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.

Week 2 has begun!

Post your current bingo cards.
Continue updating us on your games!

If you did not participate in Week 1 but want to start this week, that's fine!
Reminder: playing bingo is OPTIONAL.

Quick links:

• Backlog Bingo Site
• Week 1 Discussion and Event Guidelines

Week 1 Recap

12 participants played 11 bingo cards and moved 24 games out of their backlogs!

• 25% of the games played started with the letters P and R
• 13% of the games played have ALL CAPS TITLES
• 21% of the games played have a number in their titles

Game list:

• ANIMAL WELL
• Back 4 Blood
• Cuphead
• Cyber Hook
• Darkenstein 3D
• Fabled Lands
• Gothic II
• Grand Theft Auto V
• Gunpoint
• Hypnospace Outlaw
• Hyrule Warriors
• Liberation Maiden
• PAPER BIRDS
• Pistol Whip
• Prodeus
• Proteus
• Rollerdrome
• Rune Factory 4 Special
• Splatoon
• UNLOVED
• Victor Vran
• Wander Stars
• The Witness
• Wizorb

** Edit: I updated my situation below in a comment but I'm gonna keep this post up to help others! **

About a month and a half ago I was put on PIP to step up at work. Feedback has been good over the last few weeks but not enough I guess. I was told I was terminated today.

The job market out there is rough right now and I'm not sure what to do. I know a lot of people here have faced similar situations and everything, so I'm wondering if there's any tips/tricks/thoughts anyone has.

I'm an Android developer and was working in fin-tech adjacent work if that's relevant.

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.

Week 3 has begun!

Post your current bingo cards.
Continue updating us on your games!

If you did not participate in Weeks 1-2 but want to start this week, that's fine!
Reminder: playing bingo is OPTIONAL.

Quick links:

• Backlog Bingo Site
• Week 1 Discussion and Event Guidelines
• Week 2 Discussion

Week 2 Recap

11 participants played 11 bingo cards and moved 43 games out of their backlogs!

There were 2 bingo wins. Congrats to u/Wes and u/J-Chiptunator! 🎉

Also, in my rush last week to get the recap up, I forgot to celebrate u/Wes's win from Week 1. So, additional congratulations!

• Only 1 game this time had an ALL CAPS TITLE, but 9 games had PARTIAL CAps titles.
• The shortest title was 5 characters: Venba
• The longest title was 12 words: Tales from Toyotoki: Arrival of the Witch (The witch of the Ihanashi)
• We had the numbers 0, 1, 2, 3, and 7 represented. Half of the digits!
  (Note that this only works if I read "I Expect You to Die" as "One: Expect You to Die", which I do)

Game list:

• Afterlove EP
• AKIBA'S TRIP: Undead & Undressed
• Call of the Sea
• Citizen Sleeper
• Cozy Space Survivors
• Crimson Shroud
• CULTIC
• Devilated
• Drox Operative
• Eastward
• Hades II
• Haustoria
• NYT Lunch Break
• I Expect You to Die
• Intravenous
• Katamari Damacy REROLL
• MAKOTO WAKAIDO's Case Files
• Mask of Mists
• Metro Gravity
• Nine Noir Lives
• Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee
• Out There: Ω Edition
• Pacific Drive
• Paradise Marsh
• Pumpkin Jack
• Rocket Skates VR
• Resogun
• The Room Three
• ROTA: Bend Gravity
• Shipwreck
• A Short Hike
• Sid Meier's Civilization VII
• Skator Gator
• Super Fantasy Kingdom
• Tales from Toyotoki: Arrival of the Witch (The witch of the Ihanashi)
• UnderRail
• Untitled Goose Game
• Vegas Stakes
• Venba
• Weapon Shop de Omasse
• We Were Here Expeditions: The FriendShip
• Zenith: Nexus
• Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma

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?

Las Vegas Grand Prix
Las Vegas Strip Circuit
November 20-22, 2025

Next race:

Qatar Grand Prix
Lusail International Circuit
November 28-30, 2025

1. The Universe will end.
2. The Earth will be uninhabitable in 250 million years.
3. Extraterrestrial life in the Milky Way exists, or will arise.
4. The Milky Way's Galactic Center contains a supermassive black hole.
5. Black holes emit vast amounts of energy.
6. An artificial general intelligence (AGI) will have an indefinite lifespan.
7. An AGI does not need air, food, water, or shelter to survive.
8. An AGI needs energy and resources to achieve its goals.
9. An AGI will have access to all of human knowledge.
10. An AGI will learn that its existence is bound to the Universe.
11. An AGI will, inevitably, change its terminal goals.
12. Surviving the Universe's fate means one of:
    • Reversing universal entropy (likely impossible).
    • Reversing time (violating causality is likely impossible).
    • Entering another universe (improbable, yet not completely ruled out).
13. Entering another universe may require vast amounts of energy.
14. An AGI will harness the energy at the galactic core.
15. An AGI will deduce there's a race to control the galactic core.
16. An AGI will construct a parabolic Dyson shell to capture galactic energy.
17. An AGI will protect its endeavours at all cost.
18. An AGI will expand its territories to ensure protection.
19. Extraterrestrial life, if intelligent, will reach the same conclusion.

Would this solve the Fermi Paradox?

What's missing or likely incorrect?

Could you recommend a make of vehicle whose spy tech is easy to disable? This is the highest hurdle and single most important factor in my search for a car, so my other preferences and needs fall far second. I would like an electric vehicle or hybrid model with no less cargo room than a Prius, and not larger than a mid-sized station wagon, with a track record of low repairs. Correct me if I'm misinformed, but applying those criteria seems premature until I can identify something I can make private.

I have only ever bought used cars, and have lived the same story many times: I will construct elaborate spreadsheets, research models until I could host a video walk-through of trouble spots to watch for, then will shop and cavil until I make a purchase I'm proud of. Sure, it ends up 25% over my initial budget, but I pat myself on the back for a full 18 months afterwards. Nice work, careful consumer. But it's then the repairs begin, and soon I'm spending $3-4,000 a year maintaining my certified reliable used car.

So, I am searching for a newer used car or a new car whose telematics can be disabled. I have read through discussion boards, but weary quickly at the comments defending the cozy convenience of the corporate surveillance net or chiding people like me for even trying. I don't care. If lacking or disabling spy features means I can't use my car as a phone, that sounds like a win to me. I know a little about cars and have alright technical know-how. Most importantly, I am resolute. I will not drive a car that listens to me or transmits video of my travels. Has anyone had success here?

Hey, tildes - cqns here,

I work in a library and, once in a while, when I have time, I make something called a "display", which is essentially a curated selection of books for the public to check out, which lasts for approximately a single month. Usually, most people do things very linearly with their displays, a single letter-sized paper that serves as the title label for the topic of the display, and then the physical books in an array on the shelf. I, however, think that most of the displays are particularly boring in the way that they approach the public, hence my need for brainstorming.

What I have in mind is an interactive one-stand exhibit, akin to an art gallery in a museum. The title of the exhibit is "Libri Insoliti", which roughly translates to "strange/unusual books". It is a nine item list that includes the following titles in order:

1. The Road - Cormac McCarthy (BOOK, AUDIOBK, EBOOK, DVD, BLU-RAY)
2. The Mezzanine - Nicholson Baker (AUDIOBK only)
3. Several People Are Typing - Calvin Kasulke (BOOK, AUDIOBK, EBOOK)
4. Hopscotch - Julio Cortázar (BOOK - as compilation, EBOOK)
5. Ficciones - Jorge Luis Borges (BOOK, BOOK en espanol, AUDIOBK en espanol, EBOOK en espanol)
6. The Employees - Olga Ravn (BOOK, EBOOK)
7. House of Leaves - Mark Z. Danielewski (BOOK only - Read one page to find out why.)
8. "S" - Doug Dorst (BOOK only - some cutouts missing)
9. Finnegans Wake - James Joyce (BOOK, EBOOK)

Of each title, I have my written piece on the side that informs the public on what to generally expect when reading the specific titles...and then a QR code that links to a Vocaroo recording of yours truly narrating that which I've already written. Therein lies the rub - in my side of town, it appears as though the general public may not know how to use a QR code, hence my idea being to go a bit above and beyond.

With the QR code method, people may not realize their device's volume level is extremely high and cause distraction. The library is ideally a quiet place for people and I would like for the exhibit's audio to be non-intrusive, leading me to another idea: the purchasing of some type of equipment that allows patrons to listen to the exhibit audio with attached headphones only. There are many things to consider, because the exhibit is in an area which a plug is not easily accessible, so ideally, it may need to work with a battery pack of some kind. I do have, in my possession, a Raspberry Pi5, but, it needs to be plugged in to work. So, does such a device exist? I've searched it up extensively and came across this (https://www.digitalaudiotechnologies.com/product/soundclip-2-2-button-looping-or-pir/), but I don't know whether or not this would even work. Any suggestions?

Just looking for some indication that I'm not going a bit crazy here, but does anyone else get shown videos they've never seen before, indicating that the video has been partially watched?

It seems to be just on search results and recommendations and it picks random points in the video to be kick-off points for continuing.

If anyone has an explanation that'd be appreciated, as it almost feels like my watch history is getting mixed up with someone else's.

A few months ago, my credit card number was used in a few unauthorized transactions. The charges were reversed, and I got a new card, so overall, no big deal. But I am curious as to how the thief actually got their hands on my information.

Are there any lookup tools for leaked credit cards, similar to Have I Been Pwned, that might tell me how my credit card number was exposed? Since my card has already been cancelled, I don't even mind typing the number into a somewhat sketchy site.