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    1. How to get full-text RSS feed from medium.com ?

      I know medium has an RSS feed that can be accessed by adding /feed/ before the username/publication name but it's truncated if the publication has a paywall. I've been looking for a way to get the...

      I know medium has an RSS feed that can be accessed by adding /feed/ before the username/publication name but it's truncated if the publication has a paywall. I've been looking for a way to get the full-text feed but could not find a solution, it looks like it adds a parameter to the link in the rss feed, similar to ?source=rss-d00bc5bb7954------2 but I can't figure out how to remove it. any ideas ?

      7 votes
    2. Commercial uses of bendalloy and cadmium mistings (inspired by Brandon Sanderson's 'The Lost Metal')

      Edit: Some context if you're unfamiliar with mistborn: A bend alloy misting (slider) can create a bubble where time moves faster. A cadmium misting (pulser) can create a bubble where time moves...

      Edit: Some context if you're unfamiliar with mistborn: A bend alloy misting (slider) can create a bubble where time moves faster. A cadmium misting (pulser) can create a bubble where time moves slower. These bubbles can't be moved, unless they're on an object of significant mass that is already moving, like a train. The civilisation in The Lost Metal is roughly in the industrial age.

      I was reading "The Lost Metal" and the newspaper ad after chapter 2 mentions hiring bend alloy mistings for a fast food restaurant. And I was thinking of more commercially profitable uses. Because fast food, wouldn't (I think) have sufficient margin to support consumption of bend alloy which is supposed to be expensive. So here are some ideas I had:

      • One idea I had was a CEO using a bend alloy misting to give them more hours in a day. Time for CEOs is already at a premium so giving them more I think would be economically worth it, but I don't know if they have anyone comparable to that in mistborn era 2.
      • I also think this would work for lawyers. I'm not sure how much a lawyer in Elendel gets paid but we do know they exist. In the real world sometimes lawyer bill for more than 24 hours a day (illegally)! But imagine if a lawyer could do that legitimately now. Maybe even 48 hours in a day!
      • An idea I had for cadmium mistings was to speed up travel. Maybe for rich people you could use a slider to get up time so that their train journey appears to them to go by really fast. But that might be counteracted by their circadian rhythm getting messed up.

      The following links contain some discussion on the usage of bend alloy and cadmium for commercial uses.
      https://www.reddit.com/r/Cosmere/comments/ajdsjh/practical_usage_of_powers/

      Some ideas mentioned there include using a slider in the waiting room of a hospital, or to preserve food, or to reduce the amount of food needed to support a siege, or to reduce the amount of supplies needed for Interstellar travel.

      What are some other ideas you have for how a pulser or slider could be used during that time period in a profitable manner?
      If you find other discussion online about these powers, please link them here.

      23 votes
    3. What did you recently do in your hobby that you're proud of?

      I've been climbing for about 2 years now and yesterday I was finally able to complete my most difficult route yet without stopping for a break! I've tried this 6C about 15 times or so and only...

      I've been climbing for about 2 years now and yesterday I was finally able to complete my most difficult route yet without stopping for a break! I've tried this 6C about 15 times or so and only finished it twice, but I usually fall or have to stop to rest in the middle, so I was really pleased I did it in one!

      What about you guys?

      (P.s apologies if this is the wrong place for this. At first I was going to post in ~sport but that looked more like pro sport news)

      81 votes
    4. Non-anonymous "thank you" function

      I really like how Tildes encourages meaningful discussions and discourages "useless" noise. But it leads to occasionally awkward situations where for example I ask a clarification question or...

      I really like how Tildes encourages meaningful discussions and discourages "useless" noise.
      But it leads to occasionally awkward situations where for example I ask a clarification question or whatever, get a wonderful reply that answers everything I'd like, but leaves me in a situation where I have nothing meaningful left to add to the conversation, yet still wanting to personally thank the other person for their reply.
      Obviously I place my vote on the reply, but it still feels like i sort of ghost the other person. I'd like them to know that I appreciate their reply.

      My suggestion would be a kind of "Thank you" function or tag that would be available exclusively to replies to ones comments, signifying ones personal gratitude (man, that sounds pretentious, but I can't think of a better way to phrase it. I'll just blame the fact that English isn't my native language...), maybe coupled with an automatic vote.
      The receiver of a "Thank you" could then get a small one-time notification in their inbox.
      The comment in question could theoretically also display the "thank you" status to the author, maybe after the vote count at the beginning like this: "10 votes and a thank you from Landhund"

      What do you think?

      69 votes
    5. First time building a PC, need some advice

      I'm looking at starting to do a PC build and I'm a bit lost on which way to go CPU wise. Proposed use case: linux, some gaming (usually older games), possibly trying to learn home lab/self hosting...

      I'm looking at starting to do a PC build and I'm a bit lost on which way to go CPU wise.

      Proposed use case: linux, some gaming (usually older games), possibly trying to learn home lab/self hosting types of things probably in a VM but nothing really heavy. I do want to run Starfield when it comes out and maybe be able to try VR some time in the future.

      I'd like to have a bit of a future proof system while getting value for my money, as in I'd like to spend less but I will spend more if it matters. This is where I'm sort of getting lost.

      I tend to lean towards Intel because VM's and multitasking should work better (I think) but people seem to believe that AMD is better bang for the buck?

      I feel like I'm likely not going to swap CPU's, but RAM, GPU, and storage are easy to swap so I'm not to worried.

      25 votes
    6. Selecting monitors for a three monitor setup

      I'm in the market for a 3 monitor setup. I've got a huge desk and about $2k to spend. Ideally, I'd like three matching monitors, but here's the catch. I want the middle "main" monitor to be my...

      I'm in the market for a 3 monitor setup. I've got a huge desk and about $2k to spend. Ideally, I'd like three matching monitors, but here's the catch. I want the middle "main" monitor to be my gaming monitor (120-144hz) while the side monitors can be 60hz. It'd be awesome if there was a brand that sold the same form factor (same base, bezel, etc).

      Thoughts?

      14 votes
    7. 'The Three-Body Problem' is... bad

      I just finished it today and it's hard to pinpoint exactly what parts I enjoyed. Spoilers I enjoyed the parts where we get to see inside the game of threebody. That felt engaging to me, but was...

      I just finished it today and it's hard to pinpoint exactly what parts I enjoyed.

      Spoilers I enjoyed the parts where we get to see inside the game of threebody. That felt engaging to me, but was really the only part I enjoyed.

      The rest of the book felt very preachy and a lot of it felt unnecessary. I don't think I liked a single character in the book. They all felt like caricatures and not how people would genuinely act or respond to the events happening in the book. Almost every single action taken by every single character felt forced to fit a narrative.

      I cannot fathom why this won a Hugo award other than the fact that it was the first piece of science fiction originally written by a Chinese author in the Chinese language to win. [edit: In terms of novelty. The fact that it was originally written in Chinese has absolutely no bearing on my opinion other than possibly due to the translation the characters seemed to have no depth.]

      I listened to the audio book, as I was told the names can be confusing and the audio book helped with it. I kept waiting for it to go somewhere, and when it was over I thought to myself, "that's it?"

      Maybe someone can give a different perspective on it, because right now I'm just frustrated I spent money on it.

      51 votes
    8. I'm generally confused about dating women

      Tale as old as time, I suppose. Straight man doesn't understand women. I'm hoping this site will provide a healthy place to discuss my feelings and get wholesome input from others without it...

      Tale as old as time, I suppose. Straight man doesn't understand women. I'm hoping this site will provide a healthy place to discuss my feelings and get wholesome input from others without it turning into a pity party or cesspool.

      I didn't have any interest in dating until after I'd graduated college. Unfortunately, I immediately moved to an area of the country notorious for its unfavorable gender ratio. There are many more men than women here which means I'm starting on hard mode. I do at least have some traits which make things easier than for most. I am high earning, reasonably fit (not super cut but I work out most days), tall and I believe mentally healthy. However I can tell that my approach doesn't really catch with most people.

      I've had limited success out here. Some of my failures are mine to own. Getting started from nothing means I'm venturing into the unknown. I'm a naturally anxious person and never felt any intuition in social situations. Thankfully I've managed to figure out a way of being that jives with some people and learned the hard way the things I do that don't jive so well. But dating seems to have its own social rules - and they're harder to learn due to all of the misinformation.

      To sort out a lot of the misinformation I look to the people I see with the greatest degree of success. The older couples that are clearly deeply happy. My parents do pretty well in that regard. They've been married for 30-ish years with nothing more than a short argument between them. Or maybe I'll talk with an older co-worker who loves his wife the same way he did decades ago. People say that all happy families are the same, and unhappy families each broken in their own way. It's clear that there are some things in common with the happy couples - a universal recipe for happiness and success.

      • Forgiveness
      • Consistent effort
      • Flexibility
      • Similar values

      I try to take these virtues with me when dating.

      Of course, mutual attraction is a black box and also plays an important role. I've tried dating women that are just outside of what I would consider attractive. I think it's important to know what truly is important to me. But I found that things did not feel right and I can't compromise in that way. I'm not looking for a 10. But if I know they are not attractive to me it won't work.

      In the normal world (outside of online dating) I think the odds of a random person being instantly notably attractive are very low. Someone needs to be sufficiently aesthetically attractive, but also have the right mind and soul. Without the latter two I have no interest. So for me when I've met a nice woman from a dating app the process of learning more about this person begins - and it can take a while to truly get to know someone. But I draw on the virtue of effort and am more than willing to make that an active process as we get closer.

      There are actually some people out there that this all seems to align with. I think it's mostly a matter of time before I find the right person - so I'm not entirely discouraged. But the vast majority of women I meet seem to have the same feedback. They don't feel a connection - maybe that translates to "they're not attracted enough to me", maybe it's something else. But what I call a "connection" is something that can't be absolutely determined after one date.

      Given my profile pictures are representative of my appearance, I don't think they're all saying I'm aesthetically unattractive to them. Sure, some might decide after meeting me that they aren't as attracted in person. I experience that for myself some of the time. But I suspect that much of the time this is more of a mismatched approach. I really want to know either how better to find my kind of person, or what ways I can adapt to be flexible for the women I'm dating.


      Edit: Thank you everyone for your thoughts!

      A lot of people said a lot of things, many of which sounds right to me but only a few I think are applicable as next steps.

      1. My own reflection leads me to believe that being more present and less analytical will make dates more enjoyable and productive for both people.
      2. Keeping a very long term goal in mind cripples the dynamic of early dating. It requires future prediction abilities beyond what a human can do.
      3. I don't know if I can be the "fun guy" all the time but I can definitely increase the amount of fun.

      I wrote up a journal entry about what I wrote here and everyone's responses. I'll bring up my thoughts with my therapist later. Maybe this is weird but I threw the journal entry into ChatGPT. If nothing else it was positive and cheerful, which is helpful. But I was able to drill down on a few different things and got answers that sound reasonable. This is surely a common enough topic that it's got good training data for it.

      I'd also like to say, for whoever reads my comments, that much of what I wrote is more about following a thought as far as it will go more so than putting my internal constitution into writing. I'm here to be as malleable as I need to be.

      70 votes
    9. What is one of your favourite plant-based dishes?

      One of my favourites is inspired by Thai green curry and includes: Coconut Milk Homemade Vegetable Broth (as needed) Homemade Green Curry Paste Shallots, Garlic, & Ginger Kaffir Lime Leaves Green...

      One of my favourites is inspired by Thai green curry and includes:

      • Coconut Milk
      • Homemade Vegetable Broth (as needed)
      • Homemade Green Curry Paste
      • Shallots, Garlic, & Ginger
      • Kaffir Lime Leaves
      • Green Lentils
      • Freshly Squeezed Lime Juice & Zest
      • Lemongrass Stalks
      • Green Bell Peppers
      • Solano Peppers
      • Bamboo Shoots
      • Snow Peas
      • Zucchini
      • Spinach
      • Coconut Sugar
      • Soy Sauce
      • Salt
      • Spices: Cumin, Chilli Powder, Red Pepper Flakes, Black Garlic, Turmeric, Coriander, and Pepper (as needed)

      Served with crispy tofu, coconut rice, Thai basil, and homemade “roti” (using sweetened condensed coconut milk and avocado oil).

      I think we’ve had some variation of this recipe every week for the last two years. It’s not too hard for me to make after work, makes great leftovers, freezes well, and seems to be well liked.

      I do try to make as many things from “scratch” as I can, since I find growing the vegetables and herbs, as well as making my own milks, dough, and tofu, really elevate the whole thing. Though ingredients that are store bought or from farmers markets work just as well.

      42 votes
    10. What would you like to see in The Last of Us multiplayer game?

      Disclaimer I’m a huge fan of the Last of Us Part I and Part II. With no hesitation, I’d say Part II is my favourite game. I also loved the HBO series, and I’m sure I’ll like Season 2 as well. This...
      Disclaimer I’m a huge fan of the Last of Us Part I and Part II. With no hesitation, I’d say Part II is my favourite game. I also loved the HBO series, and I’m sure I’ll like Season 2 as well. This is a controversial hot take online, it seems, but I don’t share any of that to convince anyone, rather to set the stage for this discussion.

      Specifically, that it’d be nice to keep this discussion between:

      • People who enjoy the games and spinoffs. That doesn’t mean you have to love everything about them, but you’re generally optimistic about the series.
      • People that may be new to the series, but are interested in the multiplayer game.

      I really dislike that I feel the need to make this disclaimer and perhaps it’s not necessary on Tildes (I’m new here). But it’s been really difficult to find a space online to discuss this series with other people who enjoy it.

      I played the original PS3 version of the Last of Us, but I have never tried Factions. Over the years, I’ve heard a lot of good things about it, but at this point, I’m going to wait to try out the new multiplayer when it releases.

      I’ve seen a few details floating around online: it’ll be set in San Francisco, have a new cast of characters, and have it’s own story.

      I want to know, what kind of mechanics and story elements do you want to see make it into the multiplayer? If you played Factions, are there any stand out features that you want to see return? Do you care if it’s live service? Do you want it to have “seasons” that build on the story over time?

      My Thoughts (Spoilers)

      Game Mechanics

      Personally, if the multiplayer has the same gameplay mechanics as Part II, it’ll already be mechanically great for me. If we see Naughty Dog continue to build on those mechanics with more weapons, executions, animations, and banter, it’ll be even better.

      I really liked how they made Joel, Ellie, and Abby all feel different to play in the main games, so I hope the new cast of characters have a similar implementation. I would also love to see more variants of infected and “bosses” like the Rat King.

      It could also be interesting to bring the gameplay closer to Grounded mode. That’s where I’ve felt the main games really shine, because people and the infected feel genuinely lethal. Every encounter requires some serious strategizing and equipment management. This would probably alienate too many players, but it doesn’t have to be quite as extreme as Grounded, something akin to Hard/Survivor would work as well.

      What to expect from the story?

      I have no idea what to expect from the story, and I think I’m open to anything Druckmann wants to do. I hope Halley Gross returns as a writer as well, because I really like what she brought to Part II.

      Ultimately, I want to learn more about the infected and the Fireflies (as well as other militia groups). I hope the story also reemphasizes and builds on Ellie’s immunity (even if she’s not featured directly in the multiplayer), because I think that could help set-up Part III.

      Speaking of Part III, which could easily be its own discussion. Part II’s ending was soul crushing, and I want to see Ellie have some closure. Her immunity is still the biggest mystery in this world and I don’t think she’s fully accepted or embraced it. Though we saw glimpses of that in Santa Barbara at the end of Part II. I’d love to see an older Ellie in Part III that leverages her immunity to survive in more exploitative ways.

      Multiplayer Story Implementation

      I’m not very familiar with multiplayer games, particularly ones that attempt to tell a story (especially with TLOU being so narratively driven). But I think seasons could be interesting if done right. It could make for some fun discussions online as new seasons are released and the community uncovers the details. I think I like the idea of an open map format with event triggers (akin to The Division 2) more than restricted lobbies and matches.

      Alternatively, I’m down to see something new and innovative. Some kind of hybrid between the single player experience and scripted events, but set in a multiplayer world.

      Live Service?

      I would love to simply pay full price for this game and not have to see any live service components. However, I think that’s unlikely to happen. I expect there to be premium cosmetics, emotes, and executions. Especially if there’s going to be long-term support and something like seasons, because there’s really no other way to do it.

      9 votes
    11. What text comparison software do you use?

      I've only had exposure to Beyond Compare and would like your opinion/suggestions on what's good. mostly, I use it to compare two different versions of similar csv and potentially to merge them....

      I've only had exposure to Beyond Compare and would like your opinion/suggestions on what's good.

      mostly, I use it to compare two different versions of similar csv and potentially to merge them. Next use case is to compare two versions of simple scripts to see what's been updated.

      Command line tools are a little too much for me, but if it seem to be very important to learn I supposed I could be encouraged to do so.

      11 votes
    12. Weekly megathread for news/updates/discussion of Russian invasion of Ukraine - July 20

      This thread is posted weekly on Thursday - please try to post relevant content in here, such as news, updates, opinion articles, etc. Especially significant updates may warrant a separate topic,...

      This thread is posted weekly on Thursday - please try to post relevant content in here, such as news, updates, opinion articles, etc. Especially significant updates may warrant a separate topic, but most should be posted here.

      If you'd like to help support Ukraine, please visit the official site at https://help.gov.ua/ - an official portal for those who want to provide humanitarian or financial assistance to people of Ukraine, businesses or the government at the times of resistance against the Russian aggression.

      22 votes
    13. What do you think about how women are depicted in "The Book of the New Sun" by Gene Wolfe?

      It's one of those highly praised series that I've been waiting to read for years. When I finally did (I bought the full set of used and slightly wearied paper books), I bounced off quick. I tried...

      It's one of those highly praised series that I've been waiting to read for years. When I finally did (I bought the full set of used and slightly wearied paper books), I bounced off quick. I tried reading it in 2019, so my memory of that book ("The Shadow of the Torturer") is foggy, but I wrote down some notes at the time.

      I dropped the book somewhere around the Botanical Gardens, mostly because of very annoying female characters, all of whom were the protagonists so-called love interests. It seemed like every attractive woman he met would fall for him and it was so unnatural. I don't even have a problem with the idea per se, for example I'm buying into how macho-men are getting women in Wilbur Smith's adventure books because it feels organic, in Wolfe's book it was like a teenage boy fantasy.

      I don't actually remember it well, but here's an excerpt from what I noted at the time:

      I don't understand Severian's actions - he is challenged to a duel using the flower of vengeance - neither he nor the reader knows what's going on. At the same time, he is tasked with reaching Thrax and assuming the position of local executioner there. He interrupts his journey and decides to take up the challenge, of course, with a girl he has just met in some inn. He is convicted and instead of serving his sentence, he engages in some foolishness. I wanted the girl to disappear from the pages of the novel. Then a second woman appears and I feel that there will also be something between her and Severian.

      The Polish edition which I read is 326 pages long, I dropped off at page 245, I just couldn't bear it anymore. I occasionally see those books, either on my shelf (I have not given them away) or in stores and keep thinking that maybe I misunderstood it or didn't see their greatness and wondering if it would click if I tried again.

      Maybe it is just me?

      14 votes
    14. What's a good thriller that makes you care about the characters more about getting answers for "the big questions"?

      I recently finished watching Silo (2023 - ) on Apple TV and at the end I didn't care much for many of the characters, I just wanted to find out more about the silo itself. I like those types of...

      I recently finished watching Silo (2023 - ) on Apple TV and at the end I didn't care much for many of the characters, I just wanted to find out more about the silo itself.

      I like those types of sci-fi thrillers, but I cannot remember any of them that made me care much about the characters.

      13 votes
    15. What do you think is the most interesting/weird music genre?

      The first one that comes to my head is Viking Metal, which i think is self-explanatory. Also one that I like but is a bit more popular is Doomer Wave. Usually just remixes of music on Youtube that...

      The first one that comes to my head is Viking Metal, which i think is self-explanatory.
      Also one that I like but is a bit more popular is Doomer Wave. Usually just remixes of music on Youtube that are more depressing.

      18 votes
    16. Edgedancer - By Brandon Sanderson - Discussion

      Edgedancer (a stormlight archives novella) came out a few years ago, but since there's little Cosmere discussion in Tildes and I just finished reading it a few days ago, I figured it would be...

      Edgedancer (a stormlight archives novella) came out a few years ago, but since there's little Cosmere discussion in Tildes and I just finished reading it a few days ago, I figured it would be worth posting my thoughts on this. The only book of relevance to this which I haven't read is Dawnshard, so please mark any discussion about that with spoilers.

      I've seen a lot of complaints about Lift on reddit, and I can see where people are coming from. But I always liked the way Lift think and is written. I feel like Lift's stories would make great bed time stories because of how sweetly they end. In the first interlude where Lift appears, the people of Azir are having trouble picking a "king" because they keep getting assassinated. Lift's involvement solves this problem that we're introduced to at the start of the story. And now in Edgedancer, Nalan is still hunting down budding Radiants because he doesn't believe that the Everstorm has really come back. But at the end of the story Lift swears the third ideal "I will listen to those who have been ignored" and shows Nalan the truth. Which feels like a very fairy tale ending, compared to them getting involved in some epic battle. I honestly expected Szeth to intervene and team up with Lift against Nalan.

      The moment at the end where she hugs Nalan to comfort him as he's crying was touching. It got me crying! I didn't expect to feel any sympathy for Nalan, but at the end it feels like a fog is lifting off of him and he's been in a haze this whole time. Which I suppose is true of all the Heralds at this point.

      I kept trying to guess who the Radiant in Yeddaw was. Of course it had to be a minor character that we've already seen. So I was thinking it would be that guard we met earlier, since they mentioned trading to get some spheres with stormlight so that she can read. I thought this was a lie, with the real reason being using the stormlight to practice some surgebinding. The other candidate was the old man, but that turned out to be a very interesting misdirect that I'm hoping to learn more about in Dawnshard. (The actual radiant was the woman at the orphanage)

      The description of the city of Yeddaw was very interesting and new. I wish there was more art to go along with the descriptions, but I feel like I don't really understand the layout of the city. I feel like it would be dark all the time (except noon) if it was carved into the ground like I imagined. Also I wonder if there's more to the story than it just being created with loaned out shardblades. We know that the total number of shardblades in Roshar is very small. Even assuming something like 5 shardblades that were loaned out, how is it possible to create a whole city with that in a reasonable amount of time. Feels like it would take many decades.

      20 votes
    17. Seeking Canadian (Ontario) auto, RV trailer, and home insurance

      My current round of insurance with TD / Primmum is due up. I have a 2021 Jeep Gladiator (financed) and a 2019 KIA Rio (no loan), house (no mortgage), and 2016 17' travel trailer (no loan) with...

      My current round of insurance with TD / Primmum is due up. I have a 2021 Jeep Gladiator (financed) and a 2019 KIA Rio (no loan), house (no mortgage), and 2016 17' travel trailer (no loan) with them. Been with them for many many years. Supposedly have a group plan through my employer Ontario Power Generation. I'm not so sure anymore. While it's just me (47m) right now, my 17 year old son will likely get added Friday when he gets his G2 🤞.

      I wonder if anyone could recommend a company that would do good for all, or separate for each. I also have some artwork and camera equipment I would probably tack on.
      The letter I got from TD also said if I don't put a tracker on my Jeep (for theft) my premium will go up. They will pay for it, but if they supply it I won't even consider it. I don't want them following me! Giggle does that enough.

      Searching "best xxxxx" will always give you sites that make money from the reviewed businesses. I won't trust any of them.

      6 votes
    18. Favorite independent/lesser known comics?

      Hey all! I love that comics has its own tag now. So in that vein, I'd like to ask what are some smaller comics you read? Any kind; oneshots, long running epics, webcomics, anthologies, anything...

      Hey all! I love that comics has its own tag now. So in that vein, I'd like to ask what are some smaller comics you read? Any kind; oneshots, long running epics, webcomics, anthologies, anything that just might not be from a big publisher like marvel or just something that you think deserves more attention.
      A few of my personal favorite webcomics are Phantomarine (hosted on website of the same name), as well as City of Blank(on webtoon).

      Phantomarine is a maritime mystery with an intriguing world and (for me)absolutely tantalizing central question. A big reveal just happened, so it's an interesting time to read!
      City of Blank is an action/mystery about a world in which creatures called Blanks can steal your face(and memories). It's in the final season, and I would say that following the third season it's the best so far.
      Ok, your turn!

      26 votes
    19. AI art challenge - how mental is your mind?

      AI is the best and worst thing that's happened, apparently. It's also pretty hilarious. With the right sentence fed to it, there can be some really unique images created. This post is to challenge...

      AI is the best and worst thing that's happened, apparently. It's also pretty hilarious. With the right sentence fed to it, there can be some really unique images created.

      This post is to challenge people to get AI Artsy with the whackiest thing they can think of to ask AI to generate. I'm simply using Bing Chat which uses DALL-E to create. All you need to do is post the sentence you used to generate and a link to the image, like this:

      A goldfish riding a jet ski under a bridge doing an epic jump from a wave

      If you need a different free AI Art generator, have a look at https://www.craiyon.com/. If you want to add why you came up with the image, go for it. My mind just works in mysterious ways so I have no idea why I asked this. Probably the same reason I asked it to generate a hotdog paragliding over the Alps...

      Enjoy the silliness and fun, with a hint of AI art at the same time.

      17 votes
    20. How can I leave Reddit?

      I tried finding other alternatives to reddit, which is what got me here. I still love the content of the subs that I followed and am not wanting to really step away. I'd like to as a matter of my...

      I tried finding other alternatives to reddit, which is what got me here. I still love the content of the subs that I followed and am not wanting to really step away. I'd like to as a matter of my own principles... but I still want it. So much knowledge has been amassed on that platform.

      Do you guys still mess with reddit regularly? If not, how?

      82 votes
    21. Recommendations for ENM apps for Bi women

      Seeking recommendations for Ethical Non-Monogamy (ENM) apps for a bi gal like myself for cute dates with other women only? So far most of what I've tried have been very limited/one way...

      Seeking recommendations for Ethical Non-Monogamy (ENM) apps for a bi gal like myself for cute dates with other women only?

      So far most of what I've tried have been very limited/one way interactions (unsure if people have forgotten how to ask questions!?). ONLY SEEKING FOR SELF, NO UNICORNS/NOT A UNICORN. Sorry just had to make that clear....

      Any recommendations would be appreciated! PS am Au based not USA...

      14 votes
    22. Folks in the biotech industry, what do you do and what is it like?

      I've been doing a postdoc in molecular biology in academia for a little while now, and getting ready to take next step. I'm looking into industry careers, but it's difficult to know what they...

      I've been doing a postdoc in molecular biology in academia for a little while now, and getting ready to take next step. I'm looking into industry careers, but it's difficult to know what they entail since we don't often get exposed to them.

      If you or someone you know works in biotech, I'd love to hear about it.

      How did you get into it? What do you enjoy or not enjoy? Where do you see the industry heading? What are some of the positions like?

      15 votes
    23. Do your friends read books? Is the readership rate high in your country?

      Virtually none of my friends read books. I don't think my neighbors do, either. Sometimes I feel like I'm the only book reader. There's no one to talk to about the books I'm reading. I can post on...

      Virtually none of my friends read books. I don't think my neighbors do, either. Sometimes I feel like I'm the only book reader. There's no one to talk to about the books I'm reading. I can post on the Internet and I will get a few upvotes here and there, sometimes a comment, but there's no depth to it. Also, I'd like to talk about books in person, not keyboard. The statistics of readership as conducted by our national library (Poland) were always piss poor, while I think they don't cover the whole society (because they focus on books lent from libraries?) it still seems accurate. Our nearest southern neighbors (Czechia) have high readership, same as our western neighbors (Germany, gosh I envy the sheer amount of books published in German). Poles not only don't read, but because of that we get only a small chunk of published books, oftentimes I search for a book online and there are English, German, Spanish, Russian, Czech (not as often, but a lot more than Polish) translations available, but not Polish -- I understand it, it's not worth it business-wise to publish some obscure books in Poland. It's a sad affair.

      19 votes
    24. How are you all posting in blue text?

      Sorry for seeming like a total idiot but I cannot find the process to change my text color when I type a message. I checked this site and did some online research with the Markdown system itself...

      Sorry for seeming like a total idiot but I cannot find the process to change my text color when I type a message.
      I checked this site and did some online research with the Markdown system itself which is new to me.
      It appears that there is some kind of code insertion but it's unclear how to format.
      So many of you are advanced computer users and I am just your traditional semi-fluent poster.
      Any help would be appreciated.

      25 votes
    25. Megathread for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_FIFA_Women's_World_Cup starts this Thursday, July 20th, and runs for the next month. here is a schedule that will automatically convert match times to your local...

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_FIFA_Women's_World_Cup

      starts this Thursday, July 20th, and runs for the next month.

      here is a schedule that will automatically convert match times to your local timezone:

      https://www.espn.com/soccer/schedule/_/date/20230720/league/fifa.wwc


      I'd be interested in hearing from anyone who lives in Australia or NZ. what have the preparations been like? are you planning on attending any matches?

      or, anyone who is travelling from other countries to attend - what has your experience been like?


      I'll be watching on YouTube TV. it's one of the more expensive streaming options (currently 73 USD/mo) but I've used it for men's and women's world cups since 2018 (as well as several years of live & time-shifted American football). they've had one glitch in all that time, during a 2018 semi-final match, but otherwise it's been damn near perfect. I'd definitely recommend it if you can afford it.

      please limit discussion of other streaming options to legal ones only - linking to pirate streams could get Tildes and Deimos into copyright trouble.


      like probably a lot of people, I'll be time-shifting matches because I'm on the US west coast and many will be inconveniently timed (but you better believe I'll be awake at 3am on Sunday Aug 20th for the final)

      to avoid spoiling matches for people who haven't seen them yet, please use <details> tags:

      <details>
      <summary>spoilers for Foo vs Bar match</summary>
      
      wow I can't believe so-and-so scored 15 goals
      
      </details>
      

      turns into:

      spoilers for Foo vs Bar match

      wow I can't believe so-and-so scored 15 goals

      42 votes
    26. TIL I am sensitive to bitter foods

      Nothing spectacular- I don’t particularly wince at bitter foods but after posting this thread: https://tildes.net/~food/18ae/is_it_me_or_does_spicy_sweet_bitter I was today’s years old when I...

      Nothing spectacular- I don’t particularly wince at bitter foods but after posting this thread:

      https://tildes.net/~food/18ae/is_it_me_or_does_spicy_sweet_bitter

      I was today’s years old when I learned most people don’t taste bitterness like I do; it’s not an overwhelming taste and on some foods a light bitterness is actually pleasant, but I didn’t know that others don’t taste the bitterness of things e.g. unsweetened sparkling water.

      Well I’ll be a donkey’s uncle.

      28 votes
    27. Should we keep problematic posts visible rather than deleting them?

      There was a post here the other day asking women about their preferences in a partner's emotional attachment style (not the exact wording, but about as close as I can remember). The responses were...

      There was a post here the other day asking women about their preferences in a partner's emotional attachment style (not the exact wording, but about as close as I can remember). The responses were overwhelmingly critical of the framing of the question and how it mischaracterized the qualities of a healthy relationship. Upon looking at life.women a day or two later, it seems to have been removed.

      While I agree that the post showed problematic thinking and was kind of a nuisance post rather than one which fostered healthy discussion, I'm not sure I agree with removing it entirely. The original poster did not seem to have any malicious intent, but instead displayed a flawed internal view of healthy relationships. Though the feedback was likely not what they were hoping for, I think it could be instructional not only for that original poster but also for any other site visitors who may have a similar way of thinking. If someone were to read the post and not recognize anything wrong with it, only to then read the criticism in the comments, it's possible they may discover that their own thinking is flawed in a similar way to OP and seek to change the way they view the topic. If we hide every problematic question, people with similar thinking won't ever see that 1) other people have similar problematic views and 2) those views are problematic for reasons X, Y, and Z.

      More simply, if people come here and ask questions that we find distasteful, instead of deleting them should we leave them up with the relevant feedback so that other people learn from that interaction and develop a better idea of where the poster went wrong? It feels like there are a lot of folks out there that might be simply ignorant about social and relationship norms and could learn by example. If these people never see a post where someone is getting called out for their misguided thinking, how do we expect them to learn what's acceptable and what isn't?

      I'm curious to hear your opinions. Should we tolerate entertaining some troublesome questions in order to better educate others, or is it not our job to teach them proper social skills/those posts don't belong here at all?

      (To be clear, I do not support leaving up anything overtly abusive or malicious/hateful, those should obviously be removed ASAP).

      44 votes
    28. Escher Lizard flooring project

      I like a bit of M.C. Escher art, and I was looking for some Escher images when I stumbled across this old blog post by someone who designed and made his own Escher-inspired floor tiles....

      I like a bit of M.C. Escher art, and I was looking for some Escher images when I stumbled across this old blog post by someone who designed and made his own Escher-inspired floor tiles. Fascinating stuff!

      Here's the main page, showing a photo of the finished floor: https://danceswithferrets.org/geekblog/?page_id=911

      Then there's 8 blog entries, showing the steps he went through from initial idea to finished product.


      As a bonus, here's a simple guide I found, which explains how Escher designed & made his tiles: http://static1.squarespace.com/static/5754f47fcf80a16bffa02c45/t/57c6b680f7e0abc8f6ac6993/1472640669212/Escher-tiling-instructions.pdf

      It's so simple when you know how! But there's obviously still some artistry involved in deciding what shapes to cut & paste.

      9 votes
    29. Cloud Servers for the Broke

      Just wanted to put this out there as a little PSA in case it's helpful: if you want a cloud server but don't wanna pay anything, Oracle's Free Tier is a life saver. Discovered it a year ago and...

      Just wanted to put this out there as a little PSA in case it's helpful: if you want a cloud server but don't wanna pay anything, Oracle's Free Tier is a life saver. Discovered it a year ago and couldn't be happier I did, since I'd never pay for cloud computing otherwise 😭.

      Quick Specs:

      For free you get:

      • 24/7 uptime
      • 200gb of storage space
      • 24GB of RAM
      • 4 OCPUs
      • 4 Gbps Bandwidth

      That's been more than enough for me and honestly feels too good to be true. Some things I've done with this:

      If anyone has any other ideas for cool projects I could self host, please do tell I'm curious what else I could do :)

      48 votes
    30. I interviewed the researcher behind the Misinformation Susceptibility Test

      https://youtu.be/vodNabH5qoM But some important context: Earlier this month I saw a post regarding a Misinformation Susceptibility Test and was curious how 20 binary questions could be an...

      https://youtu.be/vodNabH5qoM
      But some important context:

      Earlier this month I saw a post regarding a Misinformation Susceptibility Test and was curious how 20 binary questions could be an indicator of someones media biases.

      I started digging into the related paper and while the methods and analysis was interesting, there was still a lot of questions. So I reached out to Dr Rakoen Maertens who headed the study and we agreed to a discussion on the assessment and his experiences in social psychology.

      The video above is an unlisted, unedited cut of the interview and I'd love to get some feedback:

      Firstly: I have offered the Dr a tildes invite and he may engage with any questions or discussion. Time was limited and there were a lot of topics that was only briefly touched on or overlooked. Here is the original paper and supplementary resources if you want to see some of the language model work and bigger 100 question tests.

      Secondly: I am going to do a more through edit and posting this on a dedicated channel. Since cutting off reddit, twitter and tiktoc; I've sort of rediscovered a love learning and investigations. I'd like to know if people like this form of engagement and discussions. No fancy production, just simply engaging with the research and academics behind topical and interesting ideas.

      I'm already reading into fandom psychology, UV reflective paint, children's TV and CO2 scrubbing technology.

      72 votes
    31. Any fans here of "Bee And Puppycat", the original series on YouTube and the sorta reboot on Netflix?

      I absolutely adore both, it has such a relaxing animation style and soundtrack. Kind of an embarrassing guilty pleasure as a guy. The soundtrack is partially by the artist Baths who is also...

      I absolutely adore both, it has such a relaxing animation style and soundtrack. Kind of an embarrassing guilty pleasure as a guy.
      The soundtrack is partially by the artist Baths who is also incredible. And I just saw its been released sometime recently!
      Anyways please leave your thoughts about the show, I hope it gets another season, which is likely since they were partially acquired by Toho studios
      (⁠◍⁠•⁠ᴗ⁠•⁠◍⁠)

      33 votes
    32. Memories of "Launch" magazine

      Hi, I'm asking here in the hopes that someone remembers a music magazine of yore. "Launch" magazine was mailed to subscribers on a CD in the mid-90s. It was like... Pitchfork, edgy but with...

      Hi,

      I'm asking here in the hopes that someone remembers a music magazine of yore. "Launch" magazine was mailed to subscribers on a CD in the mid-90s. It was like... Pitchfork, edgy but with broader appeal. I honestly don't remember much of the music that was on there. It had these sort of Dilbert-esqe comics about being a programmer in a start up. Back then, I had no idea, really, what they were talking about, but I thought the comics were hilarious.

      Anyway, I can't find it anymore. The name is really generic and nothing I find in searches seems to resemble what I remember. It might be the kind of thing that someone like a Tildes user who browses the music group might remember. Does anyone have a memory of this? Seeing those little comics again would be nostalgia gold.

      7 votes
    33. Non-revolutionary anarchism

      Edit: I'm just gonna list the recommendations I found interesting for my future reference Proudhon - One of the first anarchists. Wrote a lot about mutualism and tried to come up with mechanisms...

      Edit: I'm just gonna list the recommendations I found interesting for my future reference

      Proudhon - One of the first anarchists. Wrote a lot about mutualism and tried to come up with mechanisms to share resources based on usufruct

      The Dispossessed -Describes an alternate society. Supposedly written more like an anthropological study than a narrative

      No God's, No Masters - Written by David Graber, who also wrote the 3 Problems with the Revolution

      The Dawn of Everything - Talks about the organization structures of early societies

      Participatory Economics - Talks about economic organization without compulsion

      Walkaway - Recommended when I mentioned stealth anarchism

      ‐------------------------

      I'm gonna be honest, I'm pretty sick of all the existing forms of politics. Conservatives, liberals, progressives, libertarians, I dont feel like I jive with any of them.

      The closest thing I've found to a philosophy I can get behind is anarchism, but I'm not really a fan of revolutionary anarchism either. I'm interested in just discussion of the constructive aspects of it. Like how the alternative vision of the world they advocate for works in practice, and what different options there are for implementation.

      I find it hard to really get into, because whenever I try to read up on any kind of political philosophy I run into the people who are trying to evangelize and it just really turns me off to the whole thing.

      Does anyone have some good reading recommendations that skip past trying to recruit people, and just is a good discussion?

      43 votes
    34. Life changing weight-loss

      This is a thread for everyone to share their personal story. But I'll start with mine. I was never an obese child. I was always borderline overweight, but I was never at risk for being unhealthy....

      This is a thread for everyone to share their personal story. But I'll start with mine.

      I was never an obese child. I was always borderline overweight, but I was never at risk for being unhealthy. At 15 I even managed to lose some weight when I did go into the overweight category. And then I graduated high school. I ended up gaining thirty pounds before starting college, and the weight just kept on piling up. Ending with me gaining over 120 pounds, and being over 300 pounds. I was 17 during this time period. I ended up losing quite a bit of weight, down to 218 during the summer following my first year. But I ended up gaining it back and could not go back down.

      By the time I graduated college I was back up almost to my original weight. Unfortunately for me, I graduated in Spring of 2020. Right when the pandemic started. This just caused my weight to climb up even more. Even worse, I finally looked in the mirror and realized that my hair was thinning. This was an easier fix: Dutasteride. Got on that pill and that started growing my hair. You can read more about my struggle with that here. My eating was another ball game.

      In late 2021, after being diagnosed with pre-diabetes, I decided to lose some weight. I did Keto, not because I felt like that was the only way to lose weight, but because I had read that was the best diet to reverse pre-diabetes. I did that for three months and it did indeed crushed my A1C number, and I lost a fair amount of weight. The problem was that when I got off the diet I gained a lot of weight back. Not all of it, but enough to make a difference. Keto was not a sustainable diet, but on top of that my thought process was "when this ends I'm gonna eat this I'm gonna eat that."

      One day I take a pretty hardcore edible. Weed has an anxious effect on me and constantly makes me reflect on my own life and how unhappy I am with it. But this one time it made me realize how much of what was wrong with my life, or how much of what I did not like about my life was connected to my weight. And how many insecurities me being obese gave me. And how it was holding me back from doing what I wanted to do. It also made me realize why I used food as a coping mechanism, and it made me come to terms with the fact that on some level I had an addiction to food.

      So that was actually very helpful, and I was able to move on, and actually commit. It helped me to recognize the signs of overeating, and made me pause whenever I would grab something to eat. I would eventually also start lifting weights and focusing on eating a lot of protein. And that helped me lose fat more than Keto ever did. Just the consistency of that was a lot better and honestly easier than the incredibly restrictive diet Keto is. I still struggle with food. I can't really eat chips, or popcorn, because I will finish the whole bag whether I want to or not. But it's gotten slightly easier, at the very least I've gotten better at trying to avoid things like that.

      It's completely altered the way that I look. I just recently saw some family that hadn't seen me in a while, and they did not recognize me. My face is much more visible now. When I would get high I would look in the mirror and not recognize myself but now I do. Part of that problem is that I hadn't actually seen myself properly in a mirror since high school until this recent weight loss. So I was just completely delusional, by choice, about what I looked like. I look at old pictures and go "damn that's how I really was huh."

      Now that I'm close to being the same weight I was back in high school, I feel more like me. I feel like I look more like how I perceived myself. I'm not scared to look in the mirror anymore. I'm not scared to take pictures anymore. I'm not scared to try on clothes anymore.

      What's really been a trip is the fact that people find me attractive again. I don't want to sound conceited, but I am in fact not ugly. But my face was hidden under the weight. So for years nobody really found me attractive, and that's fair now that I've seen pictures of myself from that time (on top of me having no confidence back then). But now they do again. And it's going to take a little bit of getting used to, but damn it feels good. It feels good to finally date, to have the confidence to go out. It feels good for people to think that I'm 19 instead of thinking that I'm 30.

      And I feel so much younger. I'm still in my early 20s, but before now I felt old. Like I felt like my body was falling apart. With how much my hips hurt, with how much my knees hurt, how slow I was. I remember when I was 20 my ankle hurt so much. There was like so much pressure on it and it would not pop. And then when I finally did pop it I had to continually pop it to feel relief. That's gone now. My joints pop a normal amount now rather than the excessive amount. I can crouch, I can get up from the floor, I can walk longer easily. Stuff that I should have been doing this entire time that felt almost impossible to do.

      It's like I've been rejuvenated. Like I've been given a second chance to enjoy my youth.

      And I really really don't want to mess it up again.

      18 votes
    35. Which board games have you all been playing? (to 17th July)?

      Sorry Boardtiddleums, little late with the weekly thread! Saturday I got in a couple of games of Bus!, securing a comfortable victory in the first and an even more comfortable defeat in the...

      Sorry Boardtiddleums, little late with the weekly thread!

      Saturday I got in a couple of games of Bus!, securing a comfortable victory in the first and an even more comfortable defeat in the second. Every time I play Bus! I love it it that little bit more: central map with interesting decisions, worker placement where you choose how fast you burn through your workers, ability to lose a victory point to screw everyone else over...what's not to like?

      After that we played Stockpile, which is always fun. We were a bit rusty on the rules so didn't play with any expansion material.

      Finished up with a game of Cat in the Box, which a fantastic little spin on trick taking games. The deluxe edition that you can currently get is so overproduced, but in the nicest possible way.

      So what have you all been busy playing this week?

      11 votes
    36. Recommended books on African American history for non-Americans

      Hi all. As the title says, I'm looking for recommendations on books about African American history. I'm Irish and I know the basics about the civil rights movement and some other bits through...

      Hi all. As the title says, I'm looking for recommendations on books about African American history. I'm Irish and I know the basics about the civil rights movement and some other bits through documentaries like 13th . Outside of that I've realized that my understanding of what African Americans have been though over the last couple of hundred years is pretty piss poor. I'd really like to educate myself a bit more, so any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

      22 votes
    37. What are the best cover songs that reinterpret the original into a different genre, style, or mood?

      Inspiration came when I was listening to Busy Signal - One More Night, a half-cover of the Phil Collins original. Reggae and dancehall have a lot of examples like this but it's usually...

      Inspiration came when I was listening to Busy Signal - One More Night, a half-cover of the Phil Collins original. Reggae and dancehall have a lot of examples like this but it's usually interpolating or covering the chorus rather than the entire song.

      So, which do you know? If you could post links for both the cover and the original, that'd be ace. I'd say sampling in hip-hop usually doesn't qualify here, unless there's clear conceptual connection to the original song beyond just the beat.

      Also, if anyone suggests the Chet Faker version of No Diggity, I will start a riot in here.

      105 votes
    38. What's your planning process for big group trips?

      My university friends and I (and everyone's significant others, so about ~15 people) are planning a big catch-up trip, which will also be the first time to the country where I live for all of...

      My university friends and I (and everyone's significant others, so about ~15 people) are planning a big catch-up trip, which will also be the first time to the country where I live for all of them. Planning has been a little higher friction than I expected, because we want to coordinate travel times to specific cities ("let's spend 4 days in City A, then all go to City B" etc), but people also have specific activities only they want to do (scuba, theme parks, etc) within each city. However, there's way too much to choose from and there's no way we'll do everything that everyone wants to do.

      So right now to gauge interest in specific cities and attractions within them, we are just using a private Facebook group where people just make an idea as a post and people vote by liking it, and people can discuss the place in the comments. Things that we have fully decided are just placed on a spreadsheet. This process works but it doesn't feel great.

      I've also explored Wanderlog, and I really like the fact that you can easily search for stuff and then place it on a map, but unfortunately its UI doesn't really support "branching" trips where some people will do different things on a given day.

      What tools/processes have you had success with when trying to coordinate a big group trip?

      9 votes
    39. Sunday Game Jam Review Thread (July 16 2023)

      Welcome back to the third weekly game jam thread. Whats a game jam you may ask. Well imagine if you locked a group of game developers in a box for box for some quantity of time ranging from a few...

      Welcome back to the third weekly game jam thread.

      Whats a game jam you may ask. Well imagine if you locked a group of game developers in a box for box for some quantity of time ranging from a few days to a few weeks and told them to compete with each other by building something around a theme and then judging whatever each other came up with, that's a game jam.

      Longtime viewers AKA the 5 people to who looked at the 2 previous threads will have no doubt noticed I missed last week. During an unusually normie weekend I was busy awkwardly standing in a corner at not 1 but 2 different parties and was super tired when I got back I did not want to write this up. I hope you can forgive me. To ensure that this does not happen again I am moving this thread to Sundays which should give me more time flexibility and something to look forward to instead of sitting around dreading the upcoming work week.

      Also as a bit of compensation for your troubles today I am linking 2 top quality longer games that you can really sink your teeth into this week. I am 100% cool with someone discussing games from any week in future threads so don’t sweat the time commitment and don’t feel you have to finish the whole game before returning to discuss it. Quality video games shouldn’t have an expiration date.

      With that said lets get into the this weeks games

      Infinimall: Dream Job!

      Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android
      Authors: Pandora
      Genres: Visual Novel

      Coming to you with love from the the folks in the the proverbial vaporwave-dreamworld-liminal-mall-urbex complex, Infinimall: Dream Job! Is a dating sim visual novel set inside a surreal mall and originally written for the NaNoRenNo 2023 Jam. Featuring the Doomer Girl like bisexual disaster Mia(I wonder if its the same Mia as Heart Beat) as she navigates a dead end job and tries to get her dead end life back on track.

      According to my calculations the game has about 100 book pages worth of dialogue over all its branches which should be a breeze for the text-only titans that walk the halls of this site.

      Hypnagogia

      Platforms Windows
      Authors: sodaraptor
      Genres: Adventure

      Our second game is also taking us to the dreamworld but this time its inspired by late 90s PSX aesthetics, in particular, the cult classic game LSD: Dream Emulator which is fitting given it comes from LSD Jam 2020. It centers on a gameplay loop of exploring diverse dream worlds inspired by dreams from the developers own dream diary. I think the game is best thought as a sort of drug trip or spiritual experience in the same way as something like Superliminal. Go in with an open mind and I think most people can get something from the experience. This goes double for the games sequel Hypnagogia 無限の夢 Boundless Dreams which is available without DRM on itch.io or with DRM on Steam if you are into that sort of thing.

      However long it takes after you awaken from your strange dream let me know what you are thinking. Its okay I won’t die if you don’t like the same games I do though I will be sad. Its lonely walking the path of niche games but you can’t make friends if you never share.

      PREVIOUS WEEK

      7 votes
    40. When reading historical books, how do you keep track of timelines?

      I've recently become interested in exploring history. However, though I am usually quick to read and process large amounts of information in other genres, I find myself struggling with the dates...

      I've recently become interested in exploring history. However, though I am usually quick to read and process large amounts of information in other genres, I find myself struggling with the dates in history books. For example, here's a excerpt from the book I'm currently reading [1]:

      During this period, tsarist policy was contradictory along its Western borders. In Finland, a Parliament was convened in 1863 for the first time in fifty-four years. In 1860, its own currency, the Finnish markka, was introduced, initially tied to the Russion rouble before being tied to the value of silver from 1865, which enabled the Duchy to trade more easily with the West. By 1906, Parliament had passed 400 separate pieces of legislation, and by 1883, Finnish had equal status as a language to Russian.

      It takes me surprisingly long to process this; my mind struggles to put together the timeline and most relevant facts. This style is used throughout the whole book and others like it, where multiple dates (and names or facts) are mentioned in a short piece of text, often in seemingly random order. This makes it difficult for me to truly get something out the book -- either I don't remember the information well afterwards or I can't relax while reading because I'm constantly puzzling it together.

      For people more familiar with historical works: are there any tricks to this? Does it perhaps get easier in time, when you become more familiar with the genre (similar to keeping track of the characters in fantasy books like Game of Thrones)? Or do some people have a natural affinity for dates, same as others have a mind for numbers or for languages? Looking forward to hearing your opinions and experiences.

      [1] N. Taylor, "Estonia, A Modern History", 2nd edition, C. Hurst & Co, 2020.


      Update: This was my first post here, and I’m loving the thoughtful replies. Here’s a summary of the tips so far:

      • Combining specific dates into a higher level time periods, e.g. start/middle/late century.
      • Using historical dates with a personal meaning as anchors to keep an overview of the time period.
      • Paying special attention to the first line of each paragraph, the first section of each chapter, and the first chapter of each book, which should be a summary of the following paragraph, chapter, and book, respectively.
      • Writing or drawing your own timeline of events, outside of the book.
      • Adding context information to your own timeline, based on understanding why each event occurred in that time and that way.
      17 votes
    41. If you went to a game-type fantasy world and could take one skill back to Earth, what would you choose?

      I wish there was a more concise way to phrase that question. I've asked it a couple times and always get some interesting answers. This is inspired by all the "isekai" stories in anime and manga...

      I wish there was a more concise way to phrase that question. I've asked it a couple times and always get some interesting answers.

      This is inspired by all the "isekai" stories in anime and manga where a hero is summoned to help fight the demon king, along with the LitRPG genre. They use game-like interfaces to track stats and skills. Not just the typical combat ones like magic or weapons, but mundane skills like cooking, cleaning, walking, resting, drawing, lying, etc. Naturally, higher level skills tend to surpass basic physical limitations found on Earth. You could run faster than a train if your speed is high enough, or sculpt an exact replica of Michaelangelo's David in just a few days with a sculpting skill.

      So imagine you got summoned to such a world and went through the whole "defeat the demon king" quest, and could choose one skill to take back to Earth. This includes anything from some specific magic ability like weather control and invisibility, to trained skills like archery and blacksmithing, to even basic stats like strength and stealth. Anything is fair game, but you can pick only one.

      So, what skill would you choose and why?

      19 votes
    42. What are some of your favorite names for the users of Tildes?

      I spontaneously came up with Tildesians, but I have seen others, including Tilders and Tildren. Edit, I was hoping to surface a variety of nicknames, so thanks for your input, I like to play with...

      I spontaneously came up with Tildesians, but I have seen others, including Tilders and Tildren.

      Edit, I was hoping to surface a variety of nicknames, so thanks for your input, I like to play with language. It's fun.

      40 votes
    43. Anyone here playing / participating GMTK Game Jam?

      I thought it'd be fun to have our own recommendation list before the final results are announced. Here's the link to the theme announcement video (the theme is "Role Reversed") and link to the...

      I thought it'd be fun to have our own recommendation list before the final results are announced.

      Here's the link to the theme announcement video (the theme is "Role Reversed") and link to the itch.io page where you can find all the entries. The default sort is 'random' but you can also change to other Sort if you just want to quickly check out some more notable examples. Also select 'Play in browser' in 'Platform' if you're worried about having to download files.

      If you participated in the jam, let us know too!

      Edit: since the mountain of entries is enormous, I'm thinking a way to narrow the scope and reduce choice paralysis is this: try out 3 entries that caught your interest for whatever reason, and tell us which one among them you like most (you can recommend all of them, or try out more if you're up for it). Feel free to be as loose or selective in your recommendation as you want.

      15 votes
    44. Tildes ReExtended version announcements and changelog

      This topic will be used to announce future versions of Tildes ReExtended! Mozilla Addons Chrome Web Store Tildes ReExtended is the principal enhancement suite for Tildes. If you'd like to be...

      This topic will be used to announce future versions of Tildes ReExtended!

      Tildes ReExtended is the principal enhancement suite for Tildes.

      If you'd like to be notified of future releases, reply to this comment and I'll @-mention you when the next version is published (you have to uncollapse the comment). When you no longer want to be notified, simply delete your comment or ignore this topic.

      42 votes
    45. DOSbox help for a noob - mouse doesn't work at all

      First, forgive me for I am a first time DOSbox user. My O/S is Windows 10 home 64-bit I went to old games and grabbed Doom & Doom II. I use to play these quite a bit and remember them fondly. I...

      First, forgive me for I am a first time DOSbox user. My O/S is Windows 10 home 64-bit

      I went to old games and grabbed Doom & Doom II. I use to play these quite a bit and remember them fondly. I did the easy setup which added DOSbox 0.74 and the game. It loads up and runs just like I remember with the keyboard, just no mouse.

      I did searching online, but the only solutions seem to be making sure autolock=true in the config file, and using cntl-F10 to capture the mouse. Toggling cntl-F10 does seem to grab the mouse in that the cursor disappears, but the mouse still will not function in either full screen or windowed mode.

      I seem to be missing something obvious, but for the life of me I just don't see it. I'm reasonably computer savvy, but feeling stupid at the moment.

      Any advice would be appreciated. TIA

      Edit: Forked over the 5 bucks and went with the Steam version. Works perfectly.
      Thank you everyone for your advice.

      9 votes
    46. What do you think on how suicide prevention is handled in the world? What can be done better?

      I was inspired to write this after reading this reddit post. It ranted about people who attempt to disuade people from commiting suicide by telling them that they are selfish because of the impact...

      I was inspired to write this after reading this reddit post. It ranted about people who attempt to disuade people from commiting suicide by telling them that they are selfish because of the impact it will have on other people (I do think it is explained better in the post if you are interested).
      However I have also been thinking about how suicide prevention is handled by most governments. I am not sure of exactly what process happens in other countries, but in America if you fail a suicide attempt you can be involuntarily put into a mental health asylum for a temporary period of time, and from reading many accounts of what people have experienced in these asylums and from my ongoing experience with suicidal idealation I very much feel i would be 10x more likely to commit suicide if I was put into such a facility once i got out.
      But I also wanted to talk about other ways individuals may try to disuade people from suicide which i find problematic. Before i continue, i do want to say that I am not blaming these people, they have very good intentions. But something that has bugged me for a while has been that whenever people discuss suicide/mental health problems the first thing that is done is just recommending suicide hotlines/telling the person in question to seek a therapist/psychologist. While these options can be good for many people, i want to mention that

      1. Suicide hotlines (mainly 811) are known for reporting people to police and having them put in mental health asylums (often times unnecisarlly). And staff at these suicide hotlines are often uneducated or rude to callers, or will just not answer or even hang up.
      2. Many people in these circumstances do not have access to trained proffesionals. Even if you live in a country with public healthcare, you may be in a situations (mainly abuse) where you cant get access to one either way.

      Anyways sorry for the rambling, my brain is tired and i just wanted to get this out there. But based off of the above points, do you think that suicide prevention in society is flawed, and what could be better? While i do agree that it is flawed and there are ideas related to government on how to handle suicide prevention, i do not know what could be done on the individual level. To me one of my only resources apart from seeing other people experiences online is music (mainly Elliot Smith, Linkin park, Soundgarden and Nirvana) which I deeply relate to. But anhedonia can prevent enjoyment of such things.

      29 votes
    47. Help me name the Tildes Fantasy Football League

      I've been tasked with naming the Tildes Fantasy Football League. I am notoriously bad at naming things. My only idea is "League of A-holes" because the first vlog post introducing Tildes, Deimos...

      I've been tasked with naming the Tildes Fantasy Football League. I am notoriously bad at naming things.

      My only idea is "League of A-holes" because the first vlog post introducing Tildes, Deimos mentioned

      Tildes will not be a victim of the paradox of tolerance; my philosophy is closer to "if your website's full of assholes, it's your fault".

      But I don't really like it.

      13 votes
    48. Why does market fundamentalism have so much clout in economics?

      There's a couple of other words that describe what I'm talking about - neoliberalism, lassez-faire capitalism, and in a more general sense, the Chicago school of economics - but I chose market...

      There's a couple of other words that describe what I'm talking about - neoliberalism, lassez-faire capitalism, and in a more general sense, the Chicago school of economics - but I chose market fundamentalism because it seemed to best describe precisely what I'm talking about. I mean the belief that the market is capable of self-regulation and that governmental intervention will cause damage to the economy.

      I'm asking this because there's still a lot about economics that I don't know about and so I was hoping someone with a background in the subject who would be able to better answer the question. But I realize it's probably also a political question. I wonder if it's more of an issue of our politicians pressing these views than economists and academics.

      Personally, with my life's experience, it seems almost obviously wrong. I've lived through several market downturns and even a crash, and looking through history it seems like every market crash can be attributed to the market failing to correct itself.

      21 votes