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    1. What's your monthly internet access bill? (And why does your ISP suck?)

      My north Seattle-area service provider is Frontier, to whom I currently pay USD $42/month for "50/50" Mbps service (which in practice is closer to a download/upload ratio of 42/12 Mbps, even...

      My north Seattle-area service provider is Frontier, to whom I currently pay USD $42/month for "50/50" Mbps service (which in practice is closer to a download/upload ratio of 42/12 Mbps, even through LAN cable).

      I do not recommend Frontier, as I got the above "discounted" price after calling to cancel my prior "30/30" deal (again, overly optimistic speeds) when that $40/mo. bill spiked to $52 for no reason. Plus, I had to lodge an FCC complaint against Frontier when they overcharged me by $200 a couple years ago, which was resolved in my favor after nearly two months.

      My mobile internet provider is Google's Project Fi. I pay them $20/mo. for their phone plan + around $5/mo. for the data I typically use. Highly recommended.

      22 votes
    2. Will creativity become valued more highly than STEM skills in the near-term future?

      I'm doubling down here folks :) My prior post was called-out for being click-baity and rightfully so. The title was especially poor. I'll try to do better moving forward. I'm starting a discussion...

      I'm doubling down here folks :) My prior post was called-out for being click-baity and rightfully so. The title was especially poor. I'll try to do better moving forward.

      I'm starting a discussion here because my hope is that we can talk about the ideas within the article, rather than the article itself.

      Here was the original post for those interested: https://tildes.net/~humanities/3y1/mark_cuban_says_the_ability_to_think_creatively_will_be_critical_in_10_years_and_elon_musk_agrees

      I posted the article because at it's core are several interesting observations/propositions from two billionaires, Mark Cuban and Elon Musk, that presumably know a lot about business, and in Musk's case, a lot about STEM, and have a history of making winning bets on the future.

      The article supposes that:

      • Many (most?) STEM jobs will become automated
      • This will happen very quickly; more quickly than we anticipate
      • Creative skills will soon become more highly valued than STEM skills

      There was a time when parents told their kids to "become a lawyer or a doctor" but after enough time we end up with too many people going into the same profession and there is more competition for those jobs as the market becomes flooded. I know anecdotally that's happened for lawyers (not sure about doctors).

      I can see this happening with STEM as well.

      Should parents encourage kids to pursue STEM but pair this with equal study in the humanities? Is STEM the next target of automation? Will creative skills be more highly valued? Will engineers find themselves in the bread line?

      18 votes
    3. So what are you guys' opinions or hopes/fears of Disney aquiring the rights to X-Men?

      For me personally I'm excited because I really like what they've done with the MCU. It's not perfect but I think they've done a fine job so far and would prefer them to have a go at the X-Men (and...

      For me personally I'm excited because I really like what they've done with the MCU. It's not perfect but I think they've done a fine job so far and would prefer them to have a go at the X-Men (and FF) franchise. As a long time fan the movies have been hit and miss with the Fox X-Men for me so far. For example:

      Love:

      First Class
      X2
      Logan

      Like:

      DOFP
      X1
      The Wolverine

      Don't care for whatsoever:

      Wolverine Origins
      X3
      Apocalypse

      So really Fox did okay with the rights but not as good as they could have. The Fantastic Four specifically movies are laughable. Hell the Roger Corman flick was better than it's successors. I didn't even bother with the most recent as you could tell it was slap dashed together.

      So what do you guys think?

      9 votes
    4. Does anyone, or everyone, else suffer from second screen syndrome?

      A long time ago I saw my friend watch a video while he worked on a second monitor at home. I thought wow, that's terrible, how can he focus? Fast forward a few years, and these days I work from...

      A long time ago I saw my friend watch a video while he worked on a second monitor at home. I thought wow, that's terrible, how can he focus?

      Fast forward a few years, and these days I work from home. There is often a video of some sort playing on a tablet while I work.

      Probably more commonly, most of the time when I'm watching a TV show or movie on a big screen I have my phone in my hand and I'm scrolling through some feed. It basically turns the HD video I'm supposedly watching into an audio book-like experience.

      Does anyone else do either of these things? Any theories as to why we do this? What are the effects of this behavior? Are we basically doing 2 things terribly instead of 1 thing well?

      edit: spelling: think=thing (I blame the video playing in the background)

      28 votes
    5. I built an arcade machine a little while ago - first time wood worker and builder

      https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1s2iTsjvNthl8cmgvcF7q2vUewu69mGLb?usp=sharing It's missing a screen decal and some software tweaks, but the #MAME#Sega arcade machine is about done. I really...

      https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1s2iTsjvNthl8cmgvcF7q2vUewu69mGLb?usp=sharing

      It's missing a screen decal and some software tweaks, but the #MAME#Sega arcade machine is about done. I really wanted to built something that could handle a game of Street Fighter 4 as easy as it could swap to Daytona USA on Model 2 or Virtual On using Demul.

      Here are the components.

      1 #Thrustmaster wheel and pedals2
      Six button Sanwa/IR arcade controls sets
      2 8 way mini flight sticks (For Twin Stick games)
      1 Ipac ultimate

      I'm a first time wood worker and vinyl applicator, and have a long long list of things that I learned not to do in the future. I'm still figuring out what the best way is to run all of this gear, but so far so good. What's not evident in this photo are the 1/2 lines of plexi that live beneath the decal around the perimeter, and that are illuminated with addressable LEDs. The window in the speaker area (speaker grills are coming, still) has a Dreamcast swirl LED sequence that travels through a spiral inside as well.

      **As far as hobbies go, this one had a big learning curve and required the purchase of a few tools. That said, it was totally worth it.

      11 votes
    6. How about /r/all for tildes?

      I finally signed up on tildes, and just as on the other site, I immediately proceeded to unsubscribe from ~news, ~lgbt and ~food, just because I like to focus on my interests most of the times....

      I finally signed up on tildes, and just as on the other site, I immediately proceeded to unsubscribe from ~news, ~lgbt and ~food, just because I like to focus on my interests most of the times. However, when I'm hungry for more content, my limited tastes aren't enough. On reddit, /r/all used to provide a wild west, all-you-can-eat-buffet experience, which I don't find here.

      I understand the site is in early alpha and community is small (which is the main attraction for me right now), so what do you guys think about something like /r/all for tildes?

      21 votes
    7. Posting AMP links in new topics?

      I have a question about AMP links in new topics. I posted this with the AMP link as an experiment. After a few days of life at 2G data speeds I have begun to appreciate the benefits of AMP. Also,...

      I have a question about AMP links in new topics.

      I posted this with the AMP link as an experiment. After a few days of life at 2G data speeds I have begun to appreciate the benefits of AMP. Also, fast load times seem to be in line with light and quick philosophy of Tildes.net.

      One downside of AMP is that it is a mobile layout which is not ideal layout on desktop with high resolution.

      What do you all think of using AMP links in topics?

      12 votes
    8. Just an observation, Google Search is ready for replacement.

      We're obviously being denied the benefits of so called advances in algorithmic search, as evidenced by the poor showing of Google Itself in unusual searches. For example, if you search images for...

      We're obviously being denied the benefits of so called advances in algorithmic search, as evidenced by the poor showing of Google Itself in unusual searches. For example, if you search images for "runners wearing green hats -shamrock -st. -patrick" Guess how many runners wearing green hats you get?

      So search is hard? I think it's more likely that Google and everyone else is more interested in selling you a hat than helping you find a picture of a runner in a green hat.

      16 votes
    9. What's something annoying that happened to you this week?

      Yesterday my phone completely broke its SIM card settings and I had to do a factory reset. I thought the backups that my phone did to my Google Drive backed up everything I needed, but apparently...

      Yesterday my phone completely broke its SIM card settings and I had to do a factory reset. I thought the backups that my phone did to my Google Drive backed up everything I needed, but apparently they don't! So now I get the pleasure of remembering every little configuration change I've done over the past three years. Maybe it's time for a new phone...

      What about you? What do you want to complain about? Please, complain with me.

      12 votes
    10. Astralis vs Team Liquid / ELEAGUE CS:GO Premier 2018 - Grand-Final / Post-Match Discussion

      Astralis 2-0 Team Liquid Inferno: 16-5 Map stats: https://www.hltv.org/stats/matches/mapstatsid/70988/astralis-vs-liquid Nuke: 16-12 Map stats:...

      Astralis 2-0 Team Liquid

      Inferno: 16-5
      Map stats: https://www.hltv.org/stats/matches/mapstatsid/70988/astralis-vs-liquid

      Nuke: 16-12
      Map stats: https://www.hltv.org/stats/matches/mapstatsid/70995/liquid-vs-astralis

      Astralis win the Grand Final!

      4 votes
    11. When subgroups come out, each group should have a .ask or .asktildes subgroup.

      With so many threads asking about what operating system people use, favorite music, favorite tv-shows, etc, I feel like this is a good subgroup for all of the groups (other than maybe tildes and...

      With so many threads asking about what operating system people use, favorite music, favorite tv-shows, etc, I feel like this is a good subgroup for all of the groups (other than maybe tildes and talk).

      8 votes
    12. Inside the writing in games: A three-part series exploring video game writing

      USgamer put this series of articles out over the last week. Here's links to the 3 parts: Out of the Wild West: Inside the Evolution of Games Writing Narrative Paramedics: Meet the Writers Called...

      USgamer put this series of articles out over the last week. Here's links to the 3 parts:

      1. Out of the Wild West: Inside the Evolution of Games Writing
      2. Narrative Paramedics: Meet the Writers Called in to Patch Up Games
      3. From The Witcher 3 to Queer Dating Sims: How Writers are Expanding the Boundaries of Video Game Storytelling
      8 votes
    13. Inactive/reserved usernames

      Posed this in the weekly thread and it was recommended to pose the question to the broader community. I am a new user of this wonderful community and certainly plan on being active. It was a bit...

      Posed this in the weekly thread and it was recommended to pose the question to the broader community.

      I am a new user of this wonderful community and certainly plan on being active. It was a bit disappointing to see my preferred name registered and fully inactive (minus an introductory post 60 days ago).

      Curious how the community thinks this should be handled, both in Alpha, an on into GA.

      9 votes
    14. The intellectual mathom collector

      If you've lived long enough, read widely or suffered through the usual collegiate education requirements, you may find that your head has vast stores of disconnected knowledge which don't...

      If you've lived long enough, read widely or suffered through the usual collegiate education requirements, you may find that your head has vast stores of disconnected knowledge which don't necessarily relate to anything necessary for daily life. That is, until the moment some dusty lump of data becomes a relevant jewel.

      J.R.R. Tolkien coined the word "mathom" to describe questionably valuable clutter that you can't throw out:

      Mathom
      Last but not least, here’s a word you can use to switch up your everyday vocab. Next time you go to visit your grandparents, keep your eyes peeled for mathoms, a popular Hobbit possession.
      Mathom comes from the Old English ‘maðm’, meaning treasure, which fell out of use in the 13th century. In the Shire, it’s commonly known as a Hobbit’s trinket, typically a useless heirloom. Tolkien went further and revived ‘mathom-house’ as a museum stuffed with old curiosities.

      Do you find yourself collecting and seeking out information in odd corners just on the off-chance it will be useful?

      Have you a story of the time when some obscure, trivial factoid suddenly saved the day?

      3 votes
    15. Require decluttering clickbaity titles?

      I suggest we require decluttering clickbaity titles. The rule can be: if the title leaves you asking "Which X?", include that X in the title; if it asks you "Why X", change it to "X Because Y". It...

      I suggest we require decluttering clickbaity titles. The rule can be: if the title leaves you asking "Which X?", include that X in the title; if it asks you "Why X", change it to "X Because Y". It can be a spoiler, but I'd rather have an idea of the content than the suspense, which with this sort of articles is almost never really gratifying. What do you think?

      26 votes