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    1. What's your after-work routine?

      What do you like to do after getting home from work? I'm a software developer and usually feel mentally exhausted by the time I get home, so I like to unwind. I kick back on the couch, play my...

      What do you like to do after getting home from work?

      I'm a software developer and usually feel mentally exhausted by the time I get home, so I like to unwind. I kick back on the couch, play my latest YouTube subscriptions on the TV, and browse through the day's worth of social media.

      It's pretty mindless, but that's exactly what I need before tackling dinner and everything else.

      18 votes
    2. Is anyone else just fed up with companies being greedy?

      It feels like in the last few years so many companies are becoming incredibly greedy in a chance to try and raise profits and please the shareholders, companies hoping that people will comply as...

      It feels like in the last few years so many companies are becoming incredibly greedy in a chance to try and raise profits and please the shareholders, companies hoping that people will comply as they have no choice and give away more of their money to allow these companies to make record levels of profits.

      It seems like people are getting less and less and what they have left the companies just want more and more from everyone. I'm not referencing any specific company here but I have seen these trends in the last couple of years get a lot worse.

      Customer Impact

      • Raising prices there is some valid reasons to raise prices, but sometimes prices are raised just as a way to make more money quickly.
      • Quality reduction it feels like companies are asking more money for less quality goods more than ever.
      • Excessive manipulative marketing especially on social media and other playes which can misleed people.
      • Data explotation companies mis-using peoples data just so they can make some quick money.

      Employee Impact

      • Wage stagnation Despite the soaring profits many companies refusing to increase wages, leading to financial insecurity.
      • Unfair labor practices Companies expecting more from their employees for less money basically.
      • Job insecurity replacing workers with automation and outsourcing to cut costs.
      • Mental health high pressure enviroments to force profit-driven companies causing record levels of mental health issues.

      Society and Enviromental Impact

      • Polluting Companies prioritising profits over the enviroment leading to pollution, waste etc
      • Economic Inequality Coporate greed leading to income disparities, undermining social coheison.
      • Unfair influence on policy Companies using their power and wealth to influence policy making

      My question is, when is enough is enough? At what stage should something be done? Anything? to stop corporate greed from runing society?

      102 votes
    3. Let's talk DimensionalJumping! Any techniques, philosophies, stories, and experiences welcome

      Some of my favorite experiences on Speztopia were forged in and throughout the DimensionalLeaping/Jumping/Shifting subreddits, where I quickly came to understand and appreciate a variety of...

      Some of my favorite experiences on Speztopia were forged in and throughout the DimensionalLeaping/Jumping/Shifting subreddits, where I quickly came to understand and appreciate a variety of methods and principles underpinning the idea that our conscious experience is only part of the equation (and yet, at the same time, is all that there is). Such thoughts as "we are all collectively dreaming one another into existence," "advaita vedanta nondualism and its implications," and other notions were uniquely inspiring to me.

      I began to have experiences of my own, when I meditated on the Oneness that had been revealed to me. There were instances where I would wake up and realize that minor things in my everyday had been altered subtly. One morning I had a very vivid dream (or perhaps, a true experience--because what really is the difference?) of witnessing my own death. It was somewhat traumatic, if I'm being honest. But I arose following that incident and realized that the hot and cold water knobs at my sink had changed seemingly out of nowhere. It was also the case that a close friend of mine and I were suddenly no longer in an argument, despite it being a rather trying and difficult situation--he had no memory of it having ever transpired, and insisted I was making things up. There were other small things like that, that I began to notice as I wandered around my college campus. Events that I vividly recalled attending had never happened, or were about to happen the next day.

      I had made what I knew then to be a "discontinuous breach" or an acute dimensional shift, an abrupt and often confusing repatterning of a worldline in ways that is not congruous or otherwise defies certain expected patterns/physical laws/metaphors. This is compared to a continuous breach, one that occurs in ways too subtle to recognize, in a series of understandable and acceptable steps, or otherwise in keeping with the established order.

      As I have grown in my experience and understanding of nondualism, just as I have gained some answers, I find that ultimately I am left with ever more questions. I think others who participate in intentionally weirding one's quantum consciousness know what I'm talking about.

      I wanted to start the conversation here in the hopes of a sustained community discussion about and around these ideas. TriumphantGeorge, if you're here: Your tutelage and constant availability for bouncing ideas off of was nothing short of heroic, in my mind. I still number you among my mentors and appreciate so much the time and effort you took to open my mind to a whole new way of thinking. Being strictly dualistic throughout my childhood, learning that there was another way of conceiving of things opened countless doors in my life.

      An open question in addition to an invitation to share: What are your favorite methods for astral projection? I find that I am somewhat resistant to most elementary or straightforward projection techniques, so the more complex and systematic, the better!

      9 votes
    4. What little thing has stuck with you?

      Maybe it was a small gesture; maybe it was a throwaway comment; maybe it was something you noticed out of the corner of your eye. Whatever it was, it wasn’t meant to be a thing, but for some...

      Maybe it was a small gesture; maybe it was a throwaway comment; maybe it was something you noticed out of the corner of your eye.

      Whatever it was, it wasn’t meant to be a thing, but for some reason it stuck with you and became a thing, for good or for bad.

      What was it? How did it stick with you? What do you think about it now? Tell us the story.

      33 votes
    5. Where are you from?

      I'm curious to know where ~ users are from! I live in the United States in the greatest state in the union (Minnesota, of course!) The land of Target, passive-aggression, and wishing Prince wasn't...

      I'm curious to know where ~ users are from!

      I live in the United States in the greatest state in the union (Minnesota, of course!) The land of Target, passive-aggression, and wishing Prince wasn't dead. Oh, and 10,000 11,842 lakes.

      Edit 9: Super Ultra 2019 Updated Crappy Map of the World

      *Edit- If you'd like to be counted, add a top level comment. I've counted all child comments up to this point, but may not catch all of you. Also, I may slow down here pretty quick.


      Current count:

      Australia: 5
      Austria: 3
      Belgium: 3
      Brasil: 7
      Canada: 22
      Chile: 1
      China: 2
      *Hong Kong: 1
      Croatia: 1
      Czech Republic: 1
      Denmark: 1
      Egypt: 2
      Estonia: 1
      Finland: 4
      France: 5
      Germany: 10
      Hungary: 1
      Iceland: 2
      India: 12
      Ireland: 3
      Israel: 1
      Italy: 3
      Japan: 1
      Kenya: 1
      Kosovo: 1
      Lebanon: 1
      Lithuania: 2
      Malaysia: 1
      Mexico: 2
      Mongolia: 1
      Morocco: 1
      Nepal: 1
      Netherlands: 5
      New Zealand: 5
      Norway: 2
      Philippines: 1
      Poland: 2
      Portugal: 2
      Romania: 1
      Russia: 3
      Singapore: 3
      Slovenia: 1
      South Africa: 2
      South Korea: 1
      Spain: 4
      Switzerland: 1
      Sweden: 3
      Thailand: 1
      Turkey: 1
      UAE: 2
      Ukraine: 1
      UK: 15
      USA: 119
      *Puerto Rico: 1
      Vietnam: 1

      146 votes
    6. What would cause moral panic if invented today?

      Imagine if some of the everyday things we take for granted were invented today. What are some examples that would face significant pushback due to various concerns or perceived negatives? Some...

      Imagine if some of the everyday things we take for granted were invented today. What are some examples that would face significant pushback due to various concerns or perceived negatives?

      Some ideas might be coffee (caffeine), internal combustion engines, plastic bags, smartphones, net neutrality, photoshop, etc…

      27 votes
    7. What did you do this week (and weekend)?

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do...

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do nothing at all? Tell us about it!

      17 votes
    8. What did you do this week (and weekend)?

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do...

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do nothing at all? Tell us about it!

      17 votes
    9. I've (mostly) left reddit. It's a lot like quitting cigarettes.

      I've been a reddit user for a long time, it scares me how big the number is (death is marching my way quickly). Before reddit I was on digg, and before that, usenet (before google ruined it). God...

      I've been a reddit user for a long time, it scares me how big the number is (death is marching my way quickly).

      Before reddit I was on digg, and before that, usenet (before google ruined it). God I miss usenet. I know it technically still exists, but it seems to be mostly binaries and spam.

      But the new interface really stinks, and since they've killed .compact, I decided it was time to go. (There were dozens of us using i.reddit.com! Dozens!)

      And like the title says, it's a lot like kicking smokes. I was pretty jonesd the first couple days, and the experience comes like an impulse (Brain: "I'm bored! Check Reddit!"), followed by my conscious, no thank you, followed by, "What? No! We have to check reddit! Have to! We must do it now! Now! NOW!" followed by a gradual diminution in intensity of that same message, then a period of life, then repeat. The repeats slowly diminish in frequency, duration, and degree, so that now, only once or twice to I want to hit it.

      A couple exceptions: I still check my relevant geographic reddits once in a while, and if relevant, I'll add "reddit" to my google results. I also use stackexchange and wikipedia more for some of those informational reasons, but those two, due to their labyrinthine and fiefish rules constrain content. Another discussion. There are also certain, ah, visual distractions for which reddit is still a good source (and for that I use teddit.net, thanks friendly tilderino!).

      To ease withdrawals, I've been clicking tildes a lot more, also slashdot, and fark, and also ibooks. I'm proud of myself, and happy I've done it.

      A moment of reflection-why do I like these sites so much? And why not facebook, twitter, etc.? I do like to argue, occasionally even as a third grader, but facebook and twitter have plenty of opporunity for that sort of thing. No, the difference is that reddit (and tildes, and usenet) are structured around ideas, whereas facebook etc. are structured around personalities. I'm an introvert, smarter than most people I encounter (at least along certain axes, many of which may be of dubious merit), curious and interested. Interested in ideas. Which is not to say I do not find people interesting, or do not value close, intimate, personal relationships. But I like to talk about ideas, and most people do not, except on places like reddit and here.

      Perhaps I will start my own substack now.

      30 votes
    10. What place/places (physical, online, personal) did you leave later than you should have?

      Someday when I leave for good, I'll very likely say r/politicalcompassmemes. The place has always had a right-wing presence but at some point pretty long ago it just became the dominant POV and...

      Someday when I leave for good, I'll very likely say r/politicalcompassmemes. The place has always had a right-wing presence but at some point pretty long ago it just became the dominant POV and the place is now solidly a no-go for minorities and 95+% of leftists unless they were turned into a term of 'endearment' on 4chan first like how 4chan users call themselves autists and whatever. The place is also pretty bad at sourcing the articles it posts about purported leftists doing ridiculous things. I have mostly looked at the place from the POV of "rightwingers saying stuff" for quite some time now, but I haven't gotten around for leaving for good because occasionally there's a moderately critical post of the sub and that I am accustomed to the jargon used more often there that's less commonly used elsewhere.

      19 votes
    11. Welcome new Reddit refugees

      Hey all, I think we're getting a lot of new people over the past and next couple days thanks to Reddit's latest ideas of how to manage a social media website. First of all, welcome! Tildes caught...

      Hey all, I think we're getting a lot of new people over the past and next couple days thanks to Reddit's latest ideas of how to manage a social media website.

      First of all, welcome! Tildes caught your eye probably partly because of its community / friendliness and we'd all like to keep it this way.

      Recommended reading:

      • All the documentation is on docs.tildes.net. Most of it is current.
      • The philosophy page especially will answer some of your immediate questions
      • Since you're here and like the site, think about donating :)

      Some personal words: Tildes is not Reddit. But, at least if you're anything like me, it can replace Reddit as your own online social/discussion outlet.

      Tildes aims to:

      • Grow slowly, not exponentially.
      • Elevate the discussion, not lower the bar
      • Offer an alternative, not be the new Reddit
      158 votes
    12. A few final links before signing off for the year

      I'm taking a break from Tildes and have asked Deimos for a temporary ban until next year (so I won't be responsible for keeping myself from coming back). Before I go however, I wanted to share a...

      I'm taking a break from Tildes and have asked Deimos for a temporary ban until next year (so I won't be responsible for keeping myself from coming back). Before I go however, I wanted to share a few final links that I think are worth keeping around on Tildes:

      https://www.polygon.com/2018/9/28/17911372/there-are-too-many-video-games-what-now-indiepocalypse

      https://bottomfeeder.substack.com/p/there-are-too-many-video-games

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stxVBJem3Rs

      https://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2018/10/17/our-lives/empty-seat-crowded-japanese-train-10-years-gaijin-seat-still-grates

      https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/11/22/baldwin-florida-food-desert-city-owned-grocery-store/

      https://darrellowens.substack.com/p/tactical-urbanism-is-the-only-way

      http://www.coding2learn.org/blog/2013/07/29/kids-cant-use-computers/

      https://eev.ee/blog/2016/07/22/on-a-technicality/

      22 votes
    13. What did you do this week (and weekend)?

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do...

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do nothing at all? Tell us about it!

      6 votes
    14. How do you imagine society would develop if dragons existed?

      Stories involving dragons tend to be in medieval periods so maybe we can try to extrapolate forward in time a bit. Dragons could be from any mythologies or fictions of your fancy! For my take, a...

      Stories involving dragons tend to be in medieval periods so maybe we can try to extrapolate forward in time a bit. Dragons could be from any mythologies or fictions of your fancy!

      For my take, a dragon is a flying fire-breathing giant lizard with the size and toughness of a big building. I believe a critical factor is how tamable dragons are. If not at all, they'd go from something humans fear and run away from, then being hunted for glory and materials, then being protected in conservation areas to prevent going extinct. If they can be fully domesticated (like dogs), they could expedite for warfare, transportation and industrialized metalwork. The most interesting scenario imo is the in-between where they could only be partially trained. Maybe a skilled trainer can get them to behave 80% of the time but there's a low but significant chance that they get agitated and wreck havoc. How do we make use of them while ensuring safety and intervenability?

      On the cultural side, we might not have as many myths and legends about dragons anymore. We might find the idea of giant flying fire creatures utterly mundane (phoenixes might be less interesting by relation even if they still don't exist in this universe). What would we mythologize about instead?

      14 votes
    15. What scares you the most? What fears and apprehensions are central to your identity and how you view the world?

      I'm using "fear" in the broadest sense, including both concrete menaces and subjective apprehensions of any kind. As always, anything goes, except for highly divisive controversial stuff that...

      I'm using "fear" in the broadest sense, including both concrete menaces and subjective apprehensions of any kind.

      As always, anything goes, except for highly divisive controversial stuff that might get this locked!

      15 votes
    16. What did you do this week (and weekend)?

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do...

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do nothing at all? Tell us about it!

      3 votes
    17. What did you do this week (and weekend)?

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do...

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do nothing at all? Tell us about it!

      2 votes
    18. What did you do this week (and weekend)?

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do...

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do nothing at all? Tell us about it!

      3 votes
    19. What did you do this week (and weekend)?

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do...

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do nothing at all? Tell us about it!

      7 votes
    20. Human touch

      Over here in Belgium we have Bolt. They're basically an Uber competitor: Taxis, scooters, bikes and in some country even food delivery. Very popular in Europe. The other day my partner was...

      Over here in Belgium we have Bolt. They're basically an Uber competitor: Taxis, scooters, bikes and in some country even food delivery. Very popular in Europe.

      The other day my partner was harassed by one of their taxi drivers. I filed a complaint on Bolt, expecting nothing but boilerplate "We're sorry here's a refund on the trip".

      I got, two days later, a lengthy response detailing what they would do, and asserting that if we wish to talk to the police they will help and assist in any way they can. I then, a couple of days after that (this morning) received a call from a senior at the company in Belgium, asking for more details, offering her support, and even giving me her direct cell line if "myself or my partner need to further talk about the incident".

      I honestly didn't expect this from a company which, to my knowledge, has already scaled multinationally. And yet.

      19 votes
    21. What did you do this week (and weekend)?

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do...

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do nothing at all? Tell us about it!

      8 votes
    22. What did you do this week (and weekend)?

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do...

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do nothing at all? Tell us about it!

      7 votes
    23. What did you do this week (and weekend)?

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do...

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do nothing at all? Tell us about it!

      3 votes
    24. What did you do this week (and weekend)?

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do...

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do nothing at all? Tell us about it!

      6 votes
    25. My first electric road trip into rural Colorado

      Last weekend, my girlfriend and I drove down to attend the Monte Vista Sandhill Crane Festival. It's a roughly 4 hour/200 mile drive from Denver down to Monte Vista, with lots of variation in...

      Last weekend, my girlfriend and I drove down to attend the Monte Vista Sandhill Crane Festival. It's a roughly 4 hour/200 mile drive from Denver down to Monte Vista, with lots of variation in elevation. I got a Tesla Model Y last June, and since then haven't really had the chance to go out into the remote mountains of Colorado with it.

      This weekend would be my first such excursion. Getting down to Monte Vista is absolutely no problem. At about the halfway point in the trip, there's a Tesla Supercharger. That, combined with the range of the car meant that conserving battery was no problem at all.

      I was worried, however, about how the car would fare down in Monte Vista for the three days we would be there for the festival. There are no charging stations of any kind in downtown Monte Vista itself (though there are a couple of slow chargers on the outskirts of town, slow chargers with nothing around them are kind of useless). However, there were fast chargers in the towns nearby! One in Del Norte, and another couple in Alamosa, both a 20 minute drive out of Monte Vista. My plan was to charge up at those every evening while we were down there.

      On the trip there, we left Denver at 100% SoC, and the battery and cabin preheated for 30 minutes beforehand. We arrived at the Poncha Springs supercharger with about 17% SoC, plugged in and charged to 90%, which took about 40 minutes. The reason for charging this high was because I wasn't sure what state the non-Tesla fast chargers would be at when we got down to our destination area. My plan was to head from Poncha Springs toward the Del Norte fast charger; arrive at 60% and charge back up to 90% before driving around to look for the cranes.

      We arrived in Del Norte at 60% SoC as expected, but we found the one fast charger already occupied when we got there. Thankfully, we waited less than 5 minutes for the owners to get back finish charging, after which I was able to plug in and start charging.

      This charger was advertised as a 62 kW charger, but for the hour we spent charging there, the charge rate never went above 30. I'm sure part of this was that I was charging from 60-90%, and part of it was that it was cold out, and the Tesla lacks the ability to precondition the battery en route to non-Tesla fast chargers. We ended up charging there for about an hour to get the same charge that the supercharger gave us in 15-ish minutes.

      Luckily, there was a brewery/pizzeria and a neat antique shop just a block away.

      At some point in the trip, I became aware through Plugshare that the fast chargers down in Alamosa were being taken down that weekend for upgrades. They were installing more stalls, and I guess that necessitated taking the existing ones offline. Now instead of 3-4 fast charging options in this area, I was down to just one. I was certain that because those chargers were down in Alamosa, many more people would come up to use the single charger in Del Norte. Further, I knew that lots of people came down for the crane festival, and so I was worried that there would be an increase in the number of EVs competing for this one charger.

      When we got to our hotel in Monte Vista, I noticed there were outlets near the parking lot. I asked the front desk for permission to charge my car in the lot overnight, but was denied because "it would cost them too much money". I thought about offering to pay for the privilege, but the person at the desk didn't really seem interested in pursuing that line of conversation further.

      Overnight, the battery stayed charged at pretty much the same level, only losing 1% indicated charge. We got up at 5 AM in order to see the cranes take off from their roosting location in the wetlands, and go out into the fields to loaf (this is the technical term :D). We spent the rest of the day driving around the back roads and farm roads, watching the cranes in the fields.

      The whole day I was checking the charge point app to see if the one fast charger available to us was in use, in order to judge how busy it was, and to plan when we might go charge there. Surprisingly, not once did I see it in use!

      Since we had had a great day watching cranes, we decided to leave a day early. We had enough charge to get to the Poncha Springs supercharger, and from there back home with no issues.

      I thought I would conclude with a few bullet point takeaways from this trip:

      • Range anxiety is real. I spent a lot more time thinking about where to charge and if I could charge enough on this trip
      • Being away from the Tesla Supercharger network sucks. A whole set of fast chargers I was relying on was taken down exactly when I needed them. They're slower, you have to worry about them not functioning much more.
      • Tesla is opening a supercharger site in Alamosa! They filed for the permit just this week. This will basically erase the anxiety I had last weekend on future trips
      • Total energy costs for this 500 mile trip were about $35. That feels pretty cheap to me!
      13 votes
    26. What did you do this week (and weekend)?

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do...

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do nothing at all? Tell us about it!

      4 votes
    27. What’s something you’ve noticed about getting older?

      No minimum age requirement for the question. Getting older is relative to you, and you can answer for any age or period of life. What have you noticed about getting older? Could be about yourself;...

      No minimum age requirement for the question. Getting older is relative to you, and you can answer for any age or period of life.

      What have you noticed about getting older? Could be about yourself; about others; about the world.

      32 votes
    28. What did you do this week (and weekend)?

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do...

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do nothing at all? Tell us about it!

      5 votes
    29. Rant of a childish mind wandering the nebulous realms filled with abstractness and nothingness, proceed with caution!

      Hello Folks, I haven't posted on Tildes for a while and today I have a very strong feeling to post something. But what exactly should I post about? In some sense, a writer's block is the exact...

      Hello Folks,

      I haven't posted on Tildes for a while and today I have a very strong feeling to post something.

      But what exactly should I post about? In some sense, a writer's block is the exact anti-thesis of a child. Coming up with some creative content is sometimes painfully difficult for a functioning adult like me, while my 10 year old nephew can blabber hundreds of different things in a five minute span!

      Now obviously, I can also come up with hundreds of different things but we all know it's not so easy to put down those things on the keyboard. I'm not an expert in writing craft but I have a strong feeling that most of us just hold ourselves back out of fear of what the world says. And honestly, the so called "world" here is acting very toxic and isn't helping by discouraging content creators who aren't always top notch. And sometimes, the content itself can be good or bad just as beauty is defined by the eye of the beholder. What is cringe for you may be good content or even humor for someone else. If only most of us start focusing on the "full half" of the cup instead of the "empty half", think just how beautiful this world will be!

      Years of facing such toxic behavior on platforms like reddit and twitter has caused me to over-analyze and over-scrutinize everything before saying it. Any idea or concept has to pass through a lot of "mind filters" in order for them to get the "clean chit" for "yeah, this can be published". Perhaps, this particular post I'm writing is an exception or anomaly in that sense!

      As a programmer, freelancer, writer, someone interested in things like humanities and social sciences, and an ordinary Indian dude, you guys tell me what kind of content should I write so that the writer in me thrives and also the content is at least bearable by the audience?

      The problem I'm trying to solve here is difficult but I may not be the only one going through this phase. Is there a solution to this? Any proven and practical solution which you've had success with yourself?

      A part of me thinks that I should try podcasting or youtubing first, and then I'll gain the confidence necessary to actually write mind-blowing content. But I have a problem with impromptu speaking and talking, is that a very common problem? Is there an easy fix available for that? I intuitively know from what I've observed in this world that most people have enough confidence to say or speak a lot of things (even the harshest of things!) right in front of others' face but when it comes to writing, they can't write so much. I'm a kind of antithesis of that, isn't it?

      How exactly does one build confidence with public speaking? They say keep practicing and you'll get there. Here is a feeble attempt, not exactly a podcast but something near enough - a presentation for an app idea I've got. I want to create more of these but again, what content? I've got no ideas, especially interesting or appealing ones. And judging by the number of likes that youtube video got, I already have half a mind of just giving up on this!

      If you've reached until this point, thank you for sticking with me till the end. And apologies if I picked up on your brain beyond its limits!

      5 votes
    30. What did you do this week (and weekend)?

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do...

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do nothing at all? Tell us about it!

      3 votes
    31. Disgust is awful!

      Oh no! My friend thinks she shouldn't use her nice ornamental coffee pot, because it is made of aluminum! Nevermind that there might be science developing somewhere that this substance may be some...

      Oh no! My friend thinks she shouldn't use her nice ornamental coffee pot, because it is made of aluminum! Nevermind that there might be science developing somewhere that this substance may be some kind of innocuous which is not total. It's just horrible that that is how people make decisions
      sometimes!

      I got really defensive when I started hearing that people would avoid plastic bottles. Seemed like the kind of discernment that could only put me out of touch with things which are available. Go get your coffee pot! I doubt that you'll ever be able to tell if it ever impacted your health. Another friend of mine has a whole crop of prohibitions. He liked some of my clothes and talked about borrowing them until he found out they included polyesters, at which point he completely dropped interest and then I just felt put down for going on with something he had rejected. I thought, why did he speculate to me at all, knowing he had that sort of judgment still pending? Disgust should be unspeakable! but people bring it out with such righteousness, like "wouldn't you like to be healthier, away from all these awful things"? I also feel this way about smells. I hate how people respond to perceptible odors. Everyone is so sure of their opinions. Someone please come out with me for this. Unless you're struggling to breathe I really do not want to hear what you think about a smell. You're just going to interpret the world as being a worse place to be and that habit is what disgusts me!

      3 votes
    32. What did you do this week (and weekend)?

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do...

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do nothing at all? Tell us about it!

      4 votes
    33. What did you do this week (and weekend)?

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do...

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do nothing at all? Tell us about it!

      5 votes
    34. What did you do this week (and weekend)?

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do...

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do nothing at all? Tell us about it!

      4 votes
    35. What did you do this week (and weekend)?

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do...

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do nothing at all? Tell us about it!

      3 votes
    36. What did you do this week (and weekend)?

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do...

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do nothing at all? Tell us about it!

      6 votes
    37. I'm back!

      hi, i've returned to look at how the site's going after a couple of years! is it dead? there seems to be some activity here but also the site isn't being worked on, wonder how y'all are doing...

      hi, i've returned to look at how the site's going after a couple of years! is it dead? there seems to be some activity here but also the site isn't being worked on, wonder how y'all are doing here. seems to be some performance issues here as well, is it slow just for me?

      i originally left because there wasn't any activities in the topics i was interested in, but i'll browse around, see what everyone's talking about

      21 votes
    38. What did you do this week (and weekend)?

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do...

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do nothing at all? Tell us about it!

      5 votes
    39. What are you working on right now?

      A project? A personal goal? A big assignment? A new hobby? Your mental health? A 1000 piece puzzle? A relationship? Whatever it is you’re working on, tell us about it. How’s it going so far?

      7 votes
    40. Unpopular opinion: Brands will appear far more trustworthy if they stop all this "narrative feeding"

      In this post, I'm going to say something which might seem controversial, politically incorrect or even downright harsh to some of you. Feel free to let me know and express your strong disagreement...

      In this post, I'm going to say something which might seem controversial, politically incorrect or even downright harsh to some of you. Feel free to let me know and express your strong disagreement if that's the case. Everyone's world view is different and I'm ever ready to adjust my own in light of new found facts and evidences.

      What I'm observing these days is that many big tech companies and large corporations are pushing lot's of content on Linkedin, Twitter, etc. which conveys the idea that these companies are standing up for the rights of supposedly oppressed section of the masses (females, minorities, etc.). 8 out of 10 postings from them are typically about these, a group picture of women employees, retweets or likes of those who have posted on new joining and promotions, etc.

      With all due respect, the problem here isn't with the virtues of women empowerment, etc., needless to say these are good things to be celebrated in a society. But the problem is with their approach. When 8 out of 10 posts are only on these topics, the impression or narrative being pushed becomes that the world at large is very cruel and gruesome whereas these large capitalists are the ones who are implementing just rules and ethics on that world. Do you think this narrative or story they're selling is based on any factual reality?

      I've seen and experienced a fair part of that "world at large" myself and while there are indeed many problems with it and it's far from perfect, it's a bit rich of these capitalists to make that kind of narrative signaling when, in fact, they're the ones who are partly responsible for keeping it ever poor and oppressed. These companies have the highest privileges of the world and they profit out of a crony system that thrives and benefits from the gates which keep the competition away.

      Now, I'm not one of those "ancap" dudes who blatantly cancels capitalism entirely. Oh no, we all do need capitalism, not only because it's a system that pays your salaries and bills but also because the alternative is much worse and we have seen what it did in Russia and Korea and China. I just wish capitalism was more inclusive and of the Adam Smithian Laissez Faire and free competition kind and less of the big tech and surveillance capitalism kind.

      This constant narrative pushing by the corporates, in effect, keeps people distracted from this truly bad aspect of capitalism. The masses are gullible, they can't see it, but the people sitting at top positions in these companies should know better. What kind of society are they trying to create with this? These companies have nothing to fear. Even if the masses actually realized and start thinking about this problem, they're hardly in a position to do anything about it. The way our rigid systems are designed and work, I don't see it changing for at least decades, if not centuries. But I wish these brands stop pushing on the narrative front in the meantime. In fact, the only thing that will change is make them more trustworthy in the eyes of wise people in the society, that's what I think.

      7 votes
    41. What did you do this week (and weekend)?

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do...

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do nothing at all? Tell us about it!

      7 votes
    42. What did you do this week (and weekend)?

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do...

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do nothing at all? Tell us about it!

      2 votes