To preface, I'm trying to find horror movies that may be considered more on the mild side, something that's more accessible to someone not familiar or comfortable with horror or thriller movies.
Happy Death Day and it's sequel are already on my list, especially since there doesn't appear to be overt nudity / sex and the language is mild.
I suppose it could be described as PG-13 horror, but even the Scream series is actually kinda mild on the gore/violence side of you really break it down, as they have a whodunit plot more than a "let's douse the protags in blood" vibe.

Oh and of course Tremors is always on every list of all time great movies.

I appreciate Goodreads for its pretty extensive catalogue of books, the ability to see reviews from other readers, and the social aspect of following what my friends are reading. However, I find both the website and the app very slow and not very well designed. Plus, I liked to minimize my interactions with Amazon. Has anyone used or built any alternatives? While the features I listed above are nice, the only ones I would really want are:

• The ability to quickly look up and add a book to my "want to read", and to keep track of books I have read
• The ability to leave notes or reviews on books (not necessarily visible to others).

I've started to keep a reading log in Notion which satisfies the second point above, but there's no easy way to search through a data base of books and add a book to one of my lists. It would be nice to be able to do so on the fly as I browse books at the store. So Tildeños, what solutions have you all come up with to track your reading?

Wondering if this group has recommendations on some of the best rewards or other savy ways to spend for traveling that are not credit card based?

Particular hotel chain, gas station, fast food based. My husband and I do a trip once annually plus to go back to our hometown typically via car and we already get decent credit card rewards for travel but wondering if there are other rewards we might be missing out on?

Next trip were definitely looking at what museum memberships might exist to do or get discounts on several locations during the trip. We do have a local zoo membership that gets us reciprocity when we travel.

I'm in need of "the next" great Sci-Fi / action series to binge on. I've currently gone through read most / all of:

• Craig Alanson
• Andy Weir
• Jeremy Robinson
• John Scalzi
• Jonathan Maberry
• Timothy Zahn (all his Star Wars works)
• Max Brooks (WWZ)
• Earnest Cline (RP1/2)

I like Star Trekky plots and plucky nerd protagonists.

Also, I'm finding that I'm getting a bit tired of R.C. Bray (I think he narrates the majority of the above. At some point every snarky AI sounds like Skippy). Marc Thompson of the Star Wars series is an amazing narrator.

Side comment: I'm inclined to listen to a good audiobook just for the narrator's performance alone.

I've been tasked with naming the Tildes Fantasy Football League. I am notoriously bad at naming things.

My only idea is "League of A-holes" because the first vlog post introducing Tildes, Deimos mentioned

Tildes will not be a victim of the paradox of tolerance; my philosophy is closer to "if your website's full of assholes, it's your fault".

But I don't really like it.

Obviously taste is subjective and people are complicated, but at least on the surface, I'm sure most avid listeners can pick an artist or band that they really enjoy, but don't seem to have the popularity or recognition to match. I'd love to hear your picks - preferably, post a link where something can be streamed for free and purchased easily, like Bandcamp. Give us a little synopsis, or at the very least, genre or similar artist, as well.

Hello! Привіт! Pryvit!

I started learning Ukrainian on Duolingo in February 2022 following Russia's attacks. It was my first time attempting to learn a language for 10+ years and it just clicked. I grew to love the language, became entranced with the culture, and had desires to keep learning. Prior to Duolingo's redesign, I had a year+ streak and made it fairly far in the course.

The redesign has absolutely killed that passion. Maybe it's just the Ukrainian course, but it felt like I was going in circles and not really progressing as I once had. I've shelved my learning for a few months, but I really desire an alternative to Duolingo. Unfortunately, there's not many options that offer Ukrainian and I want to ensure I am learning the language as intended. I've read into how Russian influences have attempted to modify the language and I desire to learn the form that Ukrainian's would use.

I'm not quite at a level to learn from books or more static resources, and would prefer the interactivity of an app to help get me to that comfort level again. I've tried Pimsleur and wasn't as much of a fan of their format that reminded me of language tapes. One of the things I enjoyed with Duolingo was the verbal parts of it that helped with my pronunciation, and Pimsleur didn't appear to offer that.

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated! I have seen old posts referring to a SubStack and other resources, but at this time I need a refresher before I feel comfortable diving into those. I would love to incorporate learning a little bit of Ukrainian everyday again! Слава Україні!

Hiya -

I'm looking for some help because despite a lot of Google quality time, I'm sincerely struggling to get a solution.

I have a Plantronics 4220 wireless headset that I use for work (and also to connect with Bluetooth to my PC at the same time between calls), and somehow the audio is starting to flake out. It's like it only gets audio in one ear, but if I tilt my head slightly it'll get into the other ear or sometimes both. Pretty weird... it's something I might expect from a wired headset where the cord itself is dying, but not on a wireless one like this.

Anyhow, I'm very comfortable with tech stuff (building my own rigs for like 20 years now), but I've never really felt comfortable about iFixit kind of solutions where tools or hardware is involved with the hardware. I'd pretty much just rather throw a little money at a pro who can fix it in 5 minutes and charge me $50 or whatever, lol.

However when I am going to look for places that might offer repair services, all I'm getting are locations in the US... but I'm in Canada. Specifically Ontario. Anyone have a source (from personal experience or otherwise) on how I might best look up a place I can get this fixed at? Figuring out what to search for on this subject seems oddly arcane!

My girlfriend and I have been in the market for new computer chairs at home, as we have been getting increasingly uncomfortable in our existing chairs. We are both shorter people (both under 5’5”) and the problem we’ve been coming across is in most chairs (even the ones I’ve found for “short” people) tend to have seat depths of 16+ inches. What ends up happening is the edge of the seat ends up pushing into our calves leading to bad posture because we can’t sit up fully to the back of the chair unless our lower back gets leaned forward a bit due to the size of the seat depth. This leads to bad posture and back pain.

So I’m curious fellow short people of Tildes, does anyone have any recommendations for a more comfortable and ergonomic chair for short people?

Hi there,

I enjoy writing! I find all formats fun to play with from short stories to screenplays. One thing I've never really written for is video games. I love the idea though. All the world building, lore notes, dialogue, weapon descriptions, codecs, bestiaries and on and on. There's all sorts of ways to tell a story through a video game and I want to try my hand at it!

Problem being though, I'm not particularly interested in game design. I'm not NOT interested, but it's not where my passion is. I am willing to learn what I need to, so don't shy away from suggestions that would require me to learn some on the design side.

Really the only ideas I've come up with are using the mod creator in Neverwinter Nights 1/2 or something like RPG Maker? Are these overwhelmingly difficult to get started in? Could I write in all the things I mentioned from dialogue to weapon descriptions?

Or perhaps trying to find someone NOT interested in the storytelling side? Someone who wants to focus on design but would love some storytelling in their project and would welcome the addition?

Or even starting with TTRPG modules maybe. Video Games and TTRPG modules seem to have some similar storytelling elements.

Does anyone in the profession have thoughts? Does anyone not in the profession have thoughts?

anyways, bye love you

Behold, we have received a new season of anime. So, I thought it'd be nice to have a place where people can recommend what they're checking out.

For me, I think this is actually a pretty strong season, with lots of promising shows. As for what I've seen so far:

Hormiya: the Missing Pieces - this is basically a lot of the content that the original series cut out in its speedrun through the series. While I would have preferred that they'd just adapted it at a normal pace originally, I'm happy that they're revisiting this series to give it its due.

My Tiny Senpai - Fun to see this webcomic turned manga (that also has a sequel manga) get adapted. If you like fluff romcom slice of life, this is your jam.

The Girl I Like Forgot Her Glasses - This is an interesting one seeing adapted. I enjoy the manga well enough, but I do feel like it'd be more suited as a short than as a full length anime (5 or 10 minute episodes would very much fit the content better, drawing it out did make some moments a bit cringe). That said, they did some incredibly ambitious stuff with cgi in the first episode that made it incredibly interesting just from a visual perspective. If you're a manga reader, do brace yourself for the art style and character design shifts, as I found them more than a bit jarring. Another fluff romcom for you fans out there.

Reborn as a Vending Machine, I Now Wander the Dungeon - Oddly enough, I just started reading this light novel series a month ago with no knowledge it was getting an adaptation. I know any sane person's reaction would be that isekai has truly reached the bottom of the barrel, but this will surprise you with its quality, I guarantee it. The source material is a comedy isekai with truly interesting characters, and I think the first episode was a mostly well executed adaptation (LN adaptations tend to lose the main character's internal dialogue which I find important, but here it's included because it's very necessary).

Now, here's some recommendations of stuff I haven't seen yet, but am familiar with source material I'd rec:

The Most Heretical Last Boss Queen - Yes, I know I know, Villainess Otome isekai is the new overpowered mc isekai, a dime a dozen. But trust me, this is a good one. A stellar cast of characters, and yes, while it follows the tropes of the subgenre, I think the stories it tells are incredibly interesting. I started with reading the manga (cancelled due to artist poor health), and then jumped to the original LN, and I have to say this is a series that has just consistent quality across the board.

My Happy Marriage - While I've read a bit of the manga and own the LN's, I haven't read the LN's yet. However, if you like dramatic romances though, this one's for you. It's not quite a "I will fix her", type series, there's elements of that due to her past. But really both of our main characters need a lot of growing to do, and they'll do that together. Expect a slow and dramatic pace.

The Masterful Cat is Depressed Again Today - Like silly slice of life? This one's for you kids. The manga is a fantastic slice of life following an OL and her rescued cat who really rescued her. The cat's also like 6 feet tall and cooks.

Tenpuru - This is a manga series from the artist, not author, of Grand Blue Dreaming. However, it also has a very similar vibe in general if you enjoy that series, but even sillier if that's possible. I guy trying not to be a playboy like his family is, and flees to a Buddhist temple full of women. Expect absurdity, and yes, definitely a harem, whether he wants it or not.

Saint Cecilia & Pastor Lawrence - A slow paced slice of life with romance undertones. A lazy saint and the pastor that takes care of them, their budding romance, and the friends they make along the way.

Hyakushou Kizoku - this is an odd one to recommend, because I've only actually read a chapter or two of the manga. However, this is from an author you'd all know Hiromu Arakawa, known for such minor series as Full Metal Alchemist and Silver Spoon. This is an autobiographical series of her time growing up in Hokkaido on a farm (experiences that very much inspired and informed Silver Spoon).

Anyways, these are just some of my own thoughts on this season, I'd love to see yours.

I game a lot, and I have many ear piercings (the troublesome ones are industrial and cartilage and for ear buds, both tragus, but I'm looking for just normal headsets). Most headsets make my ears ache after 20-45 minutes. I can almost pick out how much they're going to hurt when I try them on, and nothing at my local Best Buy has anything available that feels right. Additionally, many are heavy and sit on the top of my head like a brick - before I completed my ear decorations, that was usually my peeve.

Currently, the only headset I adore is SteelSeries Siberia (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002SN9RN8). I can wear them for hours. Sadly, I cannot get a replacement. I tried their Arctis 5 and immediately sent it back. The Siberia does not have a mic, so that's basically the only reason I am wanting to get another set.

If anyone can recommend something with the following characteristics, I'd be willing to drop a pretty penny on them... not that I can afford to, but it'll be an investment if it lasts as long as these Siberia have!

• Preferably cloth ear surface texture;
• Preferably something that doesn't sit heavily on the head - though the ones I've tried that clamped for staying on my ears would give me headaches as well;
• Must be wired. No bluetooth. Caveat: if it has a usb dongle, could be doable. (My computer does not have BT capabilities.) I hate things running out of battery though, so it will have to be good;
• Must have extendable head band up top, if its method is not gripping on your ears without head support;

I'm sure I've missed something, but if there's a fellow ear-pierced gamer whose had issues with many headsets but found the perfect one, please recommend! Thanks!

I'm looking for suggestions. The Internet has become very small over the last 11 years. My go-to for the moments of downtime was RIF. I was able to consume all the little spaces with it since it was an infinite feed - that's a bit harder now. All sorts of apps are welcome, but I'm not looking for things that require high effort or attention span (unless they are worth it). Games are fine, but other apps that fill your time are very good - preferably SFW and audio-off! I use Android, so I prefer those, but our Apple brethren are also welcome to share.

I have fond memories of trying to solve HTML/text-based riddles on sites like WeffRiddles when I was growing up in the mid-late 2000s. The premise of the site is usually pretty simple: the landing page represents "level 1", and you had to find the correct URL to get to level 2, 3, and so on. The "puzzle/riddle" aspect usually involves inspecting the underlying HTML and looking through clues given in the source code, then using those clues to piece together the URL for the next stage.

It was always fun hanging out on forums and sharing clues about how to solve the level that everyone was stuck on. Also, being a kid back then, frankly I felt like a Hackerman™️ whenever I'd have to inspect the page source, paste it into Windows Notepad, then set font size to 1pt because I thought there was an ASCII art pattern hidden in the HTML. Good times.

Sometimes I get the urge to play these things again, but besides WeffRiddles which I know by name, I don't really know what this type of game is called. The closest "modern" example I can think of is /dev/esc, which is more like an online escape room than a long-form riddle site.

Does this ring a bell for you? Any other fun ones that you remember playing? And what the hell do I type into Google to find more of these?

I'm a big fan of Nu Metal, but I've been listening to the same stuff for quite a while. (System of a Down, Slipknot, Mudvayne, Soulfly, etc.). So, I'm wanting to find some cool new bands to add to my playlist. Honestly, the only two modern acts that I know of are Crazy N' Sane and Dropout Kings.

I'm going to a supper club this Saturday and the theme is pie. Now, I love making me some pie (and subsequently eating it), but I'd like to do something a little different from my normal pie.

What is your favorite (ideally esoteric) pie recipe? I'm making one sweet, one savory. Gimme your best shot!

Hi Tildes!
I'm a college student considering adding a gas motor onto my existing bike. I'm in a pretty hilly city, so biking around for groceries is kinda annoying... plus I wanna just zoom around some trails in my free time.
Currently, I'm looking at one of the 49cc 4 stroke engine kits all over Amazon/Ebay, since I heard that 4 stroke motors are supposedly quieter and more reliable than 2 strokes. I don't care about speed... in fact, I don't want to be going over 30mph on a bike. 49cc also makes this thing street legal in my state.
I did consider doing an e-bike conversion as well, but those are much more expensive... a 4 stroke kit is ~$160, while any reputable e-bike battery alone is more than that. These things don't burn much gasoline either, getting 100-150 mpg! I'd have to ride thousands of miles before the fuel cost exceeds an e-bike battery.
So, any advice would be appreciated! Also, I'd be willing to spend ~300 on this if there is a compelling reason to get a better motor than the generic Ebay one. If you have motor suggestions, please link them!
Thanks,
purpuraRana

Recently, I've been thinking pretty hard about how to archive data. Optical media is out, due to my (possibly irrational?) fear of disc rot. HDDs just break with extended use, SSDs have been known to die with either overuse or just existing for an extended period of time. What's left?

I have heard of tape (of some kind) being used for backup in some bigger operations, but with my experieces with VHS, and to a lesser extent, cassettes, they seem to be very susceptible to mould.

Any suggestions?

I'm big into self-hosting and recently getting back into writing as an additional hobby, cuz one can never have too many, right? Anyway, I am looking for a writing organization tool like Manuskript, Dabble, or Scrivener that is both open source and self-hosted.

Essentially, I would just like something that I can organize my thoughts and occasionally write in, but be able to access it from all my devices - desktops, laptops, phones, tablets, etc. It seems like most of the solutions I've looked at are limited to a single device or cloud functionality is locked behind a paywall. Of course, I could just use a self-hosted wiki site for cloud editing/organization, but I'd like something more oriented toward writing if anybody has any ideas. Thanks!

I'm looking for more recent games that are reminiscent of the original Doom, Quake, and shooters of that era. Preferably on PC, but also on the Xbox.

I am, of course, aware of the most recent Doom games, but I gotta be honest, I'm not a big fan. They don't feel old-school to me.

1990s shooters have a simplicity that I crave.

I have no intention to play online, so a good campaign is a requirement.

Thanks!

Hi everyone!

I have a Y2K playlist for this (Britney Spears, LFO, Destiny's Child, etc.) and another playlist with more recent music (Doja Cat, Dua Lipa, Rina Sawayama, Ariana Grande, etc.).

Sample songs from these playlists:
Rina Sawayama - XS
Doja Cat - Like That
Dua Lipa - Levitating
Britney Spears - Gimme More
LFO - Summer Girls
Destiny's Child - Independent Women

Hoping to get recommendations for songs/musicians with similar vibes. Or perhaps links to existing Tildes threads for this; I've already tried searching 90s pop / Y2K pop / Doja Cat.

I use these playlists to help me get into a more energetic mood, usually for getting ready or for working out. I listen to almost all kinds of music so I'm also open to recommendations from other genres; the above's just been my mood lately.

Thank you!

I really enjoy music that blurs traditional genre lines and draws on multiple different influences to make something unique and distinctive. I'm sure I'm not alone in that, so I'd love to hear of any groups that have caught your attention for the same reason!

I'll start out with one of my own recs, as an example - I absolutely love the band Hollenthon. They're probably most closely described as black/death metal, except that they include full orchestras + choirs as part of their instrumentation, and draw on a bunch of diverse inspiration across classical music, modern movie music, and even traditional ethnic/folk melodies. The result is an incredibly interesting and distinctive sound that I haven't heard paralleled in any other band I know of. Example song - Y Draig Goch

New to Tildes, so I wanted to kick things off by asking—do you have any sci-fi horror recs you reckon I might be interested in? Here's some of what I've read:

Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer

• Solid read, but definitely more about the weird vibes than anything else. Sequels didn't hook me as much.

Blindsight by Peter Watts

• I generally try not to DNF my reads. But this was one of them. I'm sorry, I just can't buy vampires in a sci-fi world that's trying to take itself seriously, without proper grounding. It's also incredibly dry.

Dead Silence by S.A. Barnes

• A pretty solid read, I like how the narrative is told via flashbacks and then suddenly terminates in a way that makes you want to know more, in the most tantalizing of ways. Unfortunately I thought the reveal of the lurking horror was incredibly meh, and it went mostly downhill from there.

Diamond Dogs by Alistair Reynolds

• Fantastic novella with a mysterious locale functioning as the backdrop of the setting, and the horror elements being both external (as in the setting) and internal (how far our characters are willing to go to crack the mystery).

Paradise-1 by David Wellington

• A really solid space horror novel, with a pretty interesting protagonist trio (including a self-aware robot with plastic bodies) and it has some genuinely uncomfortable moments of horror that I can absolutely get behind. My main issue though, is that it ends in a cliffhanger and I'm still mad about it.

Salvaged by Madeleine Roux

• Decent read, but the horror reveal came super early and in reality, it's less space horror than it is human drama involving horror elements which is basically the Protomolecule from the Expanse. Fun read though, if you're okay with that.

Salvation Day by Kali Wallace

• I thought this was somewhat bland, the concept and initial plot were interesting, but it trails off and overall, overstays its welcome with some scenes that pacing-wise, feel like they belong in the middle part of the book. Some solid moments of horror though.

Ship of Fools by Richard Paul Russo

• Probably the quintessential space horror book for me. A fantastic setting, an intriguing protagonist narrative interspersed with religious themes and a genuinely solid pacing, horror-wise.

Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty

• This would have been an interesting murder mystery in space... if it actually had good and compelling characters. It does not. Everyone feels like a cardboard cutout with One Defining Trait and that's it.

The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling

• This was... a disappointment. I still rank it amongst the worst books I've read, simply because the protagonist is unbelievable. I can buy a protagonist doing things under duress or from being manipulated, but I cannot buy a protagonist who constantly flip flops 5 minutes after making a decision and then
  hooks up with the person who was manipulating her, because yay fucked up sexytimes! Look, I want queer representation in my books too, but this came off too much as just doing it for the vibes. Queer rep deserves better than stupid protagonists.

Walking to Aldebaraan by Adrian Tchaikovsky

• A great novella; it's a retelling of a really well-known story but reframed in sci-fi terms, and I love that approach.

We Have Always Been Here by Lena Nguyen

• A really haphazard book I think; I like some things about it, but others just don't make sense, or contradict it. E.g. the protagonist is a psychologist, but is absolutely horrible at reading human emotion and speech, and a loner who prefers robots. Throw in some Michio Kaku-esque pseudoscience and while it's not a horrible read, it feels like a book that could have been better with a rewrite. The setting and suspense are pretty neat though.

So, as you can see, I have met the good, the bad and the ugly of sci-fi horror. I'd love to find more! For non-book horror or horror adjacent works I've enjoyed, those include Alien, The Thing, Event Horizon, Sunshine, Underwater and Dead Space. Please don't recommend tie-in novels though; I can find those myself and generally I've found that they're not really up to par.

What short animated films do you really love and why? Here's two of mine:

Anna & Bella - says so much without saying much of anything! I love the lack of dialogue and the expressiveness. Makes me feel warm and fuzzy thinking about my relationship with my brother.

Affairs of the Art - NSFW, love the animation style and character designs, and the overall message on obsessions, passion and art being for everyone!

I’m going to be replacing my mattress soon, and there are a lot more options available now, including many that I can order online instead of having to go get from a furniture store. Every time I’ve tried ones out in the store it’s always been a crapshoot as to whether or not I actually like it once I get it home, as I can’t really get a good feel for it there. As such I’m more than willing to go with the convenience of an online brand, but would rather hear from some people besides sponsored YouTubers first.

What brand of mattress do you sleep on and like? Any brands you had bad experiences with and would avoid?

I'm a huge fan of lightweight sites. They load super fast on mobile and that's the most important thing for me. I found a number of outdated lists online and wanted to hear what your favourites are.

Here is my list.

News

https://lite.cnn.com/
https://text.npr.org/
https://www.cbc.ca/lite/news/canada/toronto?sort=editors-picks
http://68k.news/
https://legiblenews.com/
https://www.skinnyguardian.xyz/
https://www.newshound.co/editions/en-us/
http://skimfeed.com/
https://www.csmonitor.com/layout/set/text/textedition

Edit

• Lots to think about, thank you everyone!

I work from home 5 days a week and have done for years with the same chair (it’s nothing fancy). After a couple of hectic days at work this week I’ve found my back hurting. I’ve never had this issue before as I usually take pretty regular breaks.

I’ve been toying with the idea of a sit stand desk so when I’m busy I can still take a break from sitting.

Does anyone else have experience and insight into the pros and cons?

Thanks

So I am wanting to update my playlist from more recent decades, but also to maybe find classics I'm not familiar with. I have some time on my hands after working quite hard for a couple of decades.

Would anyone be willing to suggest music/songs based on this list of things I like a lot?

Otis Reading Sittin on the Dock of the Bay
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTVjnBo96Ug

Peter Paul and Mary Don't Think Twice It's Alright
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xu-DWUngjhk

Jethro Tull Aqualung
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0jMPI_pUec

Janis Joplin Me and Bobbie McGee
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfjon-ZTqzU

David Bowie Space Oddity and Ziggy Stardust
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYYRH4apXDo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qrOvBuWJ-c

Johnny Cash Ira Hayes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEwSwQtSmDQ

Bruce Springsteen Ghost of Tom Joad
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkv9UpDZPXk

Heart Barracuda
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdOkQ6THDVw

Dolly Parton Jolene
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ixrje2rXLMA

Leonard Cohen Dance me to the End of Love
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EImVucJO7Ok

Tina Turner Proud Mary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTfYnRQgKgY

Indigo Girls Closer to Fine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUgwM1Ky228

Edit Dire Straits Sultans of Swing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIufLA7Bx2Q

The idea is to get a console to play raging in complexity from the NES, SNES, up to Nintendo DS and PSP. Anything above that is not a priority or a necessity. But it would be nice to have a screen large enough to handle DS games in some form. Can I find anything decent in that price range?

Thanks :)

Hey all, hopefully this kind of content is ok - if not, I'll take it to Tripadvisor. I'm from the SF Bay Area and work will be taking me to Boston the last week of September. I have always wanted to see New England, especially Maine. New England is mostly foreign to me, haven't spent much time in that part of the country at all. After I'm done with business, I was thinking of renting a car and taking a short road trip, maybe 3-4 nights, and moseying up the coast through MA, NH, and ME. Then back home through Boston. Would love to see VT but it's further away from my understanding. It's ok if I don't see everything, I just want to get a taste of autumn in New England. If colors are happening (probably too early), awesome, if they aren't it will still be cool.

Are there any must-see stops, activities, or even common road trip routes/itineraries you'd recommend? Thanks for any tips.

I'm a fairly tall person and my partner and I both really love large blankets. However, I'm not a big fan of the thin/plush style often sold at stores like Walmart. Does anyone have large, thick/quality blanket recommendations?

I've looked at BigBlanketCo but their blankets seem to be somewhat overpriced and underwhelming.

An interesting, although quite academic, read I was recently suggested was Moral Uncertainty by Krister Bykvist, Toby Ord, and William MacAskill. Does anyone here have any suggestions on (modern) philosophy that you have currently been reading or are interesting in reading?

I usually just read ebooks on my phone using ReadEra, but I'm going to the beach in a few weeks and I'd like to buy a dedicated eReader so I don't burn through my phone charge (I usually stay on the beach from as close to sunup as I can manage to sundown). I'd like something that handles multiple file types, especially ePub, or at least doesn't require a proprietary file type or have RDM. I'd also like it to have a long-lasting battery (I frequently read for several hours at a time), and be sturdy/waterproof (because beach). I guess backlighting might be nice, togglable if possible, and if I could get on the internet to download files directly to the Reader that'd be nice too so I don't have to plan ahead. It doesn't need to be huge, in fact smaller is probably better. Price is definitely a factor, but I'm open to refurb if available for a higher-priced model.

Needs: Inexpensive, waterproof/sturdy, strong battery, ePub/open file types/no DRM

Wants: Backlighting, internet

I've done some comparison shopping but I'm waffling so I want other people's opinions. TIA!

I'll be traveling to Havana, Cuba for 4 or 5 days this Fall and I am asking for any recommended activities or destinations to put on an itinerary.

My main interests are (1) anything to do with the history of the Cuban Revolution and (2) social and technological measures taken to cope with constraints of the trade embargo (and yes, this even includes maintenance of old automobiles); and I'm not particularly interested in Ernest Hemingway, smoking cigars or getting drunk on rum. I will have a 12 and 14 year old kid with me, so I'm also looking for some interesting, age-appropriate activities for them. I will make an effort to take a day trip to the Che Guevara mausoleum in Santa Clara, but the rest of the time will be in or very near Havana. What do you recommend?

From what I have seen discussions here seem mostly about published books but I had figured I will try posting here and see if anyone is interested. They have both positives and negatives compared to published/or even just completed fiction but mostly I am interested in them for the higher variance which also means that it is harder to find something good.

Just listing some I liked over the years, both more and less known:

• The Gods are bastards by DD Webb (on hiatus, extremely long) - set in a world in a magical industrial revolution where adventuring as career is all but over it follows a class of students in the University. Contains several other viewpoint characters and ever expanding cast.

• Fall of Doc Future trilogy(and extras) by WD Rieder (on hiatus, very long) - a story about superhumans where the abilities and their effects are treated seriously. Contains some social commentary and several polyamorous relationships in later parts.

• Time to Orbit: Unknown by Derin Edala (ongoing, long) - a psychological mystery/horror set on a colony ship. A colonist wakes five years early to find that the crew is missing and things are wrong. The mysteries so far constantly escalate but in way that mostly makes sense. The culture of this future is detailed and interesting.

• Mother of Learning by nobody103 (complete, extremely long) - a time loop progression fantasy following Zorian - a student mage from a minor merchant family.

• This Used to be About Dungeons by Alexander Wales (complete except epilogues, very/extremely long) - a slice of slice comfy story(at the beginning it slightly escalates later) containing extremely light litrpg elements. Focuses on the group dynamics of a party going to dungeons(sometimes).

What are some good ones that you would recommend?

Hey all, so I'm a trans woman and, like a lot of other people, my biggest point of dysphoria is my facial hair. I've been going through electrolysis for the past five months. I love it when it works, but the speed of the process is really getting me down. I do one hour every two weeks (I'd do more if I had the money), and after five months of solely working on my upper lip the progress just isn't where I was hoping to be.

What are y'alls experiences with electro, and what was the regiment that worked for you? Did you do something other than electrolysis, how'd it work out? Other general hair removal tips to look as clean as possible?

I'll share one of my own:

• The Finishing Touch Flawless Razor (Walmart link) has been the best, and most affordable electric razor I've found that gets an extremely close shave without too much skin irritation (I have the most irritated skin in the world). Highly recommend!

As mentioned before my partner is a new paraplegic. He was a chef before becoming disabled a decade ago and the primary cook at home until the more recent injury. He's struggling to make sure he eats in part because making a baloney sandwich is currently an ordeal. We expect that to get easier as he gets OT and more used to being in a chair, but I'm wanting to start with prepared meals and work up to easy meal kits that help him get back into cooking. Difficulty level is things that taste good and have a variety of foods, as well as, for the future, kits that require less manual dexterity.
Recipes also welcome as well as any must have kitchen items. We have an air fryer, microwave, electric kettle and toaster he can use easily. Oven and stove that are a bit more tricky right now.

ETA: in the United States and with a large variety of grocery stores around me.

The only sane way to use Twitter was to follow a bunch of cool artists, set up TweetDeck, filter it to "tweets with images only", and just look at pretty pictures.

And now that's been completely removed. Does anyone know of any alternatives? I don't need any of the other features of TweetDeck, I just need that images-only filter...

For the metalheads here, wondering what you all are reading for news, releases, tour announcements, etc that's primarily focused on metal.

I really enjoy black metal so would definitely be interested in sites/forums that focus on that!

Hello,
I am looking for mushroom or veg alternatives to cured meats, e.g., Capicola, Prosciutto, Salami, Pancetta, etc.). I have tried one (not sure of source or brand), but it was not particularly good.

Wondered if someone here knew of any that are worth trying. Alternatively, recipes to make one's own.
Thanks!

I need a really good recipe to win a baking competition this upcoming week. It doesn't matter if its hard to make or the ingredients are a little more expensive than usual. Anyone have a top-tier cookie recipe they'd be willing to share?

The title pretty much says it all. The "evil" could be just switching sides to what was initially thought as the antagonizing force, or could be giving in to what we as the reader know is evil. Thanks in advance!

I've been wanting a new card game to sink my teeth into. There's so many though! I plan on trying them all out more or less, but was curious to hear what others are playing, if anything new was on the horizon, and what opinions were!

I've played MtG Arena, Pokemon TCG Live, Yugioh Master Duel, Legends of Runeterra, and KARDS.

I liked them all to varying degrees, but still wanna seek out others before I start leaning in to one. Warhammer also has a digital ccg coming out called Warpforged. I liked the demo, but I don't think it has a release date :(

Anyways, what do y'all think I should try and play?

I have a Baratza Encore (or whatever the entry level model is called) and it could use some tlc. There are a bunch of bean parts accumulating under the hopper and grounds are getting stuck in places. I can disassemble to get the big stuff, but that's not enough. I'm wary of just splashing water or using a damp rag to wipe parts down. The oily residue needs some sort of detergent but I don't want to ruin anything or end up having my coffee tasting like soap or something.

Anyone have any experience or suggestions?

Edit: thanks to everyone for the tips! I've bought some grindz and I already popped the hopper off and gave the grinder a good brushing. There was a lot of buildup and the first grind afterward felt like it sounded quieter and I could swear the grounds were more consistent, but those are both probably illusions. Haven't made enough cups to taste a difference yet but I'll definitely be adding a regular cleaning to my routine.

Hello, long-time lurker here who only recently obtained an account!

I personally like Uniball pens (although annoyingly they do tend to smudge more than I'd like). I'm trying to find a less wasteful option (i.e. a refillable pen) but not really sure which models are good.

I'm looking to obtain a nice notebook, but I do feel that a lot of the popular models (e.g. Moleskine, Leuchturm) are a bit overpriced!

What kind of stationary do you use?