting...

      The 24 hours of Le Mans is about 6 hours in! Anyone watching? Thoughts?

      Besides the hour-long safety car during the rain, it's been a lot of fun so far. It's my first year watching after getting into F1 and Indycar in the past few years and I'm having a blast.

      19 votes
    11. Bobiverse

      Any fans of this series over here? I was planning a series reread before book 5 comes out. It was going to be hosted on the bobiverse subreddit, but... well, ya know. If enough people want to do...

      Any fans of this series over here? I was planning a series reread before book 5 comes out. It was going to be hosted on the bobiverse subreddit, but... well, ya know.

      If enough people want to do one here I'd be happy to host it, probably starting in about 4 weeks and doing one book every 2 weeks.

      22 votes
    12. Any retrocomputing fans in the house?

      First and foremost: I'm not certain whether this belongs in ~hobbies or ~comp. As I consider this a hobby, this seemed like the more appropriate spot, but I'm more than happy to move/repost in...

      First and foremost: I'm not certain whether this belongs in ~hobbies or ~comp. As I consider this a hobby, this seemed like the more appropriate spot, but I'm more than happy to move/repost in ~comp.

      So for the past few years, I've really been hit by the computer nostalgia bug. It originally started as me just wanting to dive back into MUDs, and the whole retrocomputing fascination probably came from me wanting to recreate the "good ole' days" where I would pull up the Windows 98 terminal app and connect to my favorite MUD.

      Now I've got a room in my house dedicated to this old, esoteric hobby that happens to take up a lot of space. Admittedly, I don't know a TON about hardware but I've been having a blast tinkering around on old machines. It's even more fun to see how I can push the limits of the computers given a few modern tweaks here and there.

      Here's what I've currently got sitting up in the Upstairs Museum of Retrocomputing:

      • A Compaq Prolinea 5/75 Pentium - this was given to me by a friend who had it sitting in the basement. To my surprise, everything was still in working order and it fired right up (Windows NT 4.0!) on the first try. Of course, I ripped out the old barrel clock battery and put in something safer. I'd say I tinker with this one the most on the software side, while still trying to keep the hardware as close to original as possible.
      • A Compaq Prolinea 3/25s 386 - I just picked this bad boy up and am working on getting an OS installed. It had some damage from a leaky clock battery but I don't believe anything was irreversible. I'm not too confident in the whopping 4 MB of memory, but I'm planning on installing Windows 3.11 on this one.
      • A Tandy TRS-80 CoCo 2 - It works, but I haven't spent a ton of time with it because I don't have an old TV or monitor with a coax connection. I'd love to figure out how to create my own cartridge with a homebrew version of Zork or Adventure.
      • A Power Mac G5 - It's not ancient, but I think it's still worthy of being in the museum. I haven't had a chance to play around with it yet because I don't have the right video cable. I'll get around to it eventually.
      • A Generic Pentium 4 - I actually found this one at a Goodwill store. This one fired right up and had a copy of Windows 2000 installed, including all of the old work files that the person left intact. This one has been the easiest to mod because it's somewhat closer to modern and uses a common form factor. So I've plugged in a new OS, new ethernet, etc. At some point the technology starts to blur and you start questioning why you aren't just using a modern computer.

      What's next on my list? I'd like to start playing around with computers/OSes that I'm unfamiliar with. I grew up in a DOS/Mac OS 7-10/Windows world, so I'd love to get my hands on a NeXt, BeOS, etc. or even an Apple II.

      But first I need to get the damn 386 running again.

      14 votes
    13. What board games have you played recently?

      I went through a phase where we seemed to have board games nights with friends a couple of times a month but with the whole pandemic thing that has dried up. Tonight, I finally got around to...

      I went through a phase where we seemed to have board games nights with friends a couple of times a month but with the whole pandemic thing that has dried up.

      Tonight, I finally got around to trying Lanterns with my wife and we really enjoyed it. It's sort of similar to sushi go with more steps. You play lake tiles which contain lanterns and collect lantern cards based on how you place the lake tiles, then you dedicate those lanterns in different sets to gain honour (points) and at the end, who has the most honour wins.

      11 votes
    14. Unexpected, but great mashups

      So I just encountered this mashup of Britney Spears' "Toxic" and Deftones' "Change (In the house of flies)" and it just works so well. Same with ABBA's "Dancing Queen" over Linkin' Park's "Numb"...

      So I just encountered this mashup of Britney Spears' "Toxic" and Deftones' "Change (In the house of flies)" and it just works so well.

      Same with ABBA's "Dancing Queen" over Linkin' Park's "Numb" by Manuel of Zeal & Ardor.

      What are some mashups you think work surprisingly well? (Please link them!)

      25 votes
    15. Anyone going to Gencon?

      We're at 59 days until Gencon and its one of my favorite events of the year. Wondering if anyone else is going and what you're excited for. It seems like Lorcana is set to the be the buzz of the...

      We're at 59 days until Gencon and its one of my favorite events of the year. Wondering if anyone else is going and what you're excited for.

      It seems like Lorcana is set to the be the buzz of the con this year around. While I'm interested in getting my hands on a deck or two to give it a go, I'm more looking forward to when BGG posts their games that will be releasing to sift through and try to find a hidden gem or two.

      12 votes
    16. Silly sports

      This is probably bad form but here goes. I have just posted about the Man vs Horse race that happens in Llanwrtyd Wells, Wales on an annual basis and it got me to thinking, is it a UK idiosyncrasy...

      This is probably bad form but here goes.

      I have just posted about the Man vs Horse race that happens in Llanwrtyd Wells, Wales on an annual basis and it got me to thinking, is it a UK idiosyncrasy to have silly sports or is it World wide?

      Apart from Cheese rolling at Cooper's Hill (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdKRx30s6sk) and Shin Kicking (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rajJJaiEdPE) what other silly sports are there?

      14 votes
    17. What have you been watching / reading this month? (Anime/Manga)

      What have you been watching and reading this month? You don't need to give us a whole essay if you don't want to, but please write something! Feel free to talk about something you saw that was...

      What have you been watching and reading this month? You don't need to give us a whole essay if you don't want to, but please write something! Feel free to talk about something you saw that was cool, something that was bad, ask for recommendations, or anything else you can think of.

      If you want to, feel free to find the thing you're talking about and link to its pages on Anilist, MAL, or any other database you use!

      38 votes
    18. Any espresso enthusiasts here?

      What kind of setup/equipment do you have? Preferred roasts? Maybe you don't have equipment, but a favorite drink or place? My setup isn't anything special, but it works for me. I have an Expobar...

      What kind of setup/equipment do you have? Preferred roasts? Maybe you don't have equipment, but a favorite drink or place?

      My setup isn't anything special, but it works for me. I have an Expobar Office Lever that I bought in 2017. Daily use and a bit of minor maintenance along the way, and it's been a solid machine. Paired with a Quamar M80E grinder.

      Also have a second, more entry-level machine at our cabin - Gaggia Classic Pro (which is having some issues right now) and a DF64P grinder.

      For beans, I've been using a subscription from Bottomless for the last 1.5 years and have been super happy with it. I enjoy trying different roasters from all over the country and the service has been super reliable and not all that expensive for the fact that you get just-in-time freshly roasted beans at your doorstep.

      Anyway, what are you guys drinking?

      33 votes
    19. Any electronic trance genre lovers out there?

      I was a huge fan since 2000 listening Tiesto, Paul Van Dyk, Ferry Corsten, AvB, ATB and many more. I was lucky I went to few night events with my favorite DJs and producers. Right now I only...

      I was a huge fan since 2000 listening Tiesto, Paul Van Dyk, Ferry Corsten, AvB, ATB and many more.

      I was lucky I went to few night events with my favorite DJs and producers. Right now I only listen Aly & Fila and Solarstone.

      18 votes
    20. What little thing has stuck with you?

      Maybe it was a small gesture; maybe it was a throwaway comment; maybe it was something you noticed out of the corner of your eye. Whatever it was, it wasn’t meant to be a thing, but for some...

      Maybe it was a small gesture; maybe it was a throwaway comment; maybe it was something you noticed out of the corner of your eye.

      Whatever it was, it wasn’t meant to be a thing, but for some reason it stuck with you and became a thing, for good or for bad.

      What was it? How did it stick with you? What do you think about it now? Tell us the story.

      33 votes
    21. What are some Minecraft content creators that you enjoy watching?

      Personally, I would recommend Pixlriffs. A few days ago, he has started a new season of his Minecraft Survival Guide series coinciding with the release of Minecraft 1.20. The series goes over each...

      Personally, I would recommend Pixlriffs. A few days ago, he has started a new season of his Minecraft Survival Guide series coinciding with the release of Minecraft 1.20. The series goes over each step, including the basic ones, to get yourself started and beyond on a Minecraft world. Here is a direct link to the start of season 3 inside a playlist. If you are a new or returning player to the game, I think it's a very nice resource to get the hang of it.

      The channel has been going for quite a few years now so there's a lot of content to watch, including a separate channel that he handles the writing and narration for dedicated to recapping the event of the Hermitcraft multiplayer server. The Hermitcraft players are themselves content creators I'd recommend checking out.

      21 votes
    22. Unreal Engine 5 usage

      Hi Everyone! First post on Tildes. I'm excited to have been invited to give it a shot! I was wondering if anyone here is using Unreal Engine 5 for any project their working on? It could be game...

      Hi Everyone!

      First post on Tildes. I'm excited to have been invited to give it a shot!

      I was wondering if anyone here is using Unreal Engine 5 for any project their working on? It could be game design, virtual production, architecture, automotive or you name it!

      I'm currently testing out numerous areas of Unreal Engine 5 for virtual production.

      Thanks!!

      9 votes
    23. Indoor climbers, what gear are you rockin?

      Pun intended. I'm just getting into bouldering / top roping and need to start my gear hunt. What do you recommend? What things do you stay away from? Right now I'm just climbing indoors with no...

      Pun intended.

      I'm just getting into bouldering / top roping and need to start my gear hunt. What do you recommend? What things do you stay away from? Right now I'm just climbing indoors with no real plans to go outdoors yet.

      5 votes
    24. Any migraneurs here? How are you doing?

      One of the communities on reddit that I greatly benefited from was /r/migraine. It was helpful to have a space to talk about common symptoms, experiences, and the various treatment options out...

      One of the communities on reddit that I greatly benefited from was /r/migraine. It was helpful to have a space to talk about common symptoms, experiences, and the various treatment options out there. Wondering if anyone here also experiences migraines & might be interested in a support-ish type discussion thread? I'll post a bit about my personal experience in a separate comment.

      (Also -- this is my first post here, so please feel free to let me know if I've tagged this incorrectly or made some other newbie mistake. Thanks!!)

      25 votes
    25. The ideal backend language to write web apps in 2023?

      I know quite a controversial and opinionated question, one that might easily get blasted with downvotes on a site like StackOverflow or even Reddit! Nevertheless, one which I believe is still...

      I know quite a controversial and opinionated question, one that might easily get blasted with downvotes on a site like StackOverflow or even Reddit! Nevertheless, one which I believe is still relevant to ask and useful one even in 2023.

      The problem with backend web technologies is that we are overwhelmed with choices. Whilst getting spoilt with choices seems like a useful thing sometimes, it might easily be an impediment in decision making too. Based on my experience, there are a bunch of useful stacks and I will work on any of them if you pay me to work as a freelance coder. Each has its own pros and cons but I'm yet to find the ideal one which according to me is something that should be easy to code and deploy while also better performing at the same time.

      • ASP.NET: C# is the language I started coding web apps with in my last company and ASP.NET web forms was quite the rage back then. PHP was also gaining traction in the open source world and the webdev was mostly divided between the Enterprisey .NET aristocrats of Microsoft world and the poor PHP peasants of the FOSS world! One good thing about ASP.NET was performance. Since MS controlled the whole stack, they also put great efforts at making it work faster. The bad thing, of course, was dependence on a closed tech stack and a closed black box that generated JS functionality on its own.
      • PHP: When I resigned from that company and started freelancing, I came to know about open source, linux, XAMPP, etc. That was when I realized that my own attitudes and thinking was more attuned to the FOSS peasant mindset than the wealthy aristocrat's! I didn't earn quite as much in freelancing with WP, Drupal, SuiteCRM, CodeIgniter, etc. but I found great happiness and contentment in being part of the open source process. Till date, PHP remains my favorite language for backend development and most of my web projects involve CodeIgniter or even pure PHP.
      • Python: Flask is what got me interested in Python web development. The sheer minimalism and flexibility of that framework is what I found quite remarkable and quite a rarity in the frameworks world. And jinja2 template system was just fantastic. The other framework called django is more popular I think and I've worked on that too but Flask still remains my favorite. Flask is good in performance dept. too but I think it gets tricky once you start scaling with too many users.
      • Java: I've never really bothered with Java web development except a few tutorial experiments on the Apache TomEE server. The multi-layered approach that Java takes not only has very steep learning curve but unless you're a very gifted programmer, it's practically impossible to beat the performance of interpreted PHP/Flask!
      • NodeJS: Again, not much work here except brief hobby projects like http-live-simulator. The npm packaging system really turned me off initially with so many packages and issues with that system in the earlier days. Nowadays, I've heard that it's much usable but I've never gotten into it.

      And now, we also have the evolving languages like Golang, Rust, etc. taking their baby steps towards web development too! Are any of them worth giving a try? If someone were to ask you for a backend tech stack recommendation while giving equal weightage to performance, developer productivity and ease of deployment, which one will you suggest?

      23 votes
    26. Watercooling PCs & modding computer cases?

      I tried looking around a bit but couldn't find anyone that was interested in this. For me it had been on my radar for years through various forums, but I only built my first watercooled PC in...

      I tried looking around a bit but couldn't find anyone that was interested in this. For me it had been on my radar for years through various forums, but I only built my first watercooled PC in 2020. For that I designed and manufactured my own case and now I am working on a second one! It's become a fun hobby that's taught me CAD and more about manufacturing in general.

      So I was curious if anyone else is into the same thing here? It's probably a bit more niche than the mechanical keyboard thread I saw!

      3 votes
    27. What upcoming games or updates are you excited about?

      What recent announcements caught your interest? Video games or board games, indie or AAA, new release or expansion, fangames or mods, all are welcome! Please also include a link to the trailer or...

      What recent announcements caught your interest? Video games or board games, indie or AAA, new release or expansion, fangames or mods, all are welcome!

      Please also include a link to the trailer or blog post, press release, steam page, etc. so others can check them out as well.

      51 votes
    28. What are you self-hosting currently?

      I recently discovered Paperless-ngx and have immediately fell in love. I must now decide whether to host it on my VPS (risky with personal documents), on a Pi at home or finally invest in a proper...

      I recently discovered Paperless-ngx and have immediately fell in love. I must now decide whether to host it on my VPS (risky with personal documents), on a Pi at home or finally invest in a proper home server (something cheap but with a bit more power than a Pi4). It can totally be run a Pi, but performance may not be as good.

      Does Tildes have a big self-hosted community? What are you self-hosting currently, and what do you enjoy about it?

      52 votes
    29. Where are you from?

      I'm curious to know where ~ users are from! I live in the United States in the greatest state in the union (Minnesota, of course!) The land of Target, passive-aggression, and wishing Prince wasn't...

      I'm curious to know where ~ users are from!

      I live in the United States in the greatest state in the union (Minnesota, of course!) The land of Target, passive-aggression, and wishing Prince wasn't dead. Oh, and 10,000 11,842 lakes.

      Edit 9: Super Ultra 2019 Updated Crappy Map of the World

      *Edit- If you'd like to be counted, add a top level comment. I've counted all child comments up to this point, but may not catch all of you. Also, I may slow down here pretty quick.


      Current count:

      Australia: 5
      Austria: 3
      Belgium: 3
      Brasil: 7
      Canada: 22
      Chile: 1
      China: 2
      *Hong Kong: 1
      Croatia: 1
      Czech Republic: 1
      Denmark: 1
      Egypt: 2
      Estonia: 1
      Finland: 4
      France: 5
      Germany: 10
      Hungary: 1
      Iceland: 2
      India: 12
      Ireland: 3
      Israel: 1
      Italy: 3
      Japan: 1
      Kenya: 1
      Kosovo: 1
      Lebanon: 1
      Lithuania: 2
      Malaysia: 1
      Mexico: 2
      Mongolia: 1
      Morocco: 1
      Nepal: 1
      Netherlands: 5
      New Zealand: 5
      Norway: 2
      Philippines: 1
      Poland: 2
      Portugal: 2
      Romania: 1
      Russia: 3
      Singapore: 3
      Slovenia: 1
      South Africa: 2
      South Korea: 1
      Spain: 4
      Switzerland: 1
      Sweden: 3
      Thailand: 1
      Turkey: 1
      UAE: 2
      Ukraine: 1
      UK: 15
      USA: 119
      *Puerto Rico: 1
      Vietnam: 1

      146 votes
    30. Do you go by a pseudonym or your real name (or both) for your online presence?

      Further questions: If you go by both, do you ever mix them or do you keep them totally separate? Do you let your real life friends, family and peers know about your online pseudonyms? For people...

      Further questions:

      • If you go by both, do you ever mix them or do you keep them totally separate?
      • Do you let your real life friends, family and peers know about your online pseudonyms?
      • For people building an online presence as a kind of brand, how does this impact your choice?
      58 votes
    31. Are there any stand-up paddle boarders here?

      Anyone into SUP/iSUP? I got my iSUP about 3 years ago and use it all the time. It’s a big one, able to carry 400 lbs so my entire family gets on it and cruises around lakes and rivers sometimes....

      Anyone into SUP/iSUP? I got my iSUP about 3 years ago and use it all the time. It’s a big one, able to carry 400 lbs so my entire family gets on it and cruises around lakes and rivers sometimes. What does everyone else have?

      7 votes
    32. What would cause moral panic if invented today?

      Imagine if some of the everyday things we take for granted were invented today. What are some examples that would face significant pushback due to various concerns or perceived negatives? Some...

      Imagine if some of the everyday things we take for granted were invented today. What are some examples that would face significant pushback due to various concerns or perceived negatives?

      Some ideas might be coffee (caffeine), internal combustion engines, plastic bags, smartphones, net neutrality, photoshop, etc…

      27 votes
    33. TV Tuesdays Free Talk

      Have you watched any TV shows recently you want to discuss? Any shows you want to recommend or are hyped about? Feel free to discuss anything here. Please just try to provide fair warning of...

      Have you watched any TV shows recently you want to discuss? Any shows you want to recommend or are hyped about? Feel free to discuss anything here.

      Please just try to provide fair warning of spoilers if you can.

      13 votes
    34. What whisky/whiskey have you been enjoying, and what's your opinion on them?

      What have you been drinking, sipping and enjoying, in the world of whisky/whiskey spirits lately? Discussion about Scotch whisky, Irish whiskey, international whiskey, bourbon, etc. are all...

      What have you been drinking, sipping and enjoying, in the world of whisky/whiskey spirits lately? Discussion about Scotch whisky, Irish whiskey, international whiskey, bourbon, etc. are all welcome. Please don't just make a list of titles, give some thoughts, reviews, and tales about the spirits if you like!

      I myself was thoroughly surprised at a whisky bar today with the Hatozaki 12. I went to the bar to try out my first Japanese whiskey's and found Hatozaki 12. It was absolutely lovely, bottled with integrity and at a fair price ($8/oz). I was not expecting such fruity and floral notes. I tried out a few from Nikka and Suntory and was not impressed. The Nikka Yoichi tasted off and a wee bit musty. The Suntory felt too light and like it belongs in a highball. I am looking forward to continuing the journey of exploration with Japanese whisky in the future. It is a stark change from the Islay Scotch whisky I drink regularly.

      • Hatozaki 12 - Small Batch - Umeshu Cask: 87/100
        Owner: Akashi Sake Brewery LTD
        Region: Kaikyo Distillery, Akashi City, Hyogo, Japan
        Nose: Vanilla, honey, floral, cream, red apple, fresh fruit
        Palate: Vanilla, toffee, cherry blossom, peaches in cream, lavender
        Finish: Vanilla, floral, lavender, cream linger for several minutes after
        Note: Non-chill filtered, Natural Color, 46% ABV, speyside feel with some added bonus

      My grading chart:

      • 98 – 100 (A+) = Booze Nirvana.
        This is the promised land where every sense is satisfied and, unless it’s a perfect 100, you have to search and nit-pick for what’s wrong instead of what’s right about this whiskey because it’s so on point.
      • 93 – 97 (A) = Exceptional – Superior in every way
        These are the best of the best and within spitting distance of Nirvana. They embody everything that category is about and then elevate it to another level. These are ones I HIGHLY recommend.
      • 90 – 92 (A-) = Excellent – want to buy a case
        Whiskeys that hit this rating are extra awesome. They’re delicious and complex Daily Drinkers and even though they are not quite best-in-class, they’re among my favorite whiskeys and I would wholeheartedly recommend them to anyone at any time.
      • 87 – 89 (B+) = Great – always want to have a bottle
        These are whiskeys that as soon as you taste them you say, “I want to own a bottle” and if you already own the bottle, you just smile because it’s yours. It’s not a record breaker by any means, just a good solid delicious whiskey.
      • 83 – 86 (B) = Good – not a “must”, but a nice-to-have
        The majority of my baselines are found here. This range is where the “daily drinker” status starts to emerge and where I find whiskies that’re good to drink but may rotate in and out of my collection. They’re not something you’d miss when it’s out, but good enough to give a moment’s consideration when at the liquor store.
      • 80 – 82 (B-) = Not-too-bad – no major flaws, worth tasting
        This is the stuff I’d recommend you try at the bar or at a friend’s house before buying a bottle. There’s nothing really wrong with it, it’s just not… quite… there.
      • 77 – 79 (C+) = Average – not good, not bad, just is
        There might be some minor flaws, all-in-all it’s not offensive, but it might be boring. There’s just nothing at all noteworthy about this whiskey. Would recommend to starters.
      • 73 – 76 (C) = Below average – drinkable, but better as a mixer / party booze
        It’s not like you or I actually WANT to drink this stuff, but sometimes you’re at a wedding or a shitty bar and it just happens to be there, and a beer just doesn’t sound great, so you grin and bear a glass or, when possible, ask for it in a cocktail. If the bartender sucks, you might even take a bit of solace in the knowledge that they didn’t ruin a good whiskey with their terrible cocktail.
      • 70 – 72 (C-) = Not good – nearly undrinkable, wonder why the hell they made it
        When I drink this stuff, I wonder if the Master Distiller is actually proud of what they’ve put out or if it’s something they just shove out to make a quick buck. I then wonder about the person who habitually buy it and wonder what admirable qualities they find in it that I can’t.
      • 60 – 69 (D) = The only thing this should be used for is making Jungle Juice, and even then, Seriously, I start to wonder if it’s even safe for human consumption at this point. - It’s just plain vile.
      • 59 – 0 (F) = Horrifically flawed – the worst
        This is when I call the FDA because I’m pretty damn sure it’s not safe to drink this swill.
      35 votes
    35. What did you do this week (and weekend)?

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do...

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do nothing at all? Tell us about it!

      17 votes
    36. Deep thoughts on tattoos and tattooing culture

      This is my first post so please let me know if I'm doing anything incorrectly! I'm not very clear on how tags work... Apologies. I'm curious if there are many tattoo enthusiasts around. I love...

      This is my first post so please let me know if I'm doing anything incorrectly! I'm not very clear on how tags work... Apologies.

      I'm curious if there are many tattoo enthusiasts around. I love both talking about and looking at tattoos. I have found that more visual-focused places like Instagram or even Reddit don't really allow much conversation on the nuances of the industry, its artists, artistry, criticisms, and so on.

      I am a heavily tattooed woman, which is both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because I'm happy in my own body. A curse because being fetishized makes me uncomfortable.

      I both love and hate tattoos entering more into the mainstream. As that as happened, artistry has come leaps and bounds alongside it.

      Anyone have any deep thoughts on tattoos and modern tattoo culture?

      32 votes