Best recommendations for PC couch multiplayer games?
Looking for some games to play with my 11-year-old and wife together (2 player games are OK too!). It's so hard to sift through hundreds of thousands of games on Steam, so thought I'd poll folks!
Looking for some games to play with my 11-year-old and wife together (2 player games are OK too!). It's so hard to sift through hundreds of thousands of games on Steam, so thought I'd poll folks!
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!
Hey all I own a pixel 8a if that's relevant and am looking for a controller that is Bluetooth and costs 50 dollars or less on Amazon. I'm not too picky as long as it can hold the phone and is of good quality. Thank you!
I've noticed a trend where people, young and old, are just not punctuating their sentences anymore. Is it intentional? Do people not know how to punctuate their sentences? Surely, this is not good.
What food and drinks have you been enjoying (or not enjoying) recently? Have you cooked or created anything interesting? Tell us about it!
I was trying to find out why Lidarr wasn't matching my copy of The Cure's Greatest Hits. Found out I've got some bootleg Russian release that's catalogued on discogs (I eventually found the musicbrainz release and updated my profile to include bootlegs). So I search "Lidarr use specific discogs release" and the duck duck go search assist spat out some text about Lidarr not using discogs and cited this Tildes post.
It's curious because that post is 3yrs old and doesn't talk about discogs integration in Lidarr, just one mention of discogs in the post and some folks talking about Lidarr in the comments (It did cite a relevant GitHub issue about it though). The AI response mentioned that some users track new releases with Lidarr and downloads disabled, while covered in the post, it seems fairly tangential to my query.
I'm curious why it decided to check or cite a tildes post. No tildes posts came up in the first couple pages of search results. I use tildes from the same location, though on my phone where this query was on my desktop, and have done a couple DDG queries using "site:tildes.net" on my phone.
Has anyone else seen a search assist cite an unexpected site? Not unexpected as in irrelevant, that's all too common, but small and specific sources.
Something more lighthearted:
My wife has been doing a project that requires her to get people's information over the phone much more than usual. This leads to her and them using unofficial phonetic alphabet terms ("A as in aardvark" instead of "A as in alpha"). This is usually fine except when they choose a word that is ambiguous or just a word not known to the other party. Someone said "V as in Veya" to her, and we still don't know what a Veya is.
This got me thinking about what inappropriate words you could use. I suggested "V as in Vasectomy".
So how about it, Tilderists? What are your "wrong answers only" suggestions for a NOGO phonetic alphabet?
What have you been doing lately for your own fitness? Try out any new programs or exercises? Have any questions for others about your training? Want to vent about poor behavior in the gym? Started a new diet or have a new recipe you want to share? Anything else health and wellness related?
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.
This is the place for casual discussion about our pets. Photos are welcome, show us your pet(s) and tell us about them!
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:
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?
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.
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?
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
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?
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.
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:
Things I don't really care about:
Things that might be nice:
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!
What food and drinks have you been enjoying (or not enjoying) recently? Have you cooked or created anything interesting? Tell us about it!
Now that it is finally fall weather in the Midwest, I have been back to making stews/soups.
My current go-to’s are Zuppa Toscona, Pozole Rojo, and I just made some Kartoffelsuppe (German Potato Soup with Sausage), but I’m looking for more! Any stew-like meal that’s hearty and warm - I like to make a big batch Monday night & eat it for lunches throughout the week, so preferably ones that reheat OK.
I love the Dapanji I’ve had from a local place with hand-pulled noodles, but that seems a bit out of my skill level or comfort-zone to try to make.
What are some of your favorite stews (preferably with recipes)?
Source: bupkis.org
Source: bupkis-org.github.io
Servings: 8
German Potato Soup with Bratwurst is an easy comforting recipe to add to your soup rotation this fall. It takes just 30 minutes to cook, and celebrates German cuisine, even if you can't get to Octoberfest.
Source: theviewfromgreatisland.com
Servings: 4 -6 servings
Prep: 15min
Cook: 30min
Total: 45min
Variations:
Stir in some sour cream, off the heat, to the finished soup.
Season with caraway seeds.
Add a leek, trimmed, diced, and well rinsed.
Add peeled and diced celeriac or turnip.
Puree the finished soup to a creamy consistency before adding the sausage.
Brighten the flavor with a small touch of apple cider vinegar.
*recipe adapted from Ren Behan
I've been trying to get a more rounded understanding of the impacts that "AI" has had since ChatGPT went viral back in 2022.
I've found it easy to gather a list of negative impacts, but have struggled to point to many positives.
I was curious if there were folks who have used any of these AI tools, and would willing to share any positive impacts those tools have had in their lives. I'm particularly interested in the text, audio, image, and video generation tools that have appeared since ChatGPT went viral, but please share anything else that you think fits.
I have resubscribed to Netflix after cancelling about 6 months ago and I think there's been a change to the GUI which I really don't care for. I could be wrong but didn't the TV app use to work in the following way: after selecting a movie or television show, the first click would open a menu that would then allow further options including playing the movie or an episode of the TV show? I miss this. Currently, they're is one option at the to of my screen when I open the app that has a selectable 'More Info' option but everything else does not and the media just starts playing immediately upon selection.
I miss the 'menu on first click' behavior. Is there a way to get back to that?
Thanks.
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!
I keep seeing this term but I have no idea what it means ?
and what does it actually mean in practice. for example, what it can actually do, it seems to only be used for algorithms and such. not personal computing. I assume I don't understand because I'm unfamiliar with Quantum mechanics
Welcome to the 2025 NFL Season Weekly Discussion Thread! 🏈 Share your thoughts on Week 10 — wins, losses, fantasy fumbles, predictions, or anything else football-related.
Sao Paulo Grand Prix
Autódromo José Carlos Pace
November 7-9, 2025
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1:09.627 | 1:09.373 | 1:09.243 | 20 |
| 2 | 12 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 1:10.381 | 1:09.504 | 1:09.340 | 16 |
| 3 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 1:10.017 | 1:09.416 | 1:09.428 | 19 |
| 4 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:10.048 | 1:09.384 | 1:09.495 | 16 |
| 5 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 1:10.011 | 1:09.330 | 1:09.496 | 12 |
| 6 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing | 1:09.975 | 1:09.707 | 1:09.580 | 15 |
| 7 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 1:10.326 | 1:09.647 | 1:09.671 | 15 |
| 8 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:10.324 | 1:09.732 | 1:09.725 | 19 |
| 9 | 6 | Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls | 1:10.095 | 1:09.608 | 1:09.775 | 15 |
| 10 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Kick Sauber | 1:10.333 | 1:09.735 | 1:09.935 | 15 |
| 11 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 1:10.224 | 1:09.811 | 14 | |
| 12 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams | 1:10.275 | 1:09.813 | 12 | |
| 13 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 1:10.097 | 1:09.852 | 12 | |
| 14 | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Kick Sauber | 1:10.217 | 1:09.923 | 12 | |
| 15 | 87 | Oliver Bearman | Haas F1 Team | 1:10.066 | 1:09.946 | 12 | |
| 16 | 43 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine | 1:10.441 | 6 | ||
| 17 | 30 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | 1:10.666 | 5 | ||
| 18 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | Red Bull Racing | 1:10.692 | 6 | ||
| 19 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Haas F1 Team | 1:10.872 | 6 | ||
| 20 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Williams | 1:11.120 | 6 |
Source: F1.com
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Laps | Time / Retired | Pts. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 24 | 53:25.928 | |
| 2 | 12 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 24 | +0.845s | |
| 3 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 24 | +2.318s | |
| 4 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing | 24 | +4.423s | |
| 5 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 24 | +16.483s | |
| 6 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 24 | +18.306s | |
| 7 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 24 | +18.603s | |
| 8 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 24 | +19.366s | |
| 9 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 24 | +23.933s | |
| 10 | 6 | Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls | 24 | +29.548s | |
| 11 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Haas F1 Team | 24 | +31.000s | |
| 12 | 87 | Oliver Bearman | Haas F1 Team | 24 | +31.334s | |
| 13 | 30 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | 24 | +38.090s | |
| 14 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | Red Bull Racing | 24 | +38.462s | |
| 15 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Williams | 24 | +38.951s | |
| 16 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Kick Sauber | 24 | +42.349s | |
| 17 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams | 24 | +55.456s | |
| 18 | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Kick Sauber | 23 | DNF | |
| NC | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 5 | DNF | |
| NC | 43 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine | 5 | DNF |
Source: F1.com
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Laps |
Source: F1.com
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Laps | Time / Retired | Pts. |
Fastest Lap: Driver Personman // 0:00.000 (lap 00)
DOTD: Person Driverman
Source: F1.com
Next race:
Las Vegas Grand Prix
Las Vegas Strip Circuit
November 20-22, 2025
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.
I've been working through my read list and for a while everything was either phenomenal or good enough to entertain.
Then this one. My goodness. I don't like the author. I don't like the narrator. I don't like the other of two characters in the story (so far). I'm piqued by the central mystery, but I can just tell that this is one of those stories where the mystery is going to remain an abstract MacGuffin around which the characters and their flaws are explored. I can't imagine any of this will turn around, but I'm on chapter 3 and about a third of the way through.
So now I'm faced with the choice to finish or abandon. I've been trying to finish it because a friend of mine mentioned having a personal policy of finishing every book she starts, and I am inspired by that. But so far it's just lead to reader's block.
I'm going to get through it, because I'm stubborn, but I don't think I'll enjoy it. Has anyone else ever hate-read a story? What was it? I'm happy to share the one that spawned this thread but only if people want to hear about a book that I've judged in the first third.
(this is all light-hearted, I wouldn't read it if I really hated it that much)
Hello!
I recently reworked my setup such that I have my drive which holds the operating systems (dual boot of Windows 11 and Linux Mint Cinnamon) and another drive which holds all my actual data. This is my first dive into trying to move to Linux as my daily driver but I'm noticing some performance issues.
The first thing I noticed is that transfer speeds are much less than expected. Copying a large file within my data drive I get about 300MB/s on Linux, which is pretty slow for M.2 drives- I get about 10x that speed doing the exact same operation on Windows. I could be okay with this but I also noticed that some video files, like the 4K mp4s off my phone, are virtually unplayable. They'll run at maybe 1fps and/or bog down the UI so much I cant even use the seek. This is the case in both the default media player and VLC. These same files play with no issue on Windows.
I suspect the reason for all this stems from my data drive being NTFS, though my file system and Linux knowledge is pretty weak so this is just a theory. Any ideas / best practices that might help me here?
Hi Tildenauts,
There's a custom at Tildes, that sort of grew organically out of "what should we call ourselves?" threads, to refer to fellow Tilderians in ever changing ways. This happened because there was no obvious, non-cringy answer and anyway who cares? That's my read on it anyway, I didn't follow closely. Plus the idea of online in-groups is kinda cringy itself, but also inevitable because we're humans. The whole concept begs for ironic resignation.
Anyway, fellow Tildinites, it occured to me that I've been coming here on and off for a long time. Since not too long after it launched I think. And it's been great. I consider Tildes a huge success in its mission, or my interpretation of it: be a comparitively intimate forum where people are thoughtful and less reactionary than elsewhere online. Throw in a (just) large enough userbase to include a wide variety of life experience and perspectives and you've got an oasis in an ever more polarized and reactionary internet.
Tildes reminds me of earlier internet forums, when the tone, pace and motivations for online communication were less capitalized, in various senses of the word. Niche subreddits during Reddit's golden era are another example. It's a better vibe. I'm guessing that, during the various Reddit exodii, a fair amount of people who share that nostalgia ended up here.
I even have some nostalgia for the early days of the platforms. MySpace! Early instagram was gorgeous. Even Facebook had its moments. My social media participation has always been below average, unless you count the years where any online socializing was unusual in the general population, but it's been a semi-consistent part of essentially my whole adult life both personally and professionally. Thinking about online socializing, it's funny how it's sort of its own thing. Kind of in its own social category, a new one that we recently invented. Maybe, in part, it's because the internet is a sort of buffer, and in those buffered interactions we're all a little different. In both good and bad ways. Lately it feels unbalanced towards bad, but perhaps it will swing back.
It feels like the Tildian moderation strategy, and guidelines, have successfully created a culture that's now self sustaining to some degree. And I think that culture is pretty great. It's not perfect, in the way that nothing people do can ever be perfect, especially where communication is concerned, but it's beautiful and I'm grateful it exists.
So, cheers to Tildes! I'd love to hear what other Tilderianites think about Tildes.
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!
I get the feeling that, outside its own communities, Overwatch has mostly slipped out of the wider conversation.
We've had:
Blizzard’s various incidents/controversies
The shift to OW2 and all the confusion/anger around that
The battle pass / shop pricing / F2P monetization complaints
Cancellation of PVE mode
General live-service fatigue
Most of that hasn’t really been “fixed”, but I'm not seeing nearly as much noise about it anymore, good or bad.
As a now free-to-play, live-service game with ongoing updates and "events", I feel like OW2's cosmetic pricing is (unfortunately) pretty standard compared to similar big titles. I'm not saying that's good, I think aggressive monetization is a wider industry problem, but within that landscape, the model itself doesn't feel uniquely outrageous to me if the goal is keeping a big, polished game running long-term.
I also doubt the actual dev team has much control over pricing, so that part lands more on Blizzard/ABK as a company (shocker).
Setting that aside: purely in terms of gameplay, the game currently feels the best it ever has to me. There's a good variety of modes, and things like the new Stadium mode feel very different from the usual Quick Play/Comp loop while still keeping the core of what makes Overwatch fun: the heroes, the readability, how smooth and well-designed everything feels.
Especially if you're not deep in the OW ecosystem anymore (or never were):
Do you think about Overwatch at all these days?
Did you drop it because of Blizzard, OW2’s launch, monetization, balance, something else?
From the outside, does it feel “fine now”, “permanently tainted”, “kind of irrelevant”, or just background noise?
If you never really played it: is there anything that would actually make you try Overwatch 2 in its current state?
And if you are still playing or following it closely, I'm also interested in how you feel about the state of the game vs peak OW1 / early OW2, especially whether it's earned back any trust or enthusiasm.
Not trying to rehash every incident in detail, just curious how the game and its reputation land for people who aren’t immersed in it every day.
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.
I have a decent sized library of probably around 2-300 books, and it has been on my list of projects to-do to make a catalog/database for my library to quickly reference what I have. Do any of you catalog your libraries and if so what do you use for it?
I know Libid and LibraryThing are two of the big website/app ones, and it could be done with a Google Sheet or similar, but I was wondering if anyone here has any experience before I really get started.
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!
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.
I have been working on adapting the Mul from AD&D 2e's Dark Sun into my general AD&D 1e campaign to coincide with the deletion of gnomes (they deserve it). I chose to not simply take them 1:1 since even the dwarf has different mechanics in Dark Sun. I took into consideration what the dwarf is good at, as well as how the half-elf and elf relate, and tried to model it in the same way.
What I'd like is opinions from people with experience in the pre-WotC editions of D&D that are pre-disposed to picking demi-humans on whether the mul is something they'd pick.
Note that the Runecaster is a Fighter subclass from a 2e supplement that I've ported back and the Occultist is a personal creation that combines the cleric and magic-user with additional abilities in the way that the 1e bard does with the fighter and thief.
I have a friend who plays in my regular D&D game and has a pretty significant stutter. The rest of the party are great about this and are very patient and understanding, so I'm not looking for advice in that area, but this friend has also expressed a desire to create and run a campaign. I would love to play in his game, but I know he worries that his stutter would severely restrict his ability to be an effective DM. Unfortunately, at least as far as traditional DM-ing is concerned, I think he's just objectively correct. But that got me wondering - are there ways to work around his impediment or rearrange the typical flow of a D&D session that could allow him to do it?
Things we've considered:
Things I've wondered about but not suggested yet:
Are there possibilities I'm not considering? What tools and strategies could he/we use to mitigate this and help him be successful as a DM? Is there a way to dramatically reimagine what a D&D session looks like that might still be fulfilling for him and everyone involved?
Edit: Should have mentioned we play online, so computer-based tools would be excellent options. They'd fit in very naturally.
Obviously the solution will be highly specific to him personally, and I'm not trying to solve all his problems for him without taking into consideration what he wants. We've talked several times over the years about his stutter and his attempts to eliminate it, and it's a conversation we return to every so often. I'd just like to have some ideas to suggest next time this comes up.
Thanks in advance, everyone!
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.
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.
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!
This is the place for casual discussion about our pets. Photos are welcome, show us your pet(s) and tell us about them!
Hello. I usually talk about trains, except today, I just want to vent on my finances and my wishes for a less expensive world.
I have found myself in financial straits,as I had amassed debt last year, lost work for months and amassed more debt. It’s in the low tens of thousands. of course I also lost my healthcare because I live in a rich country run by morally destitute anti-intellectuals.
On paper, I will pay off the debt in 18-24 months, if god allows. I have work now.
This city’s transit system has been hobbled in bad faith and will be destroyed come January….Fares have already risen, service cut. My train to work will be cut because the state refuses to provide services for its most productive citizens. It is twice as long by bus, suicide by bicycle on roads built for tanks, so I will have to sacrifice time or life.
It seems the price of electricity has increased. I would generate my own, but it is impractical.
Sadly my possessions are breaking too. This is the way of things, it’s just miserable timing, and each discovery of a failing mechanism or dilapidated object piles onto the defeat. The window frame has rotted and the glass fallen -- the house is frozen. Not a single plant survives. (The landlord will fix it, but not hurriedly…..) Bulbs burnt out, rooms dark. My bicycle needs new brakes, a new chain, my helmet has been destroyed and should be replaced, but for now I have been riding without. The computer has broken after 14 years, admittedly about time…. An expensive thing to replace, so now I only have my phone, whose battery has degraded quite a lot and will not be usable for too much longer, and a small laptop on death’s door too. I had worn my single pair of walking shoes for 5 years until, yesterday, the sole fell off. (Thankfully, I have one more, but it is formal and uncomfortable) A new pair is more costly than I remember… I know a cheap one will disintegrate in a season and do nothing for the snow, and a quality one is beyond financial prudence. My jacket is worn and torn by years and embers, beyond my ability to sew, and I must darn and darn and darn all the socks and gloves with holes, which I hate to do, and i am not good at. The denim jeans are ripped, in a place difficult to patch, and the pockets torn. I cannot bear the cold the same anymore, so I also need an overcoat, which I cannot afford. The fitted sheets are inexplicably torn by some punitive act of god, probably irreparably. The pillows are compressed, worthless, and causing me pain. Even the tent, which I might use to regain some sanity in the woods, has had its elastic poles dried solid and is basically unusable. At least I have a few books.
My lifestyle is structurally cheap. Affordable city, relatively low rent, multiple housemates, no car, only occasional commute, no dog, no wife, no children. Not too much to pay for. I eat simply. I am content with it.
Yet somehow I find myself with hundreds of dollars of credit card purchases this month, more than an entire paycheck, and last was also more. Qualifying for a healthcare plan has reduced my medical costs, but the difference is withheld, and I’m realizing that often it costs more than it would cost out of pocket, so at best it makes no difference. The dental and vision are exorbitant, so I just hope I don’t get a cavity.
I suspect I need glasses, or will soon. I can tell my eyesight is beginning to worsen. But it’ll have to wait a couple years.
The fear of a worse medical emergency persists. The deductible is rather high for a plan that offers no HSA and the co-pay is unremarkable, the coverage limited. Perhaps the least useful healthcare plan I’ve ever had.
I do not gamble. I like to drink beer but have abstained recently. My hobbies are inspecting train and street infrastructure, studying the Holy Bible, moralizing on the internet and persuading the government to institute a better society. I lapse sometimes and make impulsive purchases, but not frequently. I have not even gone to see a game in two years.
It’s a great pain to review your statements and recognize that almost none of the purchases were wasteful, only a few technically unnecessary. There were just too many overall.
What upsets me most is the social distance I have gained from my condition of functional poverty. the agony of refusing visits, trips, games, concerts, shows, dinners, coffees, drinks grinds on me daily. Yes it is still nice to say hello, it is just not the same. The pity, or disgust, the symbolic offers of charity received. Mostly the confusion—the awkwardness, the unsolicited advice (which I don’t normally mind, but it gets old). I prefer to socialize with bourgeois progressives, academics and professionals who care about engineering and mathematics and government policy and theory. It’s what I care about. I do not really resent them, but everything they do costs more money than I possess, so it is difficult to see friends and I cannot hope to keep up with colleagues after work.
I don’t object to work but I resent the fact that I must pay for my own healthcare. I also resent that my government neglects my transportation and my safety. I resent the pollution of the air, the NIMBYism driving up rents and leaving the addicted even more hopeless. I acknowledge the mistakes I’ve made that have led me here. I can’t undo the past, but Congress could socialize all medicine in the next budget if it wanted to…. repeatedly chooses not to.
That’s all. I just wanted to complain. You can give me advice if you want. I’m relatively financially literate, just poor and human.
Tildes is a very serious site, where we discuss very serious matters like dick cheney, zohran mamdani and cellebrite. Tags culled from the highest voted topics from the last seven days, if anyone was perplexed.
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!
A friend of mine in Britain recently had to replace a headlight on her Honda. It was hit by a rock and there was no choice but to replace it. Her description of the headlight was "an LED Matrix" unit, and since I don't keep up with terminology in modern cars, this was something new to me. The cost of the light was £729.99 and to make matters worse, it had to be aligned and linked to the computer in the car, which could only be done at the Honda dealership. Their labor charge was £350. That comes to over $1400 US dollars to replace a damn headlight.
I want nothing to do with modern vehicles. I own an old Toyota Tacoma, and I can replace any part on it by myself. Shoot, if you've got 10 and 12mm wrenches, you can virtually disassemble the truck.
For those who like to tinker with their cars, I suspect there is a cut-off point in time, where it is no longer easily done, and it may be ten years past by now.
Anyone have any stories about absurd costs with their vehicles these days?
What have you been doing lately for your own fitness? Try out any new programs or exercises? Have any questions for others about your training? Want to vent about poor behavior in the gym? Started a new diet or have a new recipe you want to share? Anything else health and wellness related?
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.
Is it just me, is this a bug, or is it a feature?
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.