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    1. How frequently does vscode save dirty files?

      trying to settle on a program where I can jot down stuff and have some degree of confidence that it will persist and I can't seem to find any actual documentation from vs code as to: How often...

      trying to settle on a program where I can jot down stuff and have some degree of confidence that it will persist and I can't seem to find any actual documentation from vs code as to:

      1. How often unsaved files are saved so that they can be restored when a session is reopened
      2. if that frequency of how often they are saved can be configured?

      Sidenote: I was going to ask this question on SO but apparently I am at risk of a question ban for not asking "good quality questions". Half my questions on there are from when I was a fresh developer and didn't really know how to articulate my questions well. Really changes my opinion of the openness of SO......

      5 votes
    2. Does anyone have any advice for new dads?

      I'm going to be a father soon. This kid was very much planned, and I've been pretty involved every step of the way, yet it still feels bizarre to say that out loud. At 26 (27 when the kid is...

      I'm going to be a father soon. This kid was very much planned, and I've been pretty involved every step of the way, yet it still feels bizarre to say that out loud. At 26 (27 when the kid is born), I don't feel like a kid, but in some ways, I'm not sure I feel mature enough for parenthood.

      I'm not too worried about the immediate logistical practicalities of parenthood. Things like how to clean, feed, and physically handle a newborn are things I can learn and seem fairly straightforward. Regarding what to get, I live within walking distance of a fairly well known baby supply store, so I figure I can just buy things as the need arises. I'm expecting that first month to be hard, but after I "figure out" the kid, I'm sure it'll be manageable. My folks did it, their folks did it, I'm sure I can do it too.

      I guess what I'm really dwelling on is the more abstract aspects of fatherhood. I don't know what to expect and I don't really know what I don't know. What does it feel like? How should I prioritize my life? How do I figure out what's important and what isn't? I want to do what's best for the kid, but what does that even mean? How much is expecting too much from the kid? My wife wants the kid to be able to speak Russian, naturally, I want the kid to be able to speak English, and living in Japan, the kid will also have to pick up Japanese. Is that going to stunt the kid? I have so many questions and no one to really ask. I asked my own dad about it and all he said was something along the lines of "every kid is different, it might take a bit of time to really sink in that you're a dad" and that was that.

      A bit of background about my situation:
      On one hand, I'm in an okay place. I have a house with a very affordable mortgage, a modest, but stable career, and I live in a very safe part of Japan, which offers a lot of support for new parents. On the other hand, both my wife and I are thousands of miles from our respective families, so we're pretty much on our own and neither of are as fluent in the local language as we'd like to be.

      35 votes
    3. What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga)

      What have you been watching and reading this week? 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 week? 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!

      8 votes
    4. 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.

      3 votes
    5. What's a life lesson you've applied that has changed your life?

      When I was about 18 years old, I had a philosophy class where the teacher said this quote: "Things over which you do not have power should not have power over you." It could also be read as...

      When I was about 18 years old, I had a philosophy class where the teacher said this quote: "Things over which you do not have power should not have power over you." It could also be read as "control the things you control, ignore the rest".

      That lesson really spoke to me. I put a lot of effort integrating it into my personality and I must say now, almost 15 years later, it made my life so much more enjoyable.

      I used to get mad, really mad about stuff or get stressed about stuff out of my control, and I could never really remove those feelings. These words kept coming back to me and through some effort, I must say that I can more or less apply them in my everyday life now. It saved me a lot of trouble on various situations and has helped me break through problems way faster than I would have in the past, simply by helping me identify the things I could change and focus on those things.

      I'm curious about you guys and your life stories. Has any lesson had as much impact on your life?

      85 votes
    6. Offbeat Fridays – The thread where offbeat headlines become front page news

      Tildes is a very serious site, where we discuss very serious matters like psychology, france and bitcoin mining. Tags culled from the highest voted topics from the last seven days, if anyone was...

      Tildes is a very serious site, where we discuss very serious matters like psychology, france and bitcoin mining. Tags culled from the highest voted topics from the last seven days, if anyone was observant.

      But one of my favourite tags happens to be offbeat! Taking its original inspiration from Sir Nils Olav III, this thread is looking for any far-fetched offbeat stories lurking in the newspapers. It may not deserve its own post, but it deserves a wider audience!

      10 votes
    7. Things to look for while suit shopping?

      I love fashion and all things streetwear and sneakers, but I have a blind spot when it comes to suits and tuxedos. I don't need to ever dress formally at work since I work in tech, but I'm also at...

      I love fashion and all things streetwear and sneakers, but I have a blind spot when it comes to suits and tuxedos. I don't need to ever dress formally at work since I work in tech, but I'm also at the age where I need to have suits for weddings and such.

      I currently have a pretty nice dark grey suit that I bought for a couple of weddings a couple of years ago, but I need to go suit shopping again for just a normal black suit for upcoming weddings. Anyone have anything they look for specifically? I have an appointment at Suit Supply later tonight, but wanted to go in knowing a bit more!

      24 votes
    8. 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!

      7 votes
    9. Seasonal hobbies: What are your summer/winter hobbies?

      What are some hobbies you do specifically when during this time of year (whether it's your summer or winter)? And what do you do in the opposite season? When I'm home, summer is when I do some...

      What are some hobbies you do specifically when during this time of year (whether it's your summer or winter)? And what do you do in the opposite season?

      When I'm home, summer is when I do some light woodworking projects. Currently I need to finish a shadowbox that will be illuminated with LED strip lights. I also have to finish a bat house that needs a little more work before I can do a final assembly and install it on a post.

      I don't really have any specific hobbies for the winter, besides crushing my music backlog while reading, so I'm interested to see what other people do.


      I was intending on posting this before the season actually started, but here we are. :)

      17 votes
    10. Any experts on electrophoretic lacquer here? Need some help in sourcing a high quality lacquer.

      Need to apply lacquer on a mild steel product that is zinc plated and has some vibratory surface polishing on top of it, which wears the zinc down a bit. Need to pass 500 hours on a British...

      Need to apply lacquer on a mild steel product that is zinc plated and has some vibratory surface polishing on top of it, which wears the zinc down a bit.

      Need to pass 500 hours on a British Standard salt spray test (BS EN ISO 9227: 2017)

      If anyone has any sources on a good lacquer supplier please let me know. Tried one by LVH coatings but it didn't pass more than 300 hours.

      12 votes
    11. Midweek Movie Free Talk

      Warning: this post may contain spoilers

      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.

      8 votes
    12. What's your recommended survival crafting game to play solo?

      Basically the title. I think I've come to accept that as basic as it sounds, this is one of my favorite genres. The issue I frequently run into is that so many of them are designed around PvP and...

      Basically the title. I think I've come to accept that as basic as it sounds, this is one of my favorite genres.

      The issue I frequently run into is that so many of them are designed around PvP and / or Co-Op. Like ARK, I love the idea, but most of the mechanics are for PvP servers, which I have zero interest in.

      Funny enough I'm not too into true survival games (Green Hell, The Forest), as I kinda enjoy the whole "Combine iron with two sticks and make an automatic weapon" progression of other games in the genre.

      Obviously I've played Minecraft & Terraria, but also Subnautica, Palworld, Satisfactory (sort of counts), and NMS and enjoyed all of those.

      Project Zomboid seems like it has too steep of a learning curve for me to get into.

      I tried Astroneer, but the utter lack of base building and organization drove me up the wall.

      EDIT: Forgot V Rising, which I also enjoyed solo, but it's definitely built with a PvP server in mind, which kind of makes progression in solo feel like you're aiming for a goal that doesn't exist.

      I appreciate everyone's suggestions, I think I may give Raft or Project Zomboid a go.

      34 votes
    13. Perspective request: What would a healthy family do during serious physical/mental health events?

      What would your family do? What would a normal, healthy, supportive family do? (If different) Hypothetical situation 1: Two family members have had a major accident. No threat to their lives, some...

      What would your family do? What would a normal, healthy, supportive family do? (If different)

      Hypothetical situation 1:

      Two family members have had a major accident. No threat to their lives, some internal organ damage, some broken bones, not much other info is know. One of them is awake and can call/text for info, the other is in/out of surgeries and in ICU for the first two days.

      A) immediately family drops everything and fly to their destination right away?

      B) extended family do so?

      C) discuss and send one person to go right away. Then discuss to arrange for longer term recovery + rehab care after hospital discharge

      D) nothing, combo, or other ?

      Hypothetical situation 2:

      Family member is "not doing well", eg, mental health. Probably"moderate" level of suicide risk: no immediate plans, some reservations about morality and how devastated their partner would be, but constant ideation and philosophically don't see why not. CPTSD with more recent triggers of job loss and moving from away from a socially unsafe situation. Has entirely dropped out of communication with family. Their partner is reachable by phone or email or text and says the family member is not doing well at all and has ceased all outside of home activities such as getting mail, buying groceries, filling up the car or anything that involves other human beings.

      What would a normal family do?

      27 votes
    14. What programming/technical projects have you been working on?

      This is a recurring post to discuss programming or other technical projects that we've been working on. Tell us about one of your recent projects, either at work or personal projects. What's...

      This is a recurring post to discuss programming or other technical projects that we've been working on. Tell us about one of your recent projects, either at work or personal projects. What's interesting about it? Are you having trouble with anything?

      20 votes
    15. Recipes and meal planning for uncommon dietary restrictions

      Some backstory, in case it provides useful context for this question. I was diagnosed with gastroparesis more than 10 years ago. Gastroparesis doesn't have a ton of treatment options, and...
      Some backstory, in case it provides useful context for this question.

      I was diagnosed with gastroparesis more than 10 years ago. Gastroparesis doesn't have a ton of treatment options, and "lifestyle changes" are one of the big things required to at least manage symptoms. Recommendations for a gastroparesis friendly diet are to limit fiber, limit fat, limit alcohol, eat very small meals frequently instead of a few larger meals, cook the heck out of things, puree things, etc (basically, do what you can to minimize the work your stomach will have to do).

      After my initial diagnosis I got fairly good at modifying standard recipes to accommodate my restrictions (though there are still some things I just avoid completely, like corn and kale). So even though it was a little extra work, I could mostly adjust standard meal prep and recipe ideas to work for me.

      Recently though, I've had some new health issues occur that have resulted in a couple of other digestive issues (among them fructose intolerance and fructan intolerance) that further restrict my diet and suddenly my options are way more limited. I'm reaching out to a dietician, but honestly a lot of these things are mostly treated with (organized) trial and error, so the more information and tools I have at my disposal, the better.


      I was wondering what people use for finding recipes and meal planning when they have less "standard" dietary restrictions. I find that a lot of these tools have options for vegetarians, vegans, paleo diet, keto diet, low carb; or for common allergens like peanuts and soy. But I haven't found a way to limit more specific things (especially things, like fiber, that are generally regarded as beneficial, or things, like fructose, that are everywhere). I suppose just manually searching for and then looking through a bunch of recipes is an option, but that can also be challenging given that nutritional information on recipes isn't always complete. I would appreciate any ideas or suggestions that people have for this sort of thing because I like to eat but right now food is making me very sad.


      (also sorry if ~health was a better place to put this, I wasn't sure exactly where it should go)

      13 votes
    16. TV Tuesdays Free Talk

      Warning: this post may contain spoilers

      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.

      6 votes
    17. 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.

      9 votes
    18. Formula 1 British Grand Prix 2024 - Results

      Warning: this post may contain spoilers

      What a race -- Silverstone delivers, again!

      Due to the bouts of rain, it was definitely a race centered around tire and pit stategy. Friends and I were constantly analyzing the tires changes.

      Congrats to Lewis Hamilton for P1! 9th victory at Silverstone, and first win in like 2.5yrs. He's not "my" driver, but it's hard to not be happy for him for him! I thought McLaren was going to get the 1-2, but McLaren strategy shit the bed, hard. Just goes to show that speed isn't always everything (unless the team is Mercedes pre-2021).

      Checo did not get his amazing performance, which was expected starting from the pitlane, but I imagine he was still valuable by providing data to the team for Max. So that's something. Though I was a little perplexed with Ferrari and Leclerc. At one point Leclerc was right next to Sainz in the Top 10. Then Leclerc pitted too early and never recovered. Maybe just poor strategy. As usual.

      Anyway, triple header is over -- Two weeks til Hungary.

      Off-topic, but there's an IndyCar race today as well. First showing of their new hybrid engines.

      Also, thank you to @EmperorPenguin for posting the Austrian post-race discussion last week.

      Next race:

      Hungarian Grand Prix
      Hungaroring
      Sunday, July 21

      Provisional Race Results -- SPOILER
      POS NO DRIVER CAR LAPS TIME/RETIRED PTS
      1 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 52 1:22:27.059 25
      2 1 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT 52 +1.465s 18
      3 4 Lando Norris MCLAREN MERCEDES 52 +7.547s 15
      4 81 Oscar Piastri MCLAREN MERCEDES 52 +12.429s 12
      5 55 Carlos Sainz FERRARI 52 +47.318s 11
      6 27 Nico Hulkenberg HAAS FERRARI 52 +55.722s 8
      7 18 Lance Stroll ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES 52 +56.569s 6
      8 14 Fernando Alonso ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES 52 +63.577s 4
      9 23 Alexander Albon WILLIAMS MERCEDES 52 +68.387s 2
      10 22 Yuki Tsunoda RB HONDA RBPT 52 +79.303s 1
      11 2 Logan Sargeant WILLIAMS MERCEDES 52 +88.960s 0
      12 20 Kevin Magnussen HAAS FERRARI 52 +90.153s 0
      13 3 Daniel Ricciardo RB HONDA RBPT 51 +1 lap 0
      14 16 Charles Leclerc FERRARI 51 +1 lap 0
      15 77 Valtteri Bottas KICK SAUBER FERRARI 51 +1 lap 0
      16 31 Esteban Ocon ALPINE RENAULT 50 +2 laps 0
      17 11 Sergio Perez RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT 50 +2 laps 0
      18 24 Zhou Guanyu KICK SAUBER FERRARI 50 +2 laps 0
      NC 63 George Russell MERCEDES 33 DNF 0
      NC 10 Pierre Gasly ALPINE RENAULT 0 DNF 0

      Fastest Lap: Carlos Sainz

      Source: F1.com

      Since we're halfway through the season -- though still not at the summer break -- I'll post the WCC and WDC as well.

      World Drivers Championship Standings -- SPOILER
      POS DRIVER NATIONALITY CAR PTS
      1 Max Verstappen NED RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT 255
      2 Lando Norris GBR MCLAREN MERCEDES 171
      3 Charles Leclerc MON FERRARI 150
      4 Carlos Sainz ESP FERRARI 146
      5 Oscar Piastri AUS MCLAREN MERCEDES 124
      6 Sergio Perez MEX RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT 118
      7 George Russell GBR MERCEDES 111
      8 Lewis Hamilton GBR MERCEDES 110
      9 Fernando Alonso ESP ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES 45
      10 Lance Stroll CAN ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES 23
      11 Nico Hulkenberg GER HAAS FERRARI 22
      12 Yuki Tsunoda JPN RB HONDA RBPT 20
      13 Daniel Ricciardo AUS RB HONDA RBPT 11
      14 Oliver Bearman GBR FERRARI 6
      15 Pierre Gasly FRA ALPINE RENAULT 6
      16 Kevin Magnussen DEN HAAS FERRARI 5
      17 Alexander Albon THA WILLIAMS MERCEDES 4
      18 Esteban Ocon FRA ALPINE RENAULT 3
      19 Zhou Guanyu CHN KICK SAUBER FERRARI 0
      20 Logan Sargeant USA WILLIAMS MERCEDES 0
      21 Valtteri Bottas FIN KICK SAUBER FERRARI 0

      Source: F1.com

      World Constructors Championship Standings -- SPOILER
      POS TEAM PTS
      1 RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT 373
      2 FERRARI 302
      3 MCLAREN MERCEDES 295
      4 MERCEDES 221
      5 ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES 68
      6 RB HONDA RBPT 31
      7 HAAS FERRARI 27
      8 ALPINE RENAULT 9
      9 WILLIAMS MERCEDES 4
      10 KICK SAUBER FERRARI 0

      Source: F1.com

      24 votes
    19. Your favorite deeply unpopular music

      I've got a few albums and songs that feel like they were made just for me, simply because they are obscure. Freedom by M-Fuge/Centrifuge - An album produced in the late 90s for a single year's...

      I've got a few albums and songs that feel like they were made just for me, simply because they are obscure.

      • Freedom by M-Fuge/Centrifuge - An album produced in the late 90s for a single year's program of Southern Baptist summer camps - one I didn't even attend. It's got some pretty simple but surprisingly well produced praise music. I don't believe in God, but it's a good comforting listen to me.

      • They Eat Their Own - The one and only album from the very short lived band of the same name. Full of 90s grungepunk rock. Includes "Like a Drug", which actually was very briefly popular, but the rest of the songs in the album clearly didn't get the same level of attention that that song got. But the roughness is kind of appealing in it's own way.

      • The entire discography of Cool Cavemen - Once again, another band that was popular enough to get signed with a record label, and actually released a few albums. They still make the list because as hard as it is to get people to listen to Funk/Rock fusion music, it's even harder to get them to listen to French music, even when their best songs are in English. I almost didn't bring them up because they're still big enough to make it onto Spotify.

      I've got tons more I could talk about that are much more obscure, but they're not quite on the same scale and quite a bit more niche. Just take a look at the last album I purchased on Bandcamp.

      How about you? What's some music that you like that nobody else in the world seems to be aware of?

      39 votes
    20. Please convince me to like Fallout 76, I beg you

      I picked this thing up in a Steam sale at 75% off after having avoided it like contagious illness since launch, reasoning to myself that for a cost of about £7.99 it'd still pay for itself through...

      I picked this thing up in a Steam sale at 75% off after having avoided it like contagious illness since launch, reasoning to myself that for a cost of about £7.99 it'd still pay for itself through sheer amount of content.

      And content is what I got, all right. Nebulous, homogenous, thoroughly unexceptional content. My experience has been, more or less:

      • Find the three unmarked items in this room and craft them into a parcel, then deliver that to another settlement.
      • Pick up and listen to countless audio tapes made by people long-dead and never particularly captivating when they were still alive.
      • Boil some water.
      • Read through reams of discarded notes about the daily minutiae of life in Shitsville.
      • Grill some steak to go with that water.
      • Slowly feel your initial interest fade as it dawns on you that this isn't a story, this is what somebody thought constituted lore.
      • Realise that some people paid up to £59.99 to do this on launch day, while the fanfiction on AO3 is free.
      • Struggle to see the landscape, and enemies, through the film of clown vomit that is the Gamebryo engine's gasping attempts to render lighting effects and shadows that aren't pixellated.
      • Shoot at enemies who move in fits and starts, or not at all, in response to your presence.
      • Shoot at them again because the lag means you can't be sure if the first shot connected.
      • Question what you're doing with your life.
      • Christ, shoot him again, he's still dancing. - Re-level your wobbly desk leg.
      • Stare in wonderment at a game which is somehow uglier, and runs worse, than Fallout 4.
      • Appreciate a passing three-headed opossum.
      • Check out the pop-up for the overpriced store, which is the first thing you see every time you log in.

      I thought I'd at least enjoy exploring the wilderness of a new location full of fresh landmarks, enemies and particularly cryptids (none of them yet), but I think I might've already checked out in a matter of days. I just...don't care. This is the least compelling Fallout game I think I've ever played. I can't imagine how bad this must have been on launch.

      And the Camp UI is an absolutely headache-inducing abomination.

      Anyway, do you think I can still get my money's worth? Can this be saved?

      Are there...mods???

      27 votes
    21. Help my wife decide about AJ & Smart

      My wife is thinking about signing up for the Master Workshopper program from AJ & Smart. It’s a relatively big financially decision so I thought I would pass along some of her initial thoughts and...

      My wife is thinking about signing up for the Master Workshopper program from AJ & Smart. It’s a relatively big financially decision so I thought I would pass along some of her initial thoughts and questions here in the hopes anyone had some experience with this program either personally or just anecdotally.

      Hey everyone,

      I'm thinking about signing up for the Master Workshopper program from AJ & Smart and would love to hear from anyone who's already gone through it. If you've done it, I'd really appreciate your thoughts!

      Here’s what I’m curious about:

      1	Quality of Content: Is the material solid and up-to-date?
      
      2	Instructors: How are the instructors? Do they make the content engaging and clear?
      
      3	Practical Application: Were you able to use what you learned right away in your work?
      
      4	Community and Networking: How’s the community aspect? Did you make any good connections?
      
      5	Value for Money: Do you think it was worth the investment? Why or why not?
      
      6	Career Impact: Has it made a difference in your career or skills?
      

      Any other thoughts or experiences you can share would be awesome too!

      Thanks a lot for your help!

      15 votes
    22. Movie of the Week #37 - Mission: Impossible - Fallout

      Warning: this post may contain spoilers

      Next up of blockbusters is Mission: Impossible - Fallout from 2018 which made $791 million at the box office. Second M:I film directed by Christopher McQuarrie.

      IMDb
      Letterboxd
      Wikipedia

      Is this a proper blockbuster with all that entails? Any thoughts on the franchise in general?


      The rest of the schedule is:

      • 15th: Snatch
      • 22nd: Barbie
      • 29th: Edge of Tomorrow
      5 votes
    23. The most profound cosmic horror or weird lit stories you've read that are not Lovecraft or Ligotti

      There are two relevant passages that signal what I mean when I used the word profound. The first is about Lovecraft. The universe of modern science engendered a profounder horror in Lovecraft’s...

      There are two relevant passages that signal what I mean when I used the word profound. The first is about Lovecraft.

      The universe of modern science engendered a profounder horror in Lovecraft’s writings than that stemming from its tremendous distances and its highly probably alien and powerful non-human inhabitants. For the chief reason that man fears the universe revealed by materialistic science is that it is a purposeless, soulless place. To quote Lovecraft’s “The Silver Key”, man can hardly bear the realization that “the blind cosmos grinds aimlessly on from nothing to something and from something back to nothing again, neither heeding nor knowing the wishes or existence of the minds that flicker for a second now and then in the darkness.”

      Fritz Leiber, “A Literary Copernicus”, 1949

      The second is by weird lit author Thomas Ligotti. I think it describes a certain kind of sensation I get from his stories.

      In the literature of supernatural horror, a familiar storyline is that of a character who encounters a paradox in the flesh, so to speak, and must face down or collapse in horror before this ontological perversion —something which should not be, and yet is. Most fabled as specimens of a living paradox are the "undead," those walking cadavers greedy for an eternal presence on earth. But whether their existence should go on unendingly or be cut short by a stake in the heart is not germane to the matter at hand. What is exceedingly material resides in the supernatural horror that such beings could exist in their impossible way for an instant. Other examples of paradox and supernatural horror congealing together are inanimate things guilty of infractions against their nature. Perhaps the most outstanding instance of this phenomenon is a puppet that breaks free of its strings and becomes self-mobilized.

      […]

      Whether or not there really are manifestations of the supernatural, they are horrifying to us in concept, since we think ourselves to be living in a natural world, which may be a festival of massacres but only in a physical rather than a metaphysical purport. This is why we routinely equate the supernatural with horror. And a puppet possessed of life would exemplify just such a horror, because it would negate all conceptions of a natural physicalism and affirm a metaphysics of chaos and nightmare. It would still be a puppet, but it would be a puppet with a mind and a will, a human puppet—a paradox more disruptive of sanity than the undead. But that is not how they would see it. Human puppets could not conceive of themselves as being puppets at all, not when they are fixed with a consciousness that excites in them the unshakable sense of being singled out from all other objects in creation. Once you begin to feel you are making a go of it on your own—that you are making moves and thinking thoughts which seem to have originated within you—it is not possible for you to believe you are anything but your own master.

      Thomas Ligotti, “The Conspiracy Against the Human Race”, 2010

      I think these passages illustrate the rich philosophical subtext that is found in the said authors' work. I'm looking for other cosmic horror or weird lit stories that evoke a sense of profoundness or philosophical deepness.

      43 votes
    24. Do any Tilderinos play Flesh and Blood the TCG?

      Flesh and Blood is a trading card game (think Yugioh, Magic: the Gathering, Pokemon, etc) which only launched in 2020 but has been rapidly gaining popularity across the world. If you’re familiar...

      Flesh and Blood is a trading card game (think Yugioh, Magic: the Gathering, Pokemon, etc) which only launched in 2020 but has been rapidly gaining popularity across the world.

      If you’re familiar with other trading card games, this has some key differences in the pace of the games. Usually, players have limited resources to begin with, and build up resources throughout the game. In FaB, however, players start at their strongest with the most access to resources, and slowly exhaust these resources as the game goes on.

      I played MtG casually for a bit over a decade, and I have a number of friends who all enjoy the Commander format. I never had the skills or budget to play in tournaments, but that’s never been my thing anyway.

      I’m just curious if there are many other players here on Tildes.

      If you play, which classes or heroes to you prefer? What do you think of the way the game has been managed so far? Do you play casually or are you more ambitious than that? Do you play online or do you stick to exclusively in-person games? How did you get into the game, did you play other TCGs before or is FaB your first foray?

      8 votes
    25. Tildes Book Club - 2024 summer schedule

      Following this month's discussion of the Dispossessed, we are set up for Project Hail Mary towards the end of June. After that we will discuss Ocean at the End of the Lane at the end of July,...

      Following this month's discussion of the Dispossessed, we are set up for Project Hail Mary towards the end of June. After that we will discuss Ocean at the End of the Lane at the end of July, Small Gods at the end of August and This is How You Lose the Time War at the end of September.

      I look forward to reading with you.

      23 votes
    26. Can I have some advice on the neural net I've been working on?

      Apologies if this isn't an appropriate place to post this. Inspired by a paper I found a while back (https://publications.lib.chalmers.se/records/fulltext/215545/local_215545.pdf), I tried my hand...

      Apologies if this isn't an appropriate place to post this.

      Inspired by a paper I found a while back (https://publications.lib.chalmers.se/records/fulltext/215545/local_215545.pdf), I tried my hand at implementing a program (in C#) to create ASCII art from an image. It works pretty well, but like they observed in the paper, it's pretty slow to compare every tile to 90-some glyphs. In the paper, they make a decision tree to replicate this process at a faster speed.

      Recently, I revisited this. I thought I'd try making a neural net, since I found the idea interesting. I've watched some videos on neural nets, and refreshed myself on my linear algebra, and I think I've gotten pretty close. That said, I feel like there's something I'm missing (especially given the fact that the loss isn't really decreasing). I think my problem is specifically during backpropagation.

      Here is a link to the TrainAsync method in GitHub: https://github.com/bendstein/ImageToASCII/blob/1c2e2260f5d4cfb45443fac8737566141f5eff6e/LibI2A/Converter/NNConverter.cs#L164C59-L164C69. The forward and backward propagation methods are below it.

      If anyone can give me any feedback or advice on what I might be missing, I'd really appreciate it.

      14 votes
    27. Does anybody know why transactions don't include metadata about the products bought?

      It's 2024 if I remember correctly and budgeting is a fairly common practice. Companies are obsessed with data. Yet when I got to the store and buy a videogame, dap drywall joint compount, and 3...

      It's 2024 if I remember correctly and budgeting is a fairly common practice. Companies are obsessed with data. Yet when I got to the store and buy a videogame, dap drywall joint compount, and 3 avocados the transactions is just the store and the amount. It'd be nice if I could track what I've been buying, categories them into entertainment, home improvement, and groceries respectively.

      I'm guessing this information actually is tracked but is only used for marketing purposes. But I'm curious, does anyone have more information on why transactions can't at least optionally support extra metadata about what was actually bought?

      19 votes
    28. Movie of the Week #32 - The Wicker Man

      Warning: this post may contain spoilers

      We begin June with Robin Hardy's The Wicker Man from 1973 which is now considered a horror cult classic.

      IMDb
      Letterboxd
      Wikipedia

      Since this is the month of horror movies, did you find it scary, unsettling, creepy, eerie, spooky or horrifying?


      The rest of the schedule for June is:

      • 10th: Ravenous (1999)
      • 17th: X (2022)
      • 24th: The Exorcist (1973)
      6 votes
    29. Offbeat Fridays – The thread where offbeat headlines become front page news

      Tildes is a very serious site, where we discuss very serious matters like supreme court.us, liberalism and kei cars. Tags culled from the highest voted topics from the last seven days, if anyone...

      Tildes is a very serious site, where we discuss very serious matters like supreme court.us, liberalism and kei cars. Tags culled from the highest voted topics from the last seven days, if anyone was a nosey parker.

      But one of my favourite tags happens to be offbeat! Taking its original inspiration from Sir Nils Olav III, this thread is looking for any far-fetched offbeat stories lurking in the newspapers. It may not deserve its own post, but it deserves a wider audience!

      13 votes
    30. Most reliable privacy-conscious notes app?

      as the title indicates, I am in search of a reliable privacy-conscious notes app, I have tried the following which have the indicated bugs that I frequently experience and make the notes app feel...

      as the title indicates, I am in search of a reliable privacy-conscious notes app, I have tried the following which have the indicated bugs that I frequently experience and make the notes app feel unreliable or just too inconvenient:

      1. NextCloud Notes:
      • https://github.com/nextcloud/notes/issues/1187
      • bug is that sometimes I have to rename a note 2-3 times in the browser for it to take
      • bug where the pop-up menu doesn't go away after favoriting a note
      • and the nextcloud android app has its own slew of issues
      1. StandardNotes app: I remember the app being really buggy on Firefox to the point where I had to regularly use Brave just for that app.
      32 votes
    31. What can be done about the Supreme Court of the United States?

      I'm pitching this question out to Tildes because I'm drawing a blank. It feels like we have seen an absolute stripping of our rights and unbridled support for large, private capital in the past...

      I'm pitching this question out to Tildes because I'm drawing a blank. It feels like we have seen an absolute stripping of our rights and unbridled support for large, private capital in the past week; and I'm unsure of how to respond. Considering the scale of impact these rulings will have on every US citizen's day to day life, things are surprisingly quiet. I'm wondering how other folks are thinking about mobilizing - be it through protest, outreach to representatives, or civil disobedience. It doesn't feel like there is a wave of ire. At least in my circles, there are no protests like the Women's March or BLM. There has been no response from my local representatives in congress or state senators. It's just eerie radio silence.

      Is anyone else feeling this way? Has anyone joined or developed some sort of response to what is happening?

      83 votes
    32. 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?

      4 votes
    33. What are the most effective ways to help get Joe Biden re-elected in the US?

      So I'm kind of terrified by recent political news. What can I do to help? Options include: Donating Phone banking Text banking Postcarding Door knocking Volunteering as an election worker Does...

      So I'm kind of terrified by recent political news. What can I do to help?

      Options include:

      • Donating
      • Phone banking
      • Text banking
      • Postcarding
      • Door knocking
      • Volunteering as an election worker

      Does anyone have an informed opinion about which of these will actually move the needle and which ones just make you feel like you're doing something?

      48 votes
    34. What considerations are considered most persuasive in moving moral skeptics to moral objectivism?

      I've found error theory, emotivism, etc. quite compelling, but I noticed that most philosophers are moral realists, though PhilPapers doesn't ask specifically about moral objectivism. As a...

      I've found error theory, emotivism, etc. quite compelling, but I noticed that most philosophers are moral realists, though PhilPapers doesn't ask specifically about moral objectivism. As a non-philosopher, I feel that there may be considerations that I haven't come across. The SEP entry seems a bit lacking to me considering it's just a supplement to the entry on moral anti-realism, and there doesn't seem to be an IEP entry specifically focused on moral objectivism, just a tiny section in the entry on moral realism.

      17 votes
    35. Funny, crazy and silly mods

      Just a random thought as a friend browses Nexus Mods. What are some of the funniest, craziest and wildest mods you've come across? I see plenty of talk about QoL mods and the like, but I feel like...

      Just a random thought as a friend browses Nexus Mods. What are some of the funniest, craziest and wildest mods you've come across? I see plenty of talk about QoL mods and the like, but I feel like there's a lot of fun stories to be had with forgetting you modded some enemy to look like the Cookie Monster or custom weapons that shoot fish.

      30 votes
    36. 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!

      4 votes
    37. What creative projects have you been working on?

      This topic is part of a series. It is meant to be a place for users to discuss creative projects they have been working on. Projects can be personal, professional, physical, digital, or even just...

      This topic is part of a series. It is meant to be a place for users to discuss creative projects they have been working on.

      Projects can be personal, professional, physical, digital, or even just ideas.

      If you have any creative projects that you have been working on or want to eventually work on, this is a place for discussing those.

      9 votes
    38. US Soccer fails to deliver

      Carli Lloyd & Alexi Lalas react I've can't with the USMNT anymore. I have been so invested with the team over the years but US Soccer has one consistent failure after another. Yesterday after the...

      Carli Lloyd & Alexi Lalas react
      I've can't with the USMNT anymore. I have been so invested with the team over the years but US Soccer has one consistent failure after another. Yesterday after the failed Copa America campaign to tune back into what others are saying and once again I hear the same thing: US Soccer isn't going to change and stay the course! So there you have it everyone! Wondering what folks outside the USA think about our situation, what do you recommend or change if you could?

      17 votes
    39. Tildes Video Thread

      Find yourself watching tons of great videos on [insert chosen video sharing platform], but also find yourself reluctant to flood the Tildes front page with them? Then this thread is for you. It...

      Find yourself watching tons of great videos on [insert chosen video sharing platform], but also find yourself reluctant to flood the Tildes front page with them? Then this thread is for you.

      It could be one quirky video that you feel deserves some eyeballs on it, or perhaps you've got a curated list of videos that you'd love to talk us through...

      Share some of the best video content you've watched this past week/fortnight with us!

      15 votes
    40. Midweek Movie Free Talk

      Warning: this post may contain spoilers

      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.

      5 votes
    41. What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga)

      What have you been watching and reading this week? 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 week? 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!

      8 votes
    42. TV Tuesdays Free Talk

      Warning: this post may contain spoilers

      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.

      11 votes
    43. Soil compositions for succulents?

      Curious if any of the succulent-lovers on Tildes have any tips/tricks for soil composition. I've been using the basic succulent mix from my local hardware store for years, but I've had some issues...

      Curious if any of the succulent-lovers on Tildes have any tips/tricks for soil composition. I've been using the basic succulent mix from my local hardware store for years, but I've had some issues with rot. Reddit seems to think that soil composition is at fault for just about all succulent ills, so I've adjusted my mix to be about 50% perlite/sand 50% organic (a.k.a the basic succulent mix).

      Still seems like the new mix doesn't dry out quite as fast as the internet thinks it should, though. Does going even more inorganic make sense? My guess from a few years of reading about succulents is that they would probably be happy in even 80-90% inorganic soil to keep their roots dry, as long as they were watered when they needed it. No clue if that's right, though.

      11 votes
    44. Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix 2024 - Results

      Warning: this post may contain spoilers

      JCPhoenix is out today, so I went ahead and filled in!

      Bad day for Red Bull on their own track. Max messed up, and Checo is a bit of a Haas sandwich!

      Provisional Race Results -- SPOILER
      POS NO DRIVER CAR LAPS TIME/RETIRED PTS
      1 63 George Russell Mercedes 71 1:24:22.798 25
      2 81 Oscar Piastri McLaren Mercedes 71 +1.906s 18
      3 55 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 71 +4.533s 15
      4 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 71 +23.142s 12
      5 1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT 71 +37.253s 10
      6 27 Nico Hulkenberg Haas Ferrari 71 +54.088s 8
      7 11 Sergio Perez Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT 71 +54.672s 6
      8 20 Kevin Magnussen Haas Ferrari 71 +60.355s 4
      9 3 Daniel Ricciardo RB Honda RBPT 71 +61.169s 2
      10 10 Pierre Gasly Alpine Renault 71 +61.766s 1
      11 16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 71 +67.056s 0
      12 31 Esteban Ocon Alpine Renault 71 +68.325s 0
      13 18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes 70 +1 lap 0
      14 22 Yuki Tsunoda RB Honda RBPT 70 +1 lap 0
      15 23 Alexander Albon Williams Mercedes 70 +1 lap 0
      16 77 Valtteri Bottas Kick Sauber Ferrari 70 +1 lap 0
      17 24 Zhou Guanyu Kick Sauber Ferrari 70 +1 lap 0
      18 14 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes 70 +1 lap 0
      19 2 Logan Sargeant Williams Mercedes 69 +2 laps 0
      20 4 Lando Norris McLaren Mercedes 64 +7 laps 0

      Fastest lap: Fernando Alonso

      Source: F1.com

      15 votes