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    1. Do you watch TV in the morning? If so, what do you watch? I'm looking for recommendations.

      Ever since I was a kid, the kitchen TV has been on in the morning while we eat breakfast and get ready for school. I remember Flipper and Rocky and Bullwinkle being on when we were younger and...

      Ever since I was a kid, the kitchen TV has been on in the morning while we eat breakfast and get ready for school. I remember Flipper and Rocky and Bullwinkle being on when we were younger and then Katie Couric and Matt Lauer on The Today Show later on.

      As an adult, I've been looking for something linear to watch in the morning while I eat breakfast to put a stop to my bad habit of doom scrolling. I have about 30-45 minutes between walking my dog and logging onto my work computer where I eat breakfast and sit at the kitchen table. This is kind of "me time" to get ready for the day and try to get my brain to ramp up into work mode that has taken the place of my morning commute ever since COVID now that I work remote. Here's what I've tried and why I don't like them:

      • The Today Show (and other mass-market morning news): honestly these have some "real" news in them but I feel like there's too much time wasted on filler & fluff & pop culture that I don't really care about.
      • CNBC, usually Squawk on the Street: I like that this is more straight to the point but it's more heavily financial than I really need it to be. I'm not an active investor so, while I like getting business/market news, I don't need 45 minutes dedicated to it.
      • Bloomberg's Bloomberg Brief on YT: this is a bit broader than the previous option, but still more heavily focused on financial markets than I really need to be.

      I'm mostly interested in major world events, economics, tech, and business. I specifically do not care to hear about pop culture and sports (that's for after work) and I'm so tired of hearing about American political theater (although I'd like to know when something concrete happens).

      So yeah. What do you watch in the morning? Do you have any suggestions?

      9 votes
    2. Are there any communities for selling used computers within Canada?

      I have a Starlabs Labtop in great shape that I would like to sell. Problem is, I can't garner much interest on Craigslist/Facebook Marketplace. Are there any computer Buy/Sell sites in Canada such...

      I have a Starlabs Labtop in great shape that I would like to sell. Problem is, I can't garner much interest on Craigslist/Facebook Marketplace. Are there any computer Buy/Sell sites in Canada such as Pinkbike.com for used bicycles?

      9 votes
    3. Matching mouse dpi and acceleration across Mac and Linux?

      I use a Mac for work, Linux for my personal machine, and the same mouse between the two. I’m accustomed to the dpi/acceleration on Mac, so when I switch to my PC at the end of the day there are...

      I use a Mac for work, Linux for my personal machine, and the same mouse between the two. I’m accustomed to the dpi/acceleration on Mac, so when I switch to my PC at the end of the day there are slight inaccuracies with the pointer. My wrist compensates to cover the gaps and I develop wrist strain after short periods of use.

      Does anyone know how to make the Linux mouse dpi/acceleration as close to identical as possible with my Mac?

      chimera linux w/ gnome btw

      8 votes
    4. Tildes Minecraft: What do you want to see in the next season?

      I'm planning to launch Tildes Minecraft season 3 some time mid November. What mods should we add or remove? Any other recommendations or requests? Edit: As per the majority of the feedback, season...

      I'm planning to launch Tildes Minecraft season 3 some time mid November. What mods should we add or remove? Any other recommendations or requests?

      Edit: As per the majority of the feedback, season 3 will be delayed until the beginning of January.

      36 votes
    5. CGA-2025-11 🔴🟡🔵🟢 INSERT CARTRIDGE 🟢 PlayStation WHAT?

      Warning: this post may contain spoilers

      COLOSSAL GAME ADVENTURES PRESENTS:

      🐶️⚡️🥤🎼😤 PlayStation WHAT? 🎤️🪵🏃🐰🚁

      Introduction

      Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow is a 2003 Metroidvania, developed and published by Ko-

      Wait, that didn't make it? What am I presenting?

      Oh. Oh boy.

      Here's my dirty little secret: I've only played one of these games! But I know all of 'em, at least, and I'm just as excited to play them too. So! Let's set the scene a few years back.

      It's the mid-'90s, and Japan's '80s economic bubble burst due to some sick gamer-level capitalism exploit bullshit going awry. But good news! Its most successful tech megaconglomerate exports are still chugging along on good brand recognition. You go, consolidation of wealth.

      Sony is riding high, and running on pure anger from their infamously botched plans for a SNES CD add-on with Nintendo. Despite some internal mix of interest and doubt, they release the PlayStation in 1994. It's selling like gangbusters, and they're in a position to take risks.

      Well, sorta. They direct a production arm, Sony Computer Entertainment, to throw money at different development teams; those devs fill in to help make PlayStation hits. Ridge Racer, Crash, Tekken... Look, just check this list and peep at how often SCE pops up here. Sony wanted to make sure their library was rock solid: 14 out of the 22 of the games within the first two years had SCE's hands in the cookie jar. To sell over a million... Cookies. With a dozen genres of cookies covered. The PS1 outsold the PS3! And we all know, the PS3 had no cookies.

      But you can't just live on expectation, or the big fish, or cookies. (The big cookie?) Look at the Xbox right now! You'll get stagnant and supplanted by The Bigger Thing. You need funk to stand out. Variety. IP. Je ne sais cookie. Something no one else has. Sony knew this, and a lot of Japanese creators are ready to make some reeeal fresh games.

      Here's where we come in. CDs suddenly enable crazy multimedia opportunities for artists and musicians to get their ideas across, and 3D environments are the hot new thing. Myst is just a bunch of pictures, videos, and audio strung together, and people are still caught up in how immersive that PowerPoint can be. So come on, this should be easy! Slap something together - an idea, your brand, a simulacrum of this dumb thing you like. Maybe it works, and congrats, you're a cult artist! Maybe it doesn't? Give it 20 years, and congrats! You're still a cult artist. What can go wrong?

      Sony enables some of these ideas themselves through SCE; others do it on their own. Either way, some very original stuff is thrown at the PlayStation. Some of the pasta really sticks to the wall. ...Or, some of those cookies stick to the jar? I'm bad with extended metaphors.

      Anyway, these games speak for themselves. Let's play them!

      I've got a separate post which I will keep down in the discussion for some fun context, history, and trivia about the games, for anyone who would like them. But overall, my advice: just play 'em. Most of them you'll get within five minutes, or they may already have you hooked by then. Some games are about the shock of an idea, the opportunity and newness driving them to fruition over polish, implementation, even thought. It's about the feeling.

      If you haven't played some of these, promise me you'll ignore any write-ups, screenshots, videos, anything, and try at least one fresh, without any prior knowledge. I think we'll all be a little better for it!

      Or, traumatized!


      Here are the games:

      Parappa the Rapper

      Info

      Versions: Original (PS1 - 1996, PSP - 2006), Remastered (PS4 - 2017)

      Genre(s): Music / rhythm

      Links: Mobygames, Wikipedia

      Stores:
      PlayStation Store (Remaster)

      How Long To Beat:
      2-4 Hours
      Not much to replay!

      Parappa the Rapper 2

      Info

      Versions: Original (PS2 - 2001, PS4 - 2015)

      Genre(s): Music / rhythm

      Links: Mobygames, Wikipedia

      Stores:
      PlayStation Store

      How Long To Beat:
      2-5 Hours
      A little more replayable!

      Irritating Stick

      Info

      Versions: Original (PS1 - 1998)

      Genre(s): Arcade, precision

      Links: Mobygames, Wikipedia

      Stores:
      Generally unavailable! ~$30 on ebay

      How Long To Beat:
      4.5 hours, according to a single dude on howlongtobeat
      Years of therapy

      Pepsiman

      Info

      Versions: Original (PS1 - 1999)

      Genre(s): Arcade, runner

      Links: Mobygames, Wikipedia

      Stores:
      Generally unavailable! Uhhhh, $286 on ebay secondhand? $900 for an unopened copy?? Holy hell.

      How Long To Beat:
      2-4 hours
      Additional hours of working off those Pepsi calories

      Vib-Ribbon

      Info

      Versions: Original (PS1 - 1999), Ports (PSP, PS3, and PS Vita - 2014)

      Genre(s): Music / rhythm

      Links: Mobygames, Wikipedia

      Stores:
      ~$40 secondhand
      Technically I think you can still load money to your account via an active PlayStation Store and then buy it on the Vita..?

      How Long To Beat:
      30 minutes - 1,349 years?

      Incredible Crisis

      Info

      Versions: Original (Arcade, PS1 - 1999)

      Genre(s): Arcade, music / rhythm, puzzle, shooter, etc, etc, etc...

      Links: Mobygames, Wikipedia

      Stores:
      Generally unavailable! ~$30 secondhand. This CGA is expensive!

      How Long To Beat:
      3 hours
      1 explanation to your partner about that "back massage"


      Important

      • Yes, these games are weird and rare! But any links to the game should be legal distributions of the game only. Please do NOT link to any unauthorized copies.

      • Put any spoilers in a dropdown block. Copy/paste the block below if needed.

      <details>
      <summary>Spoilers</summary>
      
      Spoiler text goes here.
      </details>
      

      Game Setup

      The main purpose of this topic is to get people up and running with the game. As such, it's recommended that you:

      Share which version of the game you're playing
      Share what hardware you're playing it on
      Share if there are any tools/mods that you recommend
      Share anything you think is important for people to know before they start the game
      Ask questions if you need help
      Ask what the hell is going on in Incredible Crisis
      Get checked for RSI after Irritating Stick
      

      Another purpose of this topic is to revisit the game and its time period:

      Do you have any memories or associations with this game itself?
      What about its system or era?
      What aspects of retro gaming were common at the time?
      What other games from the same time period are you familiar with?
      What are you expecting from this game in particular?
      U rappin' good?
      

      Finally, this topic is the beginning discussion for people starting to play it:

      Post updates sharing your thoughts as you play.
      Ask for help if you get stuck.
      Offer help to others.
      Share some sick beats for Vib-Ribbon.
      

      It is recommended that you reply to your own posts if you are making consecutive updates so that they are in the same thread.


      FAQ

      What is CGA?

      Colossal Game Adventure (CGA) is Tildes' retro video game club.

      Each month we will play a different retro game/games, discuss our thoughts, and bask in the glorious digital experiences of yesteryear!

      Colossal Game Adventure is a reference to Colossal Cave Adventure. It's one of the most influential games of all time, one of the first text-based interactive games, and one of the first games to be shared online.

      What do we want to do with this group? Play influential games; interact with each other through text; and share the love for retro games online!

      It also abbreviates to CGA (because we love chunky pixel art), and its name communicates the Colossal amount of fun and excitement that we have with retro video Games in our shared Adventure of playing them together.

      Do I have to sign up?

      No. Participation is open to all.

      There is a Notification List that will get pinged each time a new topic goes up. If you would like to join that list, please PM u/kfwyre.

      Are there restrictions on what/how to play?

      Each month will have a focus game or games that will guide our discussions. Beyond that, there are no restrictions. The philosophy of CGA is to play in a way that works for you!

      This means:

      • Choose whichever version of the game you want.
      • You can use cheats, save states, mods, etc.
      • You can watch a streamer or longplay instead of playing it.

      If you have already played a game and want a different experience:

      • Try a randomizer or challenge run.
      • Play a different version of it.
      • Play a related game (sequel, spiritual successor, something inspired by it, etc.)

      There is no wrong way to participate in CGA, and every different way someone participates will make for more interesting discussions.

      What is the schedule?

      Each month the Insert Cartidge topic will be posted on the 1st, while the Remove Cartridge topic will be posted on the 20th.

      Nomination and voting topics will happen in March and September (every 6 months).

      Schedules are also posted then.

      All CGA topics are available using the colossal game adventure tag.

      What do Insert and Remove Cartridge mean?

      Inserting and removing cartridges are our retro metaphor for starting and stopping a given game or games.

      The Insert Cartridge topic happens at the beginning of the month and is primarily about getting the game up and running.

      The Remove Cartridge topic happens toward the end of the month and is primarily about people reflecting on the game now that they've played it.

      There are no hard restrictions on what has to go in either topic, and each can be used to discuss the game, post updates, ask questions, etc.

      One last parting thought til the 20th when we eject: there are so many games for this system that are completely out of the ordinary. But for now, let's keep the conversation on these until we hit the Eject thread on the 20th! And then I'd suggest we open the floor for more weirdo shit to ricochet off the walls.

      25 votes
    6. What programming/technical projects have you been working on?

      This is a recurring post to discuss programming or other technical projects that we've been working on. Tell us about one of your recent projects, either at work or personal projects. What's...

      This is a recurring post to discuss programming or other technical projects that we've been working on. Tell us about one of your recent projects, either at work or personal projects. What's interesting about it? Are you having trouble with anything?

      13 votes
    7. Need pixel art software recommendations (it can be free or paid)

      I've been learning Godot for the past few months and I'm happy to report that it's been going well. Little by little, things are clicking into place. (I hugely, highly, undoubtedly, recommend...

      I've been learning Godot for the past few months and I'm happy to report that it's been going well. Little by little, things are clicking into place. (I hugely, highly, undoubtedly, recommend GDQuest courses)

      I'm ready to start working on a small project to test out my skills, and it's going to be a top down pixel art game.

      But to be completely honest, I suck at drawing. I suck at drawing as in, I can make stick figures at best. So forget any fancy software for drawing in general like gimp or photoshop.

      What I'm looking for is a software meant for pixel art and that makes my life easy, in both drawing and animating. Bonus points if it allows me to trace (I'm not planning to copy/steal art, but I do need reference points, at least for now)

      Do you guys have any recommendations? It can be free or paid. I don't mind paying as long the software is worth it.

      15 votes
    8. Cell phone advice

      My current phone is about 6 years old and has a lot of signal problems and I replaced the battery about 6 months ago and the new battery is even worse than the original one was and I think it's...

      My current phone is about 6 years old and has a lot of signal problems and I replaced the battery about 6 months ago and the new battery is even worse than the original one was and I think it's time to get a new phone.

      Things I want in my phone:

      • Android
      • I would love to have a microSD card but that seems impossible
        • if there's not microSD then I need min 512GB of internal storage and I would prefer 1TB if that's not like +1k to the cost
      • Headphone jack
      • If there's AI, then I can disable it
      • Excellent battery life
      • On the smaller end

      Things I don't really care about:

      • Camera quality (I'm a shitty photographer, the camera wont help)

      Things that might be nice:

      • Having a stylus but not at the cost of the phone being enormous. Reason I want this is because it gets cold in the winter in Chicago

      I hope this phone lasts another 6 years and will be pissed if it lasts under 4 years; at that lifespan and amount of use I get out of it I'm pretty price-agnostic. I live in the USA but expect to travel to Europe a few times next year so it should do decently well when traveling. Network is T-Mobile.

      This is not SUPER urgent right now so if your advice is "wait til January because the XYZ phone releasing then is probably better than anything available right now" I would be willing to do that. But my current phone is really not doing great.

      Happy to answer any other followup questions if anyone has any!

      Thanks!

      26 votes
    9. Timasomo 2025: The Showcase

      Timasomo 2025 is now officially complete! Over the next few days, participants will be posting their creations and efforts in this topic to showcase their work to the community. Comments and...

      Timasomo 2025 is now officially complete!

      Over the next few days, participants will be posting their creations and efforts in this topic to showcase their work to the community.

      Comments and feedback are both welcome and encouraged.

      Let these creators know what an awesome job they've done!


      Creators: In posting your showcase:

      • Give your project a title, and use the # markdown to make it stand out in the showcase thread!
      • Link to your project in whatever way works best for it.
      • If you like, give a "creator statement" that contextualizes what your project is.
      • Add anything else you consider relevant! The showcase is yours!
      • If you need examples, take a look at last year’s showcase.

      Also, I strongly encourage you to make your own topics showcasing your work in their respective tildes (e.g. ~life, ~tech, etc.). This showcase is only visible to those subscribed to ~creative.timasomo, but the wider Tildes audience will undoubtedly appreciate your efforts as well.


      Community:

      • Treat this thread like a walk through an art gallery or a museum where you get to see different works on display.
      • Simple appreciations for the creators are not noise—they are valuable community support!
      • Make sure any feedback you give is constructive and meant to help.
      36 votes