I moved from Europe back to the US Midwest this spring. While I'm still getting my financial situation stabilized, I will at some point in the next year or so need to buy my own car (currently I am living with my parents and borrowing their cars as needed). Given the state of the world and gas prices, an electric car seems like a no-brainer to me. Less maintenance and with current gas prices I'd save money even if I could only charge at the stations in my neighborhood, much less if I install something simple at home. I'm an anxious driver and have incredibly little desire to drive long distances, so range is also not super important to me.

The problem I've found is that I'm not a "car person" and I'm not sure how to find and pick the right car for me. I figure we've got some car people here on Tildes who will have a better idea of the market and manufacturers involved.

My parameters:

• No Tesla. This is non-negotiable. I will buy an ICE vehicle before I get a Tesla.
• Nothing super luxury. I'm not made of money. I know there aren't any really cheap electric cars available that I'd dream of here in the States yet, but I want to stay as affordable as possible.
• I do not want anything bigger than a sedan. SUVs and crossovers make me nervous and I want to drive a small car.
  • A hatchback would actually be my preferred form factor, but I don't think there's many options of that size. The only one I've found upon searching is the Fiat 500e, which appeals to me for that reason.
  • ICE cars who appeal to me in terms of size and design include the MINI Cooper 2-door, the Volkswagen beetle, and the Kia soul.
• I'm not wed to getting a new car, but as an anxious driver (thus wanting a lot of the fancy modern safety features and alerts) and someone who isn't super knowledgeable about cars (thus not wanting to rely on my own ability to spot a dud before buying it), I'm leaning towards it. I'll take suggestions for used cars to look for, but keep in mind that since I'm in the Midwest, there may be a smaller pool of used EVs available for me to buy locally.

Inspired by the recent post about "The Last Photograph" by Zack Snyder being awful. It makes me wonder: what are some truly awful films?

I don't mean "so bad they're funny" like Plan 9 from Outer Space my beloved or Birdemic (still laugh at how the most emotion we got from the male lead was telling the female lead "you look fine" right before sex). I also don't mean "awful just because they're racist/offensive/etc." like Birth of a Nation, or propaganda films or films with agendas.

I want to know about truly awful films that are considered just plain bad.

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!

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.

TW: AI discussion.

Recently, things have been getting rather crazy with AI to the point that I think many are being forced to reckon with its potential. It has been demonstrated that this technology is capable of solving things like millennium math problems, which has drawn response from many fields medalists. There have been very public instances of big tech losing control of their experiments. Many top researchers are expressing discomfort. Now, of course you could dismiss this all as marketing but I personally think that would be a bit of wishful thinking.

I would like to have an open discussion about the current moment in time. Therefore, I ask you, people of tildes, where do you think we are and where do we go from here? Please feel free to pull out your crystal ball and speculate wildly. Or, please feel free to call it all bunk. I just want to hear your opinion.

• Do you feel concerned about AI or are you still unconvinced?
• Do you think AI will take your job? Why or why not?
• Are you considering a career change or any other big life decisions because of the changing world?
• How are you advising your children, regarding schooling and careers?
• Do you have a subscription to an AI service? If you have one, how do you feel about it?
• Do you think that this technology will be a net positive or a net negative?
• How do you think the human race will change, if at all?
• Do you think we will see a serious incident driven by AI in the near future?
• Does it bother you that humans may not be the dominant intelligence at some point? Do you think this is even possible?
• Does any of this affect your sense of identity or individuality? How do you feel about your skill set and hobbies?
• What do you think it means to be human in a machine dominated world?
• Overall, are you feeling optimistic or pessimistic?

For me personally, I have shared my opinion many times before. It is a rather pessimistic one.

I recognize that this is a heated topic, and I would like to request that even if you disagree with someone, that we treat each other with respect and kindness. Thanks.

Specifically the 1st generation Leaf. I'm curious if this is a viable used car option. I know Nissan discontinued the platform and I heard rumblings that there wasnt much support / repair parts available from Nissan. Is this true? If it is true, is it a car that can be repaired easily yourself? Is there a community for 3rd party parts and new batteries?

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Very sorry of this is in the wrong group (or if it doesn't fit on Tildes), feel free to move or remove it if needed!

Anyway, I'm planning to import a kei truck to the US. I think I've got an idea of most of what I need to do. I found Mitsui Co. Ltd. and they seem to have decent review and people say they're helpful, and I've read a bit about finding a customs broker to handle that part of things for me, but the thing I'm specifically wondering about is... what's the process of actually picking up the vehicle? I'd likely import to the Port of Galveston, and it looks like I either need a TWIC card or a TWIC escort. I wouldn't mind getting a TWIC card, but would my girlfriend need one too if she was going to drive me? Would she be able to just drop me off and I like... walk in? If she doesn't get one but I do? Otherwise, if we just go with an escort, does anyone know how much that sort of thing costs? Do I have to pre-plan it or can I just show up on the Port with all the paperwork and stuff I need and they'll have escorts ready that I can pay for?

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?

This is my first time getting laid off. Still processing it. My job was starting to feel like a slog so it honestly feels like a burden has been lifted. But a different, more unfamiliar (maybe even somewhat interesting) burden has replaced it - financials.

I know I can file for unemployment. I have to handle some other dumb stuff like 401k, HSA, health insurance. it's kinda more annoying than anything else.

I have some severance but not sure how long it'll take to find a job and I've heard it's hard out there.
I would also love to figure out how to be financially dependent while working for myself but don't know where to start for that.

Looking for any advice from the Tilderino fam.

My partner and I have long been on the fence about whether or not to have a child. Now we're approaching middle age, it feels like it's a 'now or never' decision point, and ... well, I'm still torn.

On the one hand, I see the state the world is in. I'm keenly aware of the latest climate projections and what they mean (I also know enough to know how much we can still improve things if we decide to). I'm afraid of escalating instability and societal strife. What if I can't get my medications? I don't know how I'd go on even without a child in the picture. I still struggle to accept the world as it is, which is quite a bit bleaker than it was portrayed to me growing up. I spent years of my life wishing I was not born. How could I bring a child into that circumstance?

On the other hand, I'm really, really good with kids (and teenagers!) and find relationships with them really rewarding. I love spending time with my nieces, nephews, and friends' kids, and it leaves me wishing I could also shape a human with the values and priorities that are most important to me - stewardship, patience, music. I don't want the religious wingnuts to be the only ones shaping the next generation! My partner and I have a lot of privileges and would be able to offer a lot to a child, from quality education, to a fantastic extended family, to multiple powerful citizenships / passports. Hell, our parents would even move in to help us out with childcare for at least the first few years. You can't ask for much more than that.

Obviously this is a big question, and it's one my partner and I are talking about extensively. I'm also going to return to counseling soon to piece through things.

I'm certain that others on Tildes have also navigated this question. Do any of my thoughts resonate with you? What did you decide and why? Are you happy with your choice?

And has anyone adopted? Adoption is the dark horse here. Once upon a time that was my preferred route, but now that I've spent a lot more time reading about the risks and realities I've cooled on it a bit. I am certain I can deal with many challenges of raising a child, but not stuff like oppositional defiance or connection disorders, which occur at ~2x the rate in adopted children, many of whom have trauma. They deserve love too, but unfortunately I have limits due to my own mental health troubles. And all of that is to say nothing of the often sketchy or uncomfortable legal and societal circumstances of adoption.

I deeply appreciate any and all thoughts and experiences you take the time to share.

Let me know mods if I’m posting too much, if so I’m sorry!

Damn good read, devoured it over the course of two days in Quebec City last week and I’m just digesting it now.

Holy crow what a disambiguation of the word “mutiny” (apologies if I wrote that wrong).

I think David Grann manages to display the humanity in the central figures with clarity. Perhaps it’s due to some inference or poetic license in order to move the story along, but he make a good book and that cpt cheap was a dandy.

I am helping a small business owner make and host a static website. What are the best options for hosting the site and paying for the domain?

For hosting, I was considering GitHub Pages, since it's free and just built in to GitHub.

For the domain registrar, I see a lot of people on places like Reddit discussing Namecheap, Porkbun, Cloudflare, and Ionos. I was originally considering GoDaddy, but I saw a lot of posts were saying that was the #1 place to avoid. I saw a lot of older posts recommending Google Domains, but I see that has since been killed by Google.

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.

Anyone can participate. CGA does not require membership and is always open to all.

Ballot Formatting

• Ballot entries are NAME (VOTES) e.g. Pong (3)
• Copy and paste the game titles from the list so they match exactly.
• The ballots will be tallied using this script from u/Spore_Prince.
• Any improper ballots will not be counted (but you will get a polite message from me or someone else asking you to fix them beforehand).

Topic Rules

• All top-level comments must be ballots and ballots only.
• Child comments can be anything -- feel free to talk about why you chose what you did.

Voting Process

• Each person has 20 votes to distribute among games as they see fit.
• Each person can allocate a maximum of 5 points per Single Game/Arcade Special.
• Arcade Specials count as one block (do not vote for each game in them individually).
• Voting closes 4 days (96 hours) from the posting of this topic.

Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing (5)
Portal 3 (5)
Half-Life 3 (3)
Team Fortress 3 (2)
Night Trap (2)
Xexyz (1)
Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon (1)
Left 4 Dead 3 (1)

Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing (10)
Protal 3 (7)
Wand of Gamelon (5)

Voting Outcomes

• The top 6 games/Arcade Specials will become the next 6 months of CGA (or more in case of a tie).
• Of the remaining games, the bottom 50% will be cut from the list.
• The remaining 50% will stay on the list and will enter the next voting round with 30% of their final vote totals.

Game List

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.