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.

This is an inherently political thread; please try to avoid antagonistic arguments and bickering matches. Comment threads that devolve into unproductive arguments may be removed so that the overall topic is able to continue.

We end the month of 1990s movies with a Christmas classic. Home Alone from 1990.

IMDb
Letterboxd
Wikipedia

Is this a stable Christmas movie in your household or is it perhaps the first time you see it?

Next months schedule for January is:

• 1st: Four Rooms
• 8th: Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
• 15th: City Lights
• 22nd: Marcel The Shell With Shoes On
• 29th: The Iron Giant

The Holidays by the end of the year are a time for meeting a lot of family members that we may not have seen for a long time. For a lot of people, this a joyful moment of relaxation where they can enjoy the company of those they love. For others, this can also be a stressful period, when tensions, trauma, and insecurities related to family relationships emerge, often in unexpected ways. Different people experience those events in vastly different ways.

Are you more of an introvert or an extrovert?

What does Christmas (as well as other events with a component of "forced" social gathering) mean to you?

How did you manage it this year?

Is this usually a happy time for you? Why?

I miss the magic of Christmas. Today and tonight feels ordinary to me, and I miss that sense of wonder.

I miss the trips my family would take to visit our relatives. I miss the get-togethers, and the feasting, and playing games with my cousins and the family friends.

Even though I'm an atheist now, I miss having to go to midnight mass. I miss the excitement of being able to open one present before going to bed.

Unless some tragedy befalls me, I'm sure I can recapture that magic in my future. I'm not depressed about it. But that's a hope for later. For now, this is it.

For everybody else out there who's having a so-so Christmas... wishing you all the best, and hope you can still find a moment to appreciate the holiday.

Normally in the evenings I have to myself, I keep busy and find satisfaction in coding, or writing, or gaming. Tonight, those things don't feel meaningful.

I just wish I had somebody special to share Christmas Eve with, like in all those cozy Christmas songs. Instead, I'm just tired and want to sleep... But I can't go to bed until me and my mom can get my dad changed, so he's not wet with urine the whole night. Just like last night, and the night before that, and the night before that.

I wish I could have gotten to know my dad as well as I've gotten to know my mom, as an adult instead of as a child. But I also would have never spent this much time with my mom if my dad didn't end up with PCA, so wishing for that is wishing for an impossibility.

Why are people setting off fireworks in my area, starting at midnight? It's already 2:00 AM. It's Christmas Eve, not New Years. Aren't kids supposed to be asleep for Santa Claus to drop off presents? Do kids still believe in Santa Claus, or do they just stay up late playing video games on Christmas Eve now?

Maybe they aren't fireworks, maybe they're shooting at Santa.

I've been hearing some ambulance sirens. My dog is upset. It's hard to feel sorry for myself when there are some people having a much worse Christmas than me. If you're having a true disaster of a Christmas, I am truly sorry and I hope you pull through.

Today's problem description: https://adventofcode.com/2023/day/25

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 just got into felting, and I have already made 3 siamese cat ball.. ornament... things. I plan to sell these on Etsy for some side income.

Does anyone have any good sources for wool, with a good selection of colors (preferably earth tones)?

What about tips in felting strategies for things like keeping lines neat, or blending colors together, fading them, general design layout planning, etc?

Pics of my first felt cat, the seal point: https://imgur.com/a/u6hJOgy

In one of my secret santas this year I have bought a digital copy of a solo RPG to give, however as it's only a PDF I'm not really sure what the best way to go about presenting this on the day of the exchange would be. I want there to be something for her to open, I know that much. In an ideal world whatever she opens will link to a download of the PDF or something, so maybe a QR code situation of some sort?

Yes, yes, I know, the classic blunder 😅

I just have to say though, the difference is insane, I mean what the actual fuaæosiuhrfjk!?

I have been on 60 hz screens my entire life, only upgrading to 1080p in 2015 or so, and I bought my current screen from a friend a year or two ago -- I guess that's why I never realized it was 144 hz, not 60 hz!? But playing WoW with another friend yesterday, we started talking about specs and refresh rates came up, so she even offered that I could borrow her second screen because she felt so sorry about my only having 60 hz. So for fun and just to be sure, I went to check my settings and yup, it said 144 hz in there! "Surely not", I thought... so I clicked it and absolutely surely fucking yes, it instantly looked a million times better??? I laughed so hard because it is both amazing and I am an idiot because I have seen this exact meme dozens of times and I cannot believe that I am a victim too 😂

The colors are so much richer, the movement of everything was so much smoother. I mean seriously, my mind is still completely blown now a day later. This is a great christmas present for myself, and it was free!

I don't think any other computer upgrade has ever had this big an impact. Blew my mind!

Today's problem description: https://adventofcode.com/2023/day/24

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>

Apple recently released a journal app in their latest iOS update. I used to journal when I was younger and thought it would be a good opportunity to get back into it. I usually use it as a reflection of my day, but some days nothing happens and I feel like there's probably a plethora of things I could be writing about.

So for those of you who journal what do you like to write in it?

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.

Hello Tilderinos! As I am finally entering the holiday slowdown, I wanted to express my gratitude for the community here.

I ended up migrating here from Reddit during the Apocalypse. Before that time, I would have told you that Reddit was a pretty good place, but after having time to detox and spending time here, I realize it was just better, but still pretty awful. With a few exceptions (like r/3Dprinting), the negativity I would get hit with when posting anything was pretty toxic.

I also set up Lemmy Sync on lemmy.world, but it's pretty much only good for scrolling shitposts and memes. Which sometimes I want, but if I dig into the comments under a topic, the noise factor is so high that it's usually not worth it.

Tildes is really different. The intentionality that people post with, the quality and positivity of the discussion is all amazing. One thing I enjoy especially is seeing reasonable people express views contrary to my own, and being to learn something from them.

This year has been a year of big changes for me. I left a 10 year run at a startup that was starting to lose the plot, becane a stay-at-home Dad to relaunch my wife's career, and wrestled with major health issues. All of that has been pretty isolating, but Tildes has been a bright spot of connection for me.

Sorry if this comes off as excessively cheesy, but I feel like it's a good time to take a moment and say "Thank you!" I am hoping that if something was really helpful to others, that they will take a moment to share it here.

For almost a decade, I've been buying BD pen needles off Amazon. This low-cost supply has unfortunately dried up and I'm almost out. I'm leery of the other random brands they carry, some of the reviews don't sound very good. So, folks who use pen injectors, where do you get your needles? I'm not dead set on BD but would like something of similar quality.

The last time I got some at a local pharmacy, they came with a $45 co-pay for 100 needles. I go through at least 3 per day, so 45 cents each seems a lot to ask on top of the ~$1k/month pens.

This link gives some useful detail about Dell Latitude model numbers.

https://en.tab-tv.com/dell-latitude-identification-and-decoding-of-the-laptop-model/

Unfortunately, it only goes up to 2017.

The first digit is the "series". There are several series, higher numbers are better.

The second digit is the screen size. 1=11", 2=12", ..., 7=17".

The third digit is the year. 1=2010, 2=2011, ..., 7=2016, 8=2017.

The forth digit is connected to form factor - standard, removable screen, transformer.

My question is whether there's a similar decoder ring for newer models.

EDIT:

Okay, so, newer models appear to follow similar convention, with slight changes to last two digits for year.

eg, Dell Latitude 9510 = premium ultrabook, 15" screen, released 2020.

eg Dell Latitude 7440 = ultrabook, 14" screen, released 2023

The first digit identifies the range:

• 9 = premium ultrabook
• 7 = ultrabook
• 5 = mid range
• 3 = entry level

The second digit is the screen size:

• 5 = 15"
• 4 = 14"
• 3 = 13.3"
• 2 = 12.5"
• 1 = 11.6"

The last two digits give the release year:

• 90 = 2018
• 00 = 2019
• 10 = 2020
• 20 = 2021
• 30 = 2022
• 40 = 2023

Fair warning, some of the games are porn.

The one of them I've played, the fruit-themed twin-stick rogulike Resistance is Fruitile, is quite charming!

https://hot-soup-studios.itch.io/thehouse
https://krunchyfriedgames.itch.io/witches-and-bandits-and-swords-oh-my
https://kosmocat.itch.io/dont-beg-for-help
https://so-pa.itch.io/the-kitchen-of-sopas
https://l-a-r-i.itch.io/shape-of-the-circle
https://virtuaworlds.itch.io/cthulhu-frozen-nightmare
https://distant-dimensions.itch.io/cupid2-0
https://distant-dimensions.itch.io/rivet
https://jdmgames.itch.io/bones-in-the-boneyard
https://distant-dimensions.itch.io/every-second
https://daddarulekonge.itch.io/the-handheld-game-console-encyclopedia-vol2
https://pizzaandgames.itch.io/horror-fan-house
https://chriv-games-horror.itch.io/6knives-episode1
https://mydogstolemyliver.itch.io/visionsvol4
https://distant-dimensions.itch.io/quest-for-the-missing-piece
https://fiveluska.itch.io/second-wind
https://airman4.itch.io/hammertime
https://jarpdzonson.itch.io/mechanical-void
https://projectyaarj.itch.io/solraid
https://projectyaarj.itch.io/tank
https://manstersoft.itch.io/the-mini-game-3-in-1-fun-pak
https://maximilian.itch.io/inertia
https://q-les.itch.io/the-whispersmith
https://kasperv.itch.io/ball-down-hill
https://retrovr.itch.io/spitfire-dogfight-vr
https://xyxitchio.itch.io/flowfall
https://blak-gear.itch.io/uep1
https://teembeerlay.itch.io/erohina-basics
https://hippomobil.itch.io/elastic-egg
https://tonsomo.itch.io/jurl-hd
https://magnus-froelund.itch.io/the-drifters
https://kasperv.itch.io/kasperias-arenas
https://rockodagamer.itch.io/the-decompiled-ultimate-collection
https://tonsomo.itch.io/mille
https://kasperv.itch.io/the-simple-life
https://distant-dimensions.itch.io/area-41
https://tailot.itch.io/motorized-cake
https://tailot.itch.io/cube-orange
https://munegames.itch.io/virtual-coloring-book-for-kids
https://rizvn.itch.io/love-is-war-remake
https://tailot.itch.io/dice-soccer
https://snekjar.itch.io/scaffoldedge
https://magnus-froelund.itch.io/5-in-1-retro-games
https://maximilian.itch.io/side-shooter
https://sj-logo-transparent.itch.io/baldis-basics-songkran-in-education-and-learning-x
https://jdmgames.itch.io/expandoscape
https://hoglet.itch.io/river-strike
https://xxerikxx.itch.io/the-higher-society-v013 XXX
https://xxerikxx.itch.io/the-higher-society-v014 XXX
https://iamqqqqqqq.itch.io/classicgame
https://xyxitchio.itch.io/felix-the-toy
https://pinou007.itch.io/application-that-costs-a-lot-for-nothing
https://calmed-by-the-dark-games.itch.io/calmed-by-the-dark-infinity
https://ahsanmakesgames.itch.io/top-down-showdown
https://faustgabor.itch.io/potatoes-corruption
https://automaticgrasshopper.itch.io/alostgirl
https://krabovaypolochka.itch.io/long-forest-old
https://clevertop.itch.io/temple-of-the-silver-dragon
https://maximilian.itch.io/zombie-apocalypse
https://hempuli.itch.io/mobile-suit-baba
https://kyaniteheart.itch.io/i-think-i-need-your-help
https://thethil.itch.io/strange-toilet
https://icarus-dev.itch.io/the-present
https://phasepixel.itch.io/resistanceisfruitile
https://kyaniteheart.itch.io/a-potion-for-chamomile
https://asa-studio.itch.io/bff-or-die
https://oi01games.itch.io/antonio-anfiloquio
https://thethil.itch.io/strange-toilet-2
https://alexander-wiseman.itch.io/fear-assessment
https://evolvedustry.itch.io/evolvedustry
https://falsevacuum.itch.io/linda-joan-prologue
https://krunchyfriedgames.itch.io/bunny-hill-horror
https://0zanm.itch.io/still-alive
https://kyaniteheart.itch.io/potion-commotion
https://virtuaworlds.itch.io/columns
https://nnuk.itch.io/the-weird-gamma
https://distant-dimensions.itch.io/seclusion
https://krunchyfriedgames.itch.io/bunny-hill-horror-bunny-boiler
https://ibar.itch.io/solitude
https://kyaniteheart.itch.io/sunbeams
https://forwardinstinct.itch.io/panchin-is-frustrated
https://littlemuggames.itch.io/rylees-lunchboxes
https://manstersoft.itch.io/chimera-crusader
https://jdmgames.itch.io/orbital-paladin-melchior-y
https://seeone.itch.io/grav
https://shadowglass.itch.io/assassin-at-crimson-keep
https://thearesjej.itch.io/prosignal
https://manstersoft.itch.io/fun-pak
https://pyrthenix.itch.io/the-legend-of-the-hero-of-edoriam XXX
https://lyl-games.itch.io/color-mind
https://dragonaz.itch.io/the-convoy