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5 votes
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How often do cook/order out/ eat pre-made food/ throw together food
For cooking I mean like making it largely from scratch. Eating out (or dining in) is hopefully self-explanatory. By premade meals I mean like ramen bowls, cans of soup, Stoufers or Banquet meals,...
For cooking I mean like making it largely from scratch. Eating out (or dining in) is hopefully self-explanatory. By premade meals I mean like ramen bowls, cans of soup, Stoufers or Banquet meals, frozen pizzas, etc. Throwing something together is like a sandwich, cereal, a box of Mac and cheese/ hamburger helper or a ramen packet where you add a boiled egg, leftover pork and some chives, etc-- stuff where it's mostly finished food that just requires a little bit of work.
16 votes -
Lawsuit over polychlorinated biphenyl contamination filed by Massachusetts mother of boy with leukemia. Lawsuit targets GE, Monsanto, Bayer and others.
28 votes -
Who/what are the local treasures in your city/region?
I'm curious to hear about the people or things in your city or region that add their own unique charm or character -- perhaps they're unknown or barely known to the rest of the world but are...
I'm curious to hear about the people or things in your city or region that add their own unique charm or character -- perhaps they're unknown or barely known to the rest of the world but are important culturally to your area.
I'll throw out a few of my picks for Dallas, Texas:
- The Ticket is a local sports radio station that's been around since 1995, which is an eternity when it comes to AM/FM radio. On the surface, this doesn't sound that interesting, but the station goes way deeper than just sports. Most of the listeners are loyal and almost cult-like in their dedication. People say that when they listen, it's as if they're just hearing some of their friends talk on the radio. I'd go as far as to say it has introduced some vernacular into the Dallas area lexicon that you don't typically find in other places (i.e. you can have a conversation with someone and they'll say a phrase in a way that instantly tips you off that they're a listener).
- Robert Wilonsky is a local writer/historian/everything Dallas guy. Not only is he passionate about Dallas, but he has a knack for writing and can turn a very boring civil matter into an exciting read.
18 votes -
Hydrogen, additionality, & Joe Manchin
5 votes -
US 5th Circuit Court of Appeal rejects challenge to Mifeprestone abortion pill’s approval, but upholds some restrictions
20 votes -
ProtonMail complied with 5,957 data requests in 2022 – still secure and private?
24 votes -
Skipping a step: Corridor Digital and AI anime
Almost 6 months ago Corridor Crew released an AI-drawn anime short (ANIME ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS) with an accomppanying making-of video ( Did We Just Change Animation Forever?). It got... mixed...
Almost 6 months ago Corridor Crew released an AI-drawn anime short (ANIME ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS) with an accomppanying making-of video ( Did We Just Change Animation Forever?). It got... mixed reception. Some loved the new era of "democratizing animation" (meaning you don't anymore need a team of hundreds of animators which in turn means it's possible for smaller creative teams to make their visions come to life), others really hated it for blatantly just ripping off an existing anime (Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, 2000) and general disrespect over animation as a job and art form -- or at least that's how (some) animators felt. Having heard them talking about drawing each frame with such a passion (on Corridor's show!), I can understand the ire.
Now, almost half a year later, comes the sequel (ANIME ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS 2) also with an accomppanying making-of (Did We Just Change Animation Forever... Again?). Things... have changed. Basically Corridor realized that stealing art is bad, so they hired a real artist to draw a model sheet as a base for the AI to draw from (instead of stealing others' work). They also hired a person to write a theme song and a team of online artists to touch up every frame of the anime (watch the making-of if you're interested in the details, they go through them very well).
Next, some personal opinions of mine, starting with the first anime. I liked it. It was a nice and funny short with an interesting, smooth style that comes with the territory when there are more frames crammed into a second. Overall, it was the goofy concept of rock paper scissors combined with the over-the-top life and death drama that was fun. Visual style on the other hand, nowhere near ready. The warping and "worming" between each frame were really distracting and it wasn't ready for more than a tech demo (or for some relatively out-there story where that stuff ties into the film, not as a distraction). But I was able to look past those problems because it was a pretty good video.
Most of all, I didn't like them using artists' work without permission (and not saying anything about it).
Now to the sequel. It's... basically same? Same problems, less warping but for example king's crown was changing its color like it was having some sort of multistage chemical burn, and the visual style wasn't as strong and at times more clunky than on the first one. Maybe that's due the fact that the AI style guidebook was a lot smaller or that they were only willing to spent X amount of hours and money working on this while aiming for the anime episode lenght -- I don't know. But the story and the writing were still the best parts. Interestingly also I think direction was a bit weaker and they used too many "cool moment" tricks which made it visually messy. It basically got in the way of the story.
(Also I really dislike that Niko still wasn't taking responsibility for stealing art from others, bit of a bummer since most of us knew better six months ago already.)
What they proved with the second anime is that AI is still not close to replacing actual artists and it's a lot of work to make them even this way -- even if the AI part worked smoothly! But most of all what matters is the content, the creativity and how it's translated to the screen. Not the AI. It's a tool, not a revolution.
Edit. For clarity and some additional thoughts.
28 votes -
White-nose syndrome in bats was detected in Texas in February 2020. Scientists are only now understanding the population loss.
9 votes -
Minimalist android launcher suggestions
I'm looking for suggestions for a free, customizable minimalist launcher for my android smart phone. I am currently using indistractable, and while I like how it looks and the core functions, I...
I'm looking for suggestions for a free, customizable minimalist launcher for my android smart phone. I am currently using indistractable, and while I like how it looks and the core functions, I don't like that I can't redirect certain apps, and it seems to have problems syncing my calendar. Ultimately, I'm not opposed to buying the premium version of this, but from my understanding that wouldn't provide the functionality I am looking for.
I did a little bit of researching and right now I'm looking at Lawnchair 2, Takan, and Olauncher as alluring alternatives. Does anyone have any experience with these, or any other recommendations? Primarily something that is entirely free, but if there is something that has a one time payment that really knocked your socks off I'd be open to that as well.
27 votes -
US federal grants will replace tunnels beneath roads that let water pass but not fish
16 votes -
Thousands of Yiddish pulp fiction stories finally seeing the light of day
15 votes -
The entire capital city of Canada’s Northwest Territories has been ordered to evacuate as hundreds of wildfires scorch the region
31 votes -
The next Battlefield game will be a "reimagination of Battlefield as a truly connected ecosystem"
16 votes -
Advice for upgrades
Hello fellow creatives (not me though, I'm asking on behalf of my wife), would you be able to pass on some knowledge and sage advice? Right now my wife is running an Etsy shop and personal site...
Hello fellow creatives (not me though, I'm asking on behalf of my wife), would you be able to pass on some knowledge and sage advice?
Right now my wife is running an Etsy shop and personal site selling mostly Heat Transfer Vinyl based tees, teddies, bags, etc. She's making all of this using a Cricut Explore 3 as it was very hobbyist, along with a half decent heat press with electromagnetic pressure.
It's time to grow up a bit. We're going to be building a 5m X 5m building for her to work out of rather than a small office space in the house (she has a lot of stock) and with this, maybe it's time to upgrade the equipment.
She's not been fond of sublimation, although we have an A3 Epson for that. She's not keen on polyester. So the question is: does she upgrade from using a small Epson EcoTank and Cricut to something like a Roland BN20 or BN20D or simply go for a larger format cutter since she buys it buy the roll anyway? DTG seems very expensive and DTF is so new that you need to printer daily to stop the heads dying. I think she likes Vinyl and she also likes a little print and cut, but not so much of the latter as the combo she has is pretty shite.
Thoughts? Ideas? Suggestions? I'm trying to look at a budget of sub £10k for hardware. Happy to second hand if it's recommended.
6 votes -
Israeli proposal to move early Christian mosaic to US Museum of the Bible sparks controversy
17 votes -
Writers: Have you been published in a literary magazine?
I have two goals this year. The second is to submit at least one short story to a literary magazine. The first is to write one good short story (just kidding, the first is to write one story a...
I have two goals this year. The second is to submit at least one short story to a literary magazine. The first is to write one good short story (just kidding, the first is to write one story a week in the hope that one will be good enough to submit).
Of course the goal in my secret heart is to have my submission accepted but let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. Walk before you can run, and so on.
So, writers (particularly of fiction), have you ever submitted a short story to a literary magazine? How did it go? Did you learn anything in the process that you wish you’d known before? Any tips for a rookie?
10 votes -
Spain reach their first Women's World Cup final as late winner sinks Sweden
14 votes -
Nut consumption (>0 to 1 serving of 30 g/day) associated with a 17% lower risk of depression during a 5.3-year follow-up compared with no nut consumption in...
27 votes -
How do I keep myself sane while trying to find a WFH job?
Since pretty much the beginning of the year, I've been searching on-and-off for something WFH-related, but it feels like the only thing that ever calls me back is something that either defines...
Since pretty much the beginning of the year, I've been searching on-and-off for something WFH-related, but it feels like the only thing that ever calls me back is something that either defines itself as 'contract work', requires cold calling or sales (which is insanely stressful and comes with those good 'ol CommissionsTM!), or lists as remote but is actually hybrid.
I'm fine with tech support, customer support, data entry-- I just don't want a job that has "make your own hours!" or shift bids or whatever. And yet, I never hear back from anything that isn't either pseudo-telemarketing or something else that relies on commission in order to actually justify a viable living.
And don't get me started on the website applications. What in the fuck is the point of Indeed if every single major company just asks me to apply on their site afterwards, anyway? I already have all of this information, along with about 60 of those proficiency tests that are supposed to get me noticed, already filled out on Indeed. And even if I download my Indeed profile as a resume and upload it to another site, if I'm lucky it'll pull my previous employer's name and my job title. But that still means filling in contact information, references, and the whole shebang of everything else.
I've also tried to find something local that's not Remote, but unless I want something super-mega-corporate, full-time seems to be out of the picture.
So anyone have any suggestions? What do I do at this point? Indeed feels like how most people describe Tinder if you're a straight man, or finding a D&D group if you're not a DM.
Oh, as an aside: About 50% of WFH jobs seem to be related to medical in some way, and all of those require someone who already has experience in medical data entry or something already. How does that work? Ditto insurance companies, I guess.
38 votes -
Windows Secure Time Seeding sometimes resets clocks months or years off the correct time
19 votes -
How do I install MAME and then add a particular arcade video game to play?
So... a friend did this for me a long time ago, but I've replaced my computer since then, and I don't know how to do it for myself. I know how to find the MAME executable. I don't know whether I...
So... a friend did this for me a long time ago, but I've replaced my computer since then, and I don't know how to do it for myself.
I know how to find the MAME executable. I don't know whether I need to download the .exe file or the .zip file, but I assume the .exe file is the better option.
I know how to run an executable file, and I'm assuming it installs itself.
I know how to find a copy of the antique video game I want.
However...
The .zip file I download for the game contains a lot of files with names like "a26-13.109" - and I don't know what I'm supposed to do with those, to get them inside the MAME and make the game playable.
I'm running Windows 10 on a 64-bit operating system, if that's relevant.
Is anyone feeling charitable and willing to help someone who's not computer literate to do this?
12 votes -
Power lines likely caused Maui’s first reported fire, video and data show
11 votes -
Why I pumped the brakes on vanlife
16 votes -
New Jersey court sides with Catholic school that fired unmarried pregnant teacher
24 votes -
Lauren Dickason trial: Jury finds New Zealand mum guilty of murdering her three children in majority verdict
13 votes -
Looking for recommendations on a portable, high performance laptop
I used to work in IT but left the field in 2018, so I'm not as up to date as I used to be on things. I'm looking for a new laptop to use for work (primarily word processing and web browsing),...
I used to work in IT but left the field in 2018, so I'm not as up to date as I used to be on things. I'm looking for a new laptop to use for work (primarily word processing and web browsing), ideally something portable with a good sized screen (larger than 13"). I've had a Dell G5 for the last five years because I thought I'd do more gaming on it when I bought it, but it's largely just been a heavy brick in my backpack on travel.
Back in the mid 2010s, I recommended Lenovos to everyone who would listen, but I fell out of love with them toward the end of my IT career when the build quality seemed to be rapidly declining. I haven't really touched them recently, but my dad loves his Lenovo Ideapad Pro.
Honestly, something similar to a Dell Latitude might be what I'm looking for, but I'm open to any recommendations. I need a responsive keyboard and clickable trackpad. Bonus points if there's somehow a laptop out there that has a nub!
ETA: Not looking for a macbook -- will be running Windows!
31 votes -
Chromium is showing immense promise as a cheap, plentiful alternative to metals used in smartphone screens and solar cells
11 votes -
The hidden fee costing US doctors millions every year
22 votes -
Small Soldiers: War for the Necron | Proof of Concept
10 votes -
US Special Counsel got a search warrant for Twitter to turn over info on Donald Trump’s account
40 votes -
TeenNick is only airing Henry Danger (I am not exaggerating)
So, this is something I discovered last night that is just blowing my mind: for most of the past year, the channel TeenNick is showing only Henry Danger. I cannot emphasize how literal I am being...
So, this is something I discovered last night that is just blowing my mind: for most of the past year, the channel TeenNick is showing only Henry Danger.
I cannot emphasize how literal I am being with that. Usually "a channel is only showing X" is an exaggeration, but for once, no. As far as I can tell, 99% of TeenNick's programming has been Henry Danger or its spin-off, Danger Force, for the past year. At most, there are brief "respites" where it will have a block with another show. For example, from July 27 to 31, it aired Zoey 101 from 11 PM to 1 AM. Two hours late at night, and then back to Henry Danger. Similar story with some new Nickelodeon show called Erin & Aaron: it showed periodically starting on April 22, and was apparently last aired on July 4.
Otherwise? Most days are JUST Henry Danger. Even Wikipedia lists Henry Danger and Danger Force as the only current shows. (Along with Nick News, which apparently only airs once a month.)
This is just honestly stunning to me. For those unfamiliar with TeenNick, it's a sub-channel of Nickelodeon. As far as I can remember, it pretty much never had original programming, but would air reruns of mostly live-action shows from Nickelodeon (either older finished shows or currently airing), some older Nickelodeon cartoons (Hey Arnold and Rugrats), or shows picked up through syndication (namely Degrassi, and more recently America's Funniest Home Videos and Wipeout for some reason...?).
What I'm saying is there is no reason for them to ONLY air this one, single show. It can't be blamed on any production issues, since it primarily airs reruns. TeenNick SHOULD have access to all the other shows from Nickelodeon's library, so it can't be a licensing issue either. As stated earlier, it aired episodes of a show that premiered this year on Nickelodeon. And Henry Danger is fairly recent, ending in 2020, so I don't know if it's a matter of residuals.
The only reason I can think of is that they want to push people to get Paramount+. Except even with that logic, this channel is currently a waste of money. Henry Danger has a total of 128 half-hour episodes (though I think some are part of a one-hour special, so Wikipedia counts 121 episodes...?), so that's basically 5 days' worth of content before airing the same thing again. That's not enough to justify a dedicated channel—not for viewers or advertisers.
From a cursory internet search, they average 66,000 viewers, with a peak of 99,000 on January 1, 2023. I can't imagine that would appeal to advertisers. I feel like the costs of running the channel outweigh any potential profits. This feels like it's just a money sink.
I just... I can't wrap my head around it. What the heck??
Anyone have any thoughts on this? Or just want to join me in boggling over this weirdness? This feels like it could be a symptom of cable's overall degradation (I've seen people comparing it to Cartoon Network's limited programming in recent years), but... It almost feels like this channel is being sabotaged? Deliberately set up for failure and closure? Just, I can't wrap my head around a year-long nonstop "marathon".
56 votes -
I have been forbidden from chewing since July 20. But in two days I can eat normally again! What should my first meal be!?
I had triple jaw surgery 6 months ago, but things went wrong around a wisdom tooth and one of the implants, so I had a revision last month. As a consequence of that, I have not been allowed to...
I had triple jaw surgery 6 months ago, but things went wrong around a wisdom tooth and one of the implants, so I had a revision last month. As a consequence of that, I have not been allowed to chew since my jawbone needed peace and quiet to grow back together.
The suffering is soon over, though. On August 17 I can eat normally again! I have had multiple dreams of eating and chewing things normally, and I have even had unquiet dreams/nightmares of eating but then remembering that I'm not allowed to eat.
For reference, I have eaten nothing but mashed potatoes, soups, overcooked pasta, yoghurts... for the past month. Last time around, my first solid meal was a cheeseburger from McDonald's but that was definitely not very satisfying. So please help! What should my first real meal in a month be!?
PS: my frustration is expertly expressed in this moment in this video. I WANNA CHEW!
44 votes -
Windows feature that resets system clocks based on random data is wreaking havoc
32 votes -
Recorded interview with Hawaiian indigenous community leader re the fires, ecology, climate change, water, history, politics, culture and current needs
13 votes -
Language is a poor heuristic for intelligence
37 votes -
What do I think about Twitter/X Community Notes?
18 votes -
Tim O'Brien, author of the Things They Carried, announces new book America Fantastica
10 votes -
Ghee discussion, mostly about making it into spread
In addition to other uses of the ghee I personally really like that it is a good, mostly neutral base to add basically any flavoring desired and make homemade spread. Some flavors that I so far...
In addition to other uses of the ghee I personally really like that it is a good, mostly neutral base to add basically any flavoring desired and make homemade spread.
Some flavors that I so far tried are:
- Chili - excellent and easy to control how spicy the result is
- Garlic - both fresh, dried and a salty garlic paste. A kind poster has pointed out that it needs to be acidified or consumed in only a few short days or there is risk of developing botulism toxins - https://news.okstate.edu/articles/agriculture/2020/gedon_home-infused-oils.html
- Soy sauce - specifically shiitake mushrooms one
- Carob - not bad but the flavor is not really distinctive even if I add relatively lot of it. Perhaps I should tinker with it more
- Ajvar(tomato, eggplant, pepper mix)
- Horseradish
- Chill and bitter chocolate - did not turn out all that well but I will still try again to see if I can make a better result
- Ginger - dried
I probably should start keeping track of how much of something I add exactly but so far I do it just by guess. Usually something like one to three tablespoons for 150g of ghee or so.
Usually I simply add the warm ghee and the flavoring in the glass jar. I can not really use a mixer since I do small batches and do not want to have to clean it up afterwards. What I arrived at is to simply give the jar a good shake about every half an hour for a few hours. It is probably not the best solution but good enough.
It completely kills the longevity of the ghee. Especially the ingredients that are not dried but I do not really care since it is gone in a week anyway.
So far I only made ghee from store bought white butter so I am not sure how much difference it would make to make it directly from milk or from less processed butter.
Is there someone here who tried something similar? If so what flavors have you tried or recommend?
Edit: edited the problematic garlic entry.
12 votes -
You're ruining your feet: A video on how our shoes are too narrow
40 votes -
Judge rules in favor of Oklahoma against big chicken producers in poultry-pollution lawsuit
17 votes -
European Union greenhouse gas emissions fall 3% in the first quarter
18 votes -
Looking for suggestions that make fun of holier than thou/ sanctimonious people
I have seen the vibe I am looking for in the Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Oh Brother Where Art Thou, the Hunt for the Wilderpeople, The Birdcage and I am hoping to find more. Making fun of the...
I have seen the vibe I am looking for in the Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Oh Brother Where Art Thou, the Hunt for the Wilderpeople, The Birdcage and I am hoping to find more. Making fun of the characters who see themselves as morally superior. Thank you.
20 votes -
Looking for suggestions that make fun of holier than thou/ sanctimonious people
I have seen the vibe I am looking for in MASH and in the Dukes of Hazard among other comedies. Basically significant subplots making fun of the characters who see themselves as morally superior....
I have seen the vibe I am looking for in MASH and in the Dukes of Hazard among other comedies. Basically significant subplots making fun of the characters who see themselves as morally superior. Thank you.
4 votes -
Failures in accuracy, ethics and responsibility with Linus Tech Tips and LMG as a whole
163 votes -
Modern hardcore
What's happening in the hardcore scene in 2023? I typically pose these sorts of questions to Reddit, but Tildes hasn't failed me on anything music related. We had an incredibly successful prog...
What's happening in the hardcore scene in 2023?
I typically pose these sorts of questions to Reddit, but Tildes hasn't failed me on anything music related. We had an incredibly successful prog metal thread a couple of weeks before, and I'd love to have one on hardcore punk.
I have general questions about hardcore like:
- Who are the biggest names in hardcore of all time that still tour and write music today?
- Who are the biggest hardcore bands that have started in the last decade or less?
- In 2023, is it even useful to talk about hardcore as a distinct genre separate from metalcore anymore?
- Does any metalcore meaningfully exist in the hardcore scene? Is there any metalcore scene that embraces the punk ethic of hardcore?
- If a through-and-through hardcore band uses elements of metal in their music, are they now metalcore? Are you no longer punk if you use breakdowns?
- What should people know about the hardcore punk scene?
I don't know enough to know which of these questions are stupid or cringe, or what the best questions to ask are. Feel free to answer questions, ask questions, or share your knowledge of the scene with curious minds.
As always, I greatly appreciate your feedback!
19 votes -
ESPN deal with Penn Entertainment means that watching sports will likely include watching a lot more ads for gambling
25 votes -
US agencies investigate close call between Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 and a Cessna Citation 560X business jet in San Diego
8 votes -
Batman is a jerk
8 votes -
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds S02E10 - "Hegemony" Episode Discussion
What do you guys think about this episode? They really went and hit us with a cross season cliffhanger... I wasn't expecting one of those!
22 votes