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14 votes
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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!
11 votes -
A national evil – the curse of the goitre in Switzerland
25 votes -
Old Leatherstocking - Death and the Lady (Shirley Collins cover, 2020)
3 votes -
Atarashii Gakko! - Tokyo Calling (2023)
14 votes -
ABBA's holographic dancing queens have had a tangible impact, adding over £320 million of money, money, money to London's economy in its first year
17 votes -
2023's most spectacular photos from the James Webb Telescope
31 votes -
Rasmus Højlund finally ended his drought but Manchester United must do more for their striker
6 votes -
Substack turns on its ‘Nazis Welcome!’ sign
89 votes -
Just got a Microsoft Surface Pro 9, need help
It's been years since I've had to use a an actual computer for anything serious and I want to regain my literacy with them. The height of my computer usage was the Windows XP/Vista era. I got it...
It's been years since I've had to use a an actual computer for anything serious and I want to regain my literacy with them. The height of my computer usage was the Windows XP/Vista era. I got it because I wanted to throw myself into a couple of different programming/coding courses.
I chose the Surface Pro because of the detachable keyboard/stylus setup and the fact that I don't have a good way to set up a desktop computer. Also I've always fantasized about being able to do work in a coffee shop or in a comfy chair by a lake lol.
Can anyone share some tips/tricks that might be useful to me? Anything from hotkeys, task management related things, or just general quality of life things I should know about would be super helpful. I'm so used to smartphones being able to do everything and feel like I'm a little in over my head here. Thanks in advance.12 votes -
Is there a programming language that brings you joy?
Just for a moment, forget all of the technical pros and cons, the static typing, just-in-time compilation, operator overloading, object orientation to the max... Is there a programming language...
Just for a moment, forget all of the technical pros and cons, the static typing, just-in-time compilation, operator overloading, object orientation to the max...
Is there a programming language that you've just found to be... fun?
Is there one that you'd pick above all else for personal or company projects, if you had your druthers, because you would simply be so excited to use it?
And then, is there something missing in that "fun" language that's preventing it from actually becoming a reality (i.e. small community, lack of libraries, maintenance ended in the 80s, etc.)?
50 votes -
German right wing extremists strategically purchase rural land
23 votes -
A quiet merger trial between antitrust enforcers and a pharma data giant called IQVIA reveals how bro-style executives control US medical data
13 votes -
31 minutos - Calurosa Navidad (Heated Christmas) (2004)
9 votes -
Your theme for 2024
26 votes -
Weekly thread for casual chat and photos of pets
This is the place for casual discussion about our pets. Photos are welcome, show us your pet(s) and tell us about them!
13 votes -
How to get the most flavor when juicing a lemon
16 votes -
The case of Donnie Moss
6 votes -
The morality of using AI-generated art in my web app
Hey, good people of Tildes! I'm building a self-help web app, a small part of which I'd like to involve some pixel pets. I like pixel art and it'd be great if I could create some. Though, the...
Hey, good people of Tildes!
I'm building a self-help web app, a small part of which I'd like to involve some pixel pets. I like pixel art and it'd be great if I could create some. Though, the truth is, I can't draw for shit, I have little to no imagination, and I'm afraid even if I put the time and effort into it, I still may not produce something I'd call good enough to put on the website. I also lack the motivation to spend a lot of time learning how to create good pixel art, as I only need it for this project.
I thought about paying some professional(s) to do it but that would probably break the bank for me, as I want to offer the users a lot of pixel pet options, which brings us to what I guess is the only remaining option.
I found some services that offer AI-generated pixel art. This one in particular looks like what I'm looking for and also offers animations. While watching a demo of it on YouTube, I noticed a few comments voicing concern about the ethics of selling art that's generated using models trained off of unpaid artists' work. While this is not a new topic, I admittedly hadn't given it much thought before, as I've never used, or planned to use AI-generated art in a meaningful capacity.
While I'm not sure whether it changes much, for what it's worth, I should note that my web app is going to be free, open-source, and ad-free forever.
What are your thoughts? Also, I'd love to know if there are options that I missed!
26 votes -
Despite support from corporation, Harvard president Claudine Gay under fire over plagiarism allegations
18 votes -
Why a 100-year supply? How Arizona got its famous, yet arbitrarily numbered groundwater rule.
14 votes -
Using game controllers and keyboards for custom shortcuts
13 votes -
We techies are responsible for "You'll own nothing, and you'll enjoy it."
This hit me while watching the latest Gamers Nexus video discussion with Wendell, and Steve recited the quote. It's often brought up as the inevitability of modern product ownership as company...
This hit me while watching the latest Gamers Nexus video discussion with Wendell, and Steve recited the quote.
It's often brought up as the inevitability of modern product ownership as company executives push profit-first practices like subscriptions, licenses and anti-right-to-repair designs. However this neglects the fact that these systems don't come from nowhere - they have to be built by programmers, engineers and designers.
I don't know if those same people support right-to-repair and freedom to manipulate what you buy in their private lives (or if they have even thought about it), but it seems like every techie I speak to does support it, yet somehow these things keep getting made.
I want to try and escape my bubble about this. I don't believe the engineers are powerless against the executives - if the engineering community works together and don't backstab, I think these systems can be prevented at the technical level and never see the light of day.
What happens at these notorious companies (John Deere, Apple etc.) that I'm missing? Is the lure of money too great? Is the threat of being back stabbed too large?
41 votes -
All I want for Christmas is one terawatt of solar deployed annually
36 votes -
Where do you usually look for courses?
As my school project this year, I'm making a metasearch engine for courses (any type, online/offline, free/paid). I could just add the websites I know myself but school requires us to provide a...
As my school project this year, I'm making a metasearch engine for courses (any type, online/offline, free/paid). I could just add the websites I know myself but school requires us to provide a detailed explanation of how we did "market research", so I'm asking here.
What websites do you usually go to first to when you want to learn something? It should preferably be something which is not exclusive to IT, but those websites are fine as well if they're really good.
9 votes -
The Vikings and the Muslim scholar
11 votes -
Can you beat Super Mario Bros. Wonder without collecting coins? | VG Myths
9 votes -
Making a calculator out of monkeys in Bloons Tower Defense 6
17 votes -
Imagining a reverse kibbutz
9 votes -
The super-secure delivery service that only diplomats can use
13 votes -
The male glance [2018]
49 votes -
Ephemeral pools of Moab - The nature and creatures of water pan/potholes with retired USGS Scientist Tim Graham
7 votes -
AI and trust
21 votes -
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.
5 votes -
Which books did you read in 2023 and how did you like them?
Warning: this post may contain spoilers
I didn't have as much time for reading this year. My daughters kept me quite busy (and happy). However, I managed to squeeze in one or the other title. I don't want to discuss all of the forty-something books I read, but here's an incomplete list of what I can recommend (and what not).
I really enjoyed the following books:
- number9dream by David Mitchell
- Black Swan Green by David Mitchell
- The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell
- Red Rising (all six books) by Pierce Brown
- The Cold War by John Lewis Gaddis
- Dark Rome by Michael Sommer
- A Horse Walks Into a Bar by David Grossman
- The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka
- At Night all Blood is Black by David Diop
- The Future of Geography: How Power and Politics in Space Will Change Our World by Tim Marshall
- First Person Singular by by Haruki Murakami
- Guitar Zero by Gary Marcus
- This is your Brain on Music by Daniel J. Levitin
- The History of Heavy Metal by Andrew O'Neill
I think my favorites were Black Swan Green and The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida. Both are very powerful stories with complex protagonists.
I didn't really enjoy these books:
- The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami (seriously, I like Murakami, but I hated this book – the plot was annoying, stylistic choices were questionable and the protagonist bland)
- The Vegetarian by Han Kang (the book was interesting, but also a bit "too much" for me)
I think those books taught me something, although they weren't necessarily fun to read:
- Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss
- The Phoenix Project: A Novel about IT, DevOps, and Helping Your Business Win by Gene Kim
- Atomic Habits by James Clear
- The Great Mental Models Volume 3: Systems and Mathematics
Especially Chris Voss and James Clear can't stop boasting and/or advertising. I learned something from their books, but I found them annoying to read. The mental models book and the Phoenix project were fun, though.
I'm a software developer and read quite some books about this topic this year. I can recommend the following of them:
- Efficient Linux at the Command Line
- 100 Go Mistakes
- The Staff Engineer's Path
- TypeScript Cookbook
- Principles of Package Design
But I didn't really like those (although they're good from a technical perspective):
- Cloud Native Go
- Security and Microservice Architecture on AWS
So, what did you guys read? What can you recommend? Which books disappointed you?
19 votes -
Many prehistoric handprints show a finger missing. Canadian scientists say evidence shows digits may have been ritually removed to appease deities or aid social cohesion.
26 votes -
Here's what life was like in 1993, when Detroit Lions were last division champions
9 votes -
Merry Christmas
To those that celebrate, Merry Christmas! Whatever the timezone wherever y'all are, I hope you have a good one. p.s. Pouring one out to those scheduled on shifts today.
100 votes -
Windows 10 end of life could prompt torrent of e-waste as 240 million devices set for scrapheap
48 votes -
NASA's 3D-printed detonation engine revs up for four minutes in breakthrough test
33 votes -
What are you reading these days?
What are you reading currently? Fiction or non-fiction or poetry, any genre, any language! Tell us what you're reading, and talk about it a bit.
22 votes -
Ruby 3.3.0 released
22 votes -
The Xmas music playlist at my job is awful; give me your best non-traditional holiday songs!
I’m going insane from the bland ass Xmas music at my work and I’m looking to zhuzh up the playlist with some more interesting Xmas music. Think “Christmas at the Zoo” by the Flaming Lips or “Merry...
I’m going insane from the bland ass Xmas music at my work and I’m looking to zhuzh up the playlist with some more interesting Xmas music. Think “Christmas at the Zoo” by the Flaming Lips or “Merry Christmas (I Don’t Wanna Fight Tonight)” by The Ramones.
I would also like some non-Christmas holiday songs, so we can get some representation for holidays besides the Christian one, or even just “Winter Songs”
Thanks!
41 votes -
Looking for games like wordle
Recently on here someone recommended a game called travle, which is a lot of fun even though I suck at it, as do my friends who play. Can anyone recommend other similar "one puzzle per day" style...
Recently on here someone recommended a game called travle, which is a lot of fun even though I suck at it, as do my friends who play. Can anyone recommend other similar "one puzzle per day" style games?
47 votes -
Genetic engineering was meant to save chestnut trees. Then there was a mistake.
23 votes -
What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them?
What have you been playing lately? Discussion about video games and board games are both welcome. Please don't just make a list of titles, give some thoughts about the game(s) as well.
26 votes -
Reflections and gratitude for Tildes
Hello Tilderinos! As I am finally entering the holiday slowdown, I wanted to express my gratitude for the community here. I ended up migrating here from Reddit during the Apocalypse. Before that...
Hello Tilderinos! As I am finally entering the holiday slowdown, I wanted to express my gratitude for the community here.
I ended up migrating here from Reddit during the Apocalypse. Before that time, I would have told you that Reddit was a pretty good place, but after having time to detox and spending time here, I realize it was just better, but still pretty awful. With a few exceptions (like r/3Dprinting), the negativity I would get hit with when posting anything was pretty toxic.
I also set up Lemmy Sync on lemmy.world, but it's pretty much only good for scrolling shitposts and memes. Which sometimes I want, but if I dig into the comments under a topic, the noise factor is so high that it's usually not worth it.
Tildes is really different. The intentionality that people post with, the quality and positivity of the discussion is all amazing. One thing I enjoy especially is seeing reasonable people express views contrary to my own, and being to learn something from them.
This year has been a year of big changes for me. I left a 10 year run at a startup that was starting to lose the plot, becane a stay-at-home Dad to relaunch my wife's career, and wrestled with major health issues. All of that has been pretty isolating, but Tildes has been a bright spot of connection for me.
Sorry if this comes off as excessively cheesy, but I feel like it's a good time to take a moment and say "Thank you!" I am hoping that if something was really helpful to others, that they will take a moment to share it here.
87 votes -
Melancholy Christmas
I miss the magic of Christmas. Today and tonight feels ordinary to me, and I miss that sense of wonder. I miss the trips my family would take to visit our relatives. I miss the get-togethers, and...
I miss the magic of Christmas. Today and tonight feels ordinary to me, and I miss that sense of wonder.
I miss the trips my family would take to visit our relatives. I miss the get-togethers, and the feasting, and playing games with my cousins and the family friends.
Even though I'm an atheist now, I miss having to go to midnight mass. I miss the excitement of being able to open one present before going to bed.
Unless some tragedy befalls me, I'm sure I can recapture that magic in my future. I'm not depressed about it. But that's a hope for later. For now, this is it.
For everybody else out there who's having a so-so Christmas... wishing you all the best, and hope you can still find a moment to appreciate the holiday.
Normally in the evenings I have to myself, I keep busy and find satisfaction in coding, or writing, or gaming. Tonight, those things don't feel meaningful.
I just wish I had somebody special to share Christmas Eve with, like in all those cozy Christmas songs. Instead, I'm just tired and want to sleep... But I can't go to bed until me and my mom can get my dad changed, so he's not wet with urine the whole night. Just like last night, and the night before that, and the night before that.
I wish I could have gotten to know my dad as well as I've gotten to know my mom, as an adult instead of as a child. But I also would have never spent this much time with my mom if my dad didn't end up with PCA, so wishing for that is wishing for an impossibility.
Why are people setting off fireworks in my area, starting at midnight? It's already 2:00 AM. It's Christmas Eve, not New Years. Aren't kids supposed to be asleep for Santa Claus to drop off presents? Do kids still believe in Santa Claus, or do they just stay up late playing video games on Christmas Eve now?
Maybe they aren't fireworks, maybe they're shooting at Santa.
I've been hearing some ambulance sirens. My dog is upset. It's hard to feel sorry for myself when there are some people having a much worse Christmas than me. If you're having a true disaster of a Christmas, I am truly sorry and I hope you pull through.
37 votes -
How do you deal with socialization during the Holidays?
The Holidays by the end of the year are a time for meeting a lot of family members that we may not have seen for a long time. For a lot of people, this a joyful moment of relaxation where they can...
The Holidays by the end of the year are a time for meeting a lot of family members that we may not have seen for a long time. For a lot of people, this a joyful moment of relaxation where they can enjoy the company of those they love. For others, this can also be a stressful period, when tensions, trauma, and insecurities related to family relationships emerge, often in unexpected ways. Different people experience those events in vastly different ways.
Are you more of an introvert or an extrovert?
What does Christmas (as well as other events with a component of "forced" social gathering) mean to you?
How did you manage it this year?
Is this usually a happy time for you? Why?
16 votes -
Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of December 25
This thread is posted weekly - please try to post all relevant US political content in here, such as news, updates, opinion articles, etc. Extremely significant events may warrant a separate...
This thread is posted weekly - please try to post all relevant US political content in here, such as news, updates, opinion articles, etc. Extremely significant events may warrant a separate topic, but almost all should be posted in here.
This is an inherently political thread; please try to avoid antagonistic arguments and bickering matches. Comment threads that devolve into unproductive arguments may be removed so that the overall topic is able to continue.
6 votes