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    1. Looking for Eagles-style rock recommendations

      Hey all. I've been listening to the Eagles for a while and love their stuff (born a couple of decades too late to really appreciate them though). I do enjoy the newer styles of rock (ethereal(?)),...

      Hey all. I've been listening to the Eagles for a while and love their stuff (born a couple of decades too late to really appreciate them though). I do enjoy the newer styles of rock (ethereal(?)), but I'm looking for a new-ish band that sticks to the old guitar/drums/etc of classic/country rock. Any recommendations for me?

      7 votes
    2. How do you summon the muse?

      I used to work as an artist full-time, and I've learned a few tricks over the years to help me create consistently, even when I don't feel very creative. I recently read a book called "The War of...

      I used to work as an artist full-time, and I've learned a few tricks over the years to help me create consistently, even when I don't feel very creative.
      I recently read a book called "The War of Art" by Steven Pressfield that hit on a lot of what I've discovered and presented a lot more insight on the subject of creating and overcoming blocks.

      So I'd love to hear what helps all of you out there stay creative and spark the muse. Are you willing to share your process and approach?

      14 votes
    3. Any other amateur bakers here with a favorite bread recipe?

      Does anyone have any good recipes for bread? My wife and I have been doing a lot of baking lately and I absolutely love making bread. It's easy (most of the work is sitting around waiting for it...

      Does anyone have any good recipes for bread?

      My wife and I have been doing a lot of baking lately and I absolutely love making bread. It's easy (most of the work is sitting around waiting for it to rise/proof) and we've been making fresh sandwich bread to use in our lunches for the past few months.

      I've found two recipes that I really like:

      17 votes
    4. On deciding whether to use a pseudonym or not

      I have writing, prose and in verses, that I want to start submitting to magazines. I can't decide if I should use a pseudonym or not. My reasons for using one: I have problems with my name: it is...

      I have writing, prose and in verses, that I want to start submitting to magazines. I can't decide if I should use a pseudonym or not. My reasons for using one:

      • I have problems with my name: it is ideologically loaded, people can tell my dad was a nationalist, which is an ideology I reject and oppose

      • I feel like it would somehow good for me to distance myself a bit from my work, don't know why really

      • I guess I am intimidated by potential failure a bit, so maybe "getting my feet wet" with a pseudonym could help me get over it.

      But I also want to own my work, and feel like using a pseudonym with complete secrecy is a bit... cowardly, if I am totally honest. I consider using a pseudonym which I will publicly own later, but then, is there a point to it?

      What do you think about it?

      19 votes
    5. Posting original links (own content)

      What is our policy about posting original contents (e.g. me submitting a blog post I wrote, which I just did a few minutes ago)? IMO, if it is a personal blog, it should be okay, and not really...

      What is our policy about posting original contents (e.g. me submitting a blog post I wrote, which I just did a few minutes ago)?

      IMO, if it is a personal blog, it should be okay, and not really different from submitting a text topic here. Especially if the blog is not tracking you.

      15 votes
    6. what creative projects are you working on?

      this seems like a good time to bring back this question and maybe make it more consistent and recurring since there's just been an influx of new people. i last asked this about three months ago...

      this seems like a good time to bring back this question and maybe make it more consistent and recurring since there's just been an influx of new people. i last asked this about three months ago and i'm sure there are both new people to answer this question and new ideas that people who already answered or would answer have come up with since.


      for my part, i did this post just now as a short little thing. on the larger scale, i've been intending to get back into editing my personal worldbuilding wiki because there's a bunch of shit i want to do with that, but college isn't exactly leaving a lot of time for it and every time i try to start on stuff gets tedious so i've been holding off on it for a little bit. i've also been chipping away at the fun that will be one of several religious books, but i don't really know how i want to structure it yet so the verses pictured and others are liable to get shuffled around at this point.

      33 votes
    7. A case for why labels should be removed

      EDIT: I'm only talking about the Exemplary tag Greetings. I'm Alexis, and I signed up for this site back on May 30th, when it was just beginning. However, I have returned and I see something that...

      EDIT: I'm only talking about the Exemplary tag

      Greetings. I'm Alexis, and I signed up for this site back on May 30th, when it was just beginning. However, I have returned and I see something that doesn't seem like that big an issue, but I fear it will lead to the same sort of 'circlejerk' that Reddit has.

      The issue is with this comment. At first, it doesn't really seem that bad - it is a person (we'll call them Adam) replying to someone else (Barbara) who says the subject matter (Charlie) is using white nationalism as a means to cause chaos. Adam takes this to mean Barbara supports Neo-Nazis, as Barbara states the following:

      Hate to say it, but neo-Nazism is better than this, if by a small margin: at least its followers have an ideology.

      Adam asks what "lofty ideology do you think Neo-Nazis" have, including a long rebuttal of this miscommunication.

      The real problem with this is the labels. On the top of Adam's comment: "2x Exemplary". I have not seen any labels whatsoever anywhere else on this forum when I have been browsing it. On a miscommunicative post. Adam seems to claim Barbara is downplaying the issue, despite the miscommunication.

      To see why this is an issue, let's take a second post discussing a network of paedophiles on Youtube. As on 1:14 PM EST, Feb 21, 2019, not a single label is there. This is in spite of communication being just as civil and developed.

      My theory is that the Exemplary labels were not used as a "Well done" to Adam's post, but rather as a "We hate Neo-Nazis as well", or "super-vote". What I fear is that this will lead to an echo chamber where Devil's advocates, such as Barbara, are shunned for things from a simple miscommunication to having 'wrongthink' and defending ideas that people think should not be.

      Let me be clear: I am not conservative or a Nazi. If anything, I am a socialist - but it shouldn't matter. You should be allowed to discuss the pros and cons of relevant political views as long as it is in a civil manner.

      35 votes
    8. Would you pay higher taxes for better government services?

      In the US the tax rate on the bottom 78% of earners taxes was less than 7% England has a tax rate for the same income of 11.5% The top 6% (Avg Adjusted Gross income 514,000) paid $840 Billion of...

      In the US the tax rate on the bottom 78% of earners taxes was less than 7%

      England has a tax rate for the same income of 11.5%

      The top 6% (Avg Adjusted Gross income 514,000) paid $840 Billion of the income taxes

      The Bottom 49.1% (Earning less than 45k AGI) paid $97 Billion of taxes, but 27.4 Million Households filled for $66.7 Billion in EIC tax credits

      If the taxes on the bottom 78 percent were increased 6% to a level similar to England the USA could have universal health care

      The US Spends 3.4 Trillion on Healthcare.

      Just 5% of Americans Account for 50% of U.S. Health Care Spending. So taking away the top 5% means the US spends about 5,500 per person. More than UK, but with a long term approach we can tackle that.

      1. Saying no to covering all issues. See above. Total cost down to 1.8T

      2. Accepting a tax increase

      • Doubling the Medicare withholding will provide 500B
      • Down to 1.3T
      1. Reallocate state spending In 2015, state governments across the country spent a combined $605 billion on health care
      • Down to 700 Billion
      1. Increase taxes 6% across the board, like those of countries that provide healthcare. 600B in Funding
      • Down to 100 Billion
      1. 1/3 of expenses in 2017 was payable for hospital room rentals and 21% was to doctor's office billable hours
      • Increase utilization to make hospitals & Doctors more efficient so cost can be cut
      • 1% reduction in billable hours and room rates Down 100B
      • Adjust pricing based on cost savings
      • Repeat

      If the US had higher taxes for gas we could have a better Infastructure. Using rough math we in 2017 underfunded the highway dept about $21.5 billion

      • 40 Cents per Gallon vs 18.4 cents currently
      • 33 Cents vs 17.5 cents for Highway maintenance at fully funded for at least the next 5 years
        * 1 Cent vs 0.9 cents Gas Safety and storage. Round it up to a full penny better saftey funds for better clean up
        * 4 cents a new Green energy tax for Green projects
      • 2 Cent New Metro Projects tax

      $5.5 Billion annual funding for projects, plus using funding not going to covering the underfunded highway dept means who doesn't want to announce a 10 year $250 Billion Green Deal Project. Get States to match it 40/60 and its a $600 Billion Project

      $96 a person more and With this Major Cities can tackle major projects and Rural cities can apply for the Metro Funding. $1.5 Billion each state gets on average can be applied however but that's encouraging moving to a Green plan.

      The U.S. combined gas tax rate (State + Federal) is According to data from the OECD, is the second lowest (Mexico is the only country without a gas tax).

      The average gas tax rate among the 34 advanced economies is $2.62 per gallon. In fact, the U.S.’s gas tax a rate less than half of that of the next highest country, Canada, which has a rate of $1.25 per gallon.

      We want to have the European advanced economy of our peers but we arent wanting to pay for it

      26 votes
    9. Tildes made me realise how ubiquitous Reddit's bigotry is [a short rant]

      cw: discussion of specific types of bigotry I used to kind of think that Reddit's bigotry was relegated to the hate subs (TD and friends), and that you'd only find it if you went looking. But wow,...

      cw: discussion of specific types of bigotry

      I used to kind of think that Reddit's bigotry was relegated to the hate subs (TD and friends), and that you'd only find it if you went looking. But wow, Tildes has made me realise that it is EVERYWHERE.

      Whenever I take a trip back to Reddit, I'm always blindsided by the fact ordinary threads about unrelated topics are so hateful. For example today I was on an r/movies thread about the new Terminator movie and there's queerphobia, transphobia and sexism all highly upvoted, right near the top of the comments. I guess being immersed in that environment for the last seven years of my life made me a bit desensitised to it, but now I'm horrified everytime.

      Reddit is a far worse cesspit than I realised, I'm glad Tildes exists and I hope it keeps getting better and better. The internet needs it.

      110 votes
    10. What is a book that has changed you?

      It does not need to be the most important, just a book that has truly changed you. My personal pick is Albert Camus' "The Rebel"; it provided structure for a lot of nebulous thoughts that were...

      It does not need to be the most important, just a book that has truly changed you. My personal pick is Albert Camus' "The Rebel"; it provided structure for a lot of nebulous thoughts that were floating around in my head.

      27 votes
    11. What are some genuinely good places online?

      With a lot of websites going down the shitter in an attempt to monetize (looking at you, Reddit), I'm wondering where some nice places are online. Nice whether in UI, the community, or really just...

      With a lot of websites going down the shitter in an attempt to monetize (looking at you, Reddit), I'm wondering where some nice places are online. Nice whether in UI, the community, or really just in general. Below is a small list off the top of my head.


      Tildes, because of high quality discussion.

      Disroot. It's a slew of useful tools, available for free, while respecting privacy. Genuinely really useful, lots of utilities, good documentation, and a really nice community.

      Wikipedia. It's Wikipedia, end of.

      Mastodon. This one wholly depends on your instance, but on most(?) the people are nice, and the environment is a lot less argumentative.

      Hacker News, high quality discussion over a fair few topics. Very active, too.

      47 votes