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    1. How much space do you need to live comfortably?

      I thought of this question as we're spending three weeks in an RV with two adults and two large dogs. Its working but there are times when we're tripping over each other, even though this is a 40'...

      I thought of this question as we're spending three weeks in an RV with two adults and two large dogs. Its working but there are times when we're tripping over each other, even though this is a 40' long vehicle, there just isn't a lot of floor space for a couple of very lazy hounds. But its adequate.

      But that got me thinking about living in small spaces. Over the years my living space has varied a great deal. The smallest was three months living out of a Toyota Previa minivan. The Previa has exactly 4' x 8' of room behind the front seats which was enough for a bed with some bins underneath and not much more. But since it was just me, it was fine, but not luxurious.

      And Ive lived in a couple of small homes, including a cabin that was 12' x 20' for quite a few months. I built a tiny home on the same yard that was only 10' x 10' inside and was very efficient with a cantilevered queen size bed protruding out the back of the main living area and an outdoor bathroom beside it. It was in a warm climate so a lot of time was spent outdoors.

      Raised three kids in a 900 sq ft house that had the basement rented out so that was kind of tight. But with a backyard with the kids to run around in, it was livable. I think the biggest house we've ever lived in had about 2000 sq ft of total living space, up and down.

      Im a proponent of living small though. I think in general, many people buy far or rent far more space than they need - when I look back at the homes of the 40s and 50's parents raised 6 kids in houses that would be considered tiny homes by today's standards. Not sure how we got to "need" so much space.

      How much space do you need to live comfortably? Curious to know the difference between north American standards and other places.

      33 votes
    2. Has there ever been a time before where so much social change was occuring in quick succession of each other?

      I am not really someone who is well-versed in history, I never paid attention in high school, I couldn't wait to GTFO. I know what I know based solely on podcasts/debates/lectures I find on...

      I am not really someone who is well-versed in history, I never paid attention in high school, I couldn't wait to GTFO. I know what I know based solely on podcasts/debates/lectures I find on YouTube and what Hollywood brings to my attention.

      from my own knowledge, periods of social change (at least in North America):

      • the civil rights movement
      • women's suffrage movement
      • civil war (given it was fought to a great deal to end slavery)

      when it comes to social changes in history that is not based in North America, I know of only the broad strokes and none of the specifics, like I know the arrival of the printing press lead to a great deal of struggle in the same way that the arrival of social media has created a struggle, just the balance of power has changed.

      I also know that France went through a French Revolution that played a big part of its current political landscape and its secular status quo.

      However, something I have found interesting is that within the span of <10 years, we are experiencing a reckoning on several different fronts:

      • MeToo movement have rise to a long-needed discussion of sexual harassment and just a general gender reckoning in other ways too
      • the murder of George Floyd and subsequent protests gave rise to a global awareness that race-related issues
      • the Hamas attack on Israel has certainly pushed the discussion of Israel-Palestine to the forefront. Before the attack, I could not tell you the difference between Erdoğan and Netanyahu. That's obviously no longer the case.

      But it makes me wonder if this is unprecedented in human history that so many different issues of social change are being pushed to the forefront in very quick succession of each other or this is a repeat, that it's common for a civilization that experiences one changing in the social norm, to start experiencing other social changes cause they are always in the mindset or something?

      10 votes
    3. Tildes Book Club discussion - Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

      Warning: this post may contain spoilers

      This is the fifth of an ongoing series of book discussions here on Tildes. We are discussing Ocean at the End of the Lane. Our next book will be Small Gods by Terry Pratchett around the end of August.

      I don't have a particular format in mind for this discussion, but I will post some prompts and questions as comments to get things started. You're not obligated to respond to them or vote on them though. So feel free to make your own top-level comment for whatever you wish to discuss, questions you have of others, or even just to post a review of the book you have written yourself.

      For latecomers, don't worry if you didn't read the book in time for this Discussion topic. You can always join in once you finish it. Tildes Activity sort, and "Collapse old comments" feature should keep the topic going for as long as people are still replying.
      And for anyone uninterested in this topic please use the Ignore Topic feature on this so it doesn't keep popping up in your Activity sort, since it's likely to keep doing that while I set this discussion up, and once people start joining in.

      22 votes
    4. Humble Choice - August 2024

      August 2024's Humble Choice is now available with the following eight Steam games. Steam Page Opencritic Steam Recent/All Operating Systems Steam Deck ProtonDB Sifu 81 93/92 Win ✅ Verified 🎖️...

      August 2024's Humble Choice is now available with the following eight Steam games.

      Steam Page Opencritic Steam Recent/All Operating Systems Steam Deck ProtonDB
      Sifu 81 93/92 Win ✅ Verified 🎖️ Platinum
      High on Life 70 85/89 Win ✅ Verified 🎖️ Platinum
      Gotham Knights 68 67/68 Win 🟨 Playable 🟨 Gold
      BLACKTAIL 79 86/84 Win ✅ Verified 🟨 Gold
      Astral Ascent 86 93/93 Win, Mac, Linux ✅ Verified ✅ Native
      Diluvian Ultra N/A 80 Win ❓ Unknown 🕙 Awaiting Reports
      Universe for Sale N/A 95 Win, Mac, Linux ✅ Verified ✅ Native
      This Means Warp N/A 75 Win 🟨 Playable 🎖️ Platinum

      Does anyone have experience with any of the games and, if so, would you recommend them? Is there anything in here that you're particularly excited to play?

      18 votes
    5. 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!

      7 votes
    6. Why does "Everything Everywhere All at Once" repulse me so much?

      I have never seen "Everything Everywhere All at Once". I know only a few details about the story. I know it was hugely successful and is widely regarded as one of the best, if not the best, movies...

      I have never seen "Everything Everywhere All at Once". I know only a few details about the story. I know it was hugely successful and is widely regarded as one of the best, if not the best, movies of all time.
      I know so very little about it, because somehow everything about it repulses me. And I have no clue as to why.

      There are very few movies that provoke such a strong negative reaction in me. As a matter of fact, the only other movie that comes even close is “Ad Astra”, a movie I despise on a very visceral level. But for that one, I know exactly why I hate it so much. I can talk about my reasons for hating it for hours on end and have done so in the past (very much to the dismay of my friends on the other end of the voice chat).
      But with "Everything Everywhere All at Once", my reaction to it is a complete mystery to me.

      It’s not that I find it simply unappealing, I’d say that I find most movies unappealing. But in those cases I just say “eh, not for me” and look for something else.
      I also don’t think it’s bad. I know so damn little about it, how could I even make that judgment?

      But whenever I read something about it, see clips from it, or hear other people discuss it or its themes, I get this very strong feeling of repulsion. Think of it like holding a glass of holy water under a vampire's nose. If I force myself to continue reading or watching, I get angry/agitated, complete with quickened pulse, fight-or-flight impulse, the whole enchilada.

      But I don’t understand why. Why is my negative reaction so damn strong when I know so very little about it?
      Sure, its philosophical take about absurdism isn’t really my style, but I’ve seen plenty of trailers or snippets of absurd comedies and usually my reaction is just “meh, not for me”, maybe even a “damn, that looks like shit” if I find it particularly unappealing.
      And yes, it’s flashy style, quick cuts and overdone lighting-effects are just downright too hectic for me, but why would that make me hate it so much?


      So yeah, I deeply dislike everything about "Everything Everywhere All at Once" despite me knowing very little about it and I have no clue as to why my reaction is as strong as it is.

      Has anyone experienced a similarly strong negative reaction to this movie, or know someone who has?
      Does anyone have an idea as to why/how it essentially triggers me, even though I have had way to little exposure to it or anything like it that would merit such a reaction?

      35 votes
    7. Weekly Israel-Hamas war megathread - week of August 5

      This thread is posted weekly - please try to post all relevant Israel-Hamas war 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 Israel-Hamas war 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.

      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.

      13 votes
    8. Offbeat Fridays – The thread where offbeat headlines become front page news

      Tildes is a very serious site, where we discuss very serious matters like tax.wealth, microcode and mr beast. 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 tax.wealth, microcode and mr beast. 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!

      9 votes
    9. 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.

      3 votes