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    1. In noisy surroundings, your techniques to learn to center attention and ignore distraction?

      TL;DR: I just need your help to erect some kind of mental deep sea bunker in my soul :-) Context: My job brings me into private homes with lots of permanently switched-on large televisions and...

      TL;DR: I just need your help to erect some kind of mental deep sea bunker in my soul :-)

      Context: My job brings me into private homes with lots of permanently switched-on large televisions and with lots of super-talktative and socially starved human beings ambiently living around these screens.

      The job is personal assistance: to remain emotionally present and relateable for hours on end. Quite an effort, not only because I get easily distracted by television sounds and screens (war-footage + sports = random mainstream deluge of endless pixel poison). I did not grow up with television and my audio-visual filtering capability is very poor. I get fixated by any stream of noise and trapped within it. This job makes me want to get better at filtering.

      Thus I would much appreciate if anybody who knows this type of problem, would share techniques to filter and/or ignore external stimuli. More useful answers would take into account that being rude or flippant is not an option, and it would not be socially acceptable for me to regulate the televisions.

      What would be some terms that I could use to find books about the topic? Any experiences you can share with me? Thanks <3

      31 votes
    2. Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix 2026 - Race Weekend Discussion

      Warning: this post may contain spoilers

      Chinese Grand Prix
      Shanghai International Circuit
      March 13-15, 2026


      Sprint Race Qualifying Results -- SPOILER
      Pos. No. Driver Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Laps
      1 63 George Russell Mercedes 1:33.030 1:32.241 1:31.520 13
      2 12 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:33.455 1:32.291 1:31.809 13
      3 1 Lando Norris McLaren 1:33.783 1:33.086 1:32.141 13
      4 44 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:33.148 1:33.042 1:32.161 15
      5 81 Oscar Piastri McLaren 1:33.813 1:33.038 1:32.224 13
      6 16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:33.194 1:32.602 1:32.528 16
      7 10 Pierre Gasly Alpine 1:33.970 1:33.405 1:32.888 15
      8 3 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 1:34.170 1:33.564 1:33.254 17
      9 87 Oliver Bearman Haas F1 Team 1:34.280 1:33.501 1:33.409 16
      10 6 Isack Hadjar Red Bull Racing 1:34.447 1:33.620 1:33.723 15
      11 27 Nico Hulkenberg Audi 1:33.997 1:33.635 14
      12 31 Esteban Ocon Haas F1 Team 1:34.087 1:33.639 13
      13 30 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls 1:34.110 1:33.714 13
      14 5 Gabriel Bortoleto Audi 1:34.291 1:33.774 14
      15 41 Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls 1:34.495 1:34.048 13
      16 43 Franco Colapinto Alpine 1:34.592 1:34.327 12
      17 55 Carlos Sainz Williams 1:34.761 6
      18 23 Alexander Albon Williams 1:35.305 6
      19 14 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 1:35.581 5
      20 18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1:36.151 7
      21 77 Valtteri Bottas Cadillac 1:37.378 8

      Source: F1.com

      Sprint Race Results -- SPOILER
      Pos. No. Driver Team Laps Time / Retired Pts.
      1 63 George Russell Mercedes 19 33:38.998 8
      2 16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 19 +0.674s 7
      3 44 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 19 +2.554s 6
      4 1 Lando Norris McLaren 19 +4.433s 5
      5 12 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 19 +5.688s 4
      6 81 Oscar Piastri McLaren 19 +6.809s 3
      7 30 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls 19 +10.900s 2
      8 87 Oliver Bearman Haas F1 Team 19 +11.271s 1
      9 3 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 19 +11.619s 0
      10 31 Esteban Ocon Haas F1 Team 19 +13.887s 0
      11 10 Pierre Gasly Alpine 19 +14.780s 0
      12 55 Carlos Sainz Williams 19 +15.753s 0
      13 5 Gabriel Bortoleto Audi 19 +15.858s 0
      14 43 Franco Colapinto Alpine 19 +16.393s 0
      15 6 Isack Hadjar Red Bull Racing 19 +16.430s 0
      16 23 Alexander Albon Williams 19 +20.014s 0
      17 14 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 19 +21.599s 0
      18 18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 19 +21.971s 0
      19 11 Sergio Perez Cadillac 19 +28.241s 0
      NC 27 Nico Hulkenberg Audi 12 DNF 0
      NC 77 Valtteri Bottas Cadillac 12 DNF 0
      NC 41 Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls 11 DNF 0

      Source: F1.com

      Qualifying Results -- SPOILER
      Pos. No. Driver Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Laps
      1 12 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:33.305 1:32.443 1:32.064 15
      2 63 George Russell Mercedes 1:33.262 1:32.523 1:32.286 13
      3 44 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:33.522 1:32.567 1:32.415 19
      4 16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:33.175 1:32.486 1:32.428 20
      5 81 Oscar Piastri McLaren 1:33.590 1:33.130 1:32.550 20
      6 1 Lando Norris McLaren 1:33.535 1:32.910 1:32.608 20
      7 10 Pierre Gasly Alpine 1:33.788 1:33.003 1:32.873 21
      8 3 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 1:33.417 1:33.098 1:33.002 20
      9 6 Isack Hadjar Red Bull Racing 1:33.632 1:33.352 1:33.121 20
      10 87 Oliver Bearman Haas F1 Team 1:33.687 1:33.197 1:33.292 19
      11 27 Nico Hulkenberg Audi 1:34.116 1:33.354 12
      12 43 Franco Colapinto Alpine 1:33.634 1:33.357 15
      13 31 Esteban Ocon Haas F1 Team 1:33.974 1:33.538 14
      14 30 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls 1:34.139 1:33.765 15
      15 41 Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls 1:33.906 1:33.784 15
      16 5 Gabriel Bortoleto Audi 1:33.549 1:33.965 14
      17 55 Carlos Sainz Williams 1:34.317 10
      18 23 Alexander Albon Williams 1:34.772 10
      19 14 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 1:35.203 9
      20 77 Valtteri Bottas Cadillac 1:35.436 9
      21 18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1:35.995 9
      22 11 Sergio Perez Cadillac 1:36.906 6

      Source: F1.com

      Grand Prix Results -- SPOILER
      Pos. No. Driver Team Laps Time / Retired Pts.
      1 12 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 56 1:33:15.607 25
      2 63 George Russell Mercedes 56 +5.515s 18
      3 44 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 56 +25.267s 15
      4 16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 56 +28.894s 12
      5 87 Oliver Bearman Haas F1 Team 56 +57.268s 10
      6 10 Pierre Gasly Alpine 56 +59.647s 8
      7 30 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls 56 +80.588s 6
      8 6 Isack Hadjar Red Bull Racing 56 +87.247s 4
      9 55 Carlos Sainz Williams 55 +1 lap 2
      10 43 Franco Colapinto Alpine 55 +1 lap 1
      11 27 Nico Hulkenberg Audi 55 +1 lap 0
      12 41 Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls 55 +1 lap 0
      13 77 Valtteri Bottas Cadillac 55 +1 lap 0
      14 31 Esteban Ocon Haas F1 Team 55 +1 lap 0
      15 11 Sergio Perez Cadillac 55 +1 lap 0
      NC 3 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 45 DNF 0
      NC 14 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 32 DNF 0
      NC 18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 9 DNF 0
      NC 81 Oscar Piastri McLaren 0 DNS 0
      NC 1 Lando Norris McLaren 0 DNS 0
      NC 5 Gabriel Bortoleto Audi 0 DNS 0
      NC 23 Alexander Albon Williams 0 DNS 0

      Fastest Lap: Kimi Antonelli // 1:35.275 on lap 52
      DOTD: Kimi Antonelli

      Source: F1.com


      Next race:
      Japanese Grand Prix
      Suzuka Circuit
      March 26-29, 2026

      17 votes
    3. 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?

      18 votes
    4. 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.

      14 votes
    5. How to not snap at someone who is unintentionally annoying

      They are old. They are a guest here and want to be helpful, but it ends up being annoying because every time you set down a used pan or cooking utensil, they want to wash it for you. (They know...

      They are old. They are a guest here and want to be helpful, but it ends up being annoying because every time you set down a used pan or cooking utensil, they want to wash it for you. (They know perfectly well we have a dishwasher and that we use it.) They hover while you're working in the kitchen and always seem to be in the way.

      It's like they're hijacking my attention span all the time to make decisions. It also feels like (again definitely unintentionally) they're telling you to hurry up and do this thing they want you to do.

      I have just come withing a microsecond of biting off their head. I'm baking a pastry, and came to check on it to see where it was at and make sure it wasn't browning too much. I checked internal temperature, noted browning, and the moment I closed the door, before I could turn around to get the foil, they asked me if I knew it was getting brown (that's the way they worded it, "do I know". Fortunately, "YES NO EFFING KIDDING I WAS HERE TO CHECK ON EXACTLY THAT" came out as "Yes."

      I don't want to react like this. Please give me pointers.

      40 votes
    6. Recommended beginning soldering kits

      I'm looking for a kit that will give me some practice holding wires in place and soldering connections, hopefully also while giving me a completed object or set of objects that's fun at the end....

      I'm looking for a kit that will give me some practice holding wires in place and soldering connections, hopefully also while giving me a completed object or set of objects that's fun at the end. I'm not completely new to soldering; I've done a couple simple kits and some repair of model trains with loose wires, but I definitely could be a lot better at it and I'd like some guided practice. Emphasis on the "guided," I'm not looking for additional things to repair, I really want a straightforward kit, a range of difficulties in connections would also be great. Any recommendations?

      26 votes
    7. 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
    8. Looking for vibe-coding guides (best practices, etc.)

      Decided I wanted to try vibe-coding some stuff. It's been a very long time since I coded anything, and it was all very amateurish, but as the tooling has become better I wanted to give a shot at...

      Decided I wanted to try vibe-coding some stuff. It's been a very long time since I coded anything, and it was all very amateurish, but as the tooling has become better I wanted to give a shot at some silly ideas. Got tired of writing about random teaching and AI related stuff, decided I wanted to build some more stuff to get more acquainted with agentic tooling.

      I have gathered some sparse links here and there, but I was hoping the community here may know of some more "definitive" guides. My plan is to use Claude Code, but if people want to share guides for other coding agents (Codex, etc.) please feel free.

      Very interested in iOS app development if that helps, but I feel that best practices can likely look very similar across platforms and tools.

      27 votes
    9. 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.

      7 votes
    10. What radicalized you?

      Radicalization has, of course, varied meanings to pretty much any person you ask to define it and it is both contextual and a spectrum. I will provide no definition of such here as this isn't a...

      Radicalization has, of course, varied meanings to pretty much any person you ask to define it and it is both contextual and a spectrum. I will provide no definition of such here as this isn't a pissing contest and a person's definition is likely to be highly personal based on their own lived experiences up to and post said "radicalization".

      Today is my yearly reminder of what I consider to be the impetus of what "radicalized" me.
      So thought I'd ask all of you for yours.

      73 votes
    11. Tildes Minecraft PVP event

      EDIT: Congrats to Secret_Online for winning the free for all / the Orange team for winning the team event! ==== I'm organizing a PVP event on the Tildes Minecraft server. Posting here in case...

      EDIT: Congrats to Secret_Online for winning the free for all / the Orange team for winning the team event!

      ====

      I'm organizing a PVP event on the Tildes Minecraft server. Posting here in case anyone would like to join. All gear will be provided for the event.

      Exact time will be March 14th, 2pm EDT

      The first game will be a free for all, battle royale. Players will start with nothing, and through scavenging the arena find the tools they need to survive. Making alliances is not against the rules, but just remember only one player can win.

      The second game will be team based, with the Orange side fighting the Blues in a series of rounds. Each round will have an objective to complete with teams earning points until one side wins.

      Hope to see you there!

      22 votes
    12. Offbeat Fridays – The thread where offbeat headlines become front page news

      Tildes is a very serious site, where we discuss very serious matters like global warming, ig nobels.2026 and esoteric ebb. Tags culled from the highest voted topics from the last seven days, if...

      Tildes is a very serious site, where we discuss very serious matters like global warming, ig nobels.2026 and esoteric ebb. Tags culled from the highest voted topics from the last seven days, if anyone was curious.

      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!

      10 votes
    13. Does anyone have any Nebula recommendations? I've just signed up!

      Hey all, My favourite video essayist, Lindsay Ellis, only posts on Nebula now, so that was the final incentive to get me to sign up. Now that I'm in I'm finding the breadth of content a bit...

      Hey all,

      My favourite video essayist, Lindsay Ellis, only posts on Nebula now, so that was the final incentive to get me to sign up.

      Now that I'm in I'm finding the breadth of content a bit overwhelming.

      Taste wise, I really like Lindsay Ellis/Jenny Nicholson type videos that are funny media analysis. I've never seen Jet Lag (it seems big on Tildes).

      I'm pretty averse to all the war and conflict stuff on the splash page. Similarly, I don't really like food channels because it just makes me frustrated and hungry.

      Apart from that, I guess the main thing is I don't know what I don't know! Do you have favourite creators you'd recommend?

      35 votes
    14. Struggling in my relationship

      Preface: Sorry if this isn't the place, and if I'm cagey on some specifics. Also sorry for the length, this turned out a lot longer than I anticipated. My partner and I have been together for...

      Preface: Sorry if this isn't the place, and if I'm cagey on some specifics. Also sorry for the length, this turned out a lot longer than I anticipated.

      My partner and I have been together for nearly 8 years at this point. This was my first serious, long-term committed relationship; every other one I'd had was short-lived (<3 months) and I hadn't exactly had a lot of them. Maybe this is why I was blind to the cracks until things got unavoidable.

      It started off strong and passionate of course, and things moved rather quickly. We (they, I'm not on the title) bought a house and we were expecting a child within a year. I should have kept things slower, thought with my head instead of blindly following my heart. I'd been very lonely for a very long time. I was happy those first few years, even if in hindsight the cracks were beginning to show. Even before baby came along, intimacy fell off a cliff. I had many talks about this with them, which led nowhere much really. The rest of the relationship still felt solid to me though. I pressed on.


      In the beginning, they had a better job than I did. I earned far less. Luckily an opportunity came up for me to finish my schooling and further my career, and I put a lot of work into achieving just that. Now things have changed with that, and I feel like we could be doing well together... If it weren't for the financial instability I feel they bring. I'd never been great with money, but my partner's father took me under his wing and taught me a lot of financial literacy. I became adept at putting together spreadsheets and managing our finances. Our first major crisis we overcame together through being very fiscally conservative and digging our way out. We also had several windfalls that helped us out. Then... another crisis, again because of overspending on their end. We pulled from our IRAs in order to stay afloat, with promises to do better. Then... another crisis. Again. Same reasons. We put together a loan against the home's equity. More promises.

      We are again heading to a crisis. We are out of windfalls and options and frankly I'm exhausted.


      Finally, parenting and housekeeping. I've always loved how my partner cares so much for their children (from a prior relationship) as well as ours. They have a way of making magical moments which I envy. This is contrasted by their complete inability to parent effectively. There's no consequences, no expectations, no boundaries, and it's infuriating. Initially it wasn't quite that bad, and I felt I had equal say in parenting. Over the years, that's eroded to my partner viewing me as authoritarian and domineering. The kids know they'll get their way with them so why would they ever come to me first?

      Maybe it was the extra time during COVID but they also put more effort into housekeeping early on as well. Now I feel it mostly falls on my shoulders, and my will to clean and keep up is murdered by the fact that within hours it's a mess again. It isn't helped by the fact that my partner is a hoarder. I have to gut things from the house in secret. I haven't seen the corners of my walls in ages. I spent a week while they were away cleaning the home top to bottom last year. Within a day it looked like a bomb went off.


      These are all things I've tried discussing with them, multiple times, over the years. I mostly get brushed off, or (what I feel now are) empty promises. Most infuriating to me is "I don't know what you want me to say." I want you to say what's in your heart, what you feel! Don't tell me something you think I want to hear, be honest.

      I feel I know where this is going, I don't want to fall in the same trap I see many couples are in where it's clearly over and yet they keep moving along. We're not married, a clean break is reasonable, I know my partner can be mature about things because their relationship with their ex is amazingly calm and chill.

      I'm terrified in a way of being alone again.


      I don't really know where to turn for more perspective. I've already talked with my sister, and a close co-worker who is going through some of the same feelings I am. Those conversations have been very helpful. Recently, what really put things in stark contrast was the other day when my partner's father asked "So is everything ok between you two?" If he went out and asked, it means it's really obvious things are not ok.

      I've been fantasizing a lot lately about what a split would be like. Making plans for where to go, and figuring out how to reconcile things like accounts, items, and debts. Worst of all I've been fantasizing about being with other people; the intimacy and passions has been gone between us for a long time. The last time my partner initiated anything between us was a year ago, and I don't even remember the time before that. Everything feels so wrong and unsatisfactory.

      I told them yesterday we need a frank talk, and not through text this time - their preferred method of communication with me for a while now... But I have no idea when we even have time for that away from the kids.

      Closing thought: I don't want to feel like I've pre-determined my outcome here. I feel I've done what I can though, to make my own feelings clear. Thank you for any thoughts.

      53 votes
    15. Three hours in Zurich!

      I have 3 hours in Zurich tomorrow (Saturday) in the afternoon. It's supposed to be raining, but I want to at least see the downtown area. Any recommendations for what to try to see?

      12 votes
    16. 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
    17. 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!

      5 votes
    18. 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.

      7 votes
    19. 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!

      8 votes
    20. Tildes Book Club - How is it going with The Metamorphosis?

      Hello book club readers! This month we are reading a classic, the Metamorphosis by Kafka. How is it going? Have you started? I'm finishing up some other books but will start soon. I've never read...

      Hello book club readers!

      This month we are reading a classic, the Metamorphosis by Kafka. How is it going? Have you started?

      I'm finishing up some other books but will start soon. I've never read this one and I'm looking forward to reading it.

      11 votes
    21. A rant about how devices handle users with language backgrounds other than English

      How is it possible that in the year of our Lord 2026 my devices STILL use my physical location to determine everything? As I'm writing this, I'm still reeling from the emotional rage I experienced...

      How is it possible that in the year of our Lord 2026 my devices STILL use my physical location to determine everything?

      As I'm writing this, I'm still reeling from the emotional rage I experienced during the past days. A little context: I got a fitness band (smart band? health watch? smart watch?) as a Christmas gift from a family member. It's a Huawei fitness band that was quite cheap, and I was going to connect it to my (Samsung) android phone. It's the end of February now, and what put me off from configuring it for this long was the fact that I was quite concerned with the privacy side of things; How can I know that my health data isn't indexed by some foreign corporation, sold, and subsequently used against me by my insurance company in 20 years? (further context: I live in Finland)

      After doing some research I decided to at least try it out to see how the band works, and only then decide whether I want to keep using it or not. I connect it to my phone, begrudgingly set up yet another account for a service I will use only for a single purpose, sign over my soul and am finally able to establish a connection between the phone and the band. The band asks me to choose the language, and I choose English. I have all of my devices in English even though it's not my native language, mainly for two reasons:

      1. the translations I've found to be quite clumsy/unintelligible at times, even (read: especially) on Windows
      2. 99.9% of all tutorials, guides and manuals exist in English, therefore it's easier to troubleshoot/fix problems if I don't have to translate stuff all of the time

      After choosing the language and finally getting the damn vampire to work, I notice it's displaying the weather in Fahrenheit. This is odd, because my phone as well as the health app on it are both configured to display units in Celsius, and no matter what I do, I can't get it to change. This shouldn't be a big problem because I don't care what weather/temperature it displays; I already get that information elsewhere.

      Now, I'm definitely not an expert on electronic devices or computers in any capacity, but I do dual-boot Linux and Windows on my PC with my main usage being on Linux Mint, and I've also tinkered with some Raspberry Pi and for example Lua coding during the past years, just because learning is fun. Really, the only reason I use Windows at all anymore is because I never got my favorite game, Horizon: Zero Dawn, to work on my Linux distro. I've chosen English (and only English; there is no secondary language) both as the Windows language as well as for Steam, Firefox etc.

      Nevertheless, every time I start up Windows, approximately a third of all notifications, error messages and buttons are in my country's most spoken language. Why? Because I'm located in my country. The same is true for my browser, about half of all software and so on. The system detects that I'm located in Finland (or perhaps that the OS was obtained here), and therefore it desperately tries to adjust to that fact, among other things by assuming what language I really speak. Some things in Windows just seem to adjust automatically depending on where it detects I am, and for many problems the only solution seems to be to change my time zone, the unacceptability of which should go without saying.

      I understand Windows has been going downhill for quite a while, pushing content and services that the end user didn't ask for and doesn't want/need while removing functionality to bar the user from tinkering with their product too much. That being said, I can't for the life of me understand in what world this particular decision benefits anybody. Why not make separate settings for the time zone, the display language and the displayed units and then respect those settings? It's annoying for the user and it doesn't make anything on my device easier to do, and every time I want to configure Windows, my Android phone or for example my smart band, I feel like a child that gets babied by all the adults and never taken seriously. The child's name? Not Albert Einstein, at least as far as Microsoft is concerned, because of course I am a stupid and lazy average person who speaks the majority language in my country, who wants to do the same things everyone else does, and who understands the error message in English perfectly until the word "OK", which needs to be translated to my country's majority language for some reason.

      Back to the smart band problem: After scrounging the internet for a while, I noticed quite a few Europeans have had the same issue with not being able to change the displayed units on their smart band. The solution?

      Change the language to UK English.

      Now, I understand that this problem had a relatively easy "solution", and in any other scenario I would have jumped to solve the problem and get on with using the device, but this was simply the straw that broke the camel's back. When configuring a device, the user cannot be required to play 5D-chess against the manufacturer's cultural ignorance in order to get basic things to work. In trying to make their product as foolproof as possible, they've made all the end users fools in the process. And this goes for computers, phones, smart bands, smart TVs, gaming consoles and even toasters that nowadays all require AI+remote control completely set up in order to function. Why not let the user first decide what they want, let the user ignore the settings they don't know about, and then have this state-of-the-art technology adjust to that?

      I have no interest in wearing this kind of "smart" device on me because it makes me feel stupid.

      42 votes
    22. Fitness Weekly Discussion

      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...

      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?

      4 votes
    23. Why do I almost never catch colds anymore?

      Something I'm wondering about: since COVID, I just don't seem to get colds anymore. Before COVID, I recall that I very regularly had some kind of minor cold – it felt like it was about 50% of the...

      Something I'm wondering about: since COVID, I just don't seem to get colds anymore.

      Before COVID, I recall that I very regularly had some kind of minor cold – it felt like it was about 50% of the time, realistically let's say maybe 20%? But of course that's just my recollection.

      I then caught the original strain of COVID in March 2020, and suffered fairly badly from it for 3 weeks – definitely the worst illness of my life, though I was very lucky not to need to go into hospital. Since then I've had 3 doses of the COVID vaccine, and had COVID at least twice more, both times very mildly.

      Since then though, I've noticed that I almost never have any sort of cold any more. I think my partner and I had some kind of brief minor flu back in September, but I've not had anything since, and I remember thinking that it had been a long time since I'd had anything like that.

      For reference, I don't wear a mask nowadays, or otherwise do anything much different to my life before COVID.

      Does anyone have any thoughts on why this might be?

      Uneducated theories on my part:

      1. Somehow having COVID made me less likely to catch colds
      2. Somehow having the COVID vaccine made me less likely to catch colds
      3. During COVID I got used to holding my breath around people coughing, and that's surprisingly effective towards not catching colds
      4. I'm now mostly around people less likely to pass on colds for some reason

      I would love to hear your thoughts on this, especially those who have some actual knowledge about this topic!

      32 votes
    24. Determinism and Back To The Future

      I've had a thought bouncing in my head today and I want to give it some air and let you folks at it to see where it takes on water. The theory is that there's a contradiction, or misalignment...

      I've had a thought bouncing in my head today and I want to give it some air and let you folks at it to see where it takes on water.

      The theory is that there's a contradiction, or misalignment maybe, between how most people feel about the philosophical concept of free will and how time travel and time loops are portrayed in media. Here's the premises I've landed on to arrive at that:

      (1) The vast majority of people believe in some form of free will. (Fairly non contentious, I hope. A lot of resources back this up.)

      (2) For free will to exist, if a person is repeatedly prompted to make some sort of decision under the exact same circumstances (time, place, people, etc) there must be a non-zero amount of times that they will arrive at a decision different from their initial one. For example... lets suppose you walk into the room and ask me what I want for dinner. I chew on some options for a moment then decide "chicken and rice". Then my memory is wiped and we repeat this over and over. After a few repeats of this I end up settling on a steak burrito instead. This is the only way free will could work imo because the opposite result, if given the same input you always arrive at the same output, is no different than determinism. Plus it implies, much like the time loop/travel media show, that from the start of the day we can know exactly where we will end up at the end if nothing is changed- which leaves no wiggle room for free will.

      (3) The people in time travel / time loop media who are not your faithful protagonist or otherwise aware of the time based shenanigans going on always do the exact same thing every time (at least, in the ones I've seen). It's only the ones who are aware of how events have already unfolded who can make new decisions, everyone and everything else plays out the same.

      Thus, virtually all media portray time travel/loops in a way that doesn't jive with how the vast majority of people perceive free will.

      So, what do you think- Do you agree with the conclusion? Do you disagree on the definition of free will? Should I have gone with my alternate title? (12 Deterministic Monkeys starring Bruce Free Willis)

      24 votes
    25. Offbeat Fridays – The thread where offbeat headlines become front page news

      Tildes is a very serious site, where we discuss very serious matters like grapheneos, ali khamenei and english. 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 grapheneos, ali khamenei and english. Tags culled from the highest voted topics from the last seven days, if anyone was asking.

      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!

      16 votes
    26. 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!

      9 votes
    27. Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix 2026 - Race Weekend Discussion

      Warning: this post may contain spoilers

      Australian Grand Prix
      Albert Park Circuit
      March 6-8, 2026


      Qualifying Results -- SPOILER
      Pos. No. Driver Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Laps
      1 63 George Russell Mercedes 1:19.507 1:18.934 1:18.518 22
      2 12 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:20.120 1:19.435 1:18.811 18
      3 6 Isack Hadjar Red Bull Racing 1:20.023 1:19.653 1:19.303 19
      4 16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:20.226 1:19.357 1:19.327 24
      5 81 Oscar Piastri McLaren 1:19.664 1:19.525 1:19.380 26
      6 1 Lando Norris McLaren 1:20.010 1:19.882 1:19.475 26
      7 44 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:19.811 1:19.921 1:19.478 25
      8 30 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls 1:20.491 1:20.144 1:19.994 24
      9 41 Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls 1:20.409 1:19.971 1:21.247 25
      10 5 Gabriel Bortoleto Audi 1:20.495 1:20.221 14
      11 27 Nico Hulkenberg Audi 1:21.024 1:20.303 18
      12 87 Oliver Bearman Haas F1 Team 1:21.247 1:20.311 18
      13 31 Esteban Ocon Haas F1 Team 1:20.759 1:20.491 18
      14 10 Pierre Gasly Alpine 1:21.138 1:20.501 18
      15 23 Alexander Albon Williams 1:21.051 1:20.941 19
      16 43 Franco Colapinto Alpine 1:21.200 1:21.270 18
      17 14 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 1:21.969 10
      18 11 Sergio Perez Cadillac 1:22.605 7
      19 77 Valtteri Bottas Cadillac 1:23.244 8

      Source: F1.com

      Grand Prix Results -- SPOILER
      Pos. No. Driver Team Laps Time / Retired Pts.
      1 63 George Russell Mercedes 58 1:23:06.801 25
      2 12 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 58 +2.974s 18
      3 16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 58 +15.519s 15
      4 44 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 58 +16.144s 12
      5 1 Lando Norris McLaren 58 +51.741s 10
      6 3 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 58 +54.617s 8
      7 87 Oliver Bearman Haas F1 Team 57 +1 lap 6
      8 41 Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls 57 +1 lap 4
      9 5 Gabriel Bortoleto Audi 57 +1 lap 2
      10 10 Pierre Gasly Alpine 57 +1 lap 1
      11 31 Esteban Ocon Haas F1 Team 57 +1 lap 0
      12 23 Alexander Albon Williams 57 +1 lap 0
      13 30 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls 57 +1 lap 0
      14 43 Franco Colapinto Alpine 56 +2 laps 0
      15 55 Carlos Sainz Williams 56 +2 laps 0
      16 11 Sergio Perez Cadillac 55 +3 laps 0
      NC 18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 43 +15 laps 0
      NC 14 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 21 DNF 0
      NC 77 Valtteri Bottas Cadillac 15 DNF 0
      NC 6 Isack Hadjar Red Bull Racing 10 DNF 0
      NC 81 Oscar Piastri McLaren 0 DNS 0
      NC 27 Nico Hulkenberg Audi 0 DNS 0

      Fastest Lap: Max Verstappen // 1:22.091 on lap 43
      DOTD: Max Verstappen

      Source: F1.com


      Next race:
      Chinese Grand Prix
      Shanghai International Circuit
      March 13-15, 2026


      IT'S RAWE CEEK! Welcome back to Formula 1, everyone! Hopefully everyone enjoyed the various holidays and having a normal sleep schedule on the weekends over the last few months. That said, I don't need F1 to mess with my weekend sleeping plans 😴

      I meant to post earlier in the week about predictions for 2026, but I forgot/got busy/slept, so guess I'll just ask some here.

      1. Who will win this first race?
      2. Will our sole rookie this year, Arvin Lindblad (Racing Bulls), podium this year?
      3. Will Niko Hulkenberg get another podium?
      4. Will we hear Fernando Alonso scream about a "GP2 Engine" again?
      5. Which team wins the Constructors Championship?
      6. Does Lando Norris successfully defend his championship?
      7. If not, who wins the Drivers Championship?

      Feel free to add any other predictions!

      17 votes
    28. What are you no longer a fan of?

      As the title of the post asked, is there anything that you are no longer a fan of/support? Feel free to share any experiences you have that made you change your mind on something. These could...

      As the title of the post asked, is there anything that you are no longer a fan of/support?

      Feel free to share any experiences you have that made you change your mind on something. These could something smaller such as deciding to no longer support or engage with a brand due to store clerk being a bit rude to you in one interaction, to you disliking the actions or direction taken by a corporation/creator/franchise.

      I did want to note that while this thread can obviously veer in to the negative based on the question, it doesn't have to be. You could no longer being a fan of something could be due to your tastes changing over the years, or a life experience making you decide you want to change your habits.

      64 votes
    29. Tildes Book Club - February 2026 - The Truth by Terry Pratchett

      Warning: this post may contain spoilers

      This is the second Tildes Book Club Discussion for 2026 and the twentysecond overall. We are discussing The Truth by Terry Pratchett. At the end of March we will discuss The Metamorphosis by Kafka.

      I don't have a particular format in mind for this discussion, but I will post some prompts and questions as comments to get things started. You're not obligated to respond to them or vote on them though. So feel free to make your own top-level comment for whatever you wish to discuss, questions you have of others, or even just to post a review of the book you have written yourself.

      For latecomers, don't worry if you didn't read the book in time for this Discussion topic. You can always join in once you finish it. Tildes Activity sort, and "Collapse old comments" feature should keep the topic going for as long as people are still replying.

      And for anyone uninterested in this topic please use the Ignore Topic feature on this so it doesn't keep popping up in your Activity sort, since it's likely to keep doing that while I set this discussion up, and once people start joining in.

      16 votes
    30. 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
    31. Is it worthwhile to run local LLMs for coding today?

      I've made the decision to purchase a new M5 Macbook Air because of the memorypocalypse. My current M1 model is already upgraded to the amount of memory and storage as the current base model and...

      I've made the decision to purchase a new M5 Macbook Air because of the memorypocalypse. My current M1 model is already upgraded to the amount of memory and storage as the current base model and I'm wondering if it's worth spending the extra 2-4 hundred dollars on memory upgrades today.

      My current computer is more than good enough for today but I figure I should probably future proof just in case. I was thinking the 16GB would be enough, but I also know that I'm kind of falling behind by not embracing AI coding agents. According to my research the maximum 32GB is recommended for most coding-relevant models - almost as a minimum.

      I work in education so coding is not actually much of a need, and obviously there are cloud providers I could use if I end up needing them in the future. I also have less than a teacher's salary because I work part time, which is the greatest reason why I'm sticking with the 16GB base for the moment, but other than that I also don't do many memory-intensive programs. But I thought I would get some recommendations before they start shipping.

      I'd also be interested on people's opinions on trading in my old one, since it'll only get me ~$275 back. I'm considering reneging on that part and keeping it around to act as a web server or give it to my husband who has a computer that still runs Windows 7 and barely uses it.

      35 votes
    32. I'm going to Thailand next week. Looking for advice on clothing.

      I'm very excited to be taking a trip to Thailand with my wife for our honeymoon. I'm going to do some clothes shopping this week and keen to take advice from those who live in or have travelled to...

      I'm very excited to be taking a trip to Thailand with my wife for our honeymoon.

      I'm going to do some clothes shopping this week and keen to take advice from those who live in or have travelled to SEA or specifically Thailand before.

      I'm going for a minimal approach, so I'll be taking as few clothes as possible and having them laundered whilst I'm there.

      For underwear, I'm settled on stocking up on Uniqlo's airism boxers as they're already the most comfortable I've ever owned and I'm certain they'll hold up well to the tropics.

      In that vein, I'm not sure if I should also go for the airism t-shirts, or if there's an obviously better choice. I hear lots of mixed opinions on cotton vs merino vs synthetics. I sweat too much for cotton, and have never got on that well with merino (outside of jumpers/sweaters). Given I'll only be there for a couple of weaks, I'm feeling that synthetics are the way to go. But I'm happy to be convinced otherwise.

      For footwear I'm going to wear my Altra Escalantes. I'm currently training for a marathon and will have to do at least a few runs while I'm out there, so these will serve as my running shoes and for anywhere I might appreciate plain black shoes (or something more supportive than sandals). Otherwise, I'll be living in my Birkenstock arizonas.

      I'll be packing two linen shirts, one linen trousers and then a couple of very lightweight shorts. Again, I'm avoiding cotton with the shorts. I have some ABC WovenAir pull-on shorts from Lululemon that I think will be very comfortable, but I'd be keen for recommendation for another pair or two. I've been told the pacebreakers from Lululemon are great, but not sure if an order from there will arrive on time.

      I'm based in the UK, so any recommendations would ideally before for shops we have here, or international brands like Decathlon, Uniqlo, H&M etc.

      I understand this is all very personal, but I like hearing different preferences.

      18 votes
    33. Bookmark management for non-technical people?

      TLDR; I'm looking for a free way to improve bookmark management without increasing cognitive load. I find that with the constant stream of information online, paired with my ADHD, I tend to know...

      TLDR; I'm looking for a free way to improve bookmark management without increasing cognitive load.

      I find that with the constant stream of information online, paired with my ADHD, I tend to know nothing in detail. So I bookmark so that I can return to the same articles regularly instead so that I can 1) stay informed with more depth rather than breadth and 2) contribute to online discourse when I see a gap.

      I'm using bookmark folders (by topic) for articles I want to refer back to regularly, and the built in "reading list" for things I do want to come back to but don't plan to keep a record of.

      But my bookmarks are overflowing because of all the other stuff I have folders for (admin logins, shopping, local services, social sites, online office stuff, literature and languages, fun stuff, etc).

      I also bookmark folders for these:

      • Politics (local/national)
      • Environment
      • Human rights issue #1
      • Human rights issue (n) ...

      These basically have 1) compelling facts in support of the issue or 2) important memorable counter statements to common misinformation.

      But I get easily lost among clutter, and I contend with brain fog. I've seen stuff about "second brain" online, but to be honest they're way too complicated for me (raindrop.io synced with this and that...). Is the folder system I'm using as good as it gets for people like me who need to avoid complexity?

      I'm currently on macOS & iOS but plan to return to linux when I next upgrade in a few years.

      Update: thanks so much for the recommendations. I've started using Wallabag to get essential articles organised and categorised with tags. This helps me remember their contents better and retrieve them more quickly.

      I'm also experimenting with Obsidian in parallel to see if it makes it easier or more challenging to do the same thing. It's the ideas within the articles I want to remember rather than just the headline, and some articles have a lot of different but useful information (for example, today I learned that if you earn more than roughly $33,000 per year, you are in the top 1% on the planet - one third of people on the planet live on $10 per day.). That was in an article about sustainable production and consumption, so the headline itself wouldn't necessarily help me remember that this is the article where that factoid lives.

      I have start.me bookmarked too and plan to keep my top 30 articles there.

      At some point I'll probably reduce the options from 3 down to 2 or 1. But whichever choice I go with, it's already much, much better than what I was doing before. Thanks again!

      31 votes
    34. Good News Everyone! - your semi regular good news thread

      Welcome back to the good news thread where we share the news that makes us happy, brings us joy, or is maybe just super cool. Personal news is also welcome! Note:For this thread, even if something...

      Welcome back to the good news thread where we share the news that makes us happy, brings us joy, or is maybe just super cool. Personal news is also welcome!

      Note:For this thread, even if something happy also reveals the sadness at the heart of the world, we're going to focus on the joy here.

      37 votes
    35. 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.

      6 votes
    36. What's an obscure book/series that you've read that you would like to recommend?

      Do you have any obscure books that you really enjoyed that you haven't had a place to recommend or feel like more people should read/know about? Feel free to share them here, hopefully with a...

      Do you have any obscure books that you really enjoyed that you haven't had a place to recommend or feel like more people should read/know about?
      Feel free to share them here, hopefully with a brief description of the book and why you enjoyed it.

      I'm not putting a limit on number of reviews or that these have to be "hidden gems", but ideally lesser known works that have stuck with you, or you felt were great and feel like others might enjoy them as well.

      47 votes
    37. 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!

      9 votes
    38. How do you remember?

      Kind of a simple question but I can't find a good answer for myself. How do you keep track of all those little (and big) things that you want to remember? I've tried Notion, Google Keep, Evernote...

      Kind of a simple question but I can't find a good answer for myself. How do you keep track of all those little (and big) things that you want to remember? I've tried Notion, Google Keep, Evernote and I'm sure other things that I can't remember but nothing seems to stick. I end up reverting back to the "just keep a shitload of browser tabs open on all my devices" approach. Have you found a solution you like to keep track of (and find later!) your notes, links, lists & other digital tidbits?

      30 votes