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    1. Dragon Quest I - III original Switch or HD 2D?

      Original switch release or hd 2d? So I have the original switch releases of I, II, and III that are based on the mobile ports. I beat one already a year or two ago and had a decent time. My...

      Original switch release or hd 2d?

      So I have the original switch releases of I, II, and III that are based on the mobile ports. I beat one already a year or two ago and had a decent time. My question is should I play II and III as I have them or get the hd 2d remake.

      I know it seems like the hd 2d remake is the obvious choice but I have some caveats. I'm a stay at home caretaker of a family member. Currently unemployed (though I'm trying to get caretaking for them as a job) so I'd have to wait and only get one of the releases as a Christmas gift and the other as a birthday gift next summer should employment not come through by then.

      I know the remakes of I and III aren't out yet but based on your impressions and what III hd 2d is like.

      So I'm wondering if it's worth waiting and sacrificing other potential games when I have two playable versions now.

      Thoughts?

      5 votes
    2. "Enterprise Network Security With C and XML in 30 Seconds for the Brain Dead" (c. 1997-2013)

      Who is this book for? For almost anyone who is afraid of viruses, trojans, greeks, or lefthanded satanistic poodle pruners who want your data. For those cipherpunks who know that The Man is out to...

      Who is this book for?

      For almost anyone who is afraid of viruses, trojans, greeks, or lefthanded satanistic poodle pruners who want your data. For those cipherpunks who know that The Man is out to get 'em. For those who realize that masking their identity when they buy dog food online is imperative to democracy and freedom as we know it.

      Now, the author recognizes that people vary in skills. Consequently, the steps increase in skill level as they progress. The skill level is neatly placed in the margin next to each step.

      [BEGINNER] Step 1. Turn off your computer

      If you don't know how to do this, you can yank out the power plug from the wall. If you don't know how to do this, just stop paying your electric bills. NOTE: If you take this latter approach, this will take longer than 30 seconds.

      Once the computer is off, you're 80% of the way there. The computer is secure from all but the most insidious of blackbag attacks. Anything beyond this step requires an advanced knowledge of computers. (And some biceps. Eat your wheaties!)

      [ADVANCED] Step 2. Smash monitor, case, hard drive, ethernet cable and (why not?) mouse with C and XML 1000-page doorstops, er, textbooks.

      Now the computer is completely secure from all attacks.

      [GURU] Step 3. Go outside, away from computers. Become a lumberjack or something.

      Why are you still reading this? You're supposed to be outside. Some guru you are. Can't even read.

      Found this while browsing through the first ever wiki hosting the "WikiWikiWeb" over at C2. As the site and content changes, I am submitting this as a text post. Community is still around, and it has an excellent layout and its just full of very funny and old school (and informative!) things. The site comes to mind on occasion and I just get lost browsing and seeing the amount of information hidden within those pages. I might finally get around to working on a spiritual project.

      9 votes
    3. What creative projects have you been working on?

      This topic is part of a series. It is meant to be a place for users to discuss creative projects they have been working on. Projects can be personal, professional, physical, digital, or even just...

      This topic is part of a series. It is meant to be a place for users to discuss creative projects they have been working on.

      Projects can be personal, professional, physical, digital, or even just ideas.

      If you have any creative projects that you have been working on or want to eventually work on, this is a place for discussing those.

      17 votes
    4. North Korean Career Coaches

      I keep getting messages in my email inbox or LinkedIn like: Alexander > Hi, > I’m seeking a genuine partnership where only a USA software engineer can truly collaborate with me. > I value...

      I keep getting messages in my email inbox or LinkedIn like:

      Alexander
      > Hi, 
      > I’m seeking a genuine partnership where only a USA software engineer can truly collaborate with me. 
      > I value transparency and real results. 
      > Things to do are very simple and I guarantee 3K~10K/month income for you.
      > I’m ready to prove my credibility and discuss a win-win business. 
      > Thank you!
      
      Hello $their_name,
      
      Why do you need a USA engineer and what do I need to do?
      
      - $my_name
      
      > Thanks for reaching me out.
      > 
      > I run a software development team with five talented developers who specialize in frontend, backend, full stack, AI/ML and blockchain technologies. Although we have a strong team, we are struggling to find enough jobs right now. As you may know, the economy in Europe is tough and low salary as well, so we are trying to find more opportunities in the US and Canada. However, this is challenging for us because of time zone differences, language barriers, and many US clients preferring to hire local people like you.
      > 
      > To solve these issues, I'm actively looking for someone who can help us in getting more jobs in the US. Since you are a US citizen, you can create accounts on job platforms like Indeed, Dice, Upwork and Wellfound. I think you may have already heard about Upwork. It's a world famous freelancing platform. After setting up your accounts, if you allow me to use them, I will apply for jobs by myself. When I receive interview requests from clients, I will notify you so you can attend the meetings. During the interviews, I will support you by quickly sending you the right answers to any technical questions that come up.
      > 
      > Once we secure a job, our team will handle all the development work, including any test projects. We will share the profits from the work we do, with a split of 30% for you and 70% for our team.
      > In short, your role would be to connect with clients and help us secure jobs, while our team takes care of the technical work. This is a great opportunity for collaboration and growth.
      > 
      > And there is one thing I need to tell you about using your account. Several platforms have very strict policies with ip addresses. If i use your account on my own machine, your account will be risky because ip addresses are different. And also they detect VPN, VPS, and some cloud services as well. To address this, we need to use your spare laptop. I will use your account on your spare one using a remote desktop application like Anydesk. Anydesk is a secure and safe remote desktop application.
      
      Cuong
      > Greeting,
      > 
      > I hope this message finds you well. My name is Cuong, and I came across your information on your website ( WE need it ). I am excited to share that I have a potential long-term collaboration opportunity that I believe could be mutually beneficial.
      > 
      > We’re a fast-growing IT consulting company based in Malaysia, with a talented team experienced in web2, web3, mobile development, and AI. As we expand into the U.S. market, we’re actively seeking a reliable business partner—someone like you—to grow together.
      > 
      > Here’s how we can support you:
      > - Proactively apply and schedule interviews on job platforms on your behalf
      > - Optimize and refine your resume and LinkedIn profile to stand out
      > - Provide technical guidance to help you succeed in interviews
      > - Take care of the actual development work once new projects are secured
      > 
      > If this sounds interesting to you, feel free to reach out. We’d love to hear your thoughts and explore how we can collaborate!
      > 
      > Looking forward to connecting with you.
      > 
      > Best Regards
      > Cuong
      

      Some of these messages are even from people who are well-connected to former bosses and managers and other talented people that I personally know. They aren't coming out of my spam folder.

      I know I'm not special in this. I'm not the only one. They are throwing spaghetti on the wall until the meatballs stick, etc.

      But I thought... what if I could use this to my advantage? I would still need to do the interviews but they could do the legwork applying for jobs and reaching out to companies, connections that they already have, and then when they deliver the job contract I cut off contact with these nebulous associates? And I join the company like normal.

      Thoughts?

      15 votes
    5. Fitness Weekly Discussion

      What have you been doing lately for your own fitness? Try out any new programs or exercises? Have any questions for others about your training? Want to vent about poor behavior in the gym? Started...

      What have you been doing lately for your own fitness? Try out any new programs or exercises? Have any questions for others about your training? Want to vent about poor behavior in the gym? Started a new diet or have a new recipe you want to share? Anything else health and wellness related?

      14 votes
    6. "The Future I Saw": A rabbithole about prophetic dreams

      So, who wants a fun rabbit hole? The Future I Saw is a 1999 manga by mangaka Ryo Tatsuki about supposed prophetic dreams. Supposedly many of those predictions would come to pass 15 years after...

      So, who wants a fun rabbit hole?

      The Future I Saw is a 1999 manga by mangaka Ryo Tatsuki about supposed prophetic dreams. Supposedly many of those predictions would come to pass 15 years after each dream, or else in 15 year cycles (e.g. if something didn't happen in 2001, it could happen in 2016, then 2031, etc.). Purportedly this includes the deaths of Freddie Mercury and Princess Diana, and the 1995 Kobe earthquake, though those are debatable based on the fact they occurred before the manga was published. Or at least, Freddie Mercury's death was. There are currently two chapters translated and based on the foreword they were published in 1995 and 1996, and I don't know what year the Princess Diana prediction was published. I also don't think she published before the 1995 Kobe earthquake since she claimed that dream was only 15 days before.

      As an extra note: she wasn't publishing the manga to spefically taut herself as a psychic or prophet. The two chapters that have been translated feel like a pretty standard example of a mangaka recounting some weird or mysterious event in their lives. In these chapters, she specifically focused on the bit about Freddie Mercury, a dream about her uncle's funeral, and a recurring dream of a woman in what she later learned to be an air raid shelter after finding it on a walk. And then the news reported a woman being found murdered there with the same clothes as her dream.

      She's far from the only one who I've seen illustrate a story about a wild or creepy coincidence, I'm sure I've seen others also recount dreams that turned out to feel semi-prophetic. She just apparently had enough such stories to compile into a thematic volume, which makes sense since she apparently kept a very detailed dream journal to at least the 1970's. So lots of chances for her dreams to match up with reality.

      However, some predictions that did come to pass afterwards, and the reason this manga became viral? The 2011 earthquake, and COVID.

      Specifically, the cover included text on a notebook page saying "great disaster March 2011" which she added based on seeing the text in a dream shortly before the deadline. In regards to Covid, she supposedly predicted a great virus would strike the world in 2020 and peak in April, but it wouldn't be too deadly. The not deadly part was wrong... But she also predicted it would come back in 10 years even worse, so... Yeah, let's hope she's not psychic.

      Now, to emphasize: a bunch of it is most likely coincidence. I've seen sources claim as many as 12 or 13 of her predictions have come true, but I can't actually find a full list of predictions to gauge the actual accuracy. The only one I can find is this Medium article, but it got the "death as a manga artist" wrong since she did retire around 2000 after publishing this volume. That said, there's definitely confirmation bias going on by people who want to believe she's psychic. She has some very avid believers. And also, again, she kept a dream journal since at least 1976. It makes sense some of those dreams would coincidentally line up with future real world events.

      But it's still interesting. It feels rare to have two different big events predicted by a single source, so that adds a layer of intrigue and just a hint of "but what if...?" as you look at the other predictions. Based on the articles I've scoured, the big ones that have yet to occur are an eruption of Mt. Fuji (originally predicted for 2021, now pushed back to 2036 because of the 15 year thing), and an earthquake and tsunami in Kanagawa between June and September 2026.

      The one that's currently making news and prompted this writeup: in the 2021 reprint, she predicted a major tsunami would occur in July 2025. So naturally people are saying last night's earthquake was that one. The details don't match up: she predicted the earth would crack open under the seabed between Japan and the Philippines (so the opposite side), that the waves would be worse than 2011, and people thought her descriptions of "boiling seas" indicated a volcanic eruption. But it's still an interesting coincidence that there was, indeed, an earthquake and tsunami in July 2025. And apparently that's good enough for some people to count it as an accurate prediction. Also, July isn't over yet, so uh. Who knows?

      For some bonus reading if you want to dive into the rabbithole: There's a full Wikipedia page about that prediction, and the mild frenzy in the leadup to July this year. Most of the information I've shared came from various articles published just this year as a response to the growing rumors about it. That said, a lot of articles also seem to be either AI translated or maybe even AI written or researched with little human oversight, as many wrongly use male pronouns for her. I also haven't seen any articles reference the actual content of the manga beyond the big predictions, so chances are they're all regurgitating information that originally spread from a small selection of articles. So that just adds to the quagmire of iffy information available in English.

      Still, like I said, it's kind of fun to look at and wonder. It's almost certainly just coincidence, but it's also the kind that leaves you wondering if maybe, just maybe...

      9 votes
    7. How do you keep track of detailed work activities?

      Throughout my workday, I'm making changes to several components of various applications. I'm also testing different configurations in a large number of areas. How do you keep track of the details...

      Throughout my workday, I'm making changes to several components of various applications. I'm also testing different configurations in a large number of areas.

      How do you keep track of the details of your day-to-day tasks? Especially if you potentially need to roll back changes.

      I feel like it is way too much overhead to notate every little step. I could, but it would make my work take 2-3x as long. I also don't think recording my screen would have much benefit, as it's not easy to pinpoint when a breaking change could have been made.

      Personal context: while this is software development related, I'm generally stuck in the box of no-code platforms. That means I can't simply keep a git repository with frequent commits. Additionally, this platform does not support viewing prior versions of the different components, so there's really no way to compare.

      And for the pieces I am able to keep in a git repository (HTML and JavaScript snippets), that still isn't perfect because the place they are actually executed from is outside of my git repo and occasionally modified by others. But I don't expect guidance on how to predict when others change things.

      19 votes
    8. What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga)

      What have you been watching and reading this week? You don't need to give us a whole essay if you don't want to, but please write something! Feel free to talk about something you saw that was...

      What have you been watching and reading this week? You don't need to give us a whole essay if you don't want to, but please write something! Feel free to talk about something you saw that was cool, something that was bad, ask for recommendations, or anything else you can think of.

      If you want to, feel free to find the thing you're talking about and link to its pages on Anilist, MAL, or any other database you use!

      8 votes
    9. Tildes Video Thread

      Find yourself watching tons of great videos on [insert chosen video sharing platform], but also find yourself reluctant to flood the Tildes front page with them? Then this thread is for you. It...

      Find yourself watching tons of great videos on [insert chosen video sharing platform], but also find yourself reluctant to flood the Tildes front page with them? Then this thread is for you.

      It could be one quirky video that you feel deserves some eyeballs on it, or perhaps you've got a curated list of videos that you'd love to talk us through...

      Share some of the best video content you've watched this past week/fortnight with us!

      4 votes
    10. Advice on 6 year old's trantrums (update)

      Just wanted to share an update on the stuff I overshared in this thread nearly a month ago. It's been an incredibly long, frustrating, but successful month. Within a few days of writing that post,...

      Just wanted to share an update on the stuff I overshared in this thread nearly a month ago.

      It's been an incredibly long, frustrating, but successful month. Within a few days of writing that post, we took my son to the doctor and I just explained everything going on. The doctor seemed as unsure as we were whether my son was experiencing illness or anxiety, so she decided to tackle both. He got some medication for the stomach issues and we got the ball rolling on getting him into therapy.

      The following few weeks were very hit-and-miss. I tried to get him to drive with me on little errands here and there throughout the week to get him out of the house, comfortable in the car, and to try to work through the fear he was experiencing. At first it would take quite a lot of convincing and sometimes I got frustrated and acted like an idiot. Eventually we got to a point where the convincing took less time and resulted in less tears (and frustration). But we are at a point where he's getting better at calming himself down and going in the car even if he's a little scared.

      We still haven't made much progress with getting him in the car with his sister though. We've done a few trips to the nearby park all together, but my wife had to sit between them to calm him down. Likewise, he's still hesitant to sleep in the same room as her (they share a room for now). And again, it has nothing to do with her, aside from her overreacting to him being upset and him being upset by that. It's a vicious cycle. Honestly this is the most difficult part right now because it's making doing anything really complicated. We literally cannot do family trips anywhere without taking two vehicles. More on this later.

      One of my biggest concerns in the other thread was that he was scheduled for eye surgery toward the end of the month and pre/post op appointments and the surgery itself would require a lot of driving. I'm happy to report that he handled every single car trip relating to it like a champ. And the surgery itself was a success, and recovery is going really well. Also apparently thanks to COVID, parents are no longer allowed to go back to the operating room until their child falls asleep, which we didn't realize until a few seconds before they took him back. Which was really difficult for us as parents and for him as well. He keep mentioning it and I try to talk him through and explain that we didn't know and that we're sorry, but wouldn't have let him go if we didn't know the doctor and nurses would be taking good care of him.

      And he had his first therapy appointment this morning. It was just an intake appointment so the therapist could get a feel for what's going on and to get to know my son a little bit. But I feel a lot better about things than I did a month ago. I know we still have a lot of struggle and work ahead of us (he starts 1st grade next month...Getting him and his sister there is going to be interesting).

      I think the next few weeks are going to be spent working on getting him and his sister together in the car more. We're already working on the bedtime issue. The last two nights we had them together in the same room to read a bedtime story together and then afterwards she slept elsewhere. Just trying to baby step our way toward solving that problem.

      Lastly, I wanted to thank you all for your support and comments in the original thread. It was very helpful to be able to write everything out and get some validation, advice, etc.

      38 votes
    11. What programming/technical projects have you been working on?

      This is a recurring post to discuss programming or other technical projects that we've been working on. Tell us about one of your recent projects, either at work or personal projects. What's...

      This is a recurring post to discuss programming or other technical projects that we've been working on. Tell us about one of your recent projects, either at work or personal projects. What's interesting about it? Are you having trouble with anything?

      9 votes
    12. Midweek Movie Free Talk

      Warning: this post may contain spoilers

      Have you watched any movies recently you want to discuss? Any films you want to recommend or are hyped about? Feel free to discuss anything here.

      Please just try to provide fair warning of spoilers if you can.

      10 votes
    13. New Android phones, stock or flash?

      I'm getting a new phone (OnePlus 13, not that it really matters) and I'm considering the benefits of flashing over something like LineageOs straight away rather than using the stock OS. Normally,...

      I'm getting a new phone (OnePlus 13, not that it really matters) and I'm considering the benefits of flashing over something like LineageOs straight away rather than using the stock OS.

      Normally, I expect? You'd run stock until security updates stop or something changes where you want a longer running OS, but I'm considering it because I cannot be bothered with all the bloatware they put on modern phones these days.
      Plus it should save a heap of battery.

      What are people's thoughts on this? Is it something you always do anyway or do you usually run stock for a while?

      33 votes
    14. How do you practice self love?

      I've been having a difficult time recently, which has been leading to my absence here and a lot of crying in my real life. I don't deal with letting go too well. I keep texts and pictures and...

      I've been having a difficult time recently, which has been leading to my absence here and a lot of crying in my real life. I don't deal with letting go too well. I keep texts and pictures and messages and every once in a while I like to look back at them and remember that somebody out there at one point was capable of loving me.

      It's not like I don't have friends that love me either, I've spent days and days at other people's houses just crying, people have taken me out to eat and cry and just feel my feelings, and people have been reminding me about the things they like about me too. I mentioned it to a friend that I've been having trouble letting go and we dug into it a bit more, about why I want to keep these things. My friend asks why I need the love to come from other people first. Where is the self love?

      My core issue has always been needing to be reminded that I am loved. It's really silly sometimes, because on some level I know that I am. But something is missing.

      There's an old saying that we judge other people by their actions and ourselves by our intentions. Sometimes I wonder if I'm just a bad person. Or if I think I am. Because if I didn't have that, why would I have such a hard time forgiving myself?

      I don't really know how to self love, to be honest. I spent all day today barely working, just mindlessly staring at a screen playing a stupid game and not leaving the house. I dunno. Maybe I just need some ideas. I set up a couple more appointments with my therapist this week, but sometimes when it's 2 in the morning like it is now I just can't sleep and spend more time hurting myself in my own head.

      37 votes
    15. As religion wanes, how do we replace it?

      Edit: This thread went off the rails a little in that the top comment is an indictment of religion (and me as a purportedly religious person) rather than an answer to the question. For the record...

      Edit: This thread went off the rails a little in that the top comment is an indictment of religion (and me as a purportedly religious person) rather than an answer to the question. For the record I am not, and have never been, religious. I did go through a spiritual period, long ago now, but it wasn't associated with religion or God. Cheers, though, to the non-proselytizing religious Tilderianites who are trying to be good humans.

      Clearly I should have done a better job of anticipating the potential misunderstandings but the ship has sailed.

      I didn't want to steer the conversation by leading with my own thoughts about what the answer might be, but I've posted them now that the thread, like religion, is waning.

      Don't let it stop you from posting your own take!

      The question, rephrased is: As religion plays a progressively smaller role in society, how will we fill on the gaps that leaves? See below for example gaps.
      [/edit]

      I realize that the title is maybe evocative because it presumes that religion is going to wane but statistically it's reasonable. The percentage of the population that identifies with a particular religion correlates inversely with the education level and wealth of a country.

      As countries develop, religiosity decreases. There are probably exceptions, but I don't think the numbers leave room for much debate about whether or not religion is declining globally. In fact, if you look at just the western world, excluding developing countries where both religiosity and fertility are high, the numbers are even more stark. Presumably as education level and quality of life in developing countries improves they will have a similar decline in religion to other developed countries.

      Assuming climate catastrophe doesn't dramatically set development back for everyone of course. Totally a possibility but humor me and, for purposes of this thread, let's not speculate too much about that.

      I realize also that none of this is really new information, just establishing context, in that spirit...

      Historically religion has served some very important needs. Among them:

      • Community. Religion has been a key part of community in much of the world. We know humans need it, for all sorts of reasons, and I believe that right now we can see some of the problems that arise when they don't get it.

      • Meaning. Vitally important to mental wellbeing and well covered by most religions. I think some of modern society's ills are partially attributable to the meaning void left by declining religion. Meaning here referring both to meaning in the personal sense as well as meaning in the larger sense of being part of something bigger than yourself that feels deeply important.

      • Mortality. A key selling point of most religions is that they answer the question of what do do with the problem of impermanence. I think it's clear that, under the surface, many people are deeply insecure about their mortality and that it subconsciously informs their behavior in often not so great ways. So solving that problem with eternal rewards or whatever has been very important to the health of societies.

      • Decency. Religion usually lays out what constitutes being a good or bad person and establishes rewards and punishments to encourage people to be good. Note that I'm not saying an external set of guidelines is required for people to be decent, only that historically that role has often fallen to religion. As a result, a lot of our modern values have their roots in ancient belief systems.

      • Organization. Religions have often been at the core of important initiatives to improve people's quality of life and step in during disaster. They provide an ostensibly well meaning third party around which to centralize efforts.

      • Faith. There are definitely downsides to believing things without evidence but as a temporary coping mechanism when things fall apart, faith is hard to beat.

      And more of course, I'll stop there for brevity.

      I'll skip laying out the downsides of religion, for better or worse it's declining and will likely continue to decline. I think that's enough for purposes of the question: How do we replace it?

      What are we going to fill the voids opened up by waning religiousity with? I have a lot of thoughts about the topic but no real universal answers. And I think it's a question we're going to need answers for, especially as we go into worsening global insecurity caused by climate change, wealth inequality, fascism and so on.

      We're going to need foundational shared values. Is that possible without a centralized authority?

      I realize it's a giant topic, I won't bias it with my own thoughts going in, feel free to take it in any direction you want.

      37 votes