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    1. Why is Popeyes so good?

      I love fried chicken sandwiches. I have loads of fast food options as well as one off restaurants around me that offer fried chicken sandwiches, some that it is their claim to fame. It doesn’t...

      I love fried chicken sandwiches. I have loads of fast food options as well as one off restaurants around me that offer fried chicken sandwiches, some that it is their claim to fame. It doesn’t seem to matter where I go in search of the best fried chicken sandwiches, or how much money I spend, Popeyes is always the best.

      Two topics to start discussion:

      1. What is your favourite fried chicken place where you live? Bonus points if you live around Vancouver, BC, Canada and can introduce me to a new favourite chicken place.

      2. What does Popeyes do to get such consistency across all locations, and why the heck is it so good?

      30 votes
    2. Anyone here like motorcycles?

      In the spirit of u/gdp's post on escooters, does anyone ride motorcycles or motor scooters (e.g. Vespas)? Compared to cars, motorcycles can be far cheaper in purchase cost, gas, and insurance....

      In the spirit of u/gdp's post on escooters, does anyone ride motorcycles or motor scooters (e.g. Vespas)?

      Compared to cars, motorcycles can be far cheaper in purchase cost, gas, and insurance. Additionally, lane filtering or riding the shoulder in gridlock can prevent you from being part of the traffic holding everyone up. Going fast is also fun, if that's your thing.

      38 votes
    3. Fresh Album Fridays: Sufjan Stevens, Hannah Diamond, Drake(?) and more

      Good morning ~ This is a thread to discuss new album releases that have arrived on our doorstep this week. Feel free to share albums and EPs that have caught your eye and interest! Discussion...

      Good morning ~ This is a thread to discuss new album releases that have arrived on our doorstep this week. Feel free to share albums and EPs that have caught your eye and interest!

      Discussion Points

      What are you looking forward to listen to?
      Have you listened to any of these releases?
      What are your thoughts?
      What have you enjoyed from these artists in the past?

      Why Friday?

      Most (but not all) new LPs release on a Friday, as labels want to give the release a full week of sales before entering the charts.

      ~~ Feedback on the format welcome!

      8 votes
    4. What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga)

      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...

      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!

      7 votes
    5. Why are people weird around babies?

      I mean, I love my kid, but why do people have such an explosion of emotion when they look at a baby that is not theirs? As if it was something they desire so deeply that they can barely contain...

      I mean, I love my kid, but why do people have such an explosion of emotion when they look at a baby that is not theirs? As if it was something they desire so deeply that they can barely contain themselves? And why do they must express this emotion using words like "I wanna bite it", "I can't handle the baby smell!", "I just wanna eat it!", or "Yummy!" like they're the Cookie Monster and my kid is a cookie? Every time someone says those things -- usually women -- I imagine a man saying the same things, and it grosses me out. Why is it okay for women to say those things when a man cannot?

      I genuinely feel nothing for babies that are not my own, so it is hard for me to understand.

      Mods: please don't move this to ~life. This is meant as a causal conversation and should remain in ~talk. Thanks.

      35 votes
    6. What did you do this week (and weekend)?

      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!

      8 votes
    7. What are some things you do "the old fashioned way," which might come with unexpected benefits over the modern, "improved" way of doing things?

      My examples have to do with tech/media, but it could be anything - old fashioned or "outdated" ways of cooking, communicating, hobbies, or mending things rather than replacing them, etc. Owning...

      My examples have to do with tech/media, but it could be anything - old fashioned or "outdated" ways of cooking, communicating, hobbies, or mending things rather than replacing them, etc.


      Owning DVDs

      Earlier this year my husband and I had an irresistible urge to watch the masterpiece film that is Shrek. I hoped that one of the most popular animated movies of all time would be available at no charge to me, but of course it was not on Hulu, HBO, Netflix, or included with Prime. So that's great, I'm paying something around $50 a month for all these libraries of media, and somehow find myself paying extra whenever I want to watch something specific. Fair enough though, that's part of the deal I guess.

      We decide to rent the movie on Amazon for $5. A couple years ago, I'm pretty sure renting movies like this was more around $2-3 and they've been slowly bumping it up. Okay. Everything gets more expensive. We try to start streaming the movie, and Amazon gives us this pop-up that says they've detected the hardware we're streaming it on (it's apparently a bit outdated,) so it's going to choose a specific version of the movie for us, one that didn't use some new technology related to streaming quality. That's fine in itself, but it just got me thinking about how much control these streaming companies have over all of this. My TV is at least 15 years old, works perfectly fine, and I don't see myself replacing it anytime soon. My imagination went the dramatic route, picturing a future where Amazon and its ilk will only stream to newer computers/TVs, either for a legitimate technological reason, or because they've struck a conniving secret deal with the TV manufacturers. Again, dramatic I know, but my point is just the general idea that these companies make all the decisions with streaming; we own and decide nothing.

      Ultimately, I realized I could have easily found a DVD of Shrek for $1-2 at practically any used bookstore, and I would have not only saved money, I would have avoided giving my money to Daddy Bezos, and gained ownership of a fairly permanent copy of the movie. And what could be better than the ability to watch Shrek on repeat for the rest of my life?

      So basically my husband and I have started a DVD collection. We have date nights at used bookstores and pick up all kinds of unexpected treasures. Childhood favorites we had forgotten about, classics we haven't seen in years, DVDs with extensive special features, some with really nicely designed packaging. For some reason, browsing the DVD shelves is like the fun version of scrolling aimlessly through endless streaming catalogs and not being able to decide what to watch. It reminds me of one of the greatest joys of growing up as a child in the 90s - getting to go to Blockbuster (or in my neighborhood, "Mr. Movies") and frolicking around with your friends/siblings, physically checking out the cases, and debating over which ones are the best (Mom is on a budget, after all.)

      I have been pleasantly surprised by how novel and enjoyable it has been.


      Owning Music

      My second thing started when I realized I really want to spend more time away from my phone. I've also been jogging recently and have been annoyed/confused about what to do with this massive phone that I want with me for music (I try to buy small phones but they barely exist anymore.) Probably inspired by my recent "discovery" of the joys of DVDs, I decided to spend $25 on a tiny, simple mp3 player that clips onto my clothes. A music player that isn't also a social media machine which is connected to the entire world and every human being I've ever known, at any given moment. Just music.

      Then I realized that I haven't owned any music (or paid any artist directly for their music,) in at least a decade. I genuinely didn't even know where to buy music at first. The last time I bought music, I was 17 years old and hadn't yet freed myself from the Apple/itunes ecosystem ("freed" myself from it, right into the Google/Pixel ecosystem, of course.) Someone suggested Bandcamp, as when you buy music on there it comes with the option to download mp3s. I've had fun discovering some new artists on the platform. And although I really like supporting artists directly, to make my collection a bit more frugal I've started picking up a couple cheap CDs when we go shopping for DVDs. I just export the music as mp3s with some free software. I'm not an audiophile, and the quality seems just fine to me. Next, I think I'll visit my parents and get some mp3s from their boomer CD collection.

      All of this also prompted my husband to dig out an old hard drive of his, which we found had a massive goldmine of all the music he listened to in college (and he had/has fantastic taste in music!) Some of my favorites, plus all kinds of random bands and genres that I wouldn't necessarily think to seek out on Spotify, but they're in my lovely collection now, so why not listen? :)

      (A bonus to exploring the old media was finding some ridiculous photos and memes he had saved from college. Bless him and his radical vulnerability, I couldn't believe he was willing to browse the hard drive with me while having no idea what was on it. Thankfully for him, it was mostly just good music, along with photos of sharks with large human teeth photoshopped onto them. He is so pure.)


      The DVD/MP3 thing seems like a no brainer now that I've tried it, and I'm sure it will seem silly to some of you, but it simply didn't occur to me for years. Maybe something about my age - being 31 years old, the transition to streaming media happened just about exactly when I graduated from highschool and became an adult. I had no personal DVD collections to bring to my first apartment, and I certainly wasn't going to buy any - Netflix was all the rage, around $8/month, and practically no one actually paid for their own account. And having only purchased one or two physical CDs in my life, I did have a large mp3 collection from iTunes and Limewire as a teenager, but that died pretty quickly once we moved from iPods to phones for music, which happened around the same time. I think I transferred MP3s to my first one or two phones and lost them after that.

      Anyway, in a world increasingly impacted by enshittification, with companies relentlessly pushing towards the breaking point of what we will tolerate when it comes to how we spend our time and money, I'm sure there are other "hidden in plain sight" realizations I'm missing out on.

      106 votes
    8. Recommend your favorite "cozy" games, please

      Hello all and welcome to the weekend! We made it. Or if your weekend doesn't begin until later, you'll make it yet! Let's talk cozy games! You know the ones I'm talking about, Animal Crossing,...

      Hello all and welcome to the weekend! We made it. Or if your weekend doesn't begin until later, you'll make it yet!

      Let's talk cozy games! You know the ones I'm talking about, Animal Crossing, Stardew Valley, Harvest Moon. Games we used to call something else before the collective zeitgeist of the Internet decided to lump them all together under (which I'm personally fine with, I mean what do you call Animal Crossing anyway?)

      In a stark contrast to my younger and more vulnerable years, I've become much more of "casual" gamer, and I find myself enjoying shorter bouts of play rather than becoming engrossed in the same world or story for hours on end. Games like Animal Crossing are perfect for this, in that I can just pick it up, talk to some villagers and go fishing or whatever, and put it down whenever I please. Not just that though, but I just absolutely love the warm and well, cozy vibe games like these offer. I've best heard them described as a warm mug of tea by a window as it rains outside.

      Enough about me, let's talk about you! What "cozy" games do you enjoy? Feel free to lump them all together, who cares, it doesn't matter! We are all cozy games on this day.

      11PM - Animal Crossing: Wild World

      65 votes
    9. Offbeat Fridays – The thread where offbeat headlines become front page news

      Tildes is a very serious site, where we discuss very serious matters like data.user, litigation and politicians. Tags culled from the highest voted topics from the last seven days, if anyone was...

      Tildes is a very serious site, where we discuss very serious matters like data.user, litigation and politicians. Tags culled from the highest voted topics from the last seven days, if anyone was nosy.

      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!

      13 votes
    10. Getting back into running and looking for a simple tracker app (android)

      my old regular app has been dead since it got underwent featurecreep and got bought out by underarmour. lots of apps now have way too many features.. social this, calorie burning that. i know its...

      my old regular app has been dead since it got underwent featurecreep and got bought out by underarmour.

      lots of apps now have way too many features.. social this, calorie burning that. i know its probably a good thing for them to branch out but i'm one of those luddites that prefer simple and to-the-point apps with no social features, no account needed, etc.

      all i really need from the app is gps distance tracking and a clean interface with some basic readouts for pace and whatnot. having audio readouts for pace every kilometer was a nice feature but ideally the app would be simpler than that.

      if all else fails i know i can just fallback on one of those 'full featured' apps like strava but i figured i'd ask here before i got too tied into any particular app (creature of habit)

      7 votes
    11. What game mechanic or boss could you just not overcome?

      What game mechanic, boss or puzzle in a game got you to give up? For me it was a drivers license test in Gran Tourismo 2 on the Playstation. I was so into racing sims that I had a decent steering...

      What game mechanic, boss or puzzle in a game got you to give up?

      For me it was a drivers license test in Gran Tourismo 2 on the Playstation. I was so into racing sims that I had a decent steering wheel and pedals set (like $80 in 1999). I even found a better coffee table to more comfortably fit it all. I had so many hours into GT1, various NASCAR entries, MOTO Racer, various Need For Speed games, etc.

      GT2 had a system where you had to upgrade your license to unlock more tracks. There was one where you had like 15 or 20 seconds to slolem through a course and then do it in reverse. After hours almost every night for a month straight of getting to within .5 seconds of qualifying for the license to unlock more tracks I just couldn't anymore. I gave up racing/car sims for nearly 15 years until XBox heavily pushed Forza Horizon and I gave it a try.

      It certainly didn't help that I had just recently been scarred from being stuck in a similar system in X-Wing vs TIE. There was a training mission where you had to take your X-Wing through a course with barrel rolls before you unlocked something (another ship or more dangerous missions?) that I was stuck on. After like 6 weeks of getting within a second or less to completion I finally found a cheatcode to bypass it. By then the damage to my enjoyment of the game had been done and I never did finish that game.

      51 votes
    12. Are you using WiFi 6E in a home/home office setting? Have you seen any benefit to the 6GHz channel?

      I'm curious if anyone here is currently using the 6GHz channel with WiFi 6E devices and whether you're seeing a benefit in your experience. Do you feel it was worth purchasing a router/access...

      I'm curious if anyone here is currently using the 6GHz channel with WiFi 6E devices and whether you're seeing a benefit in your experience. Do you feel it was worth purchasing a router/access point with WiFi 6E over WiFi 6? I've been following the rollout of WiFi 6E for a while but I haven't heard much real world feedback.

      Context: I have 3 access points at home all at the WiFi 5 standard and I'm considering updating each to WiFi 6/6E. I have few (if any) 6E devices at the minute but would plan to keep the access points for at least 5 years or more.

      P.S. this is my first post so apologies if it's in the wrong location or a duplicate. I searched and found no other WiFi 6E discussions ✌️

      33 votes
    13. Meaningful family games or activities for gatherings?

      Our extended family lives in the same city and we're always getting together (brother/sisters-in-laws, their kids). So basically our generation and our kids. Probably 13-15 of us. We meet maybe...

      Our extended family lives in the same city and we're always getting together (brother/sisters-in-laws, their kids). So basically our generation and our kids. Probably 13-15 of us.

      We meet maybe once or twice a month, but whenever we meet, kids just go do kids things, dads go over here, moms go over there. One of the dads invariably falls asleep, one or two of the kids kind of mull about not quite fitting in here or there.

      I was wondering if any of you had any ideas for something that can be done together that might help build memories or at least structure some time so that there's meaningful interaction and we can get to know each other better instead of defaulting to whatever is least effort.

      The only constraint is that is has to be that it's an in-home, indoor activity suitable for teens/pre-teens.

      25 votes
    14. Switching from short-term/immediate thinking, to long-term thinking

      What I mean by short/immediate thinking vs. long-term.. let's take the experience of learning a new skill (for example, riding a bike). In the beginning, the skill is difficult as you're carving...

      What I mean by short/immediate thinking vs. long-term.. let's take the experience of learning a new skill (for example, riding a bike). In the beginning, the skill is difficult as you're carving out those new neural pathways in your mind. It's grating, unnatural, uncomfortable. It seems that the rational way to think about this experience is "yes, it feels uncomfortable right now, but if I keep attempting this, eventually the discomfort will lessen, and it will get easier. It won't be like this forever." For myself (and I assume some others?), I instead get stuck in a mindset of only seeing the present moment: "this sucks and therefore it will always suck!" Yeah, I can catch myself thinking this way and correct it to consider the long-term, but that's not my default. My default is short term, now, only now.

      You could expand this to so many things: enduring temporary struggles and not letting them get you down (the situation isn't permanent, it will change), not partaking in addictive behaviors (deciding not to do something that might feel good, because you're considering the long term consequences), procrastination... list goes on and on. To me, it always seems rational to consider long term impact of your actions. If you don't, it seems you're blowing off this entire swath of information which could/should inform your decisions in the present moment.

      On the flipside, I'm not saying you should only think of the future and disregard the present... just when making decisions, it seems better to consider both, that's all..

      I have been trying for 10 months to change this about myself, yet I continue to slip back into this pattern of constant "now" thinking. I know it leads to irrational decisions. I'd love to hear others thoughts on this. Have you struggled with this? If so, how did you manage to overcome these thinking patterns? For anyone: are you more naturally a "now" thinker, or are you lucky enough to naturally consider the long-term, or maybe you bounce between both? I have no idea if this is a common experience, or if it means something is inherently irrational about the way I think.

      30 votes
    15. What online subscriptions do you pay for?

      In the corners of Tildes that I read on, I’ve noticed that a lot of us on here subscribe to online services like - Netflix, Kagi, Spotify, Dropbox, Mailbox.org, Patreon, Twitch, Bandcamp, etc. I,...

      In the corners of Tildes that I read on, I’ve noticed that a lot of us on here subscribe to online services like - Netflix, Kagi, Spotify, Dropbox, Mailbox.org, Patreon, Twitch, Bandcamp, etc.

      I, myself, am kind of stingy about subscriptions but lately I’ve been considering subscribing to some online services.

      So I’d like to know which online services (like those with monthly and annual fees) have you subscribed to (which tier if applicable) and which ones do you think is worth it and which ones are not?

      To get the ball rolling, the only regularly recurring monthly payments I have right now are with Namecheap for the domain and IONOS for my server (the cheapest tier).

      I’ve managed to avoid subscribing for entertainment like Disney+ or YouTube Premium or even music streaming platforms. Though I’m considering Deezer for the hifi option.

      I’ve at some point subscribed to Patreon, Bandcamp and Twitch for artists I really liked.

      And I’m currently looking into productivity apps that might be worth it to me.

      —-

      PS: It’s my first time posting and if this post would be better elsewhere, don’t hesitate to move it. Thank you!

      86 votes
    16. Weird video playback issue

      Specifications: Computer: Framework 13" DIY Edition. 32GB RAM 11th Gen i7-1185G7 Windows 11 Pro Browser: Brave Browser Current Version Displays: Samsung LC27JG50QQNZA Series Curved 27in HP VH240a...

      Specifications:

      Computer: Framework 13" DIY Edition.

      • 32GB RAM
      • 11th Gen i7-1185G7
      • Windows 11 Pro

      Browser: Brave Browser

      • Current Version

      Displays:

      Dock:


      Issue:

      Regardless of the website that I am on (I.e. Youtube, Twitch, Rumble, Netflix, etc.) my video stream will at random and only on my Samsung display will start to slide repeatedly to the left. The best way that I can describe it is to imagine taping a picture to a treadmill and setting to a highspeed setting. The image will move along with the treadmill. That's what the video feed does at random for some reason.
      • If I move it to the HP display it stops.
        • sometimes when I move it back it continues and sometimes it doesn't.
      • If I try and capture it via the built in screen recorder in windows it doesn't show up in the recording.

      Have any of you had this experience or know what is causing this?


      P.S. Thank you in advance for whoever corrects my tags and title which seams to happen evetime I post. I'm still trying to learn the correct way to post here on Tildes.


      ***EDIT***

      All sorts of stuff is going on now...
      • My monitor also blinks now and then video starts to slide
      • I've only gotten it to reproduce on Brave Browser.
      • I put Firefox and Brave side by side when it started happening. When I clicked on the Firefox browser it stopped. Then when I clicked on to Brave browser it started again... Like WHAT!?
      • With the browsers side by side the video on the brave browser started to slide again but now slid across both browsers...
      • Every time I try to record it stops... It's mocking me at this point.
      13 votes
    17. [SOLVED] Can someone please share how to make links look clean?

      Many people here have a skill for converting a url from a mishmash of sloppy looking text into something that looks like a clean line but that is clickable and works like a link. Can someone...

      Many people here have a skill for converting a url from a mishmash of sloppy looking text into something that looks like a clean line but that is clickable and works like a link. Can someone please explain?

      18 votes
    18. Tildes Video Thread

      Find yourself watching tons of great videos on [insert chosen video sharing platform], but also find yourself reluctant to flood the Tildes front page with them? Then this thread is for you. It...

      Find yourself watching tons of great videos on [insert chosen video sharing platform], but also find yourself reluctant to flood the Tildes front page with them? Then this thread is for you.

      It could be one quirky video that you feel deserves some eyeballs on it, or perhaps you've got a curated list of videos that you'd love to talk us through...

      Share some of the best video content you've watched this past week/fortnight with us!

      7 votes
    19. People who turn off their electronics hours before bed... What do you do at night?

      There's a good thread going around on Tildes right now about sleep hygiene tips. One of those is making sure you stop using your electronics before bed, to help with circadian rhythms and whatnot....

      There's a good thread going around on Tildes right now about sleep hygiene tips. One of those is making sure you stop using your electronics before bed, to help with circadian rhythms and whatnot.

      Determined to make a fool of myself in spite of the above thread, last night I stayed up until 4am in bed reading various junk sites on my phone. As a consequence, I slept in until noon 😭. I don't want to do this anymore! I want a regular sleep schedule... 11-7 or 12-8 would be my dream.

      I've tried blocking the problematic sites in the past, and it largely works for me for several months... Until I hit a bad mood patch and get antsy and bored, craving the dopamine hits, wanting to turn my brain off and just scroll mindlessly. (It's very much a self-soothe behavior...)

      I think it would be easier to solve this problem if I had an arsenal of things to do that are nice and engaging, but don't involve using a phone or computer. Yet, I'm at a bit of a loss... Seemingly everything involves a computer or screen one way or another these days. I'd love an e-ink device that let's me listen to Spotify or something, but alas, I think I might need to look into low-tech solutions.

      What do you do at night that doesn't involve screen time?

      64 votes
    20. As the Halloween season begins, what are your favorite spooky reads?

      I like to try and read seasonally-appropriate books during October and I'm curious what your favorites are. To qualify as "seasonally-appropriate", the book should have at least one of: ghost /...

      I like to try and read seasonally-appropriate books during October and I'm curious what your favorites are. To qualify as "seasonally-appropriate", the book should have at least one of:

      • ghost / vampire / werewolf / zombie / witch / haunting / etc
      • Take place in the autumn / around Halloween itself
      • be overall creepy or unsettling
      • mysteries are generally acceptable, but it should be different from an any-time-of-year mystery
      25 votes
    21. What creative projects have you been working on?

      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...

      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.

      13 votes
    22. Let's engage in a world building exercise. Ask and answer questions about your homebrew world/setting

      There's a popular trend on Reddit at the moment that they're struggling to engage with. The idea is that someone will post the question "Ask me anything about my world" And this does two things....

      There's a popular trend on Reddit at the moment that they're struggling to engage with. The idea is that someone will post the question

      "Ask me anything about my world"

      And this does two things. It gives them an opportunity to show off their setting, and more importantly it gives them a prompt. Someone may ask a question you don't have an answer to, so you're supposed to come up with one. Doing this enough will help you flesh out your world in ways you may not have considered on your own.

      I think the reason this is failing on Reddit is because there are a dozen people jumping on the bandwagon and filling the RPG subs with spam, which is causing other members to lash out at them out of fatigue.

      I think we here on Tildes could probably handle it a little better, and it would be better served as a single thread. Top level comments are for asking questions, and then anyone is welcome to reply to those with their answers. By sharing the same pool of questions this will allow us to compare and contrast our worlds with our friends here and maybe help spur on the creative juices.

      20 votes
    23. Midweek Movie Free Talk

      Warning: this post may contain spoilers

      Have you watched any movies recently you want to discuss? Any films 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.

      8 votes
    24. What are your favorite no-refrigeration, no-microwave lunches?

      I’m not a child, but I very often eat peanut butter sandwiches for lunch. They’re quick and easy to make, and I can leave them in my bag until lunch and then just eat them as-is. With banana...

      I’m not a child, but I very often eat peanut butter sandwiches for lunch. They’re quick and easy to make, and I can leave them in my bag until lunch and then just eat them as-is. With banana slices inside, it’s a decent meal. I also prefer not eating meat, so it gets points for that too. But it’s not particularly exciting, not particularly well-balanced, and I frankly feel a little childish eating it.

      The problem is that I very often have no refrigeration and no means of re-heating. I used to just have leftovers for lunch, but room temperature leftovers usually aren’t the most appealing.

      For those of you who don’t buy lunch out, what do you do? Any recommendations for something that’s still tasty after sitting in a bag the whole morning?

      35 votes
    25. Trip suggestions for a week in New York?

      I’m going for a week in October with the whole family, so wife and kids aged 11 and 15. So far we are planning on seeing some shows off Broadway, doing most of the typical tourist things like...

      I’m going for a week in October with the whole family, so wife and kids aged 11 and 15. So far we are planning on seeing some shows off Broadway, doing most of the typical tourist things like Central Park, Governor’s island, Times Square, the museums. We’re going to be staying in Hell’s Kitchen at a hotel. Anything off the beaten path that’s worth checking out?

      Edit: OMG the floods, what have I got myself into?

      https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/09/29/nyregion/nyc-rain-flash-flooding

      13 votes
    26. Raspberry pi zero w for running pihole (or home web server) - anything good/necessary accessories?

      Hey, I thought folks on tildes might have some personal experience here. For context - I'm not stuck on the raspberry pi zero, and I'm open to alternatives. I'm looking at it because it's...

      Hey, I thought folks on tildes might have some personal experience here. For context - I'm not stuck on the raspberry pi zero, and I'm open to alternatives. I'm looking at it because it's inexpensive ($15), which is my limiting factor right now.

      I am curious to play around with pihole to block ads network wide. I'd also love to be able to run a web server to host my website. After some precursory research, I learned that raspberry pi zero w is a good option.

      My question is - are there any other things that are good (or necessary) to purchase to go along with it? Asking because I am going to have to buy it online (one of the authorized sellers), and since I'm going to pay for shipping, I only want to make one purchase. So, if there's other things I need to get, I'd love to know.

      Alternatively, if you have personal experience with an alternative device, I'm all ears. (P.S. I realize I could just run pihole on my laptop, but I don't want to do that, as I'd need to keep it running 24/7...) I did see some alternative devices (orange pi, for example). But they were all much more expensive ($40 + rather than $15 for raspberry pi zero w)

      16 votes
    27. What game, in your opinion, has the best graphics?

      Completely ignoring gameplay, which game do you think has the most amazing graphics? Which game do you look at and it makes you question how far technology has come? Or maybe which game has such...

      Completely ignoring gameplay, which game do you think has the most amazing graphics? Which game do you look at and it makes you question how far technology has come? Or maybe which game has such effective art direction it completely sucks you in?

      For me, it's Horizon Forbidden West. I just went back to the DLC after taking a break from it. I forgot just how good it looks! I swear it looks like every grain of sand is modeled, and the character models are insane.

      20 votes
    28. TV Tuesdays Free Talk

      Warning: this post may contain spoilers

      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.

      4 votes
    29. How do you keep track of your subscriptions?

      We recently had a big thread about all of the subscriptions we find valuable. This is a follow-up to that: how do you keep track of and manage your subscriptions (if you do at all)? I’d love to...

      We recently had a big thread about all of the subscriptions we find valuable.

      This is a follow-up to that: how do you keep track of and manage your subscriptions (if you do at all)?

      I’d love to have a sort of one-stop subscription management tracker where I can toggle things on and off and it can email me when something is coming due soon, but I’ve yet to find something like that I love.

      If anyone has any tips, tricks, or pointers, I’d love to hear them!

      20 votes
    30. Modern controls are needlessly convoluted

      Now the topic may be inflammatory, so let me walk it back and say "in some cases" - let me explain; Just got me this gamepad and I absolutely adore it - for folks not wanting to click on a link,...

      Now the topic may be inflammatory, so let me walk it back and say "in some cases" - let me explain;

      Just got me this gamepad and I absolutely adore it - for folks not wanting to click on a link, think of it as a fancy SNES pad.

      I got it as a fightpad and for that it is marvelous - and while I have no intentions of playing a 3d action game with it, I booted up some 2d indies and platformers to take it for a spin ... and realized that apparently, 6 buttons + dpad just aren't enough anymore.

      Since when do you need to have a light and hard attack as separate buttons? And need an analogue stick on top of the dpad to navigate through inventory? The amount of "simple" games needing to use all the buttons on the modern controller - without a viable alternative - is ridiculous.

      Yes, there are some workarounds but just wanted to vent.

      I'm installing some random titles from my backlog (I have 800+ on my backlog through bundle deals, giveaways, etc.) and it's a crapshoot, not in my favor.

      Thanks for coming to my TedTalk.

      Edit: Yes I realize the modern controller is standardized to the "two sticks + pad + 4 face buttons + 4 shoulder buttons" design; what I'm saying is that while for some game that design is essential, a lot of other games use up all the buttons without a baked-in viable alternative, or worse yet, use buttons for the sake of using buttons!

      25 votes
    31. Getting older and nostalgia - what do you miss?

      I recently turned 36 and found a sense of nostalgia sending me down a rabbit hole, mostly around the "old internet" of my childhood. I know "old" is subjective, but for me, it was the time period...

      I recently turned 36 and found a sense of nostalgia sending me down a rabbit hole, mostly around the "old internet" of my childhood. I know "old" is subjective, but for me, it was the time period of like 1998 to 2005 - my middle and high school years.

      AOL had just really brought the internet to the masses. I remember the mad rush of trying to log in to the Nickelodeon chatrooms and messaging my friends on AIM. Up until AIM shutdown a few years ago, I would log on every once in a while to my old account and just look at the usernames - recognizing friends, and trying to place others.

      I had a group called "Pokemon" on my account, which sent me searching to find anything on an old Pokemon Battler bot for AIM that was by a developer, "CoolKid". I got to the point where I was beginning to think it was something I made up, before finally turning up "SuperPokemon! by CoolKid" on archive.org. I wonder whatever happened to the developer, as nothing about them remains on the internet, but I wish I could thank them for all the fun times I had with my friends.

      Which then led me down to thinking of some of the online friends from my past. In retrospect, I wasn't as careful as I should have been online, but I never had any bad experiences - everyone was super nice and helpful in the little communities I found myself in. I've only been here a few days, but tildes reminds me of that time in my life.

      Curious to hear from others: What random hits of nostalgia do you have you had lately? Is there some random, highly specific thing from your past that you miss, like my AIM Pokemon battler?

      56 votes
    32. Fresh Album Fridays: Animal Collective, Armand Hammer, Wilco and more

      Good morning ~ This is a thread to discuss new album releases that have arrived on our doorstep this week. Feel free to share albums and EPs that have caught your eye and interest! Discussion...

      Good morning ~ This is a thread to discuss new album releases that have arrived on our doorstep this week. Feel free to share albums and EPs that have caught your eye and interest!

      Discussion Points

      What are you looking forward to listen to?
      Have you listened to any of these releases?
      What are your thoughts?
      What have you enjoyed from these artists in the past?

      Why Friday?

      Most (but not all) new LPs release on a Friday, as labels want to give the release a full week of sales before entering the charts.

      ~~ Feedback on the format welcome!

      15 votes
    33. TV Tuesdays Free Talk

      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...

      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.

      17 votes
    34. App-based guitar or piano learning?

      I already play piano and guitar to some degree but never got to learn what I really wanted to play which was blues music. I see ads here and there about “learn to play following this app!” and was...

      I already play piano and guitar to some degree but never got to learn what I really wanted to play which was blues music.

      I see ads here and there about “learn to play following this app!” and was wondering if people had any experiences or recommendations for app-based learning?

      15 votes
    35. Album of the Week #3: PUP - The Dream Is Over

      Album of the Week #3: PUP - The Dream Is Over This is Album of the Week #3. This week's album is PUP - The Dream Is Over Year of Release: 2016 Genre(s): Pop Punk Country: Canada Length: 30 minutes...

      Album of the Week #3: PUP - The Dream Is Over

      This is Album of the Week #3. This week's album is PUP - The Dream Is Over

      Year of Release: 2016
      Genre(s): Pop Punk
      Country: Canada
      Length: 30 minutes
      Album.Link

      Excerpt from NPR

      Where PUP's 2014 self-titled debut was a turbulent affair, The Dream Is Over sounds more controlled. Not that there isn't emotional turbulence here — in fact, much of Dream is about disillusionment, growing up and realizing that you can't get everything you want, starting with your bandmates. "If this tour doesn't kill you, then I will," guitarist Stefan Babcock meekly deadpans in the first moments of the album, before the track explodes into a bar-brawling punk sing-along. It's a hell of a way to open, but it's telling that in the moments when PUP's members need each other most — especially when Babcock yells, "But every line, every goddamn syllable that you say / Makes me wanna gouge out my eyes with a power drill" — they've got each other's backs by shouting a response, no matter how thoroughly messed-up.

      Discussion points:
      Have you heard this artist/album before? Is this your first time hearing?
      Do you enjoy this genre? Is this an album you would have chosen?
      Does this album remind you of something you've heard before?
      What were the album's strengths or weaknesses?
      Was there a standout track for you?
      How did you hear the album? Where were you? What was your setup?

      --

      Album of the week is currently chosen randomly (via random.org) from the top 5000 albums from a custom all-time RYM chart, with a 4/5 popularity weighting. The chart is recalculated weekly.
      Missed last week? It can be found here.
      Any feedback on the format is welcome ~~
      7 votes
    36. Advice on a first time visit to Oahu, Hawaii

      Hi ~travel! My partner and I are going to Oahu for a ten day holiday at end of October. Neither of us have been there before. We are looking for advice on what to see, eat, do. We have a rental...

      Hi ~travel!

      My partner and I are going to Oahu for a ten day holiday at end of October. Neither of us have been there before. We are looking for advice on what to see, eat, do. We have a rental car.
      We'd love to see some less popular nooks of Oahu without angering the locals.

      So far we have to do:

      • Pearl harbor museum, USS Arizona.
      • Surf somewhere we can both enjoy. I am experienced but in intermediate paddling shape. Partner is a novice. Trying for a couple hours' AM paddle out for a few days. Beach, point, or rock reef breaks.
      • Drink a Mai Tai. Where is the best bar on the island? Posh or dive? We like dive bars but aren't afraid to splash out for a fantastic experience.
      • Attend a luau. Who's got the best roast swine? Removed this on the advice of commenters, also very expensive after looking into it. Will go eat at a few food trucks instead!
      • Day hikes. Where are the good trails?
      • Non-surf watersports. Can't afford marlin fishing with our budget but snorkeling, diving, or sailing are realistic options.

      Anything else? Some of the best travel suggestions have come from strangers in hostels or bars - probably also Tildes. Thanks for reading everyone!

      edit: for brevity

      16 votes
    37. New users: Ask your questions about Tildes here! (v3)

      I figure a new thread might be in order since it has been over two months since the last one and we are continuing to get a stream of new users over time. Welcome to Tildes! This is a place for...

      I figure a new thread might be in order since it has been over two months since the last one and we are continuing to get a stream of new users over time.


      Welcome to Tildes!

      This is a place 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 on-demand, personal 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!

      It 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. Just ask away, and someone will answer you!


      Previous versions:

      63 votes
    38. Games similar to Prototype?

      So I recently tried to replay Prototype on PC, only to learn that it's essentially incompatible with modern hardware and crashes instantly past the main menu. I've tried searching other posts on...

      So I recently tried to replay Prototype on PC, only to learn that it's essentially incompatible with modern hardware and crashes instantly past the main menu.

      I've tried searching other posts on other sites and most people recommend super hero games and Infamous. Well, I don't have a PS, so Infamous is off the table, and super hero games really are not the same. Call me immature, but if I can't massacre civilians in my power fantasy game, it's not really like Prototype.

      I've seen pretty much all the AAA games of past and present that get recommended, but I'm wondering if there are any Indie games that aren't at the forefront that I've missed.

      12 votes
    39. Any Tildes android app?

      Seen a post or two about ios apps being developed. However, as far as android goes, I haven't seen any apps being developed yet for tildes. Which is definitely contributing to my lack of visits...

      Seen a post or two about ios apps being developed. However, as far as android goes, I haven't seen any apps being developed yet for tildes. Which is definitely contributing to my lack of visits here and making it seem more like a chore. Am I just missing some options? 🤞 Or is the user base for Android just that low these days? 😢 Please someone tell me it's the prior😅

      73 votes
    40. I'm in Netherlands for work. Any recommendations?

      I'm from the US in Delft for work and am free tomorrow without plans. I'm terrible traveling by myself and often don't don't do too much. I have walked around Delft. Any recommendations for what...

      I'm from the US in Delft for work and am free tomorrow without plans. I'm terrible traveling by myself and often don't don't do too much. I have walked around Delft. Any recommendations for what to do?

      10 votes
    41. 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.

      11 votes
    42. Tildes Minecraft Survival Weekly Thread

      Server host: tildes.nore.gg Dynmap: https://tildes.nore.gg The server operates on a soft whitelist. Anyone can log in and walk around, but you need a Tildes account to gain build access. Server...

      Server host: tildes.nore.gg
      Dynmap: https://tildes.nore.gg

      The server operates on a soft whitelist. Anyone can log in and walk around, but you need a Tildes account to gain build access.

      Server Changelog

      • All registered players now have access to /co inspect. This command will allow you to see block changes from the last 14 days so that you can hopefully resolve land disputes without admin/moderator intervention.
      • There is currently an alpha version of a treasure hunt script (source) running on the server. Once every few days you'll see a TREASURE HUNT! message in chat and a 10 minute race for an elytra or netherite loot begins.
      • There is a page to see each player's time on the server in the last 30 days.
      • I have disabled Phantoms entirely
      30 votes
    43. Is Signal safe and appropriate to use also as way to sync and retain files?

      It seems to be very good as an even easier way to send files like AirDrop but also to keep them in one distributed place in a privacy-affirming and respectful way. Is there a catch or is it really...

      It seems to be very good as an even easier way to send files like AirDrop but also to keep them in one distributed place in a privacy-affirming and respectful way.

      Is there a catch or is it really a free lunch in this regard?

      17 votes
    44. Recent DAKboard issue

      I have been running a DAKBoard on a Raspberry Pi 4 for almost 4 years now without any problems until recently following this guide IIRC. About 2 weeks ago, DAKBoard started logging itself out and...

      I have been running a DAKBoard on a Raspberry Pi 4 for almost 4 years now without any problems until recently following this guide IIRC.

      About 2 weeks ago, DAKBoard started logging itself out and only shows a black screen with the time on it and the DAK logo in the lower right corner. If I go into the settings it will bring up the DAK page that shows I am not logged in. When I log in again it seems to work randomly for about 24-36 hours.

      I'm running it in a kiosk mode browser on Raspberry Pi OS. I am using the free tier of DAKBoard.

      Before I wipe the SD card and start over from scratch I was wondering if there were any suggestions? To be completely honest, it has been "set and forget" for the past number of years so I would like to make sure I'm not overlooking something pretty basic/easy.

      On a side note: Has anyone had any experiense using the DAKBoard OS on a Pi? I don't remember it being an option when I set it up originally.

      Thank you for any assistance and if you have any spare hardware laying around I'd highly recommend setting one up, my family finds it incredibly useful for the calendar function and a conversation piece when they notice different photos rotating in and out.

      3 votes
    45. Upgrading my Gaming PC or starting afresh

      Hello everyone, my CPU died and I'm at a crossroads and hoping for some advice. I bought my rig 4 years ago second-hand. It was originally built in 2017 using high-end parts. It was not something...

      Hello everyone, my CPU died and I'm at a crossroads and hoping for some advice. I bought my rig 4 years ago second-hand. It was originally built in 2017 using high-end parts. It was not something I was looking for TBH, but at the time GPUs were hard to get and it was a crazy deal. Here is what's left of the rig:

      • Motherboard - ASUS x99 Deluxe II, fits Intel i7 LGA2011-v3 CPU socket
      • PSU - EVGA Supernova 850 T2
      • RAM - 32GB, 4 sticks of G.Skill Trident Z 3200 DDR4
      • GPU - EVGA 1080 Ti Founder's Edition 11 GB
      • Case - In Win 904 plus - large and spacious case
      • Storage - Couple of Samsung SSDs
      • CPU Cooler - Have ditched the Corsair AIO, picked up a lowest tier fan for $10 to keep it booting while I figure out what to do

      Options I'm floating.

      1. Get a compatible CPU, but that socket is harder to come by for my MOBO and likely to be second hand + get a new CPU cooler, and upgrade GPU.
      2. Replace MOBO, GPU, and get a new CPU and CPU cooler. The PSU is 6 years old but it's decent quality and 850 watts should be enough?

      Price range/goals:

      • Happy to spend a bit on something that is mid to slightly upper range, but not high end. Thinking $$ will go into the GPU and CPU (maybe $600-800 USD ea?), something reasonably good that's just before the latest gen to get a discounted price. If replacing MOBO, something simple and medium range would be ideal.
      • Play some current AAA games like Baulder's Gate 3 and Elden Ring decently, at medium-high settings (not ultra), and don't need super high FPS.
      • Ideally supports 4k resolution for desktop use but for gaming I'd be mostly sticking to 1440p/1080p.
      • I don't want to overclock (those days are over)
      • Likely to sell in 2ish years, don't need heaps of futureproofing
      • If replacing MOBO, open to going to the AMD ecosystem for price/performance ratio. I've only ever used Intel so know less about AMD systems.
      • Don't need raytracing, DDR5
      • For CPU cooler I don't mind AIO but if anyone has any non-water cooled recommendations I'm all ears

      I'm at a bit of a loss at what to do, and there are not many PC-building threads here on Tildes, so I thought I'd ask for some advice. Anyone have opinions on option 1 or 2 above, or is there a third option I'm not thinking of? And does anyone have part recommendations? Thanks in advance.

      27 votes