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    1. How can I make a television "time machine"?

      The idea is simple: on any given day, I wanna know what TV show was on with new episodes 10, 20, or any number of years ago. To make it simple, let's restrict it to US television. The reasoning...

      The idea is simple: on any given day, I wanna know what TV show was on with new episodes 10, 20, or any number of years ago. To make it simple, let's restrict it to US television.

      The reasoning behind it is that shows were made with that expectation (they are not "binge friendly"), and it was wonderful to have a different show every day of the week. It was magical to be able to randomly catch Monk, E.R., The X-Files, The Pretender, Psych, Star Trek TOS, or Early Edition on TV. Hell, even Game of Thrones made a lot more sense when I had to wait a week before watching!

      So yeah, this is 100% about nostalgia. At least one day I week, I'm gonna watch whatever was on TV that exact day 10 to 30 years ago.

      I'm gonna choose a decade and start from there.

      But how could I do it, from a mechanical standpoint? I mean, where can I easily find the information of all the episodes that premiered on US TV exactly 10, 20, 30 years ago to the day?

      Additionally, any tips on finding obscure 80s and 90s TV shows?

      Thanks!

      Edit: what I want it is really nothing complicated, I just wanna know what was on any day of the week for the past 30 years. No automation required!

      12 votes
    2. New users: Ask your questions about Tildes here!

      This thread is officially retired. Please see the new version to ask any new questions. We have a lot of new users joining the site. Welcome to Tildes! This thread is for you to ask any question...

      This thread is officially retired. Please see the new version to ask any new questions.


      We have a lot of new users joining the site. Welcome to Tildes!

      This thread is for you to ask any question you have about the site, from “what is the moderation philosophy?”to “what does that blue line next to some comments mean?” to “what is the general vibe like here?” Tildes has a lot of documentation, history, and embedded social norms that can be daunting or opaque at first glance, so here’s your opportunity to get help with anything you need.

      Questions about anything and everything are fair game. Follow-up questions are encouraged! No question is too simple.

      Also, a quick note: the only person who can speak in any official capacity on Tildes is our admin @Deimos. Everyone answering who is NOT him is just a helpful community member!

      EDIT: To be clear, is perfectly okay to ask any question — even if you think it’s been asked before, or even if you didn’t search for an answer beforehand. There are an overwhelming number of comments here to sift through, so don’t worry about trying to read all of them. Just ask away, and someone will answer you!

      294 votes
    3. Have I by mistake "developed" a new chili pepper variety?

      A year ago I bought a bunch of chili seeds that I planted and then kind of left to its own devices on my balcony together with 3 other types of chili pepper. I watered the plants but I didn't give...

      A year ago I bought a bunch of chili seeds that I planted and then kind of left to its own devices on my balcony together with 3 other types of chili pepper. I watered the plants but I didn't give them any other love.

      Despite my negligence the plants thrived and some of the chili peppers developed a very particular appearance.
      Perhaps 1 out of 10 fully grown peppers kind of resembled a flower with petals around its base. They aren't suppose to look like that.

      https://i.imgur.com/Km2GFu3.jpg

      I saved the seeds from the largest and most distinct "flower chilis" and planted them to see if the odd appearance of the peppers would come back in generation 2...and so far 5 out of 5 developed fruits have the same flower appearance. Some only have 2-3 "petals" around the base of the fruit but some have 5-6.

      My four gen 2 plants have perhaps 60 more peppers in development (out of 100 flowers) and this year the gen 1 plant only have 2 out of 30 peppers that have the flower appearance.

      I have only found one pic on the internets of the same base variety that have a hint of a "petal" but none that look like mine.

      I know that new chili varieties aren't considered to be stable until gen 6-7 so I have more planting to do :) but which steps do I need to take to solidify the variety except replanting seeds and growing new generations?

      59 votes
    4. Looking for a wired gaming headset (preferably with mic) that works for many ear piercings

      I game a lot, and I have many ear piercings (the troublesome ones are industrial and cartilage and for ear buds, both tragus, but I'm looking for just normal headsets). Most headsets make my ears...

      I game a lot, and I have many ear piercings (the troublesome ones are industrial and cartilage and for ear buds, both tragus, but I'm looking for just normal headsets). Most headsets make my ears ache after 20-45 minutes. I can almost pick out how much they're going to hurt when I try them on, and nothing at my local Best Buy has anything available that feels right. Additionally, many are heavy and sit on the top of my head like a brick - before I completed my ear decorations, that was usually my peeve.

      Currently, the only headset I adore is SteelSeries Siberia (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002SN9RN8). I can wear them for hours. Sadly, I cannot get a replacement. I tried their Arctis 5 and immediately sent it back. The Siberia does not have a mic, so that's basically the only reason I am wanting to get another set.

      If anyone can recommend something with the following characteristics, I'd be willing to drop a pretty penny on them... not that I can afford to, but it'll be an investment if it lasts as long as these Siberia have!

      • Preferably cloth ear surface texture;
      • Preferably something that doesn't sit heavily on the head - though the ones I've tried that clamped for staying on my ears would give me headaches as well;
      • Must be wired. No bluetooth. Caveat: if it has a usb dongle, could be doable. (My computer does not have BT capabilities.) I hate things running out of battery though, so it will have to be good;
      • Must have extendable head band up top, if its method is not gripping on your ears without head support;

      I'm sure I've missed something, but if there's a fellow ear-pierced gamer whose had issues with many headsets but found the perfect one, please recommend! Thanks!

      10 votes
    5. I'm finally biting the bullet and investing in laser eye surgery, anything I should know?

      I've done a large amount of research and got a consultation a few months ago, my doctor said I could get PRK as SMILE and LASIK weren't good options for my cornea. As I understand it the results...

      I've done a large amount of research and got a consultation a few months ago, my doctor said I could get PRK as SMILE and LASIK weren't good options for my cornea. As I understand it the results should be very similar, just a longer/more painful recovery time. I've got family who is going to come into town for a week to help me with anything, but I wanted to know if any of you have gone through PRK and had advice or an experience to share.

      43 votes
    6. US states scrutinize the amount of charity spending from nonprofit hospitals in light of high salaries and large tax breaks

      https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/nonprofit-hospitals-tax-breaks-community-benefit/ POTTSTOWN, Pa. — The public school system here had to scramble in 2018 when the local hospital, newly...

      https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/nonprofit-hospitals-tax-breaks-community-benefit/

      POTTSTOWN, Pa. — The public school system here had to scramble in 2018 when the local hospital, newly purchased, was converted to a tax-exempt nonprofit entity.

      The takeover by Tower Health meant the 219-bed Pottstown Hospital no longer had to pay federal and state taxes. It also no longer had to pay local property taxes, taking away more than $900,000 a year from the already underfunded Pottstown School District, school officials said.

      The district, about an hour’s drive from Philadelphia, had no choice but to trim expenses. It cut teacher aide positions and eliminated middle school foreign language classes.

      “We have less curriculum, less coaches, less transportation,” said Superintendent Stephen Rodriguez.

      The school system appealed Pottstown Hospital’s new nonprofit status, and earlier this year a state court struck down the facility’s property tax break. It cited the “eye-popping” compensation for multiple Tower Health executives as contrary to how Pennsylvania law defines a charity.

      The court decision, which Tower Health is appealing, stunned the nonprofit hospital industry, which includes roughly 3,000 nongovernment tax-exempt hospitals nationwide.

      “The ruling sent a warning shot to all nonprofit hospitals, highlighting that their state and local tax exemptions, which are often greater than their federal income tax exemptions, can be challenged by state and local courts,” said Ge Bai, a health policy expert at Johns Hopkins University.

      The Pottstown case reflects the growing scrutiny of how much the nation’s nonprofit hospitals spend — and on what — to justify billions in state and federal tax breaks. In exchange for these savings, hospitals are supposed to provide community benefits, like care for those who can’t afford it and free health screenings.

      More than a dozen states have considered or passed legislation to better define charity care, to increase transparency about the benefits hospitals provide, or, in some cases, to set minimum financial thresholds for charitable help to their communities.

      The growing interest in how tax-exempt hospitals operate — from lawmakers, the public, and the media — has coincided with a stubborn increase in consumers’ medical debt. KFF Health News reported last year that more than 100 million Americans are saddled with medical bills they can’t pay, and has documented aggressive bill-collection practices by hospitals, many of them nonprofits.

      (article continues)

      15 votes
    7. 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
    8. What are your go-to mobile apps?

      I'm looking for suggestions. The Internet has become very small over the last 11 years. My go-to for the moments of downtime was RIF. I was able to consume all the little spaces with it since it...

      I'm looking for suggestions. The Internet has become very small over the last 11 years. My go-to for the moments of downtime was RIF. I was able to consume all the little spaces with it since it was an infinite feed - that's a bit harder now. All sorts of apps are welcome, but I'm not looking for things that require high effort or attention span (unless they are worth it). Games are fine, but other apps that fill your time are very good - preferably SFW and audio-off! I use Android, so I prefer those, but our Apple brethren are also welcome to share.

      84 votes
    9. What consumeristic and somewhat pointless hobby do you have?

      The one thing that I personally really got into was mechanical keyboards. It all started with one cheap secondhand Corsair RGB mechanical gaming keyboard that I got when I was 15. I thought it was...

      The one thing that I personally really got into was mechanical keyboards. It all started with one cheap secondhand Corsair RGB mechanical gaming keyboard that I got when I was 15. I thought it was the coolest thing ever because it was shiny and loud. That led to many different keyboards and keyboard accessories. Notable ones include:

      • GMMK Pro 70% keyboard with a metal chassis
      • Anne Pro Bluetooth 60% keyboard
      • A set of keycaps, which alone cost more than multiple non-fancy keyboards
      • A couple of hand-soldered macropads that I never got around to using

      ... The list goes on. It was fun, but after buying the keycaps, I realized that, for the sake of my bank account and financial stability, I had probably acquired enough keyboards for the time being.

      What is your costly and somewhat pointless hobby/obsession?

      126 votes
    10. Brag post: Health going in the right direction, and simple life hacks

      About a year ago I was approaching 200 lbs. I work from home since pre-pandemic. I used to bike to an office but since then, I’ve moved somewhere less biking friendly. My strategy to tackle weight...

      About a year ago I was approaching 200 lbs. I work from home since pre-pandemic. I used to bike to an office but since then, I’ve moved somewhere less biking friendly. My strategy to tackle weight was intermittent fasting. And it was generally working for ~10 lbs and I stopped weighing myself for a year. And shirts were not fitting me, and then I learned the weight had come all back and more.
      I knew enough that the fasting was going to do nothing if I was not telling my body to really use anything it stored up. Serendipitously I read about someone with a recumbent bike under their standing desk, and gaming, they’d wrack up the miles. I realized I needed that setup. I’m someone who just hates to go out of my way for working out.

      Found one that was literally a desk chair with a bike under it and ordered it. I went from ultra sedentary to light exercise for ~4 hours a day. I’ve had it for about 2 weeks, and this thing is great. I’m listening to my body and not trying to do it too hard (for those who are concerned). Without every really trying to sprint I’ve been doing 40 miles a week-day. On the 4th of July I tried to see how far I could go biking all day. When I started I could not go anymore at 80 miles. Last weekend I easily knocked out 70 miles. The big thing is breaks. I’m not on a real bike, so there is no problem in taking a 5 minute break to knockout dishes or something. I don’t know if I trust the machine telling me I’m burning ~1,000 cals on my 40 miles, but I know what I am doing is healthy and I’m curious how my body will feel in 6 months or a year.

      How do my legs feel? Oddly enough, during the day or after the work out, they’re beat. They seem to feel better by the time I’m ready to ride in the evening so no rest days yet. I’m shocked how much the leg fatigue really goes away once I start riding and focus on whatever is on my PC. Most of the discomfort is really from my bum. It has gone away generally though.
      An odd risk I had to solve for myself was that upon pushing away from my desk while on my bike, I nearly topped my standing desk over. This was solved by well-placed PVC pipes and padding locked between the desk and the wall.

      What bike do I recommend?
      The budget version: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004O6TXVS/
      The one I have: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C8MVYLLT (but from their original website)
      A cushion that the I book marked when I was doing research: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01EBDV9BU

      When I look up recumbent biking exercises, it’s kind of funny. It’s often recommended for the elderly because it’s potentially such a low intense workout. It’s great in a long duration. I would actually feel guilty spending this much time at the gym, but this method rocks. I have not worked out for this long since playing a Highschool sport. I won’t ever be shaped like a teenager again, but I can work towards it.

      19 votes
    11. Unexpected, but great mashups

      So I just encountered this mashup of Britney Spears' "Toxic" and Deftones' "Change (In the house of flies)" and it just works so well. Same with ABBA's "Dancing Queen" over Linkin' Park's "Numb"...

      So I just encountered this mashup of Britney Spears' "Toxic" and Deftones' "Change (In the house of flies)" and it just works so well.

      Same with ABBA's "Dancing Queen" over Linkin' Park's "Numb" by Manuel of Zeal & Ardor.

      What are some mashups you think work surprisingly well? (Please link them!)

      25 votes
    12. HTML-based puzzle/riddle sites?

      I have fond memories of trying to solve HTML/text-based riddles on sites like WeffRiddles when I was growing up in the mid-late 2000s. The premise of the site is usually pretty simple: the landing...

      I have fond memories of trying to solve HTML/text-based riddles on sites like WeffRiddles when I was growing up in the mid-late 2000s. The premise of the site is usually pretty simple: the landing page represents "level 1", and you had to find the correct URL to get to level 2, 3, and so on. The "puzzle/riddle" aspect usually involves inspecting the underlying HTML and looking through clues given in the source code, then using those clues to piece together the URL for the next stage.

      It was always fun hanging out on forums and sharing clues about how to solve the level that everyone was stuck on. Also, being a kid back then, frankly I felt like a Hackerman™️ whenever I'd have to inspect the page source, paste it into Windows Notepad, then set font size to 1pt because I thought there was an ASCII art pattern hidden in the HTML. Good times.

      Sometimes I get the urge to play these things again, but besides WeffRiddles which I know by name, I don't really know what this type of game is called. The closest "modern" example I can think of is /dev/esc, which is more like an online escape room than a long-form riddle site.

      Does this ring a bell for you? Any other fun ones that you remember playing? And what the hell do I type into Google to find more of these?

      33 votes
    13. Help with a home theater system issue

      Long story short my roommate has a surround system she got at Goodwill and I set it up for her but the internal amps are not functioning properly. It's only using the front two satellite speakers...

      Long story short my roommate has a surround system she got at Goodwill and I set it up for her but the internal amps are not functioning properly. It's only using the front two satellite speakers and sub which is independently powered. So it's 2.1 for now.

      The front two speakers barely put out much sound even cranked to max volume. The sub is fine as again it's independently powered.

      I've ruled out all settings, as there is a 2.1 output mode, and the radio is just as low so it's not an input issue. I have it hooked to her PC's output. I also have proper gauge speaker wire so that's not the problem either. I did hook up the center speaker to one of the front outputs too. Same deal.

      So can an inline amp help at this point? Is there anything else I can try or rule out?

      Also if this is not appropriate to post here in Tech I apologize in advance.

      5 votes
    14. Have you or anyone in your family ever won anything?

      Seems like people in my family are pretty lucky. My brother won a $250,000 hospital fundraiser lottery a few years ago. And my daughter won $123,000 charity fundraiser a year after that. What they...

      Seems like people in my family are pretty lucky. My brother won a $250,000 hospital fundraiser lottery a few years ago. And my daughter won $123,000 charity fundraiser a year after that.

      What they say about lottery wins seems to be true. Both of them blew through their winnings in fairly short order. Easy come, easy go I guess.

      29 votes
    15. Favorite out of bounds experience?

      Currently going down a rabbit hole of out of bound areas in games. I’ve always loved seeing what we aren’t supposed to and how the devs make it work. I was curious on what you guys thought were...

      Currently going down a rabbit hole of out of bound areas in games. I’ve always loved seeing what we aren’t supposed to and how the devs make it work.

      I was curious on what you guys thought were some fun experiences you’ve had out of of bounds? Share below!

      30 votes
    16. Humble Choice - July 2023

      July's Humble Choice is now available with the following eight Steam games: Steam Page Opencritic Steam Recent/All Operating Systems Steam Deck ProtonDB The Outer Worlds: Spacer's Choice Edition...

      July's Humble Choice is now available with the following eight Steam games:

      Steam Page Opencritic Steam Recent/All Operating Systems Steam Deck ProtonDB
      The Outer Worlds: Spacer's Choice Edition 80 68/43 Win Playable Silver
      TemTem 75 51/84 Win Verified Platinum
      Yakuza 4 Remastered 77 92/92 Win Unsupported Gold
      Roadwarden 83 95/96 Win Mac Lin Playable Native/Gold
      Kraken Academy!! 73 93/93 Win Mac Lin Verified Native/TBC
      Merchant Of The Skies TBC 87/87 Win Mac Lin Verified Native/TBC
      Ozymandias: Bronze Age Empire Sim N/A 93/91 Win Mac Playable Platinum
      Shotgun King: The Final Checkmate TBC 94/93 Win Verified 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?

      34 votes
    17. What are some good modern nu metal bands?

      I'm a big fan of Nu Metal, but I've been listening to the same stuff for quite a while. (System of a Down, Slipknot, Mudvayne, Soulfly, etc.). So, I'm wanting to find some cool new bands to add to...

      I'm a big fan of Nu Metal, but I've been listening to the same stuff for quite a while. (System of a Down, Slipknot, Mudvayne, Soulfly, etc.). So, I'm wanting to find some cool new bands to add to my playlist. Honestly, the only two modern acts that I know of are Crazy N' Sane and Dropout Kings.

      15 votes
    18. Are there any plans for image-based communities?

      I've noticed that there are primarily text posts with some links thrown in, and I do like the "real" conversation that it brings, instead of the shitposting that ends up all over Reddit. I was...

      I've noticed that there are primarily text posts with some links thrown in, and I do like the "real" conversation that it brings, instead of the shitposting that ends up all over Reddit.

      I was curious, though, if there were any plans to add a ~pics or something similar. I know the goal of Tildes isn't to be a true Reddit replacement of course, but I wasn't sure whether image boards were planned or were being left out to help encourage actual discussion.

      40 votes