All of my SWE friends and coworkers agree this is a deeply weird time to be in the industry. LLM coding has dominated many (but not all) tech companies. Some of it is cool and exciting, but a lot of it is terrible and horrifying. I thought it could be a good time to do a vibe check.

Some possible questions to answer if you’d like:

• How has your work changed in the past year? How much of your daily work now involves LLM tools?
• Are you enjoying your work more, less, or the same? Has your relationship with work changed in general?
• Do you feel like you’re working more or less now? The same?
• Are you hopeful or fearful of the future (let’s say next 5 years) of SWE? Mixed?
• Have you found any useful tips or advice for thriving in the current landscape?
• Has your career trajectory changed? Do you plan on seeking out different types of roles?

Also it would be useful to give whatever background info you’re comfortable sharing to help ground things like: size of company, years of experience, type of role, location, etc.

Any and all discussion around the industry is welcome!

Figured I'd make a general discussion thread since there's a lot coming out of the event.

What are your thoughts on the games being shown? Are there any which you're excited to see more of or disappointed by?

I made this thread on mobile, so apologies for any mess-ups.

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.

Planning a trip to Japan fall 2027 or spring 2028. Japan seems to be a place I can spend my entire life savings in, fill three warehouses, and still come away with want. So here's a different question than the usual: if I don't care about Instagram sightseeing or the latest fashion trends or Michelin star restaurants, what are some crazy cheap things to do or places to stay?

Old fahsioned and dingy is fine, anything above "downright dangerous" is completely okay. We could do one fancy pants Ryokan and one cheap one if the cultural difference in expenses are worthwhile, otherwise cheap cheap cheap please.

I am most interested in hands on traditional crafts making workshops or experiences, like touring wagashi kitchens, basket weaving, leather workers, fibre and paper arts, wood crafting, kintsugi pottery repairs etc.

Kaga Traditional Craft Village Yunokuni no Mori, Komatsu -- Ishikawa Prefecture : this has been recommended to me, would love reviews and other recommendations. Kyoto has a lot of English workshops: are there cheaper ones outside?

BOOK OFF chains and Mega Donki for cheap, used consumer goods? Osaka for used kimono? Where do people get rid of their unwanted traditional arts and art supplies? Kyoto has a bunch of flea markets: still good spot or tourist junk I can get for much less elsewhere?

Any arcades that take an entry fee and then it's all you can play? (Asking because I super suck at games but I love them, and Japan has the whackiest arcade games)

I'd be perfectly happy to eat konbini & ramen & gyudon & cheap foods for the entire time. What other kinds of food are cheap? (I'd also do one or two seafood meals for sure but spending money = easy to find reviews)

I want to hear all the cheap things about Japan :) my goal will be to (1) avoid the over tourism spots and be less of a nuisance for locals (2) experience things (3) save all the money for the end of the trip to see Akihabara, spend it all on gunpla, anime and gaming goods.....

Maybe worth mentioning I am trying to learn as much Japanese as possible in a year, with background in Chinese language and college first year level Japanese. Language tips also welcome.

Edit: other Japan tourism threads by gpl, rosco ,AugustusFerdinand and shared -- also excellent

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.

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?

I've been having a bit of a midlife crisis (well, I'm 31 so technically not there yet but...) and was hoping maybe some kind folks on Tildes could give me some perspective. Apologies in advance for the long-winded post.

I currently work my "dream" job. I put that in quotes because I'm a freelance translator which, as you might expect, has not been the best place to be at for the last couple of years. Nonetheless, it was the job I wanted to do when I got into university 7 years ago so it's what I'd say is the only "calling" I've had.

Because I've only ever done this, I feel like I missed out on opportunities and soft skills that a person might typically develop early in their career at more typical jobs. I was fortunate to have an accommodating family who really let me try as hard as I could in the translation field until I could succeed, which unfortunately I haven't as much as I wanted to.

Because of all this, I've now been looking for non-specialized jobs anyone can do in order to at least have a more stable income. But I feel like just working at say a McDonald's or other less skilled jobs won't get me very far in life. Yes I can do translation on the side as a supplement and maybe one day I'll get lucky enough to score a well-paying client (I know it's possible but just haven't had the chance yet), but that's a lot of ifs for comfort. At the moment I can't even focus on paying my bills, let alone try to have a life outside my job or a partner or basically anything, and that's what also sorta torpedo'd the intense anxiety I've been having.

So I've been pondering seriously going back to university to get another degree, as some of my friends and acquaintances have done. The problem is I just don't know how to even go about finding something that can give me a better professional life and that I connect with in some capacity. I've been so sheltered and non-diversified for 7 years that now I have very little to connect with.

I thankfully live in a country where university is not a big financial investment, so that's not an issue. But as I've been warned by others (and agree myself), jumping into a degree when I only have nebulous ideas about my future in it is a good way to ensure I burn myself out and waste my time. I can't just pick a degree because "it'll pay well." It has to be something I can actually concentrate on and feel the drive to work toward. Otherwise I'll probably be back on this road again, just in a different way (low end skilled work is as poorly paid as unskilled work where I live).

I've been eyeing typical big engineering degrees like computer science and mechanical engineering. Looking at jobs they can provide makes them sound somewhat interesting (robots are cool, right?), but it still all feels very nebulous, like nothing fully clicks. It's like I can't find something that's more guaranteed to pay well and where I also feel "this is where I want to be."

I'm also constantly worried about "what if I choose wrong" and wondering if I won't be good enough or stand out and just set myself up for another bad career. The choice paralysis is very real. And reading testimonials online, no matter for what field, just makes things feel more bleak (I should probably stop that), though there is occasionally some positivity.

The way I describe my mental state right now is "I want a job that will let me not have to worry about surviving 24/7, but I don't know what that might look like." It could be working at McDonald's or some menial office job and then doing translation on the side (AKA the only "calling" I've ever fully clicked with), it could be becoming an engineer, or maybe it's something else entirely I haven't found yet. I don't know.

I also know that sometimes all it takes is to try something out to see if you like it, so I'm not ruling the possibility that maybe I'll just click with a degree after I get into it, but until I have that opportunity I'd like ask fellow Tildeans: how would you go about finding a new calling in life in a situation like this?

I know there's no silver bullet answer and that nobody can decide my life for me, but I feel as though I'm missing the tools to make that decision for myself.

I’ve come to associate Love Dark with Tildes because I like it so much. I don’t use any other theme here. I think it works well with the excellent layout of the site UI elements, giving the blend between them a particular smoothness.

How about you?

Life is especially stressful lately, and with that my usual sleep struggles are just getting worse. When I was younger, I struggled to fall asleep - and at times, I still do - and I was able to develop some strategies that helped me soothe my overactive mind (ADHD brain goes brrrrr). As I'm getting older, I'm having a different problem come up though.

Now the trouble isn't so much getting to sleep as it is staying asleep long enough to get the rest I need, or at least want. For example, this past week has been the first week of school for me as a teacher. It is absolutely exhausting. I crash out between 8/9pm every night. Then I find myself awake at 2/3am without fail and just toss and turn until either I eke out a half hour of sleep before my alarm at 5am or just give up and get up.

Of course those hours I spend lying awake in bed are the perfect time for my mind to turn to dark and terrible thoughts as well. The small hours of the morning are apparently perfect for this. That's a whole other thing I'm working on dealing with.

I know this isn't a unique problem, I know that there isn't a catch all solution, I'd just love to hear some different ideas on what to do about it.

Hello my fellow tildestians (tilderinos?) - I'm looking to upgrade a very old home router (a hand-me-down linksys of some variety). I game quite a lot (my computer is connected via ethernet to the current router) (often while others folks are streaming shows elsewhere in the house) so preferably something that is able to handle that? Maybe something that would allow a later upgrade with mesh? I don't know what a mesh is but I see them recommended in a lot of these "best router of 2026" lists so maybe that's something I need to look into.

I've seen a lot of recommendations for asus and tp-link and ubiquiti? I am not super technically inclined so ease of set up is a nice bonus but I'm willing to put in the effort if needed >_< Budget is around ~300 usd. Blessings be if you have the time and knowledge to spare for me :) thank you!

(also, if this is in the wrong topic please relocate me with my sincerest apologies)