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    1. Is there anyone here who is interested in upholstery as a hobby? If so, we'd love to hear about it! What's your favourite fabric to use?

      My upholstery hobby is a fulfilling and creative outlet that allows me to revive old furniture and give it a fresh, stylish look. My favorite fabric to use is velvet. Its luxurious texture and...

      My upholstery hobby is a fulfilling and creative outlet that allows me to revive old furniture and give it a fresh, stylish look. My favorite fabric to use is velvet. Its luxurious texture and rich colors add a touch of elegance and sophistication to any piece. Velvet not only looks stunning but also feels incredibly soft and comfortable

      20 votes
    2. You have one fast travel point, where do you place it?

      The rules are you have a magic remote, and you are immediately transported to a location of your choice. You can use it as many times you want, but it will only go to the one location. Where do...

      The rules are you have a magic remote, and you are immediately transported to a location of your choice. You can use it as many times you want, but it will only go to the one location. Where do you put it?

      26 votes
    3. Tildes Game Nights Discord server

      It seems that this thread has sparked a lot of interest from the gamers of Tildes, but the forum just isn't a great place to actually get things going. To remedy this, I've created the Tildes Game...

      It seems that this thread has sparked a lot of interest from the gamers of Tildes, but the forum just isn't a great place to actually get things going. To remedy this, I've created the Tildes Game Nights discord server where people who like the format of Discord can get together and play games :). I hope to foster the same sort of civility we have here, so the rules are pretty much identical to Tildes' (with a bunch of the rules being taken directly from the code of conduct). I already have some channels set up for the games that got a lot of votes in the linked thread, but I can add more if there's popular demand.

      Here is the invite link :)

      28 votes
    4. The problem with ChatGPT is that all of these websites like W3Schools and TutorialsPoint will go bankrupt

      ChatGPT got all of its information from these websites, but these websites still use advertising to gain revenue. When a user asks ChatGPT a question, instead of going to the site, it's using the...

      ChatGPT got all of its information from these websites, but these websites still use advertising to gain revenue. When a user asks ChatGPT a question, instead of going to the site, it's using the information stored on the site without giving the site any revenue.

      That's why they're being sued. (Also why Reddit is doing what it's doing with the API)

      What do we do? How can we keep these sites alive, and still make use of ChatGPT? I can write code and solve problems days faster than I used to now, but it seems kind of morally bankrupt of me to use this service which is so clearly putting the foundations it was built on out of business.

      41 votes
    5. Lifting discussion and resources

      We have the weekly fitness check-in but I thought it would be valuable to have a thread to discuss more specific lifting topics and resources. What type of programs do you gravitate towards? Do...

      We have the weekly fitness check-in but I thought it would be valuable to have a thread to discuss more specific lifting topics and resources.

      • What type of programs do you gravitate towards?
      • Do you compete in Powerlifting/Weightlifting/Strongman or some other discipline? Any upcoming meets worth watching?
      • Have you found any resources that others might be interested in?
      42 votes
    6. The Witcher (Season 3)

      The final three episodes have dropped from the third season of Netflix' The Witcher adaptation - also marking the final appearance of series lead Henry Cavill. So I reckon it may be ripe for some...

      The final three episodes have dropped from the third season of Netflix' The Witcher adaptation - also marking the final appearance of series lead Henry Cavill. So I reckon it may be ripe for some discussion (assuming sufficient interest exists amongst the community here).

      So, despite previous misgivings after a baffling second season and disappointingly bland third seasons thus far, I jumped straight into this finale out of respect for the very fine turn by Mr Cavill throughout. For context, earlier in the day I finished off the third book, Baptism of Fire, during my current re-read so I'm well ahead on plot and had text fresh in head. In S3's favour, indeed, the show runner's claims of hewing closer to the books is actually quite fair. In broad strokes, they have captured every major plot point, and generally in the correct order. But that's also the problem in some respects - the writers are evidently only focused on doing a pure plot adaptation. The book chapters, for reference, are quite long - roughly 50 pages apiece - with only 7-10 of them per novel, and often feature a juxtaposition of several perspectives throughout (a feat Sapkowski becomes ever more skillful at over time). But the key thing that's lost in translation is that each chapter generally has a clear idea or thematic element that ties everything together, i.e., Sapkowski always has something he wants to say, an idea he wants to get across, some comment on war, family, human nature, etc., and this gives an extra richness that underpins the plot elements driving everything forward. Not only that, Sapkowski quite enjoys playing off traditional Fantasy / mythological tropes and conventions and this humour has been completely shed by the show writers - likely an intentional move given what has emerged about their purported disdain for the source material.

      In short, I feel the writers are adapting the plot without an understanding of what makes the Witcher stand apart from the sea of other fantasy fiction, and, as a consequence, all of their original additions only wind up a detriment to the storytelling. Nevertheless, it was genuinely nice to see a few certain scenes on screen.

      15 votes
    7. Midweek Movie Free Talk

      Have you watched any movies recently you want to discuss? Any films 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 movies recently you want to discuss? Any films 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
    8. Commercial uses of bendalloy and cadmium mistings (inspired by Brandon Sanderson's 'The Lost Metal')

      Edit: Some context if you're unfamiliar with mistborn: A bend alloy misting (slider) can create a bubble where time moves faster. A cadmium misting (pulser) can create a bubble where time moves...

      Edit: Some context if you're unfamiliar with mistborn: A bend alloy misting (slider) can create a bubble where time moves faster. A cadmium misting (pulser) can create a bubble where time moves slower. These bubbles can't be moved, unless they're on an object of significant mass that is already moving, like a train. The civilisation in The Lost Metal is roughly in the industrial age.

      I was reading "The Lost Metal" and the newspaper ad after chapter 2 mentions hiring bend alloy mistings for a fast food restaurant. And I was thinking of more commercially profitable uses. Because fast food, wouldn't (I think) have sufficient margin to support consumption of bend alloy which is supposed to be expensive. So here are some ideas I had:

      • One idea I had was a CEO using a bend alloy misting to give them more hours in a day. Time for CEOs is already at a premium so giving them more I think would be economically worth it, but I don't know if they have anyone comparable to that in mistborn era 2.
      • I also think this would work for lawyers. I'm not sure how much a lawyer in Elendel gets paid but we do know they exist. In the real world sometimes lawyer bill for more than 24 hours a day (illegally)! But imagine if a lawyer could do that legitimately now. Maybe even 48 hours in a day!
      • An idea I had for cadmium mistings was to speed up travel. Maybe for rich people you could use a slider to get up time so that their train journey appears to them to go by really fast. But that might be counteracted by their circadian rhythm getting messed up.

      The following links contain some discussion on the usage of bend alloy and cadmium for commercial uses.
      https://www.reddit.com/r/Cosmere/comments/ajdsjh/practical_usage_of_powers/

      Some ideas mentioned there include using a slider in the waiting room of a hospital, or to preserve food, or to reduce the amount of food needed to support a siege, or to reduce the amount of supplies needed for Interstellar travel.

      What are some other ideas you have for how a pulser or slider could be used during that time period in a profitable manner?
      If you find other discussion online about these powers, please link them here.

      23 votes
    9. Weekly megathread for news/updates/discussion of Russian invasion of Ukraine - July 27

      This thread is posted weekly on Thursday - please try to post relevant content in here, such as news, updates, opinion articles, etc. Especially significant updates may warrant a separate topic,...

      This thread is posted weekly on Thursday - please try to post relevant content in here, such as news, updates, opinion articles, etc. Especially significant updates may warrant a separate topic, but most should be posted here.

      If you'd like to help support Ukraine, please visit the official site at https://help.gov.ua/ - an official portal for those who want to provide humanitarian or financial assistance to people of Ukraine, businesses or the government at the times of resistance against the Russian aggression.

      14 votes
    10. Has anyone watched the new Hayao Miyazaki movie ('Kimi-tachi wa Dō Ikiru ka', or 'The Boy and the Heron')?

      The question is for the tilderinoos from japan( cause the movie only released there till now,i think).Did you watch the new miyazaki movie Heron and the boy /How do you live. How was it and heard...

      The question is for the tilderinoos from japan( cause the movie only released there till now,i think).Did you watch the new miyazaki movie Heron and the boy /How do you live.
      How was it and heard it is different from his usual MO,If so how is it different?
      Also try to keep posts to no to low spoilers so as not to ruin it for the rest of us ,Thank you.
      I love ghibli movies and i for one can't wait to watch it when it releases here.Probably will do a ghibli studio marathon till i wait for this movie.
      Has anyone read "How do you live " by Yoshio Genzaburō or "The book of lost things" by John Connolly both said have been an influence for this movie?
      Should i read them before watching the film?

      13 votes
    11. IAMA 3rd year Ph.D. student researching the cell biology of the Rice Blast fungus, Magnaporthe oryzae, and preparing for my candidacy qualifying exam. AMA.

      Hi Tilders! I am new here, but my experience with the community thus far has encouraged me to post an AMA. I've specifically decided to post this AMA in ~talk rather than ~science for more...

      Hi Tilders! I am new here, but my experience with the community thus far has encouraged me to post an AMA. I've specifically decided to post this AMA in ~talk rather than ~science for more exposure, and because I am hoping to field questions ranging from scientifically well-read to less-read, technical to curious, why care to who cares, and everything in between.

      I won't be posting "verifying proof", because like many of you, I love my anonymity here. However, I will include peer-reviewed citations to question answers when I feel it necessary. I will do my best to share free-access articles, but this won't always be possible. If I link an article of interest to you that is paid-access, message me; maybe, I may be able to get a copy to you. Also, please be patient for my replies. Even though it is summer where I am, I am still busy in the lab and thoughtful responses take time.

      Here is a brief background on the Rice Blast fungus to help get the conversation started:

      Rice is an important staple food consumed by nearly half of the global population Khush. 2005. From 10 - 30% of the annual rice harvest is lost to disease caused by Magnaporthe oryzae, which is enough rice to feed greater than 60 million people Skamnioti and Gurr. 2009. To cause infection, a three-celled asexual spore called a conidium attaches to the rice plant's leaves, stems, and even roots. Once attached, a germ tube emerges from one of the three cells and grows along the surface of the plant. Hydrophobic molecules on the plant surface, called hydrophobins, induce a developmental change in the growing germ tube. The growing germ tube tip begins to form a dome-shaped structure called the appressorium. This specialized structure swells and generates up to 80 Mpa of pressure, enough to penetrate kevlar. A penetration peg penetrates the plant cell tissue, and bulbous invasive hyphae colonize the plant cell tissue. The fungus keeps the invaded plant cell alive, while it consumes its nutrients, with the plant cell dying only when the invading growth moves to an adjacent cell Cruz-Mireles et al. 2021. Schematic.

      The Rice Blast research community focuses on all stages of its development. My work is focused on nuclear division during different developmental stages, and I am specifically working on understanding which and how motor proteins are involved in nuclear division in this fungus. Understanding the nuclear dynamics and the involved machinery will hopefully open avenues for controlling the plant infection and reducing the global crop loss.

      I hope you all find Rice Blast interesting, and I hope I will be able to answer many interesting questions!

      40 votes