This thread is posted weekly - please try to post all relevant US political content in here, such as news, updates, opinion articles, etc. Extremely significant events may warrant a separate topic, but almost all should be posted in here.

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So we have a month with movies from the 1990s and we are starting off with Lost Highway directed by David Lynch from 1997.

IMDb
Letterboxd
Wikipedia

Are you familiar with other works by David Lynch and how does this compare? Does it have a certain "90s feel" to it? Feel free to add any thoughts, opinions, reflections, analysis or whatever comments related to this film.

The rest of the schedule is:

• 11th of December: Edward Scissorhands
• 18th of December: The Talented Mr. Ripley
• 25th of December: Home Alone

Hey everyone! I thought since the community has grown quite substantially since I last asked this question^[1] it would be nice to bring it back up again. Without getting into whether or not the specific idea that "strong opinions, weakly held" may or may not have merit, I think having flexibility in your thinking and not holding on to opinions out of loyalty or inertia is a valuable skill to have. So, small or big, what is something that you changed your mind about this year?

[1] https://tildes.net/~talk/11mw/what_is_something_you_have_changed_your_mind_about_in_the_last_year

I just got into watching physics simulation videos on youtube, stuff like marble races, marble battles, Multiply Or Release, and various other simulation content. Absolutely enthralling stuff for someone like me who enjoys simply watching an environment do its thing.

I wanted to get into making my own sims/scenarios and was wondering if you all on tildes had some recommendations. I've been trying algodoo and it seems very nice but I've heard its mostly abandonware and theres some features I find lacking. So I wanted to look into options for my little tinkering. I understand that there may not be a perfect one but I'd love to have some options to try and tinker in, and my research has led me to lots of them that seem at first look to be purely for academic purposes.

To crystallize my desires into a definite paragraph:
I'm looking for physics sim software recommendations to make my own marble races and other simulated 'games'. I don't mind having to learn it from scratch(including scripting language). I dont care if its paid or free. Ease of use is great but Non-essential since it can likely be learned over time. Preferrably not abandonware, or at least feature-rich if development has been completed. and lastly, performance is definitely important since I'll likely be building some grand designs as I settle in.

This is Album of the Week #12 ~ This week's album is Ka - Honor Killed the Samurai

Year of Release: 2016
Genre(s): Abstract Hip Hop
Country: United States
Length: 36 minutes
RYM | Listen! (Album.Link)

Excerpt from Stereogum:

Ka raps in a desiccated mutter. His production, which seems to draw on half-forgotten film scores and haunted ’60s instrumentals, is pure headphone haze. Throughout history, most of the great rappers have brought an outsized, extroverted flair to what they’ve done, and Ka has none of that. Instead, his presence is a murky, monastic intensity. He does not make social music. He makes music for getting trapped in your own mind.

Discussion points:
Have you heard this artist/album before? Is this your first time hearing?
Do you enjoy this genre? Is this an album you would have chosen?
Does this album remind you of something you've heard before?
What were the album's strengths or weaknesses?
Was there a standout track for you?
How did you hear the album? Where were you? What was your setup?

--

Album of the week is currently chosen randomly (via random.org) from the top 5000 albums from a custom all-time RYM chart, with a 4/5 popularity weighting. The chart is recalculated weekly.

Missed last week? It can be found here.

Any feedback on the format is welcome ~~

My son shares a lot of my traits, including being Gifted. He's in kindergarten now, and we were looking into getting him a IEP (individual education plan) because he's Gifted.

In doing so though, someone brought up that it might result in an ASD diagnosis essentially - and they were right. Haven't had the formal test yet, but a lot of what I considered "idiosyncrises" in my son are also found in autistic individuals. Some of which I share. I have little doubt in the ultimate conclusion, which is that he's 2e (twice exceptional).

And it seems quite likely I am as well. It's gonna be a niche audience, but anyone in a similar boat? It feels weird looking back and (at 34) retroactively realizing why I do certain things the way I do.

Edit: I should add - it didn't really 'matter' to my development because I was Gifted. I can learn whatever, pretty darn fast. So I just taught myself social stuff, on purpose, when I was in high school and college. It takes a lot of effort on my part, but I can be "charasmatic". I ascribed the effort to my general tendency toward introversion, but it may have been, essentially, the mental cost of masking.

Edit2: oh man I even went out of my way to try and alter my personality towards more extroversion in college because it seemed more normal.

Edit3: and I taught myself to understand body language in high school, particularly to understand and help with reading girls I liked, and how they were reacting to various levels of flirtation.

Edit4:
My spatial sense is god level. My wife doesn't bother remembering where the car is, because I just know.

My audition is similarly unrivaled, I hear things others don't, and my phonological loop is amazing - I can hold audio in my head for a time if I'm truly concentrating on something else.

My imagination is virtually non-existent, I'm nearly a complete aphantasia case - the best I can ever manage is a pulse of a 2d image, kinda.

I'm incredibly good at math, computer science, etc. I know more about science than... anyone else I've met.

I've never really felt like I didn't belong, though. I just learned how to be an effective communicator from books and videos. I almost feel like I have weaponized ASD.

Today's problem description: https://adventofcode.com/2023/day/4

Please post your solutions in your own top-level comment. Here's a template you can copy-paste into your comment to format it nicely, with the code collapsed by default inside an expandable section with syntax highlighting (you can replace python with any of the "short names" listed in this page of supported languages):

<details>
<summary>Part 1</summary>

```python
Your code here.
```

</details>

I've been looking for a community to interact in about toy collecting!

I used to frequent the collector circles on Twitter but bailed on that shortly after Skum bought it. And then I tried to get back into Reddit, and, well, that started circling the bowl, too.

I collect many things, but the big three are:

These just barely scratch the surface of what I'm into, but they're the biggest things I hunt for.

So, Is anyone here a fellow collector? What do you collect? How long have you been collecting? What do you look for in a toy? Do you open the package and appreciate the tactile experience, or are you purely MISB?

Is there per chance enough of a crowd for a toy collecting subsection of ~hobbies?

Today's problem description: https://adventofcode.com/2023/day/3

Please post your solutions in your own top-level comment. Here's a template you can copy-paste into your comment to format it nicely, with the code collapsed by default inside an expandable section with syntax highlighting (you can replace python with any of the "short names" listed in this page of supported languages):

<details>
<summary>Part 1</summary>

```python
Your code here.
```

</details>

I recently decided to get a new hobby and have been interested in RC's for a while. I wouldn't mind getting into racing buggies/truggies, however in order to see if I even like the hobby I decided to get and a decent used basher I can tinker with. I picked up a Arrma Kraton 6s V4 complete with batteries, chargers, and a few other extra's for a good price on FBMP.

I ran it for a few hours and loved it, right now it's tore down into the three major sections and I'm waiting on parts. Previous owner was a 14 year old and it appears it was a pandemic buy, so maintenance is lacking/non-existant.

Before I realized it between running it this morning, tearing it down, research on parts it was 10:00pm at night, lol. My pittbull is currently sulking because I'm late to bed.

Add awesome game deals to this topic as they come up over the course of the week!

Alternately, ask about a given game deal if you want the community’s opinions: e.g. “What games from this bundle are most worth my attention?”

Rules:

• No grey market sales
• No affiliate links

If posting a sale, it is strongly encouraged that you share why you think the available game/games are worthwhile.

All previous Save Point topics

If you don’t want to see threads in this series, add save point to your personal tag filters.

Telling “scary ghost stories” at the holidays isn’t just a seemingly out-of-place line in the song “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” or the plot of A Christmas Carol - it’s actually a very old tradition stretching back to pagan Yule festivals and Winter Solstice celebrations. So please share yours with us: true or false, but preferably true.

Recently my daughter (third grade) has started learning to type at school. It's a Montessori program, so it's a pretty low tech environment overall, which I mention because I don't necessarily expect them to have a nuanced view of technology issues.

One of the typing programs they use is nitrotype.com, which adds a competitive gameplay element. However, it also has mechanism to friend another player. Friends can only communicate with stock phrases, so there's not too much "Internet leakage" beyond being able to choose a username.

I set it up for my daughter on her Linux Chromebook (I whitelist things I want her to have and everything else is blocked at DNS). Seeing her interact with it the first time, I realized that she spends as much time "adding friends" as doing the typing.

On its face, this activity is pretty harmless. But I am worried about the patterns it might be creating for her. I'm worried about her uncritically engaging with the dopamine hit of getting a new friend. Or how it shapes her idea of how many friends she has or where idea of her self worth comes from. Or what she thinks friends are.

So after that long preamble, here are some questions:

• How would you explain "friends" in this context?
• Would you distinguish them from other kinds of friends, either real or virtual?
• Would you attach a moral component to the activity? E.g. that it is good/bad or helpful/harmful
• How would you frame it to the teacher? Not so much in terms of whether or not they should do it in the classroom, but what kinds of conversations should they be having about the friends experience?
• If I'm asking the wrong questions, what questions should I be asking instead?

I'm really interested in seeing the perspectives people have on this. My own ideas are a bit murky, but I will put them down as a comment.

https://tild.es/1anp
I am very thankful for your help. It cleared our minds and we could do it in a peaceful way.
His euthanasia was painful for us but not for him.
The vet was awesome and we did it maybe a week after the ideal time. We are sad, very sad, despite our brains saying that it was the best decision we are sad sad sad.
Grief evolves and we kind of know it will get better.
You were a great community, supportive and wise.
Thanks again,