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7 votes
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These farmers grow everything from white strawberries to furniture
3 votes -
Why Finland leads the field when it comes to winter cycling – progressive policies help get people on their bike, even in below-freezing conditions
8 votes -
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?
10 votes -
Illiberal democracies explained
10 votes -
Did anybody catch the XFL games?
I'm in the middle of the Seattle vs DC game. It's great to see a more polished XFL back. For the unaware, the XFL has modified traditional NFL rules to prioritize a faster, leaner game. A 25s play...
I'm in the middle of the Seattle vs DC game. It's great to see a more polished XFL back.
For the unaware, the XFL has modified traditional NFL rules to prioritize a faster, leaner game. A 25s play clock (down from 45s with the NFL), a modified kick off where teams are five yards apart, with the kicker and receiver on their respective 35 yard line (teams wait until the receiver touches the ball before they can move.)
All in all, this game is pretty fun. The pace isn't crazy fast compared to the NFL, but you definitely have fewer long breaks.
The broadcast is also great. They're constantly detailing the differences in play. They also have more interaction with coaches and players, which is fun.
3 votes -
What powers do US judges have over an administration?
4 votes -
Odroid Go Advance Review - Should You Buy One?
4 votes -
How chef Wolfgang Puck serves 25,000 dishes at the Oscars every year — mise en place
4 votes -
Appalachian English
6 votes -
Recruiting for a panel for an LGBT-focused Q&A session on Tildes
A recent conversation resurfaced an idea I've had for a while now, and I've decided to move forward with it. The Idea: a thread along the lines of "What's something you've always wanted to know...
A recent conversation resurfaced an idea I've had for a while now, and I've decided to move forward with it.
The Idea: a thread along the lines of "What's something you've always wanted to know about being LGBT but were afraid to ask?" I want to encourage people to specifically ask questions that might be uncomfortable, or questions that might be seen as too forward or invasive in other contexts. Crucially, I also want to have a diverse panel of LGBT people ready and willing to answer those types of questions in the thread. I'm using LGBT here in the Tildes-preferred umbrella manner, so this is open to all who identify with a minority gender identity or sexual/romantic orientation.
The Location: I feel like hosting it in ~talk would be best so that we are visible to people who do not subscribe to ~lgbt, who are more likely to have questions about our experiences.
The Panel: I have thought about just putting up the thread with no preparation and letting people respond as they see fit, but I've always held back because I think it's important to be able to have lots of different voices, identities, and experiences represented. As such, I figure assembling a panel of willing respondents prior to the thread would be good, hence this planning topic! We can list the names and short bios about the panel participants in the top level of the topic, which then lets participants know who is responding to them, as well as giving them the opportunity to ask questions to specific individuals should they wish to do so.
The Time: I am thinking next Monday, Feb. 10 would be a good time to get this up and running, but that is flexible. I expect the thread to be active for about one to three days.
Next Steps
If you are willing to be a part of the panel and answer questions:
- let me know either by commenting here or sending me a PM,
- include how you identify yourself,
- include what your preferred pronouns are, and
- include a short bio about yourself that will be posted in the thread.
An example of what panelists' introductions will look like in the Q&A thread:
Name Identity Preferred Pronouns Bio kfwyre gay cis male he/him/they/them Teacher. Happily married. Living in the US, and grew up in a very conservative Christian area. Came out in my 20s and dealt with severe depression and fallout with family. The bio can include anything you think might be relevant for context, or that you think people might want to ask about.
Signing on to participate in the panel does NOT mean you must answer every question asked. Panel participants can choose which questions they answer, as well as how much they choose to share. Signing on simply means you're agreeing to participate in the topic to the best of your ability and comfort level.
Finally, if you have any feedback or ideas for how this should run, let me know!
23 votes -
What does Waitangi Day mean to you? He aha te tikanga o te Rangi o Waitangi ki a koe?
5 votes -
An unsettling new theory: There is no "swing voter"
28 votes -
The best canned chickpeas you can buy at the store
13 votes -
Jameela Jamil announces she is ‘queer’ after backlash over TV role
17 votes -
Norwegian Melodi Grand Prix 2020 semi-final 5 - songs and results
Tonight was the fifth semi-final of the Norwegian Eurovision national selection (Melodi Grand Prix). This year there are 5 semi-finals, one for each region of the country, plus five songs that...
Tonight was the fifth semi-final of the Norwegian Eurovision national selection (Melodi Grand Prix). This year there are 5 semi-finals, one for each region of the country, plus five songs that automatically qualify for the grand final.
Tonight four songs from Northern Norway competed for a spot in the grand final:
The qualifier was Liza Vassilieva with her song I Am Gay, which will face 9 other songs in the grand final on the 15th of February. One of the automatic qualifiers was also presented during the show:
Previous semi-finals:
Semi-final 1 (Southern Norway) - songs and results
Semi-final 2 (Eastern Norway) - songs and results
4 votes -
Rivers of Nihil - Where Owls Know My Name (2018)
4 votes -
Revolt, populism, and reaction
5 votes -
This is the (co)end, my only (co)friend
6 votes -
Why the Republican party turned undemocratic
3 votes -
Queer time: The alternative to “adulting” | What constitutes adulthood has never been self-evident or value-neutral. Queer lives follow their own temporal logic.
10 votes -
'The Stranger' was Australia's first locally-produced science fiction television show and one of the first Australian series to be sold overseas
ABC's media release: 'The Stranger' was Australia's first locally-produced science fiction television show and one of the first Australian series to be sold overseas. (Ignore the references to...
ABC's media release: 'The Stranger' was Australia's first locally-produced science fiction television show and one of the first Australian series to be sold overseas. (Ignore the references to 'Doctor Who'; the only connection they have is that they were both science fiction shows made in the mid-1960s. I suspect that show is name-dropped just to get people's interest.)
I've been watching this show. I'm 5 episodes in, which means I'm up to the last episode of the 1st season, with another 6 episodes in the 2nd season (only 12 eps in total).
It's bad but also good (not in the "so bad it's good" way). The production isn't great: the special effects are low-grade, the sets are ordinary, the acting ranges from hammy to wooden, and the writing is clunky. However, despite all that, I find myself hooked. I want to know what's going to happen next. It's an interesting premise: the remnants of an alien species eking out an existence inside a rocket-equipped moon, having left their home planet after an unspecified ecological disaster, to seek out a new home. The plot is good enough to drag me along with it. It also has historical curiosity value.
I doubt it's available outside of Australia, but here's the streaming link. Be warned: it's very slow-paced to start with. The first episode doesn't even mention aliens, and the second episode only has hints.
7 votes -
What it took for Stockholm's popular photography museum to make it in New York City
4 votes -
What did you do this week?
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!
12 votes -
Norway, western Europe's largest oil and gas producer, announced on Friday it was increasing its ambition to cut carbon emissions
9 votes -
Finland blazes trail in keeping citizens cycling and healthy – country routinely praised for its schools system aims to do the same with preventive health
4 votes -
Field experiments and the practice of policy - Esther Duflo's Nobel Lecture (2019)
4 votes -
A brief history of quantum mechanics
7 votes -
Wood joint strength testing
7 votes -
Humble Choice - February 2020
February's Humble Choice (the new version of Humble Monthly) is now available, with 12 choices for games again this month: Frostpunk + The Rifts DLC Pathfinder: Kingmaker Book of Demons Cryofall...
February's Humble Choice (the new version of Humble Monthly) is now available, with 12 choices for games again this month:
11 votes -
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?
11 votes -
DB-19: Resurrecting an obsolete connector
12 votes -
Why can’t I commit to a hobby?
14 votes -
Yuri Gagarin - The Outskirts of Reality (2020)
7 votes -
Dylan Tallchief - I made an entire DAW in Excel
11 votes -
How the Nike Vaporfly war was lost
9 votes -
After a TikTok user in Brazil live-streamed his suicide, TikTok took over an hour to notice and then spent three more hours figuring out a PR strategy before informing police
16 votes -
“Abrupt thaw” affects five percent of Arctic permafrost, but it could double the amount of warming it contributes
11 votes -
The dot-com bubble - Five minute history lesson
8 votes -
I made my first knife
A while ago I mentioned I was going to attempt making a knife for the first time. Well, I did. Apologies in advance for there not being many photos of the process - steel is really messy to work...
A while ago I mentioned I was going to attempt making a knife for the first time. Well, I did.
Apologies in advance for there not being many photos of the process - steel is really messy to work with so I mostly kept my phone safely out of the way. I'll try to get more pictures next time, although there are plenty of videos and picture tutorials around if people are super interested in the process. I shall endeavour to describe what I did in text, however.
I started out with a bar of 01 tool steel (wiki) which I cut into a rough knife blank. This I then hit with a ball hammer a load of times to get some texture. Then I used a belt grinder to put a bevel on the edge side, although only enough to thin the knife down to roughly the right shape, not actually sharp. Once that and a few other minor shaping tasks were done, it was time to heat treat it.
Heat treating changes the structure of the metal to make it harder. Hard steel will hold an edge longer, but it does make it much more difficult to work, hence doing most of the shaping before heat treating. To harden steel you need to heat it to a particular temperature, which depends on the exact alloy being used but 'bright orange' is close enough. Fun fact - when steel gets to it's 'critical' temperature, it stops being magnetic, so that's another way you can test it. The steel is then quenched, this one in oil, which makes it hard.
Hardened steel is very brittle so it's usually tempered after hardening. For 01 steel that means putting it in an oven at 160-200C for a couple of hours. You lose some hardness but you gain back some toughness and flexibility.
After tempering, cleaning, polishing, polishing and so much polishing. Steel is so dirty and difficult to work with compared to the silver, gold and copper I'm more used to. But eventually, and after glueing and bolting a sycamore wood handle on, then giving it a final sharpen on my wetstone, I had a knife.
It is a Japanese-style Nakiri knife. Usually used for cutting vegetables, it's really nice to use. Lightweight and agile, the balance is nice and it's comfortable in my hand. It's not perfect and there are a few things I'd do differently but I can see myself using this on a daily basis. More pictures
I have already laid out and started shaping my next knife, which will be a slightly more complicated bunka knife
Any questions, please just ask and I'll do my best to answer.
20 votes -
Line of Sight | A look into wingsuit BASE jumping
3 votes -
The Jesus Rolls | Official trailer
13 votes -
The three best ways to cook steak
9 votes -
Below - Announcing a new, easier Explore Mode and PS4 version
6 votes -
Add-on support was just merged into Firefox Preview
@aissn: Add-on support was just merged into Firefox Preview. Thanks @gabrielluong https://t.co/cXOCB00tKk
23 votes -
We're through the Comet Ping Pong table here, people
5 votes -
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.
8 votes -
What's the deal with meta advertising?
I don't watch T.V very often, but do - when I'm up (which is infrequent given I'm outside the U.S) - watch the NBA. Recently I've had a little time so have watched a few games live. Doing so, I...
I don't watch T.V very often, but do - when I'm up (which is infrequent given I'm outside the U.S) - watch the NBA. Recently I've had a little time so have watched a few games live. Doing so, I was quite taken aback at how commonplace humour and meta advertising are nowadays. Is this just a U.S thing?
Is there any research out there on when and why advertisers started doing this? Seems like every other ad shoots for either humour or "we know you know this is an ad, you're clearly smart enough to realise that, so smart in fact you might want to buy into our brand". Whatever the case, as ever, grateful for resources/discussion from those more in the know than I.
EDIT: A good example that is equal parts humour/meta is LeBron James' Super Bowl Sprite Ad.
10 votes -
It’s time to be honest about seafood
14 votes -
Corruption 2029 | Reveal trailer
3 votes