It seems like I may be dipping my toe back into "reading" through audiobooks. I realized that instead of listening to random YouTubers at work, I can listen to more intentional writing this way.

How do y'all feel about them? If you listen, what sorts of productions do you prefer? Are there any particular ones you think are spectacular, a cut above the rest? Do you listen to them in addition to reading the book as like a companion piece or instead of the book?

I've listened to some GraphicAudio books now and I like having a full cast for the characters, they've got some good voice actors. Though they're listed as unabridged, I worry they've still perhaps dropped paragraphs. But I think I'd end up zoning out more on single narrator books.

Part of why I never engaged before is because I have poor auditory processing, so I figured I just couldn't keep up. At least for simpler texts, I haven't had much problem, and it may be helping me improve in that respect. I hadn't tried before, but now I can watch YT vids at double speed without missing anything.

I started since my partner was interested so I set up audiobookshelf and some other services for grabbing files. It's been a great piece of software to use, there's other software that can manage and serve audiobooks, but none puts them first like abs does. Do recommend if you're interested in self-hosting audiobooks.

One of my cousins (age 23), at the end of weeks-long stay at an inpatient psychiatric facility, came out as trans to his parents. They are very supportive, if a bit surprised.

I want to help them and my cousin out and link them to some online forums/discussion spaces. He’s (AMAB, hasn’t mentioned what the new pronouns are) very online, so I’d be most interested in stuff for him. I know some of the sites don’t have the best reputation, or are very polarizing, so I’d like sites that are positive and supportive.

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!

Tildes is a very serious site, where we discuss very serious matters like dolly parton, tim curry and algorithms. Tags culled from the highest voted topics from the last seven days, if anyone was topical.

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!

For all the Morrowind enthusiast here - GOG.com has added OpenMW and Tamriel Rebuilt as curated mods for Morrowind. They say on the website: "GOG’s curated selection of the best Mods, directly packed with the game for the smoothest installation ever. Install and play right away."

I haven't tried it yet, but I guess it means GOG Galaxy (that I don't use) will automatically install OpenMW and enable Tamriel Rebuilt as a mod in it and launch OpenMW instead of old Morrowind executable. Maybe someone will know if it works this way.

I just wanted other people to know, as Morrowind is my beloved game and I see it as a nice addition to have mods on the GOG as well as the game, even more so if it can be installed alongside the game hassle-free.

For people who doesn't know:

• OpenMW is open source multiplatform engine for playing Morrowind. You give it original game data files and it runs on modern hardware in modern resolutions. While it isn't v1.0 yet, it is perfectly playable. It let's you run Morrowind on various things like Raspberry Pi or ARM laptops, at one time even Android port existed (OpenMicroWave?)
• Tamriel Rebuilt is a community mod that adds big-ass landmass with new cities, new places, new characters, new quests... Morrowind takes place on isle of Vvardenfell, but the game bears the name of the whole province of (game world of) Tamriel. This mod adds the rest of the province, basically.

The thing is - Is it good that GOG adds such mods and integrates them with the game (somehow)? Will the mods be kept up-to-date when I install them with the game?

All of my SWE friends and coworkers agree this is a deeply weird time to be in the industry. LLM coding has dominated many (but not all) tech companies. Some of it is cool and exciting, but a lot of it is terrible and horrifying. I thought it could be a good time to do a vibe check.

Some possible questions to answer if you’d like:

• How has your work changed in the past year? How much of your daily work now involves LLM tools?
• Are you enjoying your work more, less, or the same? Has your relationship with work changed in general?
• Do you feel like you’re working more or less now? The same?
• Are you hopeful or fearful of the future (let’s say next 5 years) of SWE? Mixed?
• Have you found any useful tips or advice for thriving in the current landscape?
• Has your career trajectory changed? Do you plan on seeking out different types of roles?

Also it would be useful to give whatever background info you’re comfortable sharing to help ground things like: size of company, years of experience, type of role, location, etc.

Any and all discussion around the industry is welcome!

Figured I'd make a general discussion thread since there's a lot coming out of the event.

What are your thoughts on the games being shown? Are there any which you're excited to see more of or disappointed by?

I made this thread on mobile, so apologies for any mess-ups.

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.

Planning a trip to Japan fall 2027 or spring 2028. Japan seems to be a place I can spend my entire life savings in, fill three warehouses, and still come away with want. So here's a different question than the usual: if I don't care about Instagram sightseeing or the latest fashion trends or Michelin star restaurants, what are some crazy cheap things to do or places to stay?

Old fahsioned and dingy is fine, anything above "downright dangerous" is completely okay. We could do one fancy pants Ryokan and one cheap one if the cultural difference in expenses are worthwhile, otherwise cheap cheap cheap please.

I am most interested in hands on traditional crafts making workshops or experiences, like touring wagashi kitchens, basket weaving, leather workers, fibre and paper arts, wood crafting, kintsugi pottery repairs etc.

Kaga Traditional Craft Village Yunokuni no Mori, Komatsu -- Ishikawa Prefecture : this has been recommended to me, would love reviews and other recommendations. Kyoto has a lot of English workshops: are there cheaper ones outside?

BOOK OFF chains and Mega Donki for cheap, used consumer goods? Osaka for used kimono? Where do people get rid of their unwanted traditional arts and art supplies? Kyoto has a bunch of flea markets: still good spot or tourist junk I can get for much less elsewhere?

Any arcades that take an entry fee and then it's all you can play? (Asking because I super suck at games but I love them, and Japan has the whackiest arcade games)

I'd be perfectly happy to eat konbini & ramen & gyudon & cheap foods for the entire time. What other kinds of food are cheap? (I'd also do one or two seafood meals for sure but spending money = easy to find reviews)

I want to hear all the cheap things about Japan :) my goal will be to (1) avoid the over tourism spots and be less of a nuisance for locals (2) experience things (3) save all the money for the end of the trip to see Akihabara, spend it all on gunpla, anime and gaming goods.....

Maybe worth mentioning I am trying to learn as much Japanese as possible in a year, with background in Chinese language and college first year level Japanese. Language tips also welcome.

Edit: other Japan tourism threads by gpl, rosco ,AugustusFerdinand and shared -- also excellent

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.

Recently, I have found myself almost unable to find things online to engage with, Tildes being the rare exception. I feel like I used to be able to find my way down Youtube rabbit holes, scroll on Reddit endlessly, and for a period even get lost on Instagram reels. I still have the urges, but now when I indulge it doesn't feel like an effortless dopamine hit, I feel like I'm fighting the platforms for something, anything engaging.

The channels I enjoyed, even the small ones, seem to all be chasing monetization and the lowest common denominator. Even Beau Miles, one of my favorite people on earth, joined the absolute deluge of people focusing on renovating a crumbling "historic" building or just rehashing his old fun ideas. Gone are the days of the inspired videos like the Human Bean. The miniature painters all seem to be hocking their own inventions or models. It feels like capitalism has crept into every video. Reddit is even worse, where it always feels like there is an agenda or a link to a patreon or scrappy youtube channel and I just feel manipulated by the posts being made.

For lack of a better phrase, I'm just constantly feeling the "ick" being online. I'm actively trying to search out things to engage with, anything even remotely genuine or authentic, and running up against a wall. It just feels bizarre. Maybe I'm alone on this. Or maybe I'm reaching a different stage of life and no longer the target demographic. In any case I just feel myself reaching for my laptop less and less and less. For most folks I think that would be a good thing, but when it's dark out, and I'm too burnt out from work to make progress on whatever home or art project I'm doing it was a really nice way to turn off my brain.

Is anyone else having a similar experience? Are folks happy with this version of online content? Are we entering the dead internet? I'm trying to figure out if this is a real trend or just a personal experience.

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?