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    1. What have you been listening to this week?

      What have you been listening to this week? You don't need to do a 6000 word review if you don't want to, but please write something! If you've just picked up some music, please update on that as...

      What have you been listening to this week? You don't need to do a 6000 word review if you don't want to, but please write something! If you've just picked up some music, please update on that as well, we'd love to see your hauls :)

      Feel free to give recs or discuss anything about each others' listening habits.

      You can make a chart if you use last.fm:

      http://www.tapmusic.net/lastfm/

      Remember that linking directly to your image will update with your future listening, make sure to reupload to somewhere like imgur if you'd like it to remain what you have at the time of posting.

      17 votes
    2. Atlanta trip report - Thanks to everyone who gave advice

      So in spite of the heat and a couple of 2 hour downpours, we had a great trip to Atlanta Georgia. It started with some bad luck and a delay. We boarded the plane and were told after a few minutes...

      So in spite of the heat and a couple of 2 hour downpours, we had a great trip to Atlanta Georgia.

      It started with some bad luck and a delay. We boarded the plane and were told after a few minutes to return to the terminal. The official word was that the plane was mechanically unsound to fly, no details given. I'm glad they figured it out before we took off lol. It took approximately 3 hours before a new plane was available and ready, but that actually seems like good flexibility to me. It could have been much worse.

      I want to thank @eve, @stu2b50 and @oracle who encouraged me to see the aquarium. The sea life there was spectacular. The jellyfish and the live coral were beautiful and relaxing to watch. The balugas were funny. The hammerhead, the rays, the whale sharks and the sea turtles were all impressive. My regional aquarium in Monterey California has more science education incorporated into the exhibits, but the Atlanta collection is amazing to see. Also Atlanta has long steps that can be used as benches if you are tired or want to just sit and contemplate for a while. It was not cheap and there were a lot of people but I thoroughly enjoyed it.
      A couple of highlights.
      https://i.imgur.com/jdnyu6d.jpg
      https://i.imgur.com/3lSY78s.jpg

      We visited the Fernbank Museum of natural history. I have seen larger collections in other cities but I really appreciated a couple of things. One is that in the exhibit on culture, western european and anglosphere cultural artifacts were on display alongside artifacts from indigenous and nonwestern cultures that I am more used to see in museums. So a clerical collar was in the display case alongside religious regalia from around the world. High heeled shoes were in the same display case as foot binding shoes from China.

      The other fun thing about the Fernbank was that we arrived early and got into the interactive exhibits before the kids arrived. So I got to use compressed air to launch a rocket. I got to turn a crank on a sand table and simulate an earthquake. I got to play with electricity in a controlled, safe way. https://i.imgur.com/AjLkRsb.jpg

      The sight I had been planning to see from the moment I started planning this trip was the Carter Presidential library. I wanted to see the Carter Center also where they organize their humanitarian work but it isn't open to the public as far as I could tell. I had already read a biography of Carter, and what I learned about him on this trip did not seem surprising or noteworthy although still cool to learn. However I learned that his wife first lady Rosalynn Carter, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosalynn_Carter, made mental health her issue while in the White House and after. Thanks in large part to her political efforts, US health insurance companies were subjected to standards of 'parity' with regard to health care coverage of mental illness. Before this time, they were not required to cover mental health issues. I'm not saying they fully live up to what they should provide but it used to be worse and legal to just not offer coverage for mental health care.

      There is a farmers market right by the presidential library, so that was fun. I bought a small pastry with peach filling, like a turnover, that was quite good.

      The High museum happened to have a samurai exhibit which was large, diverse and interesting. It was a popular exhibit and I suspect it brought visitors to the museum who might not go just for the art. We saw some cool art and photography, but the samurai artifacts were the highlight for me. I took a lot of photos, but here are a couple.
      https://i.imgur.com/lHeAnez.jpg
      https://i.imgur.com/MvsjzB0.jpg

      We also visited the Atlanta history center which is large and interesting. They currently have an exhibit on Emmett Till. Although I knew the basic story, seeing the film with interviews from family members and seeing the difference between the story as reported by mainstream (white) newspapers and as reported by black newspapers at the time was sad and educational. In the Jim Crow South, one wolf whistle at a white woman by a black teenage boy could be and was in this case punished with death. He was visiting from Chicago. He had been told the rules, but hadn't been raised with them and probably didn't even realize that he was being reckless. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmett_Till

      One piece of Till's story I did not know was that his mother insisted on returning his body to Chicago and having an open casket funeral which was attended by a lot of people. This may have been one of the catalysts for the Civil Rights movement.

      The other noteworthy thing we saw at the Atlanta History Center was the Cyclorama, a huge painting in the round, depicting the battle for Atlanta. If you are interested in military history, I recommend it. It vividly conveys the experience.

      Re food, we found some excellent icecream at a shop off the Beltline called Jenni's, part of Krog st. Market. Also I ate the best biscuit of my life and was initiated into the grits breakfast experience at the Flying Biscuit. https://i.imgur.com/go9M5BW.jpg
      https://i.imgur.com/RyVbDGF.jpg

      The city itself is full of trees, which is pleasant. Aside from the heat, very good experience. Thanks again to everyone who gave advice.

      31 votes
    3. Are there politics in mathematics?

      Curious if there are movements within the governance or research pertaining to the field that act to promote or suppress certain ideas? Was watching the “Infinity explained in 5 different levels”...

      Curious if there are movements within the governance or research pertaining to the field that act to promote or suppress certain ideas? Was watching the “Infinity explained in 5 different levels” and thought… maybe there are trends for or against interpretations and/or abstractions that get a rise in people…

      33 votes
    4. Recommendations for iOS/macOS voice memo transcription

      Hey Tildes, I am wondering if anyone has any recommendations for a way to transcribe voice memos on iOS/macOS. I want to take up a weekly/daily/whatever journal, however, I felt it may be good for...

      Hey Tildes,

      I am wondering if anyone has any recommendations for a way to transcribe voice memos on iOS/macOS.

      I want to take up a weekly/daily/whatever journal, however, I felt it may be good for me to use the voice memos feature on my iPhone as I go on longer daily walks and I always have my phone on me. However, going back to look at old voice memos can be rather time consuming rather than just reading/skimming through a text version.

      The app can be paid or free. I am hoping to be able to export into multiple file types as well that I could open on any device I really want.

      7 votes
    5. Fitness Weekly Discussion

      What have you been doing lately for your own fitness? Try out any new programs or exercises? Have any questions for others about your training? Want to vent about poor behavior in the gym? Started...

      What have you been doing lately for your own fitness? Try out any new programs or exercises? Have any questions for others about your training? Want to vent about poor behavior in the gym? Started a new diet or have a new recipe you want to share? Anything else health and wellness related?

      12 votes
    6. Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of August 7

      This thread is posted weekly - please try to post all relevant US political content in here, such as news, updates, opinion articles, etc. Extremely significant events may warrant a separate...

      This thread is posted weekly - please try to post all relevant US political content in here, such as news, updates, opinion articles, etc. Extremely significant events may warrant a separate topic, but almost all should be posted in here.

      This is an inherently political thread; please try to avoid antagonistic arguments and bickering matches. Comment threads that devolve into unproductive arguments may be removed so that the overall topic is able to continue.

      16 votes
    7. Suggestions for a good math epub reader on Windows?

      I have tried Calibre & SumatraPDF, I was so excited for Calibre until it never worked properly on the one textbook I needed. For example, whenever I went to the next page it would stall on loading...

      I have tried Calibre & SumatraPDF, I was so excited for Calibre until it never worked properly on the one textbook I needed. For example, whenever I went to the next page it would stall on loading forever, and this is apparently a known issue that's [according to the posts I read from the owner] caused by a graphics driver that I'm not interested in delving into just to read an ebook.

      The ebook itself is pretty large with a lot of mathematical equations and images, but nothing my computer should be stalling on. The issue with SumatraPDF is that it can't seem to render the mathematical equations properly, and I couldn't find any simple way to load them without having to do more work.

      5 votes
    8. Bruce Lee feared the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times. What would be your one kick?

      Mine is this: Run up, swing your left leg behind you while popping up with your right angle into a corkscrewing front flip. Pull your right leg and kick into the opponents temple at a 45 degree...

      Mine is this:

      Run up, swing your left leg behind you while popping up with your right angle into a corkscrewing front flip. Pull your right leg and kick into the opponents temple at a 45 degree angle before landing on your left leg and spinning a full 360 before standing up facing the opposite direction, and walk away.

      I'm probably never using that in a fight but it'd be a cool party trick.

      34 votes