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    1. Save Point: A game deal roundup for the week of September 29

      Add awesome game deals to this topic as they come up over the course of the week! Alternately, ask about a given game deal if you want the community’s opinions: e.g. “What games from this bundle...

      Add awesome game deals to this topic as they come up over the course of the week!

      Alternately, ask about a given game deal if you want the community’s opinions: e.g. “What games from this bundle are most worth my attention?”

      Rules:

      • No grey market sales
      • No affiliate links

      If posting a sale, it is strongly encouraged that you share why you think the available game/games are worthwhile.


      All previous Save Point topics

      If you don’t want to see threads in this series, add save point to your personal tag filters.

      12 votes
    2. Recommend some new(ish) metal bands

      I have been a metalhead for over 20 years but I seem to still mostly listen to the bands I found back then. So mostly bands that started in the 80s or 90s. By the mid 2000s metalcore and its...

      I have been a metalhead for over 20 years but I seem to still mostly listen to the bands I found back then. So mostly bands that started in the 80s or 90s. By the mid 2000s metalcore and its various derivatives got very popular and that wasn't for me, so I kind of stopped paying much attention to new stuff for many years. The only newer band I have been really excited about is the Finnish black metal band Havukruunu, and to some extent Uada and Spectral Wound.

      Would love to get some recommendations for new names that have appeared in the last 10 or so years.

      21 votes
    3. Books or other good content on software design?

      Wondering if anyone has any good books or other content to recommend on software design. I feel like when I start out on a new project I always get stuck in a rut of trying to design something...

      Wondering if anyone has any good books or other content to recommend on software design. I feel like when I start out on a new project I always get stuck in a rut of trying to design something good, then end up with an awful design anyways. On the other hand, I've been around professors and more experienced software engineers who seem to effortlessly come up with simple, powerful architectures and interfaces.

      While I know that reading a book or two won't get me the experience I need to improve, it does seem like that might be a good jump-start. Anyone have any suggestions for me? Thanks!

      8 votes
    4. Linguaphiles of Tildes: where do you get your words?

      If you love language, etymology, or just plain collecting interesting words, where do you look to feed your interest? I’ve seen many RobWords (YouTube) posts here, and I really like his content. I...

      If you love language, etymology, or just plain collecting interesting words, where do you look to feed your interest? I’ve seen many RobWords (YouTube) posts here, and I really like his content. I also love the traditional word hunt through reading authors like Dickens.

      In addition to “where do you look?”, what does your hobby look like? Do you keep lists of words that you review and learn about? Do you make effort to include your newly found words in writing or conversation? I have the (probably very annoying) habit of interrupting a conversation to say, “you know, there is an interesting word for that!”. What else do you do?

      15 votes
    5. Do you keep a diary?

      I've been thinking about keeping a diary to improve my English because I rarely use it, but I don't know what to write about... So, if you keep a diary, what do you write in it? And what do you...

      I've been thinking about keeping a diary to improve my English because I rarely use it, but I don't know what to write about... So, if you keep a diary, what do you write in it? And what do you use/prefer, app or paper?

      19 votes
    6. Self-help book marketing is bleak

      I'm looking at some recommendations for books about childhood trauma and abuse. Every book is almost the same. Something with a very long title like "You Are Your Own Blorbo: 25 Strategies and...

      I'm looking at some recommendations for books about childhood trauma and abuse. Every book is almost the same. Something with a very long title like "You Are Your Own Blorbo: 25 Strategies and Steps to Overcome Your Hurdles and Achieve CHIM".

      Then there is the uninspired and very fake summary. And then some supposedly impressive quotes by some supposedly bigshot people.

      When you check out the author, they're often mentioned as a therapist with [insert experience of a few decades that doesn't necessarily mean anything]. They don't generally even mention what kind of therapist the author is (a psychologist, a psychiatrist, a mental health councillor, a different type?). They certainly don't give too much specifics about the therapy techniques they're specialized in and actual education, you know, two very important things.

      It all feels disingenuous and scammy.

      Thanks to this dishonest marketing style of virtually every single book in the industry, none of it means anything. You could write the absolutely worst, actively hurtful book, and still get all of this plastered on.

      Beyond this marketing illusion, I know there to be some books that are actually helpful (have read a few), but vast majority of self-help books are either scams or overselling their quality. The problem is, even quality books seem to have this marketing shtick going on. Internet isn't too helpful either, because people -especially laypeople- too often misjudge. The only way seems to be seeing what the fuss is about yourself. But that takes a lot of time, and there's also the possibility that you will come out of the other end with internalized crap. It's genuinely a soulless ordeal to sift through all this utter shit to find something of worth.

      I know it's not hopeless, as I read some good books throughout the years, but damn can it feel that way. It's especially more frustrating when you're just trying to find something to help tackle problems, and you're met with a capitalist epistemological nightmare.

      This is a rant, I absolutely detest this industry, but this post is also meant to start a discussion. There is something rotten about this, and I wonder what other people have experienced and think about it. Experiences, frustrations, solutions, etc. are all welcome.

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

      Tildes is a very serious site, where we discuss very serious matters like politics, paypal and reddit. Tags culled from the highest voted topics from the last seven days, if anyone was befuddled....

      Tildes is a very serious site, where we discuss very serious matters like politics, paypal and reddit. Tags culled from the highest voted topics from the last seven days, if anyone was befuddled.

      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
    8. Suggestions for used and modular laptop for language learning

      I've recently come back to studying German, after having taken a small break for a few months for a new job. My main form of study is immersion (I recently stumbled across the books of Walter...

      I've recently come back to studying German, after having taken a small break for a few months for a new job.

      My main form of study is immersion (I recently stumbled across the books of Walter Moers and haven't looked back since) and conversation practice on iTalki.

      Nowadays, I try my hardest to only buy tech second-hand and preferably as future proof and modular as possible. My go-to machines are a fully modded Lenovo Thinkpad T430, and a more humble Thinkpad X230, both running Linux (Ubuntu and PopOS respectively). They work just fine for my basic needs (mostly surfing, some occasional streaming and word processing). But they struggle during my conversation lessons on iTalki or Zoom, most of the time either overheating or freezing/stumbling. I realize this might be a Linux problem, but I have also found the web camera and built-in microphone on both machines to be really inadequate for video calls. I gave up using my own laptops for my language lessons over a year ago, and now have resorted to stealing my partners Macbook, which isn't ideal.

      Do you have any recommendations for any more recent laptops that would offer a better video conference experience, while offering at least a removable battery? Pricewise it would be great to be find something below €500 used.

      5 votes
    9. Tips for managing a low-storage laptop?

      I bought an M2 Macbook Air at the start of this year for uni. I only planned to use it for uni work as I have another 'more powerful' laptop that I use for everything else, but I kinda love the M2...

      I bought an M2 Macbook Air at the start of this year for uni. I only planned to use it for uni work as I have another 'more powerful' laptop that I use for everything else, but I kinda love the M2 and want to make it my daily driver laptop. Battery lasts for ages, screen is great, it's thin and light, etc. The problem is - as you might guess - I only got the 512GB model and if there's one thing Apple hates, it's people having control over their hardware, so no expandable storage. I can't afford to upgrade the entire laptop, so I need to work with what I have. Here's what I want to use it for:

      • Graphic design: Adobe software, high-res images, typefaces, etc.
      • Music production: Ableton Live 11 Suite, sample packs, plug-ins, project folders, etc.
      • Music library: uncompressed .m4a files because iTunes hates Vorbis 😢, ~80% of my library (I don't have everything downloaded yet) is 25GB.
      • Web-browsing: Firefox... this one isn't really relevant but I feel like I should include it for completeness.

      Does anyone have any tips to stretch this 512GB as faaaaaar as it can go? I have a 2TB external SSD, but I'm wary of keeping anything important on it because it's small and I don't want to accidentally lose a bunch of stuff. I can spend a bit of money (maybe 30usd) if anyone has a good idea that requires buying something, but I can't spend any ludicrous amounts, I already did that to get the laptop!

      15 votes
    10. Looking for a touchscreen desktop computer solution

      Hi, I'm looking for a touchscreen desktop computer solution that is in the affordable range and capable of running Windows or Linux. Whether that is a touchscreen monitor and a standalone...

      Hi, I'm looking for a touchscreen desktop computer solution that is in the affordable range and capable of running Windows or Linux. Whether that is a touchscreen monitor and a standalone computer, or an all in one solution, do you guys have any recommendations? It will be used to run a marine charting program on a boat.

      6 votes
    11. Humble Choice - October 2024

      October 2024's Humble Choice is now available with the following eight Steam games. Steam Page Opencritic Steam Recent/All Operating Systems Steam Deck ProtonDB REMNANT II 82 79/83 Win ❌...

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

      Steam Page Opencritic Steam Recent/All Operating Systems Steam Deck ProtonDB
      REMNANT II 82 79/83 Win ❌ Unsupported 🟨 Gold
      Persona 5 Strikers 82 74/90 Win ❌ Unsupported 🟨 Gold
      Jusant 84 97/94 Win ✅ Verified 🟨 Gold
      Dome Keeper 78 94/91 Win, Mac, Linux ✅ Verified ✅ Native
      Jack Move 84 80 Win, Mac ✅ Verified 🎖️ Platinum
      Station to Station 81 86/90 Win 🟨 Playable 🎖️ Platinum
      Remnant Records N/A 82 Win 🟨 Playable 🎖️ Platinum
      McPixel 3 67 95/97 Win, Mac, Linux ✅ Verified ✅ Native

      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?

      14 votes
    12. Switch emulator Ryujinx is shut down

      From their Discord: "Yesterday, gdkchan was contacted by Nintendo and offered an agreement to stop working on the project, remove the organization and all related assets he's in control of. While...

      From their Discord:

      "Yesterday, gdkchan was contacted by Nintendo and offered an agreement to stop working on the project, remove the organization and all related assets he's in control of. While awaiting confirmation on whether he would take this agreement, the organization has been removed, so I think it's safe to say what the outcome is. Rather than leave you with only panic and speculation, I decided to write this short message to give some closure.

      These words are my own. I don't want to speak for anyone else here, so just remember that while reading.

      Thank you to everyone who has contributed code, documentation or issue reports to the project. Thank you all for following us throughout the development. I was able to learn a lot of really neat things about games that I love, enjoy them with renewed qualities and in unique circumstances, and I'm sure you all have experiences that are similarly special. I'm extending my own massive thanks to our moderation team, who have been here through some rough circumstances and always found ways to make light of it."

      As of this post, the GitHub is closed and their downloads page is blank.

      52 votes
    13. Is all language linear to a native speaker?

      I hope this question will become clear by the following example: When I state "Mother's Cooking," As a native English speaker, to me the sentence fragment is read kind of "in order" so to speak,...

      I hope this question will become clear by the following example:

      When I state "Mother's Cooking," As a native English speaker, to me the sentence fragment is read kind of "in order" so to speak, each word being read in the order it is presented for me to understand the sentence.

      However, when this sentence fragment is translated to Chinese, it becomes:

      妈妈 做 的 菜
      māma zuò de cài

      Which I literally translate to:

      "Mother's cooking of Dish"

      and in practice I begin to learn to look for the phrase after "de" then "go back" to the "māma zuò" to figure out the whole sentence. Does this make sense? I have to go to the end of the sentence and then refer back to the part "in front" of it so to speak?

      What is going on here, and is this perceived as such by native speakers? Do all native speakers feel like their language flows linearly ? I think I read somewhere that some languages start their sentences with the verbs at the front of the sentence (Arabic?)

      I'm hoping that a linguist will be able to explain to me what phenomenon I'm experiencing.

      Thanks in advance!

      Source for sentence/grammar

      32 votes
    14. 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?

      7 votes
    15. You're running for office on a somewhat petty, yet univerally-understood single issue. What is it?

      Imagine that on the campaign posters, it will say your name and then this policy. For example: Vote for <your username> ... Rain boots for everyone. (No American / Englishman / Indian / etc....

      Imagine that on the campaign posters, it will say your name and then this policy. For example:

      Vote for <your username> ...

      • Rain boots for everyone. (No American / Englishman / Indian / etc. should have soggy socks.)
      • A Speedy DMV. (It should take 10 minutes to renew your license at the DMV.)
      • Rice in every restaurant. (Rice is good with everything. At least some Asian KFCs will serve fried chicken with rice!)

      It should resonate deeply with people, without the expectation that it should solve any of the deeper problems in life.

      80 votes
    16. Timasomo 2024: Roll Call

      October 1st has already hit in some parts of the world, so Timasomo has officially begun! Posting in this topic is your official entry into Timasomo. Let everyone know what your actual plans are:...

      October 1st has already hit in some parts of the world, so Timasomo has officially begun!

      Posting in this topic is your official entry into Timasomo. Let everyone know what your actual plans are: what are you going to make?

      Anyone who was not already on the notification list will be added with a comment in this topic.

      Once the date turns over to October 1st wherever you are in the world, feel free to start creating!


      FAQs

      What is Timasomo really though?

      Timasomo is "Tildes' Make Something Month": a creative community challenge that takes place in the month of October. It is a chance to create something/anything!

      There are no restrictions on what you can choose to make.

      The best way to get a feel for Timasomo is to check out our previous Showcase topics, where creators share their creations with the community at the end of the event:

      Can I participate?

      Yes! Timasomo is open to anyone on Tildes! Please make sure you are subscribed to ~creative.timasomo.

      The greater Tildes community is also encouraged to participate in discussion threads even if you are not actively working towards a creative goal. This is meant to be an inclusive community event -- all are welcome!

      If you are interested in participating but do not have a Tildes login, please e-mail the invite request address here for an invite to the community.

      If you do not want to create something but still want to check out the showcase, let me know in a comment here and I will add your name to a separate notification list that I will ping for the showcase topic only.

      How do I sign up?

      Make sure you are subscribed to ~creative.timasomo and/or are included in my notification list (simply comment on this topic to be added).

      On October 1st, there will be a Roll Call thread. By posting your plans to participate in that thread, you have formally signed up for Timasomo!

      Didn't it used to be in November?

      Yes. Timasomo was originally inspired by NaNoWriMo, the National Novel Writing Month, which takes place in November.

      Initially, I wanted people participating in NaNoWriMo to be able to share their work with Timasomo as well. In the entire time it has run, however, no participant has publicly submitted any work from NaNoWriMo to Timasomo. Instead, Timasomo has gained its own identity independent of NaNoWriMo (which, after recent events, is probably for the best).

      Many participants from previous years have shared that October would be a better month for them personally, so we moved the event to October.

      Also, the event was so fantastically popular that it regularly upstaged American Thanksgiving, thus we only felt it fair that Canadian Thanksgiving be targeted as well.

      What are the rules?

      Timasomo is self-driven and its goals are self-selected.

      On October 1st, participants will commit to a creative project (or projects) that they plan to complete within the month of October.

      There is no restriction on the methods/products of creativity: writing, painting, code, food, photos, crafts, songs -- if it's creative expression for you, it works for Timasomo!

      Though most will be participating individually, collaborations are welcome too!

      What is the schedule?

      Timasomo begins October 1st and ends October 31st.

      All creative output towards your goal(s) should be confined to this time.

      This week prior to the start of October is for planning. There will be a few days at the beginning of November given to "finishing touches" before we have our final thread, which will be a showcase of all the completed works.

      Below are the dates that I will be posting weekly threads:

      Tuesday, October 1, 2024: Roll Call Thread
      Tuesday, October 8, 2024: Update Thread #1
      Tuesday, October 15, 2024: Update Thread #2
      Tuesday, October 22, 2024: Update Thread #3
      Tuesday, October 29, 2024: Final Update Thread
      Tuesday, November 5, 2024: Timasomo Showcase Thread

      Do I have to share my creation(s) publicly?

      Tildes is a privacy-respecting site, and you are not obligated to share your creation here if you do not want to. We'd still love to hear about it though, if you're willing to share process and details!

      Is it Timasomo or TiMaSoMo?

      Either.

      I personally use "Timasomo" because I think it looks cleaner and because too much time on the internet has made my brain incapable of reading "TiMaSoMo" as anything other than sarcasm, but go with whichever you prefer.

      The best option, however, is “𝑻𝑰𝑴𝑨𝑺𝑶𝑴𝑶” for reasons that are self-evident.

      25 votes