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    1. Fixing overscan on an uncooperative TV-monitor

      This is mainly so I can find this again and not have to rediscover this for the third time after I forget. I can't find this exact solution anywhere else so I figured I should put it somewhere. I...

      This is mainly so I can find this again and not have to rediscover this for the third time after I forget. I can't find this exact solution anywhere else so I figured I should put it somewhere.

      I have a terrible Insignia tv that locks the overscan option so you can't even turn it off, and linux mint for whatever reason doesn't recognize it as a TV so I can't use their automatic TV adjustments. This is just for x11 afaik.

      So in the end, I used the underscan to defeat the overscan and it works great:

      xrandr to get the output name the TV is using, then

      xrandr --output <name-of-tv-output> --set underscan on --set "underscan hborder" <0-128> --set "underscan vborder" <0-128>

      to enable underscan and tweak the border values which squash the edges of the screen, undoing the effects of the overscan.

      for me the optimal values are 128h 40v but you can just experiment by typing the command into the console before you make it permanent.

      8 votes
    2. What belongs in your "base" hard-copy library?

      I finally have the space to finish a project I've been working on which is a study with 3 bookcases. So far, my idea is to have 1 with books that will always be there, such as classic reads, or...

      I finally have the space to finish a project I've been working on which is a study with 3 bookcases. So far, my idea is to have 1 with books that will always be there, such as classic reads, or even an encyclopedia maybe?, or other reference material. Basically, a permanent bookcase whether or not I've read the material. The other two will be rotated in and out of stuff that I'm reading, have read recently or on my backlog before swapping or donating.

      Anyways, what's in your "must have" bookcase? Reference, fiction/non-fiction, Calvin & Hobbes even! (Although that's more of a coffee table piece)

      18 votes
    3. What have your experiences been with losing interest in video games as you get older?

      I came from the generation that played obsessively through middle and high school, and there’s a part of me that really misses when I’d be able to absorb myself into a video game for weeks at a...

      I came from the generation that played obsessively through middle and high school, and there’s a part of me that really misses when I’d be able to absorb myself into a video game for weeks at a time.

      Now that I’m a working adult, it’s a bit more difficult to convince myself that spending all day playing a video game is worth it as opposed to doing chores, practicing some more “productive” hobbies (art, exercise, cooking) or socializing. Part of it also seems to do with the fact that when I do get fully immersed into another video game and spend hours and hours playing at a time (thank you elden ring), my standard for dopamine seems to increase, and I’m not as interested in reading or playing music when I could get that instant dopamine hit from playing a video game, if that makes sense. The games I tend to play now lean towards relaxing/cozy games, generally offline games I can play at my own leisure, where I used to be very into the Overwatch/CSGO/Call of Duty scene.

      I’d really love to hear how other people have experienced this, if at all, or what your experiences have been. Have you noticed a shift in the types of games you play? Do you specifically try not to play games to keep a healthier balance with your other obligations and hobbies too?

      122 votes
    4. DMs and GMs what tool or tools do you use for world building?

      I'm starting a new campaign soon and I plan to create a homebrew setting and story like I've done in the past. I've used a combination of Google Docs, Evernote, and other general purpose tools for...

      I'm starting a new campaign soon and I plan to create a homebrew setting and story like I've done in the past. I've used a combination of Google Docs, Evernote, and other general purpose tools for other settings and campaigns. Does anyone use something like World Anvil or Legend Keeper? Something else?

      I'm still in the brainstorming stage of world building, and I'd like a place to collect my thoughts and plans. Ideally I'd be able to easily convert that into something searchable and updateable when it's time to actually play in the setting.

      Do you use a single tool for creating maps, NPCs, plot points, history, and adventures? Or do you have a suite of tools you find works well to cover all those aspects?

      29 votes
    5. Thoughts on the Proton app suite on Apple products?

      I am curious to see what other peoples experience has been with all of their apps? I made the decision to switch to proton for mail, drive, calendar and vpn 7 months ago. I wanted to get away from...

      I am curious to see what other peoples experience has been with all of their apps?

      I made the decision to switch to proton for mail, drive, calendar and vpn 7 months ago. I wanted to get away from having all my stuff tied to apple/google/microsoft. While it has been pretty solid for the most part, especially with android. The same cannot be said for their iOS/iPadOS apps at all. This will be my personal observation from my experience with iOS/iPadOS apps.

      Mail - Pretty solid all around experience, timely notifications on incoming mail. I have 4 email addresses setup based on the type of account I used for them. I only get bothered by the emails that I would need to see and the rest get checked around once a day. Recently the whole app on both iPad and iPhone has just slowed down so much. Opening the app is frustratingly slow, while everything loads in. I will get a new email and click on the notification and the app will sometimes load the last email I viewed and not the one from the notification. I have cleared the cache and signed out and then back in and it still has this behavior.

      Drive - This one is the biggest pain point for me. On iPhone the app crashes when you try to watch a video in landscape mode. This is a pretty basic feature in 2023 if you ask me. I did report the bug, to which they said they are aware and have no timeline for when it will be fixed. The next biggest issue with drive on iOS/iPadOS is that you can only upload 1 file at a time. If you do multiple files if not all, almost all of them will fail to upload. You have to do it 1 file at a time. Reported this and was told the same thing I was about the landscape mode. Seems odd to not want to fix a core function of a cloud storage app as soon as possible.

      VPN - I really enjoy this vpn and have paid for just the vpn in past. Now it constantly disconnects or gets stuck in connecting. I can’t use quick connect unless I manually pick a country connect then disconnect. After that I can use quick connect with out any issues. This happens without having secure core toggle on. This is happening on both my iPad and iPhone. Waiting on them to actually help trouble shoot this after sending them a bug report.

      Calendar - Is the most useless app they have every put out. I was so excited to finally dial this calendar app in when I got my iPad. Only to find out that they don’t have an iPad version of their calendar. Which makes no sense because that is an app that can really shine on an iPad when do well. This whole app just feels like an after thought and they only have it just to say we have a calendar app too.

      I feel that compared to when I started using all of their apps back in December. The quality and stability of the apps has really taken a hit. I understand that they probably have a focus on building their brand with an app suite based on privacy. I feel like the quality is really taking a hit especially with iOS/iPadOS versions of the apps. The obvious answer is to just switch back to android and save myself the headache of apple. The reason for apple is a whole post in its own and I want to keep this one on topic.

      For clarification, I have been using the iOS versions since December. I was switching between pixel 7 pro and 14 pro max every few weeks. Having an eco system of apps not based on either platform was also why I chose proton everything.

      11 votes
    6. Compassionate Interpretation

      Today I am putting in writing some very personal thoughts on how to best communicate online and otherwise. We all know the importance of interpretative charity in online discourse. Without it, we...

      Today I am putting in writing some very personal thoughts on how to best communicate online and otherwise.

      We all know the importance of interpretative charity in online discourse. Without it, we are bound to waste precious time and mental resources chasing dead ends which can be easily avoided by assuming that the interlocutor is both capable and willing to engage in rational conversation. Charitable interpretation can be surmised as the practice of giving precedence to interpretations that maximize the truthfulness and correction of arguments. Charitable Interpretation is essential for civil debate, bypassing unproductive exchanges to arrive quicker at the core of the matter at hand so that each argument has a chance to shine. Charitable Interpretation is a recipe for politeness and intellectual honesty but says very little about emotions and ethical considerations. To address those concerns, I propose a similar concept.

      Compassionate Interpretation

      Compassionate Interpretation goes a bit further, using a similar procedure to incentivize interactions that also achieve an amenable emotional resolution between the parties. So, while Charitable interpretation allows for productive debate by assuming the most cogent version of an argument, Compassionate Interpretation allows for serendipitous and emotionally enriching exchanges by assuming the interpretations which would lead you to believe that the interlocutor is the most ethical, virtuous, and worthy of sympathy.

      When practicing Compassionate Interpretation, one must assume that statements made by others are not only reasonable but also interpret such statements in a way that is least detrimental to their morals. When more than one possible interpretation is possible, the Compassionate Interpreter must choose that which would not equate to a negative opinion of their morals.

      By doing that, you avoid needlessly aggravating potential friends and allies. You also give a chance to those that require a change in worldview to improve their morals, stimulated by your kindness and optimism towards them.

      On writing this, I remember of how much compassion, patience and kindness I need from others. That makes it easier for me to dispense compassion towards others.

      I'll give an example using myself.

      I'm a black man. Suppose that someone tells me the following phrase: "I do not understand the appeal of rap music". For some, that statement might indicate that the utterer holds, in addition to a musical preference, a negative opinion of black culture as a whole, which might entail that they hold some kind of prejudice against black people. Or it could simply mean what their words indicate on a surface, literal level: they genuinely do not understand what is appealing about rap music. As a Compassionate Interpreter, I give precedence to the latter. If, in the future, I accrue evidence telling me otherwise, I may revise my interpretation.

      As is the case with Charitable Interpretation, there are situations in which a blanket application of Compassionate Interpretation might lead to unfavorable results. That would be the case of a truly malicious individual who intends to exploit our goodwill to cause all kinds of havoc. The principle would still apply, with a few adjustments. When encountering pernicious elements, the Compassionate Interpreter might feel compelled to interpret their actions as the consequence of ignorance, some kind of mental suffering, or traumatic experiences that led them to adopt ill behavior. However, compassion should not be mistaken for foolishness or naivety. A compassionate attitude does not prevent strong measures against wrongdoing. In online spaces, the best recommendation in these cases is to disengage completely and report the wrongdoer on whatever platform you are in.

      In writing this, I share something very dear to me, in the hopes that it may lead to some good and helpful thoughts in the minds of the reader.

      76 votes
    7. The argument for Dungeon Crawl Classics

      Dungeon Crawl Classics I think this game is great and I was surprised to see nobody recommended it in their non-D&D game lists. At the system level, Dungeon Crawl Classics (DCC) is a rules-light...

      Dungeon Crawl Classics

      I think this game is great and I was surprised to see nobody recommended it in their non-D&D game lists. At the system level, Dungeon Crawl Classics (DCC) is a rules-light version of 3.5. You never need more than one sourcebook and there are quick-start rules to play for free on the website.

      At its core, though, DCC is an old school sword and sorcery setting heavily inspired by the authors of Appendix N. For those not familiar, in the first edition of D&D, Gary Gygax published a list of authors that inspired D&D in an appendix in the back of the Dungeon Master's Guide. It has some obvious ones that I think most RPGs pull from (Tolkien and Jack Vance {of the Vancian magic system}, for instance), but there are also some deeper cuts that I don't think are really leveraged in many tabletop RPGs (Robert Howard of Conan the Barbarian and Solomon Kane, and H.P. Lovecraft). Those last two in particular, pulp-y fantasy writers who defined a genre, heavily influence DCC in my experience.

      Aside from this, though, there are a few very unique and fun mechanics that got me totally hooked on this game.

      The 0-level funnel and death as a narrative device

      Traditionally in D&D, you end up spending the majority of your first session designing and building a character. In my experience, it usually takes around 2-4 hours depending on complexity. This results in mechanically unique characters, but it also ups the stakes for the DM. When was the last time you played a game of D&D and the survival of your character was ever truly in question? Nobody wants to spend 4 hours on their character only to have it killed off in the first play session -- that's not fun. But, in the end, it's also not challenging.

      In DCC, it takes about 5-10 minutes to create a character (and there are online tools like The Purple Sorcerer that will generate them by the dozen). Every character starts with a profession (and by extension, a tool of their trade), a random piece of gear, and a block of random stats (3d6 rolled in order, none of these "points" or "4d6 drop the lowest" business). In the first session, you roll 4 of them and you play all 4 in what is termed the 0-level funnel. Over the course of this adventure, 2-3 of your characters will die -- after all, adventuring is a treacherous business fraught with peril -- and your surviving character(s) become level 1. At this point, they get a class and a couple additional abilities.

      The core interesting thing to me about this is the emergent gameplay that results. Oftentimes, the character that rolled the best stats aren't the ones that actually survive. A single unlucky roll or an undiscovered trap results in unceremoniously striking down another one of the PCs, whereby they pick up the gear leftover from them and continue on their grim quest. I've seen the character with the lowest luck somehow being the one that survived and it forging a bond with the person playing it unlike anything I've seen in D&D. What did they do to earn that? What is in store for the doomed character that somehow managed to outlast 3 of his fellow villagers? It gives you a ton of tools as a DM and as a player to craft interesting narratives. And it also reminds the players that this character probably won't last forever. That opens the door for dramatic moments involving death that you don't really get to explore with D&D. Magic that restores life is exceedingly rare and would require a quest of comparable bravery to discover.

      Magic as a dangerous and unpredictable tool

      I've heard some complaints about Vancian magic in other topics and DCC also does away with this, but it does it with two chaotic and, at times, hilarious mechanics: the mercurial magic table and the spell table.

      The Mercurial Magic Table

      Magic is, by nature, a chaotic tool for the desperate. No two casters cast the same spell in the same way and the mercurial magic table is a representation of that. The first time a character casts a spell, they have to roll on the table to determine how they invoke that spell. There's a big chunk of the table that's just 'as normal,' but there are also things like 'every time you cast this, a digit on your hand or foot disintegrates. Take a -1 to dex for every two digits that disappear.'

      How badly do you need to cast that magic missile? Is it worth invoking the unpredictable elemental energies required to do so? Is it worth....your thumb?

      The Spell Table

      Once you invoke the spell, you roll your spellcasting check and consult the spell table. The quality of your roll (of which there are a couple mechanics to affect this) determines what the spell actually does -- and they can be wildly different! That magic missile might fire a single missile that does 1 damage or it might summon 1d4 that do 1d4 damage each. Your darkness spell might allow you to create a 20' sphere of darkness at a point of your choosing or it might center a 5' magical darkness sphere on you.

      Magic is chaotic and difficult to control. But as a result, it is almost always very powerful. Your spell might not do exactly what you expected, but it makes for much more interesting combat and on-the-fly thinking.

      Should I play it?

      Emphatically, yes! The rules-light nature of the game allows you to focus more on story-telling and mood-setting than being buried in the books all the time (except for looking up spell effects, everyone at the table seems to get excited when we have to do that). The deadly nature of the game has resulted in both better and heavier storytelling than anything I've done before -- stakes without it getting personal, as it were. And the adventure content is awesome -- there are some great resources on Sample Adventure Paths, but even the starting 0-level adventure in the back of the sourcebook is strong. I swear I'm not a shill, I just want more DCC in the universe.

      30 votes
    8. It feels like there's no song of the summer 2023

      Is it just me or does it feel like there is no big new song of the summer this year? Nothing is standing out to me. Like a Watermelon Sugar type of anthem, etc. What big hit are you all listening...

      Is it just me or does it feel like there is no big new song of the summer this year? Nothing is standing out to me. Like a Watermelon Sugar type of anthem, etc. What big hit are you all listening to a lot so far?

      30 votes
    9. Home weather stations - what's the weather like where you are?

      I've been idly browsing for a home weather station for a while, hoping to contribute to the local sensor network for a region that's got lots of microclimate variation. I saw this one from Seeed...

      I've been idly browsing for a home weather station for a while, hoping to contribute to the local sensor network for a region that's got lots of microclimate variation. I saw this one from Seeed Studio today, and was hoping for some reviews and advice. Seeed Studio devices are known for open source software, and I wouldn't mind playing with writing a tie-in for sprinkler system automation so we're not irrigating when it's about to rain. It wouldn't be situated so far from the house that we'd need to use the LoRaWAN feature, though.

      Concurrently, we just had an inch of rain dropped on our house in the space of 15 minutes, with winds that were taking down tree branches. The weather report says "light rain", weather stations a mile away continue to indicate that everything is bone dry with quiet air. This rainstorm breaks a nearly month-long drought. I'm finding it nerve-wracking that climate change makes it impossible to use past local weather as a predictor of what to expect for gardening, home maintenance, and outdoor activities, and local weather reports are so inaccurate. So that's (hopefully) where the weather station might come into play.

      That being said, any chat about your local conditions and reporting from your station is welcome.

      21 votes
    10. Favourite audio dramas/fiction podcasts?

      Over the last year, I've found myself listening to quite a few audio dramas. I've never been one for traditional podcasts so it was pretty surprising to me that I loved them so much the moment...

      Over the last year, I've found myself listening to quite a few audio dramas. I've never been one for traditional podcasts so it was pretty surprising to me that I loved them so much the moment they went from nonfiction to fiction. It's pretty similar to watching TV, except you can still use your eyes for other tasks! Audio books are nice too, but they don't quite scratch the same itch. So with all that, here's an unordered list of some of my favourite audio dramas (along with a small synopsis and some personal opinions), and I invite you to post your own in the comments!

      Title Official Synopsis Personal Notes
      ars PARADOXICA When an experiment in a time much like our own goes horribly awry, Dr. Sally Grissom finds herself stranded in the past and entrenched in the activities of a clandestine branch of the US government. Grissom and her team quickly learn that there's no safety net when toying with the fundamental logic of the universe. Along with everything in the official description, this one also has secret codes at the end of each episode so you can play along at home, and has a cast with quite a bit of diverse representation.
      The Imperfection Charlie and Amber suffer from a disorder that causes a constant stream of hallucinations. When they discover that their psychiatrist is missing, they rally together with the other patients to search for him. Along the way, they encounter secret societies, half-human half-spider centaurs, and a hidden borough of New York under the East River. But how can you find the truth when you can’t tell what’s real? This one is mostly a comedy with a rather absurdist sense of humour, but it has some really heartfelt moments. The creators are professionals as well, so the sound design is very nice to listen to.
      Wooden Overcoats Rudyard Funn and his equally miserable sister Antigone run their family’s failing funeral parlour, where they get the body in the coffin in the ground on time. But one day they find everyone enjoying themselves at the funerals of a new competitor – the impossibly perfect Eric Chapman! With their dogsbody Georgie, and a mouse called Madeleine, the Funns are taking drastic steps to stay in business… A British comedy through-and-through, I've had to stop listening to this one in public for fear I look totally crazy, giggling like a hyena. It's also totally family friendly, so you can listen to it with your kids/parents/neighbour's dogs as well!
      NORA These recordings were emailed to us without explanation. The sender has not responded to any questions. We cannot confirm the veracity of the information contained within, but believe that the creator of these recordings is acting in good faith. The woman, who calls herself NORA, is investigating a strange series of events that wander between the boundaries of perception and reality. There is some suggestion of organized crime, paranormal influence, or perhaps simple madness. We will continue to make these available as they are sent to us. They present no danger to the listener and seem to provide a source of support for the creator. Ok, this is a strange one. It's pretty short (only 7 episodes of about a half-hour each), but I was left thinking about it for days afterwards. If you like more weird, interpretive stories, this one is up your alley. It kind of reminded me of House of Leaves, which is a book I love a lot, so take that as you will.

      All of these can be found on basically any podcast app (I use AntennaPod on Android), so if any piqued your interest, do give them a shot!

      37 votes
    11. How can I be a more spontaneous fiction writer?

      When talking with my therapist, the subject of writing is a constant. My obsessive approach to writing is a source of frustration. I write well in my first language, and aspire to create short...

      When talking with my therapist, the subject of writing is a constant. My obsessive approach to writing is a source of frustration.

      I write well in my first language, and aspire to create short fiction . But I'm an over planner and way too critical of my own writing.

      Anything longer than a single page is impossible for me because I'll obsess with editing and some misguided sense of "perfection", cutting paragraph after paragraph until I'm left with a decent micro story that you can read in two and a half minutes. Most of the time I don't even get this far.

      So my question is, how can I force myself to be less self critical and obsessive, let things flow, and write longer stories? Are there any advices, books, courses, practices and exercises I can use?

      18 votes
    12. What do you use to journal with?

      The recent PKM thread had me thinking about what folks are using as journaling app/portal. I do use Obsidian for my second brain right now and genuinely love it. But I find the mobile app on...

      The recent PKM thread had me thinking about what folks are using as journaling app/portal. I do use Obsidian for my second brain right now and genuinely love it. But I find the mobile app on Android to be a bit clunky, if I'm honest. Seems slow to open even with very few plugins. For jounaling I've used DayOne for years. I started back when it was iOS/MacOS only, but then switched phone to Android and haven't been back. But now they have an app and web app for that. What I don't like is the somewhat goofy format it saves in and it's on their servers. They used to allow you to at least leverage your own Dropbox, but no longer.

      For the past several months I've tried several FOSS options. Main criteria is that I could host it myself, supports offline entries stored in an open file format (preferably MarkDown), and had either multi platform app or a decent web app. That lead me to try these:

      Memos
      Pros:

      • Great persistent web app
      • Slick UI that is light and snappy
      • markdown support
        Cons:
      • Stuffs the .md inside a database file so can be a bit cumbersome to export data
      • No offline support. There is a 3rd party app that hopes to implement it

      Flatnotes
      Pros:

      • Incredibly simple
      • Another easily deployed app
      • Flat Markdown files
        Cons:
      • Web app on mobile is almost unusable as in it doesn't scale well to smaller screens
      • Very early development, but very likely to stay as minimalistic as it is now.
      • No offline and very unlikely to ever have it

      Joplin
      Pros:

      • Multi platform apps that perform well
      • End-to-end encryption supported
      • Could replace both DayOne and my To-do solution (Google Keep)
      • Offline support
        Cons:
      • More database stuff instead of flat markdown files

      One solution I've been testing lately is using IAWriter to write to a 'Journal' folder within my Obsidian vault on Google drive Obsidian Vault > Journal > 2023.... for example. This works surprisingly well. Of course IAWriter is a bit spendy at $29 for Android and then more $ for other platforms as they're sold separately.

      So I'm curious what other people are using for just simple daily journaling, random thoughts, etc. If there's an approach I've missed I'd love to hear it. Joplin is so dang close but not having the structure of plaintext files is a no go for me as I don't want to be trapped by any one product should something happen to the development down the road. Doesn't have to be free, but I want control of the entries either on my own server or cloud storage.

      46 votes
    13. Is anyone here interested in talking about volcanoes?

      So, I have a casual interest, but I find them intriguing. I recently took a trip to Lassen National Park, and saw this boiling mud pool. https://imgur.com/n6dV92U. I am planning a trip next year...

      So, I have a casual interest, but I find them intriguing. I recently took a trip to Lassen National Park, and saw this boiling mud pool. https://imgur.com/n6dV92U. I am planning a trip next year to Pompeii and Herculaneum. Someday, I am interested in seeing volcanoes in Hawaii and Iceland and maybe more. I casually enjoyed HarryTurtledove's survival novels about Yellowstone erupting, although they are not great literature by any means.

      What about you? Any cool experiences with volcanoes or bucket list plans that you would like to share? Do you know fun facts? Do we have any geologists in the room? Take this prompt in any direction you would like.

      40 votes
    14. Tildes Book Club discussion - June 2023 - Roadside Picnic by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky

      This is the Discussion topic for all those who participated in Tildes Pop-up Book Club: Roadside Picnic, or for anyone who has previously read the book and wishes to join in. I don't have a...

      This is the Discussion topic for all those who participated in Tildes Pop-up Book Club: Roadside Picnic, or for anyone who has previously read the book and wishes to join in.

      I don't have a particular format in mind for this discussion, but I will post some prompts and questions as comments to get things started. You're not obligated to respond to them or vote on them though. So feel free to make your own top-level comment for whatever you wish to discuss, questions you have of others, or even just to post a review of the book you have written yourself.


      For all the latecomers, don't worry if you didn't read the book in time for this Discussion topic. You can always join in once you finish it. Tildes Activity sort, and "Collapse old comments" feature should keep the topic going for as long as people are still replying.

      And for anyone uninterested in this topic please use the Ignore Topic feature on this so it doesn't keep popping up in your Activity sort, since it's likely to keep doing that while I set this discussion up, and once people start joining in.

      45 votes
    15. Thoughts on Final Fantasy 16

      Personally I'm none too keen on this new action focus that SquareEnix has taken the series but many people like it. What really has me second guessing myself are the graphics. They seem not...

      Personally I'm none too keen on this new action focus that SquareEnix has taken the series but many people like it.

      What really has me second guessing myself are the graphics. They seem not necessarily bad but dated and/or lower budget than I expect from a main series release. Their character models still suffer from lack of mocap especially facial details. The backgrounds are lackluster and the textures basic. Even during one of their much touted Epic Eikon battles they use a completely gray background?! I feel like my PS5 hardware is taking a nap while playing this game.

      Edit: turns out that after adjusting settings on both the game and my TV everything looks much better. For some reason my usual game profile on my TV made everything look super washed out. Between that and the beginning of the game being pretty monotone for the first bit with the game look super washed out and without detail.

      One of the main driving factors of the series have always been the progression tree. Historically unique awesome visual representations of the skills you can gain with varying paths to choose from. FF16 has a basic interface that essentially amounts to equippable skills with (so far) no exploratory elements whatsoever.

      Lastly the main protagonist seems almost like a clone of final fantasy FFXV character. The clothes are similar, his backstory is similar, and his skills are similar.

      I understand that I'm probably aging out of their target demographic and I'm especially curious on younger people's thoughts on it.

      Edit: After about 30 hours and almost at the end of the game it has grown on me a bit. The combat while still super easy at least it is more fun with added Eikons. The side missions get a bit better towards the last third of the game and some of the hunts are pretty challenging. I'm still disappointed in the lack of RPG elements such as, skill trees, elemenal and status mechanics, and equipment variety but I've enjoyed the game and can at least appreciate the accessibility to a wider audience.

      43 votes
    16. Heat sensitivity/intolerance

      So it is 80 degrees fahrenheit here today which usually would not be an issue for me but today I was too hot and sweaty. I am perimenopausal (49 years old) and I knew that could mess with heat...

      So it is 80 degrees fahrenheit here today which usually would not be an issue for me but today I was too hot and sweaty. I am perimenopausal (49 years old) and I knew that could mess with heat tolerance. What I had not realized until today is that heat intolerance is also a side effect of many blood pressure medicines, antidepressants and allergy meds. And I am on all of those now.

      I have just ordered some gadget that is a fan that goes around my neck and can be recharged via USB which seemed worth trying. And of course I will drink plenty of water, and try to stay in air conditioning whenever I can. Any other advice on how to deal with increased sensitivity to heat / higher heat intolerance? It is still early enough in the summer that the worst summer heat here is yet to come, so having some more tips might help me. Thanks!

      26 votes
    17. What is your favorite “so bad it’s good” movie?

      We all have that one special movie that makes other people raise their eyebrows. Maybe it’s a movie they just don’t get, maybe it’s super campy, or maybe it really is bad but it still owns some...

      We all have that one special movie that makes other people raise their eyebrows. Maybe it’s a movie they just don’t get, maybe it’s super campy, or maybe it really is bad but it still owns some real estate in your heart for your own reasons.

      Mine is the obscure ‘Saturday the 14th Strikes Back’. It truly is awful. It has nothing to do with its horror parody prequel, the acting is uneven, the story is unmoored - but it’s zany. Lots of unexpected absurdities. I won’t force this movie on anyone, but it was a regular comfort rental for me back in the day.

      So, what’s yours?

      47 votes
    18. Test post

      Markdown header Smaller Smaller Smaller Smaller Smaller Quote deez I didn't mean it or did I... Banana Apple Orange Unordered Banana Apple Orange Interesting Link Edited

      2 votes
    19. How does the "collapse old comments when I return to a topic" feature work?

      I have the "collapse old comments when I return to a topic" setting turned on, but I can't quite figure out how it works. For example, when open a new topic for the first time and scroll through...

      I have the "collapse old comments when I return to a topic" setting turned on, but I can't quite figure out how it works. For example, when open a new topic for the first time and scroll through the comments, the next time I open the topic, they're all still open.

      Does anyone have more details about how this feature works or how I should be using it?

      Thank you!

      19 votes
    20. Settling in to new social media patterns after the "Rexxit"

      I thought I'd share my own patterns as a writing prompt to hear yours. Tildes -- This keyboard-to-keyboard connection we have here is why I loved Reddit years ago. It's slow-brain (vs....

      I thought I'd share my own patterns as a writing prompt to hear yours.

      • Tildes -- This keyboard-to-keyboard connection we have here is why I loved Reddit years ago. It's slow-brain (vs. fast-brain), considerate, insightful, enjoyable, and yet doesn't waste my time.
      • Lemmy -- This has my hopes up that it could be a way to find niche communities (one of the strengths of Reddit) in the federated lemmyverse, but instances large and small seem overwhelmed by users who, like me, are still figuring it out. I joined https://lemmy.one/ but I have a feeling that https://lemmy.ml/ is slightly more my style. I might jump or not, but no big difference since the federated communities that I like are available in both places. This may just be me being nitpicky over instance quirks (such as an instance that does not have downvotes or currently allow community creation).
      • Mastadon -- Too Twitter for me. I never got (understood) Twitter or its appeal, and I don't understand the appeal of Mastadon, either. I deleted one account that I created and may leave it altogether. If you like/liked Twitter, you'll likely like Mastadon.
      • Reddit -- niche interests and citywide subreddits are still valuable to me, but even these were and are dropping in quality due to terse Reddit mobile users and meme-culture and my interest in them is dropping in correlation. I nearly exclusively only read /r/loseit (I'm maintaining -125 pounds lost for 8 years so far) and a multireddit of local subreddits in my local area. Since the Rexxit, I don't look at much else on Reddit.
      • Facebook -- like the local and niche subreddits, I read Facebook on and off (mostly off) for these as well. The Facebook Marketplace is the way I find second-hand items locally.

      I'm beginning to understand why I'm not practicing my music (Barbershop Harmony) as much as I should recently!

      116 votes
    21. How did you learn to cook?

      How did you learn to cook? Who taught you? What factors were important? Looking back, what do you think could have been better? Or, if you're learning to cook: how is it going? What are you...

      How did you learn to cook? Who taught you? What factors were important? Looking back, what do you think could have been better?

      Or, if you're learning to cook: how is it going? What are you finding tricky? Is it easy to find teaching resources?

      46 votes
    22. Organizing self-hosted classical music collection

      I'm currently using Navidrome to self-host my music collection, while using DSub to listen on-the-go. This works very well for most genres, except for the bulk of my music which is classical...

      I'm currently using Navidrome to self-host my music collection, while using DSub to listen on-the-go.

      This works very well for most genres, except for the bulk of my music which is classical music. This presents its own host of problems pertaining to cataloguing and using metadata, since there are often multiple recordings of the same musical composition, recorded by multiple conductors with different orchestras and/or soloists. There may also be different instrumental arrangements of the same musical piece. Merely sorting by "Artist" is therefore quite unsatisfactory in this scenario.

      Some streaming services have come up with quite satisfying solutions in my experience (notably Apple Music Classical and Idagio), but I am not sure how to go about listening to my own self-hosted classical music.

      Is anybody here on Tildes familiar with this organizational problem? I would be very eager to hear how you have tackled this. Is there any self-hosted software more suitable to cataloguing musical collections with extensive metadata?

      13 votes
    23. For those who deal with hypoglycemia, do you have any advice for dealing with fatigue after a bad low?

      My hypoglycemia issues are not related to diabetes fwiw. That said, I tend to get hypoglycemia a few times a day. If I catch it quick enough and treat, it's usually not a big deal, but if I get...

      My hypoglycemia issues are not related to diabetes fwiw. That said, I tend to get hypoglycemia a few times a day. If I catch it quick enough and treat, it's usually not a big deal, but if I get too low (maybe once I get into the 50s mg/dl), then after treating (usually about 15 minutes later), I get so. freaking. tired. Like, barely able to stand up exhausted. Currently dealing with this as we speak, and it's very frustrating. My endocrinologist told me it's normal to get tired like this while recovering. I'm curious if anyone else deals with this? If so, do you have any advice for dealing with the fatigue?

      Tildes might be too small of a platform for this. If no one deals with hypoglycemia here, please feel free to remove it. I thought with the prevalence of diabetes, it would be likely there are folks who encounter this.

      13 votes
    24. Self-hosters! Share your reasons for self-hosting and favorite apps!

      Self-hosting has been a rabbit hole of wonder that I've explored and delved into over these past few months. I'm curious to hear what others use it for, what apps they love, and their rationale...

      Self-hosting has been a rabbit hole of wonder that I've explored and delved into over these past few months. I'm curious to hear what others use it for, what apps they love, and their rationale for doing so?

      I'll go first.

      First, in terms of rationale, this is a wonderful article that I think is worth checking out that encapsulates much my of ethos about pursuing self-hosting.

      https://kylechayka.substack.com/p/essay-the-digital-death-of-collecting

      The TL;DR is that we no longer have control over the things that we 'own' digitally for these massive cloud companies. For instance the songs / artists you listen to on Spotify may suddenly and unexpectedly become unavailable, certain things (most recently podcasts) may be forced upon you in unpleasant ways. Having complete control of your digital data is a very liberating feeling.


      In terms of apps:

      Hyperbackup - I use a synology NAS, so hyperbackup has been wonderful and use both external HD's and a cloud interface to create encrypted backups of everything which gives me peace of mind.

      Plex - One of my most used apps, being able to stream anything remotely has been a dream. Plexamp has given me back control of my music library in a way I never thought I would have.

      Tautulli - Great for more informatics on my plex usage

      Calibre / Calibreweb - Phenomenal for keeping track of my book collections

      PiHole - Ads be gone!

      *Arr apps - Specifically Sonarr/Prowlarr/Radarr, really like Overseerr for an interface tying everything together

      Daily Notes - A clean interface for keeping regular notes


      Some things that I'm not currently self-hosting but would love to hear if others are using alternatives...

      Instapaper - I know there are a few similar FOSS apps out there but haven't found one as convenient and well laid out

      TickTick - To do app, but similarly haven't found a FOSS alternative that was as robust and nice to use

      OneNote

      86 votes