#and i pay for this service!! it's not for free!!

[sometipsygnostalgic]

Due to a series of unfortunate events (a cancellation of all direct flights for 2 days), im going to be spending between 90 minutes and three hours in IRELAND of all places. The REPUBLIC of Ireland. I was not expecting this on my american adventure.

I wont get to do any irish things but im flying both flights with Aer Lingus instead of British Airways.

Here is my review of Aer Lingus which is by extension my review of Ireland:

- Holy SHIT this airbus is half the size of the boeing i was going to take. I expected it to have insane turbulence like the KLM washing machines but honestly it's no different to the boeing

- it is nice to hear announcements made in a celtic language first again, even if it's Gaelic and not Cymraeg. I look forward to seeing the "Casnewydd/Newport" sign when i finally take the train home, it's the first symbol of being in Wales.

- We left early. EARLY. On one hand this is leagues above all my BA flights that have never left on time. On the other hand if it left just 60 seconds late, id have recieved a free change of transfer plane. Now i gotta hope we get there "early" enough for me to get through customs and find my next flight. Better prepare to run but theres not much i can do about this. I just hope British Airways dont force me to pay for a rebooked flight because they decided 60 minutes international transfer time was enough (hah!) and i dont have superhuman speed.

- Im sat by an emergency exit. This has funny side effects. I get sliiiightly more leg room, but also im sat by the exit and the door is way, way colder than any other wall in the plane. It's not bothersome but it's funny how i have a free Cooling Wall.

- Internet is about same price as BA and i can use discord (good) but i cant use youtube (very bad, you should probably only go for for the im service)

- The dinner was about the same quality as the British airways food, but they had TWO meat options instead of one. I took the Beef Stew. Very yummy. They had cheese and tomato on the side instead of the cursed tomato couscous yoghurt that looks like strawberry muesli which british airways keep serving (prison food). I also really liked the chocolate mousse, slightly easier to eat than the chocolate brownie i get with BA, but i find it weird aer lingus serve most of their drinks in tiny cartons. Why??? At least i get a tiny water bottle with BA, like a souvenir. Also theres a tinier bread roll and no cheese with it, but the cheese felt out of place anyway. Not as out of place as the tiny creamer pot i get on both airlines, with no coffee in sight. It's like a shot.

- you dont get any free alcohol on this flight, you have to pay for your 1 can can of lager. With a credit card. Mine was in the overhead locker. Thankfully a guy on my aisle was feeling generous and bought my can. Downgrade from BA including 2 alcoholic drinks in the flights

- instead of a nice pasty or bacon egg roll for breakfast they gave me a tiny carton of orange juice and a Nature Valley granola bar. Horrible

- the in flight entertainment is on a screen from 2009 instead of 1999. There is no funny controller that stops working randomly. It is a normal ass touch screen. Unfortunately i lost my provided earbuds at the start of the flight so i havent done anything with it

- no reclining chair on this airbus :( it's an overnight flight. My chair is missing an arm but i assume thats because it is by the emergency exit

- BA do this thing where they dim the lights and turn them back on an hour before arrival. Aer Lingus have decided to "dim" the lights by having these purple lights on, instead of turning them off.

More to come when i arrive at the airport

[mudora]

A few days ago, I re blogged a post describing the intense backlash Adobe is getting for certain policies involving permissions with their cloud services, and posted an article citing these agreements lack of changes until recently - and upon thinking on it for a few days, I AM noticing the apparent lack of transparency, especially since they updated those terms. But the lack of trust for Adobe remains true regardless, and further updates on this matter are far more alarming then the initial read. So, definitely try to find other programs then Adobe's products. I'll likely need to search for something myself. Sadly, I am mostly comfortable with photoshop's features, and clip studio does not work in the way that I like or prefer. I'm a user who likely does not spend as much yearly on a sub, since (and I'm not joking) my uncle does indeed work for Adobe as a programmer, and unfortunately has no clout to stop this higher level lunacy from happening. Though I might pay a smaller price tag, it doesn't change the fact that the price for their programs is astronomical. I'll likely keep using it and other software as I don't have many other options that work the way I'd like them to for my process. However some other options are always nice to look up on. Keep in mind, I am an advanced user, and simple photo manip tools are not going to cut it for painting/drawing/and visual development. I am keeping my eye on a few promising options. Thankfully for Photo manipulation and editing, there is plenty of good and free software to use. Some recs for those who can't just get off the burning Adobe Train - use your firewall to protect you from potential spying from their programs. On Windows, you can change these settings directly within your firewall settings. "No problem.

And for those wondering, on Windows both 10 & 11, go to Control Panel > Windows Defender > Advances Options > Manage Outgoing Connections > Add new rule.

From here you'll enter a wizard menu where you can pick and choose programs to block access to."

(credit to @kevinreijnders.bsky.social for this tip). I also suggest not to use the cloud for your file storage, and I rec getting a different storage device for your art files anyway, as you can take it with you anywhere you go with either an external hard drive, or usb memory stick.

#adobe photoshop #adobe #a company is being shit again hurray #not news really #help #advice

[wordwovencackle]

When the message is that people often "choose" prostitution because there's no safe alternative, you are describing the absence of choice. The core of the problem.

The solution is not to make that choice more bearable, but to create better options. People prefer focussing on minimising the damage instead rather than drawing a line. It is nothing short of putting a bandaid on a severed limb. It's better to help prostituted women get out of that industry entirely. Any others who choose to prostitute themselves are uniquely privileged in who their clients are, what they do, who they work for, and when they can exit the industry. They are the minority in prostitution, pornography, cam-work and strip clubs.

While in contact with humans and/or their fluids, every other profession (doctors, dentists, nail techs, kitchen workers, etc.) mandates their employees (sometimes the clients/patients also) to wear sanitized and protective gear.

Prostitutes are not allowed these protective measures because it does not appeal to the client. Prostitutes could get permanently blinded when their clients ejaculate in their eyes, for example, and they're not allowed protective gear for their eyes when the client can see her face or when she's on camera. The clients are not wearing condoms. They're paying people to put themselves in harm's way for their gratification.

Prostitutes are uniquely at risk far more than any other profession for the sole benefit of the client and safer care is just a soothing balm on the conditions of prostitution. With how often they're in contact with human fluids, they would be wearing hazmat suits in any other environment. However, they need to look aesthetically pleasing, so they cannot have illnesses reliably prevented or the risk minimised.

A better bandaid is for their clients to always wear protection and that they need to be screened for illnesses beforehand, as well as leave behind their contact information in case something goes wrong, that is not happening because of privacy laws and because of their preferences as consumers: they want their needs met, not the safety of their "worker." You only need to listen to interviews with sex buyers and with frequent pornography engagement to know this to be true.

The way people describe healthcare in the face of legal prostitution feels too little too late. While well-intended, the truth is that the "workplace" of prostitution is inherently dangerous and no medicine afterwards cannot change the fact that any damage already happened. "Sex worker" are less similar to the working people and more similar to gladiators of whom the majority were slaves who fought, often to death or permanent injury, for the entertainment of the privileged.

Prostitution is not like any other job. If it were, then things like familial relationships would not reveal the contradiction.

Someone, I forget who I'm sorry, already said it better than I can, but if prostitution was the same as any other job, then having your parent, an uncle, your adult child, or a cousin as a client would not be an immediate problem.

It, however, clearly is a problem.

While having a family member as a client in any other field can be uncomfortable, perhaps a bit embarrassing. Your emotions might get in the way of doing the best you can, say, for example, as an attorney or a mortician. However, having a family member as a client in prostitution is inherently different. We know instinctively that sex is intimacy, not a service or any other form of labour, no matter the price tag you place on it.

In sex and sexual acts, you are in a territory of mutual respect and mutual consent. Once the money is on the table, it becomes a negotiation, coercion, you are buying or renting and the product is a human being. It is presenting something to a person to persuade them into being intimate in a way they would otherwise not be willing to do for free.

It is in no way the same as someone not liking their job, how they labour or provide a service in exchange for financial aid. None of those involve intimacy. In fact, while not always perfectly adhered to, sexual harassment is prohibited at work, something women had to advocate for it to be considered an offense at all.

In prostitution, in "sex work," letting sexual harassment happen is "the job."

This also raises questions about the increase of human trafficking and substance abuse in places where prostitution is already legal, such as The Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany. Legalisation has arguably made it more difficult to stop illegal pimps and operations: as long as the prostituted people don't outright endanger themselves by explicitly stating they're trafficked or abused, the government cannot act on suspicions. After all, it is legal. It also makes it easier to trick vulnerable people and children because they're told they're just working. It takes only a few interviews to understand children are groomed this way as well. If clients even care, they too can easily be convinced they're renting or buying a non-trafficked, legal prostitute.

While I agree no prostitute, cam-worker, stripper, or whoever falls under "sex work" should be penalised or criminalised, making the industries legal helps no one.

The Nordic Model ("sex workers" are not targeted by law enforcement but those with whom they do business are) is a far better option. Creating safe and good alternatives for those considering prostitution or "sex work," especially for those escaping the industry, is a far better option.

By advocating for legal "sex work" you may think you are listening to "sex workers," but you are catering to a privileged group within a devastating industry that destroys lives globally. While you think you're being kind, you are silencing the marginalised majority trapped in an industry you don't understand.

The sex industry is incompatible with humanity.

If someone is free to choose "sex work," they are equally free to choose anything else that does not perpetuate harm for those less fortunate than them.

#feminism #anti sex industry #anti sex work #anti prostitution #anti pornography #don't defang feminism #radical feminism

[therosejamjournal]

oh my god okay. i thought this was just my issue but turns out geforce just fucked up bg3 completely after patch 4. ppl on their forums keep saying that they probably lost everyone's save files and are trying to fix that desperately. i'm so fucking mad

#ONE WEEKEND WHERE I HAVE ENOUGH ENERGY AND WANT TO PLAY IT #ONE #AND OBVIOUSLY THAT'S WHEN IT DOESN'T FUCKING WORK #i seriously have been so looking forward to it and it's not been fixed for like 3 days now. it's ridiculous #and i pay for this service!! it's not for free!! #also if the saves thing is true i'm killing myself i have 2 characters in act 3 and 3 others spread across act 1 & 2 #200 hours in the game as well how would i even rebuild that #i needed some escapism so badly. and now what. motherfucker. #bg3 #nvidia geforce now #🌹

[twilight-deviant]

Watcher fans sure are entitled and a little insane, ngl. "No one is going to sign up for your service! We're all poor! You've made the worst decision, and you'll be back in no time!" Saying this directly to the creators really reminds you of how low the respect for people you don't personally know has gone. I miss the forth wall between creator and audience.

I get and fully understand not having the money to support them, but... Watcher does have fans with money. A lot of them actually. They have merch sales. Their live tour sells out most venues. They have thousands of supporters on Patreon, where the cheapest tier is $5. They're able to gauge the rough finances of their staunchest supporters; that's how they landed on the subscription price. Yes, this move will reduce their viewership in sheer numbers, but to say all of their fans are broke and none will follow/support is factually incorrect.

It may not be a decision everyone agrees with, but severing the limitations of advertisers and youtube in favor of artistic freedom is a good thing. Yes, even if it comes with a loss of revenue. They understand that risk.

Also, I'm begging people to stop treating this like "another Netflix" or something and instead look at it as, "I am supporting a creator I like, similar to Patreon." They literally said in the video that they don't care if you share accounts. Get five friends, and you'll pay $1/mo.

I hate feeling compelled to rant in favor of their decision because I have my own reservations about whether it's the best move. However, I know it's not a choice they made lightly, and I like to think they understand that they'll need to branch out like crazy to entice subscribers.

#Fair-weather fans #I speak as someone currently undecided if I'll sign up for their service or not #I have my own budget to consider #But the waves of people poor-mouthing AT Watcher directly is ridiculous and embarrassing #“They're underestimating how many of us are poor” #Okay but that's not how business works #They just need enough people who aren't poor #and they may well have those numbers #Do you think they would have made such a drastic decision if they didn't??? #If they want to focus on fans who support them even if their hard work isn't free that's their choice #People are trying to be so anti-capitalism on this they've actually circled back around to saying #“Just take ad revenue from these companies so they can profit off your content and I don't have to pay out of MY pocket.” #That's... that's not the anti-capitalism stance you think it is #Maybe (and this is crazy) asking for a few dollars directly instead of through the vehicle of youtube‚ google‚ and all its advertisers is #... not spitting on the fans? #Please stop trying to guilt small content creators to their face while simping for large corporations #Watcher

[matbaynton]

next person who says "it's only $6" better send me $6 then

#i can't afford ANY streaming service let alone pay for a new one where the content was originally FREE #type: text #* #watcher #ireland yaps

[hobermen-archive]

[[[Wait. Wait hold on. Hold on. Wait.

You don't know how much your words mean to me. I wanted to hoard and share your work, but the only way I could seem to do it was on my main, but that also brought me my own paranoia, so I can empathize. Please know that those who talk only negatively of you are the loud ones. I was not expecting this amount of positive reception for the archive (I was fully prepared to deal with the others), which has received many thanks though asks, DMs and tags. Know that the archive is a proxy and they all go to you.

The only trouble it has 'caused' is trying to find the posts, because I want to rely on reposts the least I can, thankfully tumblr keeps reblogs intact even with deactivation. Tho it did lead me to doubting if you would even want any of this resurfaced. I kept hoping it would be taken positively and I'm relieved it has, from you and from everyone else. (And as an artist myself, I also get it about the old art hahaha).

Back in December, I found a friend of yours on another social media. And while I wanted to ask so many things, I ultimately settled with asking and being reassured that you were surrounded by good friends.

Thank You, Hobs. You keep inspiring people with your art. We all hope you are doing well. Thank you so much for coming by, hope we could talk in a better format. I've shared these asks with some of the ones that helped me and friends before posting, and we are all happy to hear from you, and wish you the best, and I'm sure the people following do too.]]]

#[Alright guys. Pay up. Give Hobs your love here.] #[This is not a free service. You WILL drop a heart in the replies at the very least.] #[Unsure if I should make this rebloggable. It won't be for now] #Hobermen

[serenedash]

leans into microphone.

I don't listen to people that haven't played a new Kingdom Hearts game since 2006. Yes yes kh2 we all love it yes kh2fm is amazing yeah yeah we've all see kh2. Play more kh games, that is literally game number 3 in a series that's like 15 games ongoing. "It's confusing" it's just long as fuck so its a lot of information to take in and that's okay. People literally take so much time and care to explain the series and lore to people who are lost. Like just say you enjoy kh2's gameplay and move on, if you really cared about the series AS A SERIES you'd be paying attention to it as a whole. "Dream drop distance what a stupid title!!!" that is the LEAST stupid thing that has happened in this series. "It's on too many consoles" watch a cutscene movie. Read a wiki page! I own a Playstation TWO!!!!!!!!!! like I have nothing more recent other than my switch. Do you think I've played every game lmao??

Anyway stan kh mobile games I don't care if you don't like them its not a hot take by any stretch of the imagination to not like them. You should read my khux/dr plot summary actually <3

#im tired okay #the clowns found my kh twitter post #I dont hate kh2 I LOVE IT like everyone else. but there are more games. #that meme of the soldier getting attacked by all those knives while a kid sleeps in bed is me with the khux haters #I go on the internet and say 'please pay attention to kh plot especially khux' and I am DOGPILED #khux fans get behind me /j #every time im at a con and cosplaying khux you wouldnt BELIEVE the shit people say TO MY FACE #BEFORE ANYONE SAYS IT I WAS EXCLUSIVELY A F2P KHUX PLAYER!!!! I PLAYED DAY 1 ALL THE WAY TO THE END OF SERVICE TOTALLY FREE!!!! #I DO NOT GAMBLE!!!!!!! I WAS OVER LVL 500 AND I COULD RANK TOP 200 SOLO AND COLISEUM! I PLAYED EVERY SINGLE QUEST! #not proud mode tho admittedly that shit was hard #im rambling #khux #khdr

[leveragehunters]

An alternative to google docs

To paraphrase a recent post: google docs is pants as a writing tool.

I'm suggesting MS Word as an alternative. Yeah, I know, it's not perfect, but it is (IMO), better than google docs.

But I'm not just suggesting Word when I suggest Word. I'm suggesting a free Microsoft account, which gives you Word and OneDrive.

It only takes a minute or two and a free account gets you:

Word in the browser

A OneDrive with 5gb of storage - now, 5gb might not be much holistically but in terms of text based documents, it's decent. My entire 'Fic' folder is 2.11gb. That's everything I've ever written and all their drafts, wips and their multiple drafts, betaed fics, ideas, writing refs and guidance, archived drafts/fics, AND the 500+ fics I've downloaded as epubs from AO3).

Excel, Outlook, Teams, OneNote - basically the whole Microsoft365 suite - in the browser

I use Word exclusively, both for fic and for work (where I write extensively), and the online version does everything I need. It autosaves, has version control/reversion, and sharing (if that's what you're into), and you can seamlessly copy and paste from Word into AO3's rich text editor - no formatting adjustments required.

Anyway, it's something to think about. If you want to give it a try, the simplest way is to create a new OneDrive account, which will also give you everything else.

Go here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-au/microsoft-365/onedrive/online-cloud-storage (clickable link)

Click 'Create a free account'.

Click 'get a new email address' and follow the prompts (recommended but not required) or use an existing email address. If you create a new email address, don't actually use it for email. It's just the umbrella the account sits under.

That's it; you're done.

#fanfic #writing #google docs #if you need more than 5gb a basic account is 1.99 USD a month for 100gb of storage in the US -other countries vary (including mine) #yeah software as a service is BS but in this case what you're really paying for is the storage #since you can use Word et al in the browser whether you pay or not #you could also set up multiple free accounts and use one as your backup and one as your active - s'why I rec 'get a new email' #I am not a paid MS shill - but when I find something that works for me/makes me happy I'm compelled to share #I do hate google - declaration of bias - but outside of that I genuinely believe Word is better

[favroitecrime]

watcher as a company are also really online they couldn’t have missed the increasing hatred for streaming services. it’s so sad and while i get their old content will stay put, switching to a streaming service that’s instantly going to become inaccessible will only hurt them.

#who lied to them and said this was a good idea #like your fans are likely also paying for other services they don’t have the extra expenses #big part of the praise for watcher was the content being free #tag: i speakth #watcher

[malin-moon]

I'm not a ride or die Idol Factory fan, they've had previous issues with keeping up on their own content and failing to follow through on certain promises to their fans. They're a smaller media company compared to a giant like GMM, so people have been a bit more lenient with their criticism, but they are not without fault.

I am genuinely curious to know what the actual problem is with their Youtube Membership. Is it just a spoiler issue?

As it's been explained to me, by my Thai buddy, they are still going to post their content publicly, for free, as scheduled during their regular hours the way they normally do. The membership is just for people who want early access and to be able to chat during lives, which has also been explained to me as recently being incredibly toxic. So, I just really want to know, what exactly are we complaining about? No one is required to pay, and it's not going to affect how you would receive the content from Idol normally.

Hold them accountable for the content they promised and then never delivered, sure. But to me, at least, this isn't one of Idol Factory's failings. It's just business.

#idol factory #gap the series #the sign the series #it's the sign finale all over again #don't pay if you don't want to #but then don't complain when you have to wait for FREE content #I don't think this should be likened to a streaming service at all #and boycotting their content all together seems a bit of an extreme reaction

[mildmayfoxe]

i feel like i dont see people talking enough about composting. like we had the big push to get rid of plastic straws but where's the big push for composting. hell they even give out compostable straws now a lot of places. but wheres the COMPOSTING!! there should be compost bins on every corner. there should be free composting provided by every city. how can you expect me to watch an ad where people are scraping food waste into the trash when they could be composting. you guys are throwing away your food?? in the TRASH??? why aren't we on this

#if you're in the boston area i will send you a link to my composting service it's only $19 a month and they pick up your compost every week #AND you can get free processed compost from them if you are a garden or plant person #i grew up in a family that composted (garden/plant people) and went to a college that was big on composting #and now i pay for a service because throwing away food is abhorrent to me #i FORGET that it's WEIRD to other people!!! let's all compost! #i should write to my city council #chatpost

[imuncreativesorry]

The way I think about these panels at least twice a day

#for context #they want Wally to run a heart transplant across the country #(there’s actually an episode in the young justice show based on this comic) #and he’s like #y’all #this is gonna cost me so much time and money #I’d do it for free if y’all were a non-profit #but you ain’t and are all gonna get paid well so I wanna get paid too #and they’re all like #‘you bitch you’re gonna make us pay you for skipping your birthday party and providing us with a service #it’s really funny in a really sad kinda way #wally west #the flash #kid flash #dc comics #comics #funny #dark humor #dcu #dc universe

[caimitos]

saw a post about projecting your ethnicity onto a character and started missing vespa ilkay. so so bad

#pov u grow up in a 3rd world country(/planet) where healthcare workers are exported by the thousands like cheap produce to richer countries #it's your ticket out of poverty as long as you can deal with the loneliness the separation from everyone you know the discrimination etc #ive never talked about my hc that vespas mother was one of them sending money every month visiting every couple of years until it just stop #like why return to the swamps when youre doing fine working on a richer planet w much better living conditions #cost of living rises every year. sending home a % of your salary used to be enough to support your husband and daughter and then it isnt #you know how it goes #vespa is also dead set on this path until ranga realizes that hemorrhaging healthcare workers leaves them with little to none of their own #students on scholarships or in community/state universities are bound by return service agreements and are forbidden to leave the country #until theyve rendered a few years of work on ranga to pay back their tuition + as a really shitty solution to the brain drain problem #this is real in my country btw but my professors say a lot of ppl do break their rsa's and fucked off to work in other countries LOL #our state unis can barely afford decent facilities they do nottt have the budget to chase down their own alumni in other countries! #but the mental image is a bit funny #vespa ilkays first crime: tinakasan ang rsa #i do also think it lines up with her having a network of med friends everywhere in the galaxy (heart of it all) you kind of go into pre/med #expecting most of your classmates to leave to work in other countries eventually. mine are aiming for the usa / uae / europe / japan etc #anyway whether vespa breaks her rsa or not she leaves ranga asap decides to switch careers and the rest is history #i also deeply love the fact that she's superstitious i'm very sad it wasn't highlighted more (i've only heard s1-3) #as someone who did grow up in a rural area and went to more albularyos/folk healers than doctors in my childhood. (they never failed me) #lots of folk illnesses (ex. balis; pasma) local medical superstitions (dont eat noodles in hospital; youll have a really toxic shift) etcc #theres also a lot of potential in tying her past as a rangian + med student + assassin to me idk how to word this properly #being raised on cautionary tales of not to touch/disturb anything in the swamps then being given free reign to poke & prod at things in her #lab classes (now with the proper ppe)....she was having so much fun with the curemother prime too lmao #years of walking hanging bridges docks boathouses in ranga etc gave her great balance & stealth #cracking open alien shellfish in the swamps to cutting open bodies for studying then for assassination.... #I MISS HER SO MUCH BALIK KN SAKEN 😭😭😭😭😭😭 #i get why most people + the canon focuses on her being an assassin bc people find that cooler i guess #but vespa being a swamp girl > 3rd world med student > assassin is so personal To Me. the whole pipeline. eugh. #skl.txt

[walshball]

Anyone body shaming Beth Mead has clearly never seen her on the pitch in person- I was lucky enough to get front row seats to a match, right next to the warmups, and she’s literally so obviously athletic and gorgeous. Virgins on twitter will see a woman with ass and start screaming about “””fitness”””

#twitter is the bad place #everyone pays lip service to thick women until they see a butch with actual thighs #she’s VISIBLY an athlete #not everyone has the lw6 body type and that’s FINE #anyway Beth mead if you need to talk to somebody about this #I am free on Thursday for a coffee and chat on Thursday which is when I am free #bring Viv idc

[thefiresofpompeii]

so, instead of making my own post, which would have been long overdue considering my unfortunate familial connections to the wretched nation-state, i'm going to simply repost the series of exasperated comments i left on a post lamenting the 'tragedy' occuring in israel at the moment by somebody that i used to follow before today. just in case anyone needed any clarification on where i stand. from the river to the sea. show solidarity with oppressed peoples from around the world, without exceptions, or expose yourself to be a raging hypocrite

#if you DARE accuse me of virtue signalling i swear to G-d. i am not paying lip service #palestine #free palestine #current events #jamie.txt