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Could it get worse? Yes!
Posted 2 years agoWooboy. We got a list!
https://www.furaffinity.net/journal/10557600
Proportions that automatically fail the adult test if on model for pokemon/ digimon include, but are not limited to:
* Pichu
* Mime Jr.
* Riolu
* Smoochum
* Cubchoo
* Cubone
* Torchic
* Ralts
* Eevee
* Gothita
* Agumon
* Impmon
* Gatomon
* Veemon
How are they aged? Remember when I said the whole head-to-body ratio thing was kind of stupid for measuring cartoons, since Elmer Fudd fails the proportion test? Hold on to your hat...
"Generally speaking, as characters age, their proportions change. For humanoid characters, we compare to the proportions of humans and for feral animals we look to their earth counterparts or similar for fictional species."
Well, Elmer Fudd should feel young as a school child now because that's what these rules say he is, without being aged up to 'proper' human proportions. And we can kiss poor Judy Hopps goodbye, even though the official Twitter account said that they were okay. Alas, since they can fail the proportion test someone is going to get banned for it at some point. Whew, glad I just got saved from all those old Looney Toons cartoons, wouldn't want that filth anywhere on the internet where a payment processor could see it, let alone Disney films of adult animals living together in the middle of a crack cocaine entrapment operation!
It gets better...
This rule is so sweeping and hard to enforce, that they will not be doing any checking on their own, and are instead going to ask everyone to submit anything that they are concerned 'might' be an issue so that they can summarily be banned if the mod that answers the ticket is in a bad mood that day. Also you can report other artists that you think may be in violation to get them banned if the mod iether likes you or is in a bad mood, given that the rules still aren't very specific for 'human proportion'.
What does this actually mean? Well, it means that the rule is going to be selectively enforced at best, and at worst, is going to enable puritan style witch hunts like we're back in Massachusetts during the pilgrim era, oh boy! You didn't need the internet to have a good time back then! So, exactly what I was talking about in my last journal that is going to be a community breaking event.
Now, FA has inertia - it has a LOT of inertia, but so did ConFurence as one of the original Furry Conventions. And while I'm going to age myself greatly, I remember being there as that convention peaked, then fizzled out rather quickly when the Burned Furs (yes, those Burned Furs) got a hold of it, ending in a whimper of its former self.
https://www.furaffinity.net/journal/10557600
Proportions that automatically fail the adult test if on model for pokemon/ digimon include, but are not limited to:
* Pichu
* Mime Jr.
* Riolu
* Smoochum
* Cubchoo
* Cubone
* Torchic
* Ralts
* Eevee
* Gothita
* Agumon
* Impmon
* Gatomon
* Veemon
How are they aged? Remember when I said the whole head-to-body ratio thing was kind of stupid for measuring cartoons, since Elmer Fudd fails the proportion test? Hold on to your hat...
"Generally speaking, as characters age, their proportions change. For humanoid characters, we compare to the proportions of humans and for feral animals we look to their earth counterparts or similar for fictional species."
Well, Elmer Fudd should feel young as a school child now because that's what these rules say he is, without being aged up to 'proper' human proportions. And we can kiss poor Judy Hopps goodbye, even though the official Twitter account said that they were okay. Alas, since they can fail the proportion test someone is going to get banned for it at some point. Whew, glad I just got saved from all those old Looney Toons cartoons, wouldn't want that filth anywhere on the internet where a payment processor could see it, let alone Disney films of adult animals living together in the middle of a crack cocaine entrapment operation!
It gets better...
This rule is so sweeping and hard to enforce, that they will not be doing any checking on their own, and are instead going to ask everyone to submit anything that they are concerned 'might' be an issue so that they can summarily be banned if the mod that answers the ticket is in a bad mood that day. Also you can report other artists that you think may be in violation to get them banned if the mod iether likes you or is in a bad mood, given that the rules still aren't very specific for 'human proportion'.
What does this actually mean? Well, it means that the rule is going to be selectively enforced at best, and at worst, is going to enable puritan style witch hunts like we're back in Massachusetts during the pilgrim era, oh boy! You didn't need the internet to have a good time back then! So, exactly what I was talking about in my last journal that is going to be a community breaking event.
Now, FA has inertia - it has a LOT of inertia, but so did ConFurence as one of the original Furry Conventions. And while I'm going to age myself greatly, I remember being there as that convention peaked, then fizzled out rather quickly when the Burned Furs (yes, those Burned Furs) got a hold of it, ending in a whimper of its former self.
FA - Stop Making Stupid Rules
Posted 2 years agoCurrently, the FA mod team is looking at updating their posting rules to further decide what the legal age of a drawn character is, primarily due to the on-model posting of non-human anthropomorphized animals. The current discussion originally was centered around Pokemon and Digimon as the current target of ire, as the original model proportions all have a heavy dose of 'cute' which often leads itself to child-like proportions to begin with. This has now been moved to a complete codification of acceptable character proportions. Coupled with the previous rules that completely disregard a drawn characters actual in-universe age this will have additional consequences for artwork posting outside of specific allowable styles that will broadly hurt the furry artist community that thrives on a wide variety of styles.
What does human age-based proportions actually mean in the context of this discussion? Well, that is the first issue, as if you ask multiple sources, you will get multiple answers. I took a look at Anatomy 4 Sculptors[1], Making Comics[2], Canson[3], and Wikipedia (specifically for the Vitruvian Man[4]) websites to get at least a few references that I can share, and really the only source proportions that seemed to be available were "Child" and adult. Thankfully, Anatomy 4 Sculptors has a decent list based on age group and head size, and where it overlapped with other sources it agreed within one head length so I will go ahead and use that as a baseline:
Source: Anatomy of Sculptors[1]
* Newborn: 4 Heads
* Infant: 5 Heads
* Young Child: 5.5 Heads
* Child: 6 Heads
* Teen: 7 Heads
* Young Adult: 7.5 Heads
* Adult: 8 Heads
* Elderly: 7 Heads
Just for a lark, I also found an article on Clip-Studio[5] called "Body Proportion in Chibi Drawing" which includes the following guidelines for a "Chibi" character:
* Chibi: 1.75-3 Heads
Looking at the head-based proportions for age, and the chibi proportions that are not going to be an easily defined age (given that they are below 'infant') there are a few standouts that need to be talked about. First and foremost, the proportion of a teen and the proportion of an elderly figure are roughly equivalent which means that there is already an issue with the proportion test. Secondly, is that "Chibi" breaks all rules of proportions and so cannot be judged on this scale. Given an ideal human figure, however, we have a reasonable chart to determine what would be younger than 'teen' which at least manages to make sense by the ruling as between 4 and 6 heads in height. Except for one thing, 'ideal human figure'.
If you're new to anthropomorphic art, or even just strictly 'furry' art, you will understand the immediate issue with 'ideal human figure' when you look into anatomical changes such as digitigrade legs, muzzles, ear location, eye location and size, all-fours compatibility, tauric shapes, multi-furs, body modification, and basic non-human body design just to start with! Let's get a little deeper into these really quick in terms of how they muddle up our proportion test. Digitigrade legs (or standing on the toes) would need to have their proportions checked when standing flat footed in order to properly align with our charts. Muzzles, Ear Location, Eye Location and Size tend to lead towards a more cartoony, cute style which tends to be child-like in proportion. All-Fours compatibility (a character that can stand on two legs and manipulate with hands and also run hands and feet on the ground) leads itself to a different proportion of arms and legs to torso, which is another wrench to worry about. Taurs and multifurs just break proportions completely, since there's two sets of legs to deal with and would have to wholly be based on proportion of head to upper torso (or final?) torso. Non-human body designs like Xenomorphs, Robots/ Cyborgs, Dragons, Aliens, etc all cannot use a standard human proportion chart without converting everything to an anime-esque 'mimi' form. Body Modification can change body proportions as well. And of course, my favorite Pokemon to bring up here is Trubbish. Trubbish is always at peak adult performance, although people don't like to admit it. Trubbish is also a sentient trash bag.
On top of all this, there is a more serious issue with using 'ideal human proportions' as a yardstick for age. "Child Like Proportions" include the majority of fursuits, fursuit reference sheets, and can also catch Short Characters. "Child Like Proportions " also include the Xenomorphs from aliens because of an obnoxiously large head, and Elmer Fudd. In fact, it catches just about every on-model Chuck Jones era character including Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, and Yosemite Sam. If anyone can make a good case for Elmer Fudd being a child after being in production for over 80 years, I would love to hear them in the comments below. While I understand that there may be some people that say 'but this doesn't matter if the character is designed super human-like!' and to that... well again I point to Elmer Fudd and Yosemite Sam.
To conclude, the rules of trying to use ideal human proportions as a yardstick for age simply isn't a feasible unit of measure on a website based on the various cartoonish and exaggerated body types that exist currently in the drawn media. The is especially true when the source of the anthropomorphic character is already non-human to begin with, such as a pokemon or a digimon that don't need to follow human proportions at all. It harms artists that don't have a realistic style, and even catches in its net the stylistic proportion of fursuit construction. The best measure of the age of a character is the characters actual in-universe age, but that has already been thrown out the window making the entire concept of 'what is child coded' arbitrary to begin with. With such a poorly defined rule, it essentially will simply be used for a mod to remove any art that they do not agree with without recourse or even needing to show why.
That makes it a stupid, arbitrary rule.
[1] https://anatomy4sculptors.com/about.....ns-calculator/ (Caution - Nude references of all Age Groups Mentioned)
[2] https://www.makingcomics.com/2014/0.....ns-human-body/
[3] https://en.canson.com/expert-advice.....an-proportions
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitruvian_Man
[5] https://tips.clip-studio.com/en-us/articles/4829
What does human age-based proportions actually mean in the context of this discussion? Well, that is the first issue, as if you ask multiple sources, you will get multiple answers. I took a look at Anatomy 4 Sculptors[1], Making Comics[2], Canson[3], and Wikipedia (specifically for the Vitruvian Man[4]) websites to get at least a few references that I can share, and really the only source proportions that seemed to be available were "Child" and adult. Thankfully, Anatomy 4 Sculptors has a decent list based on age group and head size, and where it overlapped with other sources it agreed within one head length so I will go ahead and use that as a baseline:
Source: Anatomy of Sculptors[1]
* Newborn: 4 Heads
* Infant: 5 Heads
* Young Child: 5.5 Heads
* Child: 6 Heads
* Teen: 7 Heads
* Young Adult: 7.5 Heads
* Adult: 8 Heads
* Elderly: 7 Heads
Just for a lark, I also found an article on Clip-Studio[5] called "Body Proportion in Chibi Drawing" which includes the following guidelines for a "Chibi" character:
* Chibi: 1.75-3 Heads
Looking at the head-based proportions for age, and the chibi proportions that are not going to be an easily defined age (given that they are below 'infant') there are a few standouts that need to be talked about. First and foremost, the proportion of a teen and the proportion of an elderly figure are roughly equivalent which means that there is already an issue with the proportion test. Secondly, is that "Chibi" breaks all rules of proportions and so cannot be judged on this scale. Given an ideal human figure, however, we have a reasonable chart to determine what would be younger than 'teen' which at least manages to make sense by the ruling as between 4 and 6 heads in height. Except for one thing, 'ideal human figure'.
If you're new to anthropomorphic art, or even just strictly 'furry' art, you will understand the immediate issue with 'ideal human figure' when you look into anatomical changes such as digitigrade legs, muzzles, ear location, eye location and size, all-fours compatibility, tauric shapes, multi-furs, body modification, and basic non-human body design just to start with! Let's get a little deeper into these really quick in terms of how they muddle up our proportion test. Digitigrade legs (or standing on the toes) would need to have their proportions checked when standing flat footed in order to properly align with our charts. Muzzles, Ear Location, Eye Location and Size tend to lead towards a more cartoony, cute style which tends to be child-like in proportion. All-Fours compatibility (a character that can stand on two legs and manipulate with hands and also run hands and feet on the ground) leads itself to a different proportion of arms and legs to torso, which is another wrench to worry about. Taurs and multifurs just break proportions completely, since there's two sets of legs to deal with and would have to wholly be based on proportion of head to upper torso (or final?) torso. Non-human body designs like Xenomorphs, Robots/ Cyborgs, Dragons, Aliens, etc all cannot use a standard human proportion chart without converting everything to an anime-esque 'mimi' form. Body Modification can change body proportions as well. And of course, my favorite Pokemon to bring up here is Trubbish. Trubbish is always at peak adult performance, although people don't like to admit it. Trubbish is also a sentient trash bag.
On top of all this, there is a more serious issue with using 'ideal human proportions' as a yardstick for age. "Child Like Proportions" include the majority of fursuits, fursuit reference sheets, and can also catch Short Characters. "Child Like Proportions " also include the Xenomorphs from aliens because of an obnoxiously large head, and Elmer Fudd. In fact, it catches just about every on-model Chuck Jones era character including Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, and Yosemite Sam. If anyone can make a good case for Elmer Fudd being a child after being in production for over 80 years, I would love to hear them in the comments below. While I understand that there may be some people that say 'but this doesn't matter if the character is designed super human-like!' and to that... well again I point to Elmer Fudd and Yosemite Sam.
To conclude, the rules of trying to use ideal human proportions as a yardstick for age simply isn't a feasible unit of measure on a website based on the various cartoonish and exaggerated body types that exist currently in the drawn media. The is especially true when the source of the anthropomorphic character is already non-human to begin with, such as a pokemon or a digimon that don't need to follow human proportions at all. It harms artists that don't have a realistic style, and even catches in its net the stylistic proportion of fursuit construction. The best measure of the age of a character is the characters actual in-universe age, but that has already been thrown out the window making the entire concept of 'what is child coded' arbitrary to begin with. With such a poorly defined rule, it essentially will simply be used for a mod to remove any art that they do not agree with without recourse or even needing to show why.
That makes it a stupid, arbitrary rule.
[1] https://anatomy4sculptors.com/about.....ns-calculator/ (Caution - Nude references of all Age Groups Mentioned)
[2] https://www.makingcomics.com/2014/0.....ns-human-body/
[3] https://en.canson.com/expert-advice.....an-proportions
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitruvian_Man
[5] https://tips.clip-studio.com/en-us/articles/4829
Account Move - IMVU, FA, and Shenanigans!
Posted 10 years agoI do believe it is time to go ahead and try to move my art account off to another place after the wonderful, somewhat ill-informed, and quite unexpected changes happening to FA. I've zapped a bit of my gallery already, and will be slowly removing the rest of it as time goes on. I will of course leave some stuff up because well, this is still FA.
There are many large warning signs going on, and I think a lot of it has to do with the way this most recent news came about. As much as must residents here will say, Dragoneer has been keeping the site going through a combination of luck, skill, determination, and support from the community. There's been a lot of questionable issues that have come up, but by and far this has been a community site for the furry community, by the furry community. It is due to that very fact that fundraisers were made and people had no trouble chipping in when needed - even if they were vocal about having to do so.
Part of the fundraisers is of course, to be part of Furaffinity. Part of the greater community and really even be part of the site. That sadly, has just been sold off. Call it what you want, but all the time and investment from donators, volunteers, moderators, staff, and especially artists has been used for a gain to a singular entity. This is after that same entity promised more transparency and ended up with $8k in donations still unaccounted for and a sudden surprise of the site was sold 2 months ago. Admittedly, the site itself is a work of love and volunteer work! Servers are expensive, rack space and bandwidth is expensive, coders are expensive, and really there isn't all that much extra income coming from the running of the site. Now however, the illusion of being community owned has been quite well shattered.
Love it or leave it, the TOS does contain "boilerplate" in it that allows the site to store, transmit, and display your artwork. The issue I have is that it includes "indefinitely" and all kinds of words meaning they can do what they want with the source once uploaded.. While the site was essentially run by the community, it was pretty much OK, but that has changed. The site is owned by a for-profit company that can use those very same boilerplate terms to monetize artwork posted to the site without having to negotiate with the artist. That isn't to say that they will, but they can do so without any further notice. Unless there is a part in the TOS (and if there is tell me!) that includes the severance of those provided rights upon removal of the artwork, I would not count this as a safe place to put up art you want to retain control over.
I am somewhat disheartened that Furaffinity has reached the point of selling out in order to cover it's bills, even after being able to raise so much money from fundraisers. I'm sure if the improved transparency had been put into effect, the community would have banded together to keep the site going as they have multiple times in the past. It is a great community and I hope that it retains it's luster, and who knows, maybe IMVU will be able to scout a good furry 3d modeler and get some decent avatars!
There are many large warning signs going on, and I think a lot of it has to do with the way this most recent news came about. As much as must residents here will say, Dragoneer has been keeping the site going through a combination of luck, skill, determination, and support from the community. There's been a lot of questionable issues that have come up, but by and far this has been a community site for the furry community, by the furry community. It is due to that very fact that fundraisers were made and people had no trouble chipping in when needed - even if they were vocal about having to do so.
Part of the fundraisers is of course, to be part of Furaffinity. Part of the greater community and really even be part of the site. That sadly, has just been sold off. Call it what you want, but all the time and investment from donators, volunteers, moderators, staff, and especially artists has been used for a gain to a singular entity. This is after that same entity promised more transparency and ended up with $8k in donations still unaccounted for and a sudden surprise of the site was sold 2 months ago. Admittedly, the site itself is a work of love and volunteer work! Servers are expensive, rack space and bandwidth is expensive, coders are expensive, and really there isn't all that much extra income coming from the running of the site. Now however, the illusion of being community owned has been quite well shattered.
Love it or leave it, the TOS does contain "boilerplate" in it that allows the site to store, transmit, and display your artwork. The issue I have is that it includes "indefinitely" and all kinds of words meaning they can do what they want with the source once uploaded.. While the site was essentially run by the community, it was pretty much OK, but that has changed. The site is owned by a for-profit company that can use those very same boilerplate terms to monetize artwork posted to the site without having to negotiate with the artist. That isn't to say that they will, but they can do so without any further notice. Unless there is a part in the TOS (and if there is tell me!) that includes the severance of those provided rights upon removal of the artwork, I would not count this as a safe place to put up art you want to retain control over.
I am somewhat disheartened that Furaffinity has reached the point of selling out in order to cover it's bills, even after being able to raise so much money from fundraisers. I'm sure if the improved transparency had been put into effect, the community would have banded together to keep the site going as they have multiple times in the past. It is a great community and I hope that it retains it's luster, and who knows, maybe IMVU will be able to scout a good furry 3d modeler and get some decent avatars!
Startide Update
Posted 12 years agoFinally figured out the problem with my secondary servers - turns out that the instability for my MUSH was caused by a bad static ARP table in my fiber modem. Called up Surewest, got it all figured out, and now the Startide server is rock solid. Woo!
Also, got a new fridge -and- a new couch. Go christmas luck! On the downside, I am so out of money now after getting presents, and I haven't been able to do any partying, either!
Also, got a new fridge -and- a new couch. Go christmas luck! On the downside, I am so out of money now after getting presents, and I haven't been able to do any partying, either!
Need to Update this Thing!
Posted 12 years agoIt certainly has been a long time since I bothered to do anything but look at artwork and do the occasional favorite here and there, hasn't it? Things have been crazy since San Diego Comic Con - I changed my job role twice, got a fairly reasonable promotion, got a new vehicle (but not the F-150 I was questing for), and am now working on getting my house mates sorted and upgrading my refrigerator. So I figure I'll do a few general updates here for the people that are curious as to what is happening in my life:
1) New Car!
Originally, I had wanted to get a truck for enhanced carrying capacity and the ability to tow a decent sized trailer in order to make use of the pop-up camper sitting in my side yard. However, it turns out trucks brand new are wicked expensive, and nothing I could do would allow me to afford one. I could have gotten a used truck of obscene build, but I wanted a new vehicle this time around. After test driving multiple cars, I decided to try to get my hands on a Dodge Challenger with the 6.2L in it - but the dealer wanted to screw me over after getting the -exact- car I was looking for on the Dodge Website.
I ended up getting a brand new 2013 Ford Focus ST, because I drove one, had to pass a SUV on the freeway on the test drive, and the turbo kicking in attempting to torque steer the wheel out of my hand. It's zippy, same fuel economy as my Prelude on average, and comes with over 50 more horsepower, and is a 4-door hatchback. I think of it as the bastard offspring of my Mom's BMW Z4 and my Dad's Nissan Versa. All the power (and expensive tires) with all the cargo space. I'm slowly creeping towards the 3k mile mark, and I love driving it.
2) Promotions!
I got promoted twice. The good news is that I'm back in office, and loving it far better then working at home. The not so good news is that it is in fact quite a challenge, and while I enjoy that fact, it leaves me with less goof around time. I'm actually working for my paycheck now! The bad news is that I ended up with a closing shift this run which disconnected my schedule from much of the rest of reality.
3) Working around the House.
This has been the major thing I've been doing when not working, thinking about work, or farting around in Skyrim with a host of sex-enabling mods. I've been converting lights over to LED bulbs for longevity, trying to see about replacing my refrigerator for christmas, installing sensor bulbs and playing around with smart house switches and software. One of my front water valves popped the valve diaphragm and I had to shut off the sprinklers for winter anyway. The outside path lights are starting to work again after some jury rigging, which is always nice to see things getting better. In fact tomorrow I'm going to see if transplanting two of them will get the main front pathway lit up properly. The spa now has a thermal cover and is chlorine balanced and in anti-freeze mode for the winter - it will actually be ready for use next year FINALLY. I had to let the lawn go though, so next spring will be trying to bring it back to life once more, and one of the crappy trees out front got taken down. I still need to price out, dig, and install a french drain for the back yard so it stops being a marsh, though.
4) Startide 4
The biggest time sink I have is the text-based sci-fi furry game I've been working on for around 10 years or so now. Startide 4 is slowly coming together lore wise, and there's a few good RPers that are helping me shape it, but I'm running into some strange combination of hardware/ software issues that prevent a steady connection. The persistent telnet connection will just random drop with multiple people are connected for no particular reason I can pinpoint, as it has happened on both old and new hardware (an IBM e335 1U Rack Server and an Intel Atom/ nVidia Media PC respectively), but works perfectly fine when I hide it behind my firewall. This basic issue is wrecking me since I can't seem to figure it out, and I've even tried both Debian and Ubuntu, and now CentOS (which is having some trouble with IP allocation). I'm beginning to wonder if there was a problem on compile, or if it is maybe even the database files at this point that are corrupted somehow and causing the server to 'burp' when trying to move a lot of things in memory.
The website is up and running, including a wiki, over at http://www.startide.us and looks at least partially good. Lots of information but poorly linked, which is why the wiki part got added on.
5) Art, Writing
Yeah... I got nothing. I haven't drawn, doodled, or done creative writing not involved with Startide 4 in ages. I've almost forgot what a drawing pencil looks like.
6) Tricopter
Same as Art. Poor Peg Leg has been sitting on my workbench needing a firmware upgrade for... months and months. I am not pursuing the R/C helicopter scene at the moment due to the firmware problems I was having. That, and I just had to replace just about EVERYTHING last time I wanted to fly, which is no good when I'm budgeting in a car payment -and- house upgrades.
Some other topics of interest I'm sure I should include:
Further Confusion:
- Yes, I want to go. Yes I am registering this week. No, I don't have a room, which is irking me to no end. I want a room, they're all sold out completely. At this point, it'll be luck if I'm able to stay anywhere remotely close to the convention.
House Parties:
- Planned for spring sometime, hopefully. Still need to toss a room mate, clean up the house, get new couches, etc etc. Mostly the room mate issue at this point.
A big fat "Awesome" to Mallin of SacFurs fame, for his engagement. May your happiness know no bounds!
I'm still depressingly single, but that's more my own mindset at this point. Every relationship I've tried seemed to hinge on me not being quite the perfect fit, so I figure I'll just enjoy what I have. My roomies and I are more or less a bit of a family together, even if we're more of a family in the 'fraternity' sort of way then anything else. Still hoping that little spark called romance will be given a chance, but eh, there's plenty of furry porn out there.
I'll probably try to draw sometime. Hopefully.
I am planning on going back to class for spring semester at Consumnes River. I would like to attempt to get an Associates both in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering to see if there's one I like over the other, then pursue a Bachelors in that direction. I am woefully short on my math skills, and my brain is quite rusty. I expect a two to two and a half year time estimate on completion if I'm lucky and good at the same time.
Anyway, that's my update! I hope Startide starts to make sense and I can get it stable enough to grow, and that I can get some more content made to actually load onto this site. I have begun to feel less like a creator and more like a consumer of media, which is never a good sensation to have.
1) New Car!
Originally, I had wanted to get a truck for enhanced carrying capacity and the ability to tow a decent sized trailer in order to make use of the pop-up camper sitting in my side yard. However, it turns out trucks brand new are wicked expensive, and nothing I could do would allow me to afford one. I could have gotten a used truck of obscene build, but I wanted a new vehicle this time around. After test driving multiple cars, I decided to try to get my hands on a Dodge Challenger with the 6.2L in it - but the dealer wanted to screw me over after getting the -exact- car I was looking for on the Dodge Website.
I ended up getting a brand new 2013 Ford Focus ST, because I drove one, had to pass a SUV on the freeway on the test drive, and the turbo kicking in attempting to torque steer the wheel out of my hand. It's zippy, same fuel economy as my Prelude on average, and comes with over 50 more horsepower, and is a 4-door hatchback. I think of it as the bastard offspring of my Mom's BMW Z4 and my Dad's Nissan Versa. All the power (and expensive tires) with all the cargo space. I'm slowly creeping towards the 3k mile mark, and I love driving it.
2) Promotions!
I got promoted twice. The good news is that I'm back in office, and loving it far better then working at home. The not so good news is that it is in fact quite a challenge, and while I enjoy that fact, it leaves me with less goof around time. I'm actually working for my paycheck now! The bad news is that I ended up with a closing shift this run which disconnected my schedule from much of the rest of reality.
3) Working around the House.
This has been the major thing I've been doing when not working, thinking about work, or farting around in Skyrim with a host of sex-enabling mods. I've been converting lights over to LED bulbs for longevity, trying to see about replacing my refrigerator for christmas, installing sensor bulbs and playing around with smart house switches and software. One of my front water valves popped the valve diaphragm and I had to shut off the sprinklers for winter anyway. The outside path lights are starting to work again after some jury rigging, which is always nice to see things getting better. In fact tomorrow I'm going to see if transplanting two of them will get the main front pathway lit up properly. The spa now has a thermal cover and is chlorine balanced and in anti-freeze mode for the winter - it will actually be ready for use next year FINALLY. I had to let the lawn go though, so next spring will be trying to bring it back to life once more, and one of the crappy trees out front got taken down. I still need to price out, dig, and install a french drain for the back yard so it stops being a marsh, though.
4) Startide 4
The biggest time sink I have is the text-based sci-fi furry game I've been working on for around 10 years or so now. Startide 4 is slowly coming together lore wise, and there's a few good RPers that are helping me shape it, but I'm running into some strange combination of hardware/ software issues that prevent a steady connection. The persistent telnet connection will just random drop with multiple people are connected for no particular reason I can pinpoint, as it has happened on both old and new hardware (an IBM e335 1U Rack Server and an Intel Atom/ nVidia Media PC respectively), but works perfectly fine when I hide it behind my firewall. This basic issue is wrecking me since I can't seem to figure it out, and I've even tried both Debian and Ubuntu, and now CentOS (which is having some trouble with IP allocation). I'm beginning to wonder if there was a problem on compile, or if it is maybe even the database files at this point that are corrupted somehow and causing the server to 'burp' when trying to move a lot of things in memory.
The website is up and running, including a wiki, over at http://www.startide.us and looks at least partially good. Lots of information but poorly linked, which is why the wiki part got added on.
5) Art, Writing
Yeah... I got nothing. I haven't drawn, doodled, or done creative writing not involved with Startide 4 in ages. I've almost forgot what a drawing pencil looks like.
6) Tricopter
Same as Art. Poor Peg Leg has been sitting on my workbench needing a firmware upgrade for... months and months. I am not pursuing the R/C helicopter scene at the moment due to the firmware problems I was having. That, and I just had to replace just about EVERYTHING last time I wanted to fly, which is no good when I'm budgeting in a car payment -and- house upgrades.
Some other topics of interest I'm sure I should include:
Further Confusion:
- Yes, I want to go. Yes I am registering this week. No, I don't have a room, which is irking me to no end. I want a room, they're all sold out completely. At this point, it'll be luck if I'm able to stay anywhere remotely close to the convention.
House Parties:
- Planned for spring sometime, hopefully. Still need to toss a room mate, clean up the house, get new couches, etc etc. Mostly the room mate issue at this point.
A big fat "Awesome" to Mallin of SacFurs fame, for his engagement. May your happiness know no bounds!
I'm still depressingly single, but that's more my own mindset at this point. Every relationship I've tried seemed to hinge on me not being quite the perfect fit, so I figure I'll just enjoy what I have. My roomies and I are more or less a bit of a family together, even if we're more of a family in the 'fraternity' sort of way then anything else. Still hoping that little spark called romance will be given a chance, but eh, there's plenty of furry porn out there.
I'll probably try to draw sometime. Hopefully.
I am planning on going back to class for spring semester at Consumnes River. I would like to attempt to get an Associates both in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering to see if there's one I like over the other, then pursue a Bachelors in that direction. I am woefully short on my math skills, and my brain is quite rusty. I expect a two to two and a half year time estimate on completion if I'm lucky and good at the same time.
Anyway, that's my update! I hope Startide starts to make sense and I can get it stable enough to grow, and that I can get some more content made to actually load onto this site. I have begun to feel less like a creator and more like a consumer of media, which is never a good sensation to have.
Survived!
Posted 12 years agoWell, it is official! I survived San Deigo Comic Con mostly sane. I have a large swath of pictures I need to sort through and upload to a few galleries.
So I did get my two sets of the ultra-rare totally awesome magic cards, one of which I am hoping to sell to cover the vast expenditures that I incurred. The other is for a friend, in return for certain pictures of less then moral nature involving maid outfits. Oh yes.
I did get a Vinyl Scratch, the 2013 pony shirt, a Dukemon figure, harassed all 3 Bandai booths about Digimon, got a signed copy of Ratfist from Doug Tennapel, picked up Scott Pilgrim 1 (Evil Edition), and uh, got lots of nintendo swag. Oh, and a picture with Pikachu. And Twilight Sparkle.
I did have to work for part of it, but it was a small price to pay. The drive back was soul crushing and 12 hours long, and today was my first official day or my new position, which means training that melts my brains. I incurred 1 speeding ticket (sad face).
This week I'm trying to figure out how to trade in my Prelude for a F-150.
Also my LEAP Motion controller came in. It's pretty sweet.
So I did get my two sets of the ultra-rare totally awesome magic cards, one of which I am hoping to sell to cover the vast expenditures that I incurred. The other is for a friend, in return for certain pictures of less then moral nature involving maid outfits. Oh yes.
I did get a Vinyl Scratch, the 2013 pony shirt, a Dukemon figure, harassed all 3 Bandai booths about Digimon, got a signed copy of Ratfist from Doug Tennapel, picked up Scott Pilgrim 1 (Evil Edition), and uh, got lots of nintendo swag. Oh, and a picture with Pikachu. And Twilight Sparkle.
I did have to work for part of it, but it was a small price to pay. The drive back was soul crushing and 12 hours long, and today was my first official day or my new position, which means training that melts my brains. I incurred 1 speeding ticket (sad face).
This week I'm trying to figure out how to trade in my Prelude for a F-150.
Also my LEAP Motion controller came in. It's pretty sweet.
San Diego Comic Con
Posted 12 years agoI am going. Is anyone else?
I'll be driving from NorCal to LA tomorrow, then from LA to San Diego on Thursday. I'll be leaving back for home Sunday. I have no idea what to expect, so hopefully I do okay!
I'll be driving from NorCal to LA tomorrow, then from LA to San Diego on Thursday. I'll be leaving back for home Sunday. I have no idea what to expect, so hopefully I do okay!
Happy Birthday to Me
Posted 13 years agoWell, I am officially 29. One more year and I won't be able to participate in casual dating anymore.
The last year has been full of ups and downs. I purchased a house, was hired by Apple, and have been slowly building up my stash of stuff.
Yet, this year my birthday was taking myself out to Outback steakhouse, getting plastered, and spending it mostly alone without anyone to hug. I fail to see how in the grand scheme of things I'm doing better then I was back when...
Honestly, its a bit depressing.
I did get to upload some of my newer artwork to my personal website though, which means at some point I'll be uploading it here.
The last year has been full of ups and downs. I purchased a house, was hired by Apple, and have been slowly building up my stash of stuff.
Yet, this year my birthday was taking myself out to Outback steakhouse, getting plastered, and spending it mostly alone without anyone to hug. I fail to see how in the grand scheme of things I'm doing better then I was back when...
Honestly, its a bit depressing.
I did get to upload some of my newer artwork to my personal website though, which means at some point I'll be uploading it here.
Good News - Web Work
Posted 13 years agoSo my first good news:
My ankle is healing a-OK. Another week of being light on it and I should be back to normal. The doctor was surprised at my healing rate (flutter-yay).
Second bit of news:
twosune.com is going under the knife this weekend. I'm building up a new production server (regin) and migrating over the important bits, and I'll be keeping the current server as a dev server (to be renamed to fit my new theme) since it has all the nummy compiling tools on it.
Regin will be hosting Startide IV, as well as my twosome.com website nexus, and will also be given some email capabilities (finally) so that my websites that require email capabilities will operate correctly.
I should be able to, in the future, offer MUSH/MUX/MUCK hosting and webspace as well to people who are interested in getting into the text-based shenanigans.
Assuming I don't get too bogged down, I will also be upping server #3 Hoenir, which will be running the mine craft server as well as other Steam-style servers for hosting fun and shenanigans.
My ankle is healing a-OK. Another week of being light on it and I should be back to normal. The doctor was surprised at my healing rate (flutter-yay).
Second bit of news:
twosune.com is going under the knife this weekend. I'm building up a new production server (regin) and migrating over the important bits, and I'll be keeping the current server as a dev server (to be renamed to fit my new theme) since it has all the nummy compiling tools on it.
Regin will be hosting Startide IV, as well as my twosome.com website nexus, and will also be given some email capabilities (finally) so that my websites that require email capabilities will operate correctly.
I should be able to, in the future, offer MUSH/MUX/MUCK hosting and webspace as well to people who are interested in getting into the text-based shenanigans.
Assuming I don't get too bogged down, I will also be upping server #3 Hoenir, which will be running the mine craft server as well as other Steam-style servers for hosting fun and shenanigans.
Injury and Stuff
Posted 13 years agoSo last week I hurt my ankle fairly badly. Been around on a cane since then, meandering about with an anklewrap under my sock and everything. Today is my followup, and I'm hoping that I only have to last another week without being able to have fun walking...
Its amazing how much it sucks when you're used to walking around and remembering sports and whatnot, and you've suddenly got a cane and being very careful on how you move.
Wish me luck!
Its amazing how much it sucks when you're used to walking around and remembering sports and whatnot, and you've suddenly got a cane and being very careful on how you move.
Wish me luck!
Moved, Inspiration, Projects
Posted 13 years agoFour months, eh? I update with the speed of a forgotten webcomic it would seem! Anyway, figured that its about time for a status update so that people don't think I've gone and died somewhere!
So the move was successful, I have a nice lil' 1500 sq. foot house, with some furry roomies. Invited over the sacfurs group twice now for little parties and it seems to be OK.
So far though, the biggest trouble I seem to have is obsessing over working, and not giving myself any other real time to do anything! Sure, my work is doing great, but at the same time I haven't really done any new art, I've written a single new short story segment which I posted to SoFurry, and that's been about it.
My helicopter languishes without new motor mounts, the spa needs a cover, and I haven't finished running cat-5 cable throughout the house. Seriously, what gives? I have been in the past one of those crazy people that motorboats through whole sections of a to do list!
Anyone have any good tips for just having fun without being down a whole day? Maybe its the lack of social connection?
So the move was successful, I have a nice lil' 1500 sq. foot house, with some furry roomies. Invited over the sacfurs group twice now for little parties and it seems to be OK.
So far though, the biggest trouble I seem to have is obsessing over working, and not giving myself any other real time to do anything! Sure, my work is doing great, but at the same time I haven't really done any new art, I've written a single new short story segment which I posted to SoFurry, and that's been about it.
My helicopter languishes without new motor mounts, the spa needs a cover, and I haven't finished running cat-5 cable throughout the house. Seriously, what gives? I have been in the past one of those crazy people that motorboats through whole sections of a to do list!
Anyone have any good tips for just having fun without being down a whole day? Maybe its the lack of social connection?
Attempting to Move
Posted 13 years agoSo in a fit of sudden independence, I have been attempting to purchase my own home and take part in that American dream. It has taken several months now but I finally found a house that is actually reasonable.
Thus far everything else seems ok, but there was some evidence of bug damage to an outer planter shelf that will need to be investigated. I am going to have the bank that owns the place foot the bill for it because it said so in the contract I signed ^.^
It would be interesting to be in a healthy environment again. I find myself both in dislike of having to repack everything again only to move it to a new location and unpack, and happiness for being able to claim control over my little chunk of the united states, be closer to work, and finally be able to have neat and clean be a priority for where I live.
Also I won't be embarrassed to bring over a friend, GF, BF or any combination of the above, which is always good.
Wish me luck!
Thus far everything else seems ok, but there was some evidence of bug damage to an outer planter shelf that will need to be investigated. I am going to have the bank that owns the place foot the bill for it because it said so in the contract I signed ^.^
It would be interesting to be in a healthy environment again. I find myself both in dislike of having to repack everything again only to move it to a new location and unpack, and happiness for being able to claim control over my little chunk of the united states, be closer to work, and finally be able to have neat and clean be a priority for where I live.
Also I won't be embarrassed to bring over a friend, GF, BF or any combination of the above, which is always good.
Wish me luck!
Valentines Day Report!
Posted 13 years agoToday was Valentines day! I started it out with a general rant-iike post on the continued saga of rule making, then went on a trip to look at houses!
Lo and behold, I found a house near work that I'm actually interested in. So I'll be doing all the lovely paperwork and trying to bid on it tomorrow. Hopefully my shadow E-Bay sniper will not sneak up behind me and steal this one too.
Went to the hobby shop, got an assortment of replacement gears for the quad copter, my head bolts for the nitro car, some nitro fuel, some new tires, and tries to find a gas tank. Didn't get the gas tank alas.
Stopped by home depot and got some lexan for the body of the new tri-copter concept, as well as aluminum c-channel for the arms. Should be enough of both for two full tri-copter bodies. Ran some numbers on the electronic though. I'm either going to be in $90 for the controller module of $250 for the high end one I want. Gotta try and find a smaller one for cheaper just for manual control only.
majorra came through with the commission I had done for Ebony, which totally shows off some Digimon on Pokemon lurv. Well, technically one is an Idol Genie that was engineered to look like a digimon but is actually the chief medical officer on board a spaceship, the other is a full conversion cyborg of awesome that is also a well-vetted combat pilot who just happens to look like a pokemon. Anyway, go check it out over at http://www.furaffinity.net/full/7402299/
What else? Oh, got some new LEDs for the quad copter to replace the more power hungry ones, and also got some phone cable so I can try to fix the internet again. The nitro car officially was started today, although will not idle. Also fixed the inlet issue with some o-rings (no more leaking fuel everywhere), and got new tires installed!
Even with this day going so well, you know what I didn't have? A valentine. Or someone to hug and take the dinner, or spoil rotten, or anything. In fact I didn't even get a chance to send out a single card, just nobody to send them to that I have addresses for.
Rather then be upsetting like years past, eh, I dunno. At least I can look back and fondly remember all the people that I once held so close to my heart happily having found their other to be with and enjoying this day. Even if it isn't true, I'm still going to think that, because they deserve to be in such wonderful relationships, all of them. Me? I'll live for now. Once I take over the world with my robotic fleet of UAVs I'll take a day off in February, and have a special someone to light enemy combatants on fire with.
Lo and behold, I found a house near work that I'm actually interested in. So I'll be doing all the lovely paperwork and trying to bid on it tomorrow. Hopefully my shadow E-Bay sniper will not sneak up behind me and steal this one too.
Went to the hobby shop, got an assortment of replacement gears for the quad copter, my head bolts for the nitro car, some nitro fuel, some new tires, and tries to find a gas tank. Didn't get the gas tank alas.
Stopped by home depot and got some lexan for the body of the new tri-copter concept, as well as aluminum c-channel for the arms. Should be enough of both for two full tri-copter bodies. Ran some numbers on the electronic though. I'm either going to be in $90 for the controller module of $250 for the high end one I want. Gotta try and find a smaller one for cheaper just for manual control only.
majorra came through with the commission I had done for Ebony, which totally shows off some Digimon on Pokemon lurv. Well, technically one is an Idol Genie that was engineered to look like a digimon but is actually the chief medical officer on board a spaceship, the other is a full conversion cyborg of awesome that is also a well-vetted combat pilot who just happens to look like a pokemon. Anyway, go check it out over at http://www.furaffinity.net/full/7402299/What else? Oh, got some new LEDs for the quad copter to replace the more power hungry ones, and also got some phone cable so I can try to fix the internet again. The nitro car officially was started today, although will not idle. Also fixed the inlet issue with some o-rings (no more leaking fuel everywhere), and got new tires installed!
Even with this day going so well, you know what I didn't have? A valentine. Or someone to hug and take the dinner, or spoil rotten, or anything. In fact I didn't even get a chance to send out a single card, just nobody to send them to that I have addresses for.
Rather then be upsetting like years past, eh, I dunno. At least I can look back and fondly remember all the people that I once held so close to my heart happily having found their other to be with and enjoying this day. Even if it isn't true, I'm still going to think that, because they deserve to be in such wonderful relationships, all of them. Me? I'll live for now. Once I take over the world with my robotic fleet of UAVs I'll take a day off in February, and have a special someone to light enemy combatants on fire with.
Furry, Sonic, MLP, Cub and You
Posted 13 years agoThis Journal is fairy rant-like. Process down to the tl;dr section below for a distilled version of the rant.
A most curious journal comment I found that attempted to draw the lines between Furry, Sonic and MLP had me a bit curious over why on earth people would think they are mutually exclusive.
Furry as a whole, with its only really accepted definition, is someone or a group of people that like anthropomorphic animals, both real and imaginary. Sonic is world with anthropomorphic cartoon animals that are (often) fighting off slavery or world-ending doom with their animal-specific abilities. My Little Pony... is a story of ponies with human-like characteristics (anthropomorphic) learning about friendship!
So you can like MLP but not like furries, or you can like Sonic and not like furries... but if you like furries the magical inclusive umbrella brings the other two into your zone. They're sub categories. You may not particularly care for them, but they do inherit from the furry class. The sooner people that use the wide terminology of 'Furry' realize this the happier we can all be, because nobody likes it when you try to redefine language with no concept of what it actually meant to begin with!
Speaking of however, there does seem to be a cyclical event that occurs in the fandom every 8-10 years or so. I've only seen it twice myself but I'm curious if we are on the cusp of it occurring again. The great and powerful Fandom Split.
Anyone remember the Burned Furs movement? Where they went after making the definition of "Furry" to be limited to their exact non-adult and happy version? Actually probably one of the better movements I've seen like it, not only did they last for a few years in the main stream of furry, but they almost managed to get a whole Convention to themselves (if they're meddling hadn't killed it outright). You had to give them credit, the concept of a clean and happy Fandom where everything was shiny. You didn't have to worry about the dregs of the furries coming up and do their disgusting things or have their gasp deviant artwork be on display.
Amusingly however, the majority of the group pretty much let them do their own thing and pretty much shut down their expansion. If you're curious, people who only like a small subcategory of furry can't really compete with the massive definition of furry, and get drowned out accordingly.
So lets talk about why Sonic Artwork is getting the boot.
So now we have some magical and mystical new laws that are freaking people out, and the shoe is on the other hoof. Without guidelines other then "Some art we don't like" artwork is being removed from the site. The latest ban on the "Sonic" style is particularly irksome, as fan art is cherished with the likes of Nintendo's Krystal or other Starfox Characters, or Clover's Ookami, or whoever now owns TMNT.
Worse though, is that it is being removed because we are thinking of the children.
Non-reasonable Extrapolation in the Real World: Children can be naked. Lets kill them all and ban them from existence!
Actual Real World on Kids in Photographs: Someone out there somewhere may someday get their rocks off to this kid in a parka and full snow gear, therefor having this picture counts as pornography even if it IS your kid. Sorry, you're a sex offender, register here, sign there, and we're tracking you for life. I hope it was worth having a snow vacation with your daughter and a camera.
Actual rules on art on FurAffinity:
You cannot define a character as mature or of age if they have a child like appearance and/or do not display the correct secondary sexual characteristics that shows maturity.
You cannot have a character displaying the correct secondary sexual characteristics or proportions if the character is actually underage or has a child like demeanor.
Or how I boil them down to their components:
1) Mental Maturity does not matter, nor does age. The age of the character must be determinable by their proportions and physical sexual maturity.
Well, OK. You almost have a case with this.
2) Physical Maturity does not matter, as you can put a set of hips and tits on an underage character and still have them essentially underage or based on an underage character. The age of the character must be determinable by their source.
... what?
Physical Maturity doesn't matter, only mental Maturity. Mental Maturity doesn't matter, only physical.
How do you enforce that? You've just said that the artwork not allowed is inclusive to ALL artwork?
Oh, right. We'll pick things that just offend us on the spur of the moment. You know, like the real police do. We all know that its hard to control a free person, but really easy to control a law breaker, so lets make all of FA in violation of our rules so that we can easily pick and choose what we want to enforce!
Now is it understood why picking on Sonic Artwork, or MLP Artwork is bad for the community as a whole? Honestly if you're interested in much more articulated opinions on the policy changes, go follow
norithics. I personally don't care much for his art (and if you read this no offense intended!) but dang, there's a sharp mind there.
-- tl;dr version below --
Furry is by necessity super wide in definition. It covers Sonic, MLP, ferals, toons, and a host of other shenanigans. This is fine, just realize that it does, and stop trying to redefine or narrow it.
Last time it tried to be narrowed, it was with the Burned Furs. They attempted to use a subcategory to define all of furry. Almost succeeded. It didn't really, though, as Furry is large and all inclusive and wanted its porn. A convention died in the crossfire.
The only reason for Sonic being banned is that the characters are traditionally underaged. If you like MLP keep in mind the same could be said for multiple characters from that show as well. However, the rules for underage or cub are specifically designed to include all artwork on the site. No really, the wording is that bad.
This technique is often used by oppressive governments to be able to label every member of the nation into a criminal, because criminals can be easily manipulated and controlled. While FA is a private community, it does not change anything except we, the users, can take our artwork and opinions and go elsewhere.
As an excuse, FA is citing unjust and unenforcible laws that were drafted to protect the children. These laws cover any photograph or artwork of anyone under 18 that could possibly be thought of as sexual, teasing, or provocative. Mind you, 18 is several years after physical maturity is reached, making actual identification of age difficult from physical observation.
That's just about every picture ever, unless they're dressed in traditional monk robes or a burka. I'm sure someone out there thinks those are sexual, too, so the jury may still be out on this.
To conclude:
Sonic is going away because the site administration cannot define what is Cub art. That is pretty much because you can claim anything is in violation of the law they are trying to follow if you don't have a driver's license and signed consent form of the people in the image. This is difficult with fantasy critters.
Some people think this is fine, that we can get rid of some chaff from furry. These people probably think HR1981 also actually involves protecting children. (Spoiler alert: It doesn't.)
A most curious journal comment I found that attempted to draw the lines between Furry, Sonic and MLP had me a bit curious over why on earth people would think they are mutually exclusive.
Furry as a whole, with its only really accepted definition, is someone or a group of people that like anthropomorphic animals, both real and imaginary. Sonic is world with anthropomorphic cartoon animals that are (often) fighting off slavery or world-ending doom with their animal-specific abilities. My Little Pony... is a story of ponies with human-like characteristics (anthropomorphic) learning about friendship!
So you can like MLP but not like furries, or you can like Sonic and not like furries... but if you like furries the magical inclusive umbrella brings the other two into your zone. They're sub categories. You may not particularly care for them, but they do inherit from the furry class. The sooner people that use the wide terminology of 'Furry' realize this the happier we can all be, because nobody likes it when you try to redefine language with no concept of what it actually meant to begin with!
Speaking of however, there does seem to be a cyclical event that occurs in the fandom every 8-10 years or so. I've only seen it twice myself but I'm curious if we are on the cusp of it occurring again. The great and powerful Fandom Split.
Anyone remember the Burned Furs movement? Where they went after making the definition of "Furry" to be limited to their exact non-adult and happy version? Actually probably one of the better movements I've seen like it, not only did they last for a few years in the main stream of furry, but they almost managed to get a whole Convention to themselves (if they're meddling hadn't killed it outright). You had to give them credit, the concept of a clean and happy Fandom where everything was shiny. You didn't have to worry about the dregs of the furries coming up and do their disgusting things or have their gasp deviant artwork be on display.
Amusingly however, the majority of the group pretty much let them do their own thing and pretty much shut down their expansion. If you're curious, people who only like a small subcategory of furry can't really compete with the massive definition of furry, and get drowned out accordingly.
So lets talk about why Sonic Artwork is getting the boot.
So now we have some magical and mystical new laws that are freaking people out, and the shoe is on the other hoof. Without guidelines other then "Some art we don't like" artwork is being removed from the site. The latest ban on the "Sonic" style is particularly irksome, as fan art is cherished with the likes of Nintendo's Krystal or other Starfox Characters, or Clover's Ookami, or whoever now owns TMNT.
Worse though, is that it is being removed because we are thinking of the children.
Non-reasonable Extrapolation in the Real World: Children can be naked. Lets kill them all and ban them from existence!
Actual Real World on Kids in Photographs: Someone out there somewhere may someday get their rocks off to this kid in a parka and full snow gear, therefor having this picture counts as pornography even if it IS your kid. Sorry, you're a sex offender, register here, sign there, and we're tracking you for life. I hope it was worth having a snow vacation with your daughter and a camera.
Actual rules on art on FurAffinity:
You cannot define a character as mature or of age if they have a child like appearance and/or do not display the correct secondary sexual characteristics that shows maturity.
You cannot have a character displaying the correct secondary sexual characteristics or proportions if the character is actually underage or has a child like demeanor.
Or how I boil them down to their components:
1) Mental Maturity does not matter, nor does age. The age of the character must be determinable by their proportions and physical sexual maturity.
Well, OK. You almost have a case with this.
2) Physical Maturity does not matter, as you can put a set of hips and tits on an underage character and still have them essentially underage or based on an underage character. The age of the character must be determinable by their source.
... what?
Physical Maturity doesn't matter, only mental Maturity. Mental Maturity doesn't matter, only physical.
How do you enforce that? You've just said that the artwork not allowed is inclusive to ALL artwork?
Oh, right. We'll pick things that just offend us on the spur of the moment. You know, like the real police do. We all know that its hard to control a free person, but really easy to control a law breaker, so lets make all of FA in violation of our rules so that we can easily pick and choose what we want to enforce!
Now is it understood why picking on Sonic Artwork, or MLP Artwork is bad for the community as a whole? Honestly if you're interested in much more articulated opinions on the policy changes, go follow
norithics. I personally don't care much for his art (and if you read this no offense intended!) but dang, there's a sharp mind there.-- tl;dr version below --
Furry is by necessity super wide in definition. It covers Sonic, MLP, ferals, toons, and a host of other shenanigans. This is fine, just realize that it does, and stop trying to redefine or narrow it.
Last time it tried to be narrowed, it was with the Burned Furs. They attempted to use a subcategory to define all of furry. Almost succeeded. It didn't really, though, as Furry is large and all inclusive and wanted its porn. A convention died in the crossfire.
The only reason for Sonic being banned is that the characters are traditionally underaged. If you like MLP keep in mind the same could be said for multiple characters from that show as well. However, the rules for underage or cub are specifically designed to include all artwork on the site. No really, the wording is that bad.
This technique is often used by oppressive governments to be able to label every member of the nation into a criminal, because criminals can be easily manipulated and controlled. While FA is a private community, it does not change anything except we, the users, can take our artwork and opinions and go elsewhere.
As an excuse, FA is citing unjust and unenforcible laws that were drafted to protect the children. These laws cover any photograph or artwork of anyone under 18 that could possibly be thought of as sexual, teasing, or provocative. Mind you, 18 is several years after physical maturity is reached, making actual identification of age difficult from physical observation.
That's just about every picture ever, unless they're dressed in traditional monk robes or a burka. I'm sure someone out there thinks those are sexual, too, so the jury may still be out on this.
To conclude:
Sonic is going away because the site administration cannot define what is Cub art. That is pretty much because you can claim anything is in violation of the law they are trying to follow if you don't have a driver's license and signed consent form of the people in the image. This is difficult with fantasy critters.
Some people think this is fine, that we can get rid of some chaff from furry. These people probably think HR1981 also actually involves protecting children. (Spoiler alert: It doesn't.)
Convention Photography - Thank you!
Posted 14 years agoAfter going over all the images I had taken from Further Confusion 2012 I decided to upload my top selection of my best pics to here. One was to see if I could figure out who was who, and the other because I am somewhat happy with some of those pictures.
At the convention I was equipped with my stock Nikon D60 with its piddly little starter lens, an iPhone 4S (which I used to make calls mostly) and while my iPhone was doing its projector job, I was reduced to my iPad (which has a less cool camera but at least it works). Oddly enough, pictures from all 3 devices made it into my favorites pile, which proves that composition has little to do with hardware, and sometimes a spur of the moment shot really comes out great. Still, the Nikon's raw footage pretty much trumps everything else :)
A great number of names have been named at one of the largest explosions of comments and favs I have ever had! I would like to thank everyone who not only stopped by to look at random pictures of furries in photo form, but who also commented, provided names and links, or left a favorite to give me that warm fuzzy feeling of "Gosh darn it, someone enjoys the photograph I made."
Over the next few weeks I'll be finishing the post production of the rest of the images and probably doing a speed upload to my Facebook or something. Then... I need to remember how to draw and doodle more.
As for photography? I already have two things on my wish list that are rather important:
Nikon Speedlight 700 for the D60
Camera Strap
Seriously though? I need a strap. The one I'm using digs into my neck and does no load distribution, so I couldn't be all hip with my camera at the convention 90% of the time, or it would have sawed my head off!
But yes, a better flash. Preferably one with a "Illumation of the mighty Sun God" that can vaporize people that run in front of me while I'm framing a shot. Biggest annoyance while taking photos ever. Anyway, time to run off to be a worker drone, yay!
At the convention I was equipped with my stock Nikon D60 with its piddly little starter lens, an iPhone 4S (which I used to make calls mostly) and while my iPhone was doing its projector job, I was reduced to my iPad (which has a less cool camera but at least it works). Oddly enough, pictures from all 3 devices made it into my favorites pile, which proves that composition has little to do with hardware, and sometimes a spur of the moment shot really comes out great. Still, the Nikon's raw footage pretty much trumps everything else :)
A great number of names have been named at one of the largest explosions of comments and favs I have ever had! I would like to thank everyone who not only stopped by to look at random pictures of furries in photo form, but who also commented, provided names and links, or left a favorite to give me that warm fuzzy feeling of "Gosh darn it, someone enjoys the photograph I made."
Over the next few weeks I'll be finishing the post production of the rest of the images and probably doing a speed upload to my Facebook or something. Then... I need to remember how to draw and doodle more.
As for photography? I already have two things on my wish list that are rather important:
Nikon Speedlight 700 for the D60
Camera Strap
Seriously though? I need a strap. The one I'm using digs into my neck and does no load distribution, so I couldn't be all hip with my camera at the convention 90% of the time, or it would have sawed my head off!
But yes, a better flash. Preferably one with a "Illumation of the mighty Sun God" that can vaporize people that run in front of me while I'm framing a shot. Biggest annoyance while taking photos ever. Anyway, time to run off to be a worker drone, yay!
Attempting to be Productive
Posted 14 years agoWhile this isn't in the "make art" or progress furry line of things, I have been trying to be more productive.
Today for instance, I did my taxes, had my other new pair of pants hemmed, filled out loan paperwork, and generally tried to take care of things. And it was all good, aside from my body decided that no, I'm not well yet.
The shakes, poor appetite, the nose that stays stuffed as long as I'm not dehydrated - its all a nuisance, really. On the other wing, this means that since I'm not going to be able to hang out with my female friend, I can upload some of my favorite pics from FC or maybe doodle something. How's that for a sad example of why I'm not more social? :D
I should be cleaning my room and doing laundry. I should be re-doing the wiring on my quadracopter to drop some of the excessive weight of the extra wiring. I should probably be taking care of even more awesome important life things... but I'm sucking quietly on a Jamba Juice and pondering just how lazy I can get away with.
Also, I hate my LED light bulb for me room. Its way to dim for a broad spectrum and totally doesn't make me feel like I'm somewhere 'lit'. Its more like being outside in the shade. Always.
Today for instance, I did my taxes, had my other new pair of pants hemmed, filled out loan paperwork, and generally tried to take care of things. And it was all good, aside from my body decided that no, I'm not well yet.
The shakes, poor appetite, the nose that stays stuffed as long as I'm not dehydrated - its all a nuisance, really. On the other wing, this means that since I'm not going to be able to hang out with my female friend, I can upload some of my favorite pics from FC or maybe doodle something. How's that for a sad example of why I'm not more social? :D
I should be cleaning my room and doing laundry. I should be re-doing the wiring on my quadracopter to drop some of the excessive weight of the extra wiring. I should probably be taking care of even more awesome important life things... but I'm sucking quietly on a Jamba Juice and pondering just how lazy I can get away with.
Also, I hate my LED light bulb for me room. Its way to dim for a broad spectrum and totally doesn't make me feel like I'm somewhere 'lit'. Its more like being outside in the shade. Always.
Occupy Oakland
Posted 14 years agoYesterday was a rather worrisome day, as there was a major clash in Oakland, CA between occupy protestors and the police. City busses were being brought in because the police force did not have the space to arrest everyone in their normal vehicles, and there was over 300 hundred arrests.
Pictures from the incident posted to Flickr and other places show a story that does not seem like it should happen here in the US. Fully armed police going after civilians who are fighting back with rowdy words and fists. It looks like something out of the pictures we were getting out of Egypt, back when we would herald the freedom of the internet as an awesome way to get a country fired up about the ills of government and spark free speech.
The most poignant moment thus far: A young woman with leukemia (who may have been pregnant) was in the crowd. From all reports she was peaceful in the protest, but vary if she was there or on a stretcher when she was punched in the abdomen hard enough to cause her to begin to urinate blood. This person did not have any insurance and because she was in the occupy protest, last news was that she was NOT going to be treated without pay.
If you check some of the Anon sources, they're since ousted all of that cop's personal contact information.
This does however make a rather stark illumination of our society in the United States. Here we are, having protests that are peaceful until the police come to shut them down, then appear to be worse then some of those countries whose government we deplored internationally. The US is also a country where a cop can cause grievous injury to someone, and society does not care enough about people to even lift a finger to make sure that they survive. At least, not without showing the money. That is a failure.
If you aren't doing it already, keep an eye out on Occupy Oakland. The Oakland PD has always been one of the more violent and quick to anger forces as Oakland has historically been a less then great place to live. That same attitude with protests like we're seeing and its only a matter of time before people begin to die for showing free speech and the right the peacefully assemble.
Maybe we'll end up with our own Tank Man, like China did once... it may get that bad.
Pictures from the incident posted to Flickr and other places show a story that does not seem like it should happen here in the US. Fully armed police going after civilians who are fighting back with rowdy words and fists. It looks like something out of the pictures we were getting out of Egypt, back when we would herald the freedom of the internet as an awesome way to get a country fired up about the ills of government and spark free speech.
The most poignant moment thus far: A young woman with leukemia (who may have been pregnant) was in the crowd. From all reports she was peaceful in the protest, but vary if she was there or on a stretcher when she was punched in the abdomen hard enough to cause her to begin to urinate blood. This person did not have any insurance and because she was in the occupy protest, last news was that she was NOT going to be treated without pay.
If you check some of the Anon sources, they're since ousted all of that cop's personal contact information.
This does however make a rather stark illumination of our society in the United States. Here we are, having protests that are peaceful until the police come to shut them down, then appear to be worse then some of those countries whose government we deplored internationally. The US is also a country where a cop can cause grievous injury to someone, and society does not care enough about people to even lift a finger to make sure that they survive. At least, not without showing the money. That is a failure.
If you aren't doing it already, keep an eye out on Occupy Oakland. The Oakland PD has always been one of the more violent and quick to anger forces as Oakland has historically been a less then great place to live. That same attitude with protests like we're seeing and its only a matter of time before people begin to die for showing free speech and the right the peacefully assemble.
Maybe we'll end up with our own Tank Man, like China did once... it may get that bad.
Urge to [Blank], Rising!
Posted 14 years agoI will freely admit I am not the super stable bat that I play on TV. Sure, I have the confidence, the smooth talking voice, jokes that are only funny when you have to laugh to be polite... but I do have my occasional moment where I will just flip my lid and something interesting happens.
Usually this something is one of two directives: "You must clean all the things!" or "You must build all the things!"
As I am totally and completely out of space to do any building projects for right now, what with my desk kinda stuffed full of stuff, the closet full, and no space right now to reorganize, building is not exactly the option of choice! So I decided to roll up my sleeves, grab the leather and neoprene maid outfit, and attack the living room like an angry... uh, bat.
The shredded TV parts went to the generic parts bin outside, a bunch of trash went into the trash can, random clothing was put into the couch surfer clothing pile, all the tools that had been displaced for use for my roomie's RC stuff were put back onto the tool shelf, some blanket folded and some gungans died.
This did however make me realize something. The manly bat, the ex-mechanic with the awesome goatee, is the one taking care of this. And of the many people that live in this home, I have the longest work schedule of the group. Why am I having to do basic cleaning? Why doesn't the vacuum get run? I mean I could understand having to do high level sorting or furniture reconfiguring or electronics issues (I maintain the entire house network) but really... cobwebs? Trash on the living room table?
Responsibility. I don't understand why in the house I'm in, I seem to be holding that word up. Even more so then the property manager is. -.- Yet another reason to be searching for some new digs!
Usually this something is one of two directives: "You must clean all the things!" or "You must build all the things!"
As I am totally and completely out of space to do any building projects for right now, what with my desk kinda stuffed full of stuff, the closet full, and no space right now to reorganize, building is not exactly the option of choice! So I decided to roll up my sleeves, grab the leather and neoprene maid outfit, and attack the living room like an angry... uh, bat.
The shredded TV parts went to the generic parts bin outside, a bunch of trash went into the trash can, random clothing was put into the couch surfer clothing pile, all the tools that had been displaced for use for my roomie's RC stuff were put back onto the tool shelf, some blanket folded and some gungans died.
This did however make me realize something. The manly bat, the ex-mechanic with the awesome goatee, is the one taking care of this. And of the many people that live in this home, I have the longest work schedule of the group. Why am I having to do basic cleaning? Why doesn't the vacuum get run? I mean I could understand having to do high level sorting or furniture reconfiguring or electronics issues (I maintain the entire house network) but really... cobwebs? Trash on the living room table?
Responsibility. I don't understand why in the house I'm in, I seem to be holding that word up. Even more so then the property manager is. -.- Yet another reason to be searching for some new digs!
Work, Watching, Bats!
Posted 14 years agoSo I seem to have stumbled (*cough*ledbythenoseto*cough*) several other bats on the server and have been slowly but surely working to +watch most if not all of them. Honestly, some of the artwork may get a little anime-ish for me, but still... bats. More bat artwork is a good thing.
I've been a little quiet and unproductive this week. I essentially made the novice mistake of mentioning a project in the team meeting. Once you mention something like that, all eyes zoom in on you from across the room! Even using a wing to shield yourself from the piercing gaze is not enough! "Why are you bringing this up?!" the eyeballs seem to say.
Needless to continue on with that line of visualization, I was summarily charged with being in charge of this project, given a firm but solemn nod from our Team Manager, and my name chiseled into the rock that makes up this project in case it needs to be thrown down the well.
Its hard. And I have my quadracopter I really want to fly but don't have any night-time LEDs for. So pretty much everything not work related, morning wake up related, or quardracopter related I've put on hold. This include my sketchbook, websites, etc etc etc.
Good news? By next Tuesday one way or the other... I shouldn't have to worry about it anymore.
I've been a little quiet and unproductive this week. I essentially made the novice mistake of mentioning a project in the team meeting. Once you mention something like that, all eyes zoom in on you from across the room! Even using a wing to shield yourself from the piercing gaze is not enough! "Why are you bringing this up?!" the eyeballs seem to say.
Needless to continue on with that line of visualization, I was summarily charged with being in charge of this project, given a firm but solemn nod from our Team Manager, and my name chiseled into the rock that makes up this project in case it needs to be thrown down the well.
Its hard. And I have my quadracopter I really want to fly but don't have any night-time LEDs for. So pretty much everything not work related, morning wake up related, or quardracopter related I've put on hold. This include my sketchbook, websites, etc etc etc.
Good news? By next Tuesday one way or the other... I shouldn't have to worry about it anymore.
Chaos Overwhelming!
Posted 14 years agoSo took care of the morning house hunting. Nothing special out there, one maybe. Still nothing to match the most Awesome House Ever that I was outbid on.
Just a note to those people out there selling their homes on short sale and enjoying the rent free life: If you get a buyer don't lead them on! Starting to get sick and tired of people putting their homes up for Sale and then NOT selling them! Not even to the point of talking, just giving up some excuses.
There is a house with a dog in it that I want to look at. I am considering bringing dog food, letting the dog out to eat, and then looking anyway.
In oooother news, I got my first quadracopter! Its a little indoor model, not even a foot across. My first flight I didn't calibrate the throttle right, and while trying to control it, and I kid you not, it homed in on the poor cat that was watching and rammed into him.
After that I calibrated the throttle, almost got it lost in the neighbors yard, and hovered it around a bit. Its amazing fun! If I can get good with this little guy I should be able to fly a larger one no problem, and with the GPS autopilot I could sleep pilot!
Just a note to those people out there selling their homes on short sale and enjoying the rent free life: If you get a buyer don't lead them on! Starting to get sick and tired of people putting their homes up for Sale and then NOT selling them! Not even to the point of talking, just giving up some excuses.
There is a house with a dog in it that I want to look at. I am considering bringing dog food, letting the dog out to eat, and then looking anyway.
In oooother news, I got my first quadracopter! Its a little indoor model, not even a foot across. My first flight I didn't calibrate the throttle right, and while trying to control it, and I kid you not, it homed in on the poor cat that was watching and rammed into him.
After that I calibrated the throttle, almost got it lost in the neighbors yard, and hovered it around a bit. Its amazing fun! If I can get good with this little guy I should be able to fly a larger one no problem, and with the GPS autopilot I could sleep pilot!
Web Projects - Help?
Posted 14 years agoSo in the many things that I pretend to do (such as art) I have found that thus far building websites seems to actually come to a good end. So I've got two projects on my plate right now I'd like to get started.
The first project is simply a remake of my website for the development of my MUSH which is Officially "Not Dead Yet". This site needs to do the whole community shebang (which isn't hard with PHPBB3 and MediaWiki as long as they tie together... like oil and water... or mayonaise I guess) as well as keep track of some in-game information.
Secondly, is to work on a website for a deepweb project of mine, a reference guide to lots of 'stuff' to do that the information used to be pretty well available but has since fallen off of the internet.
So where does the help come in? I discovered Drupal.
Drupal looks like it will do everything I want it to do. Including bridge BB3 and MW, as well as do site specific content and a bajillion other things. Perhaps however, it does TOO MUCH. I have no idea where to start for just a simple site for doing news updates, or even where to start digging through addons for what I want. Its a massive super-awesome glut of everything and its like being the fat kid at the sweets and ice-cream buffet.
Anyone out there that still watches me know anything about Drupal, and can point me in the right direction? Anyone? o_o
The first project is simply a remake of my website for the development of my MUSH which is Officially "Not Dead Yet". This site needs to do the whole community shebang (which isn't hard with PHPBB3 and MediaWiki as long as they tie together... like oil and water... or mayonaise I guess) as well as keep track of some in-game information.
Secondly, is to work on a website for a deepweb project of mine, a reference guide to lots of 'stuff' to do that the information used to be pretty well available but has since fallen off of the internet.
So where does the help come in? I discovered Drupal.
Drupal looks like it will do everything I want it to do. Including bridge BB3 and MW, as well as do site specific content and a bajillion other things. Perhaps however, it does TOO MUCH. I have no idea where to start for just a simple site for doing news updates, or even where to start digging through addons for what I want. Its a massive super-awesome glut of everything and its like being the fat kid at the sweets and ice-cream buffet.
Anyone out there that still watches me know anything about Drupal, and can point me in the right direction? Anyone? o_o
Time for a Break
Posted 14 years agoSo today I am doing a little bit better. Still coughing up chunks of lung but I think I'm nearly out so it won't be an issue too much longer! I'll be heading up the hill to be mobile tech support for my 'rents today as well as get some much needed time with my Twosune.com webserver to load up a new CMS system to try and get my web presence back. I'd do it all remotely except my internet connection at home is no longer reliable enough for IMs to remain active, and I literally feel like I'm on some kind of hatred-fueled dialup connection. That would be hatred towards me, not the other way around.
Other things on my list to do:
1) Doctor's Appointment! Not for the cold, but because I want to pursue overall health improvement, and be able to find a way to manage my stress that will involve no longer smoking. 'Cause really, I hate the smell, other people hate the smell, and while it works I need a better way.
2) Rebuild the Startide IV community website so I can start working on that project again. Because I want to finish that MUSH someday, and be able to RP on there with people.
3) Folding laundry, because yeah.
4) Find houses to search for tomorrow.
5) Arting. I would like to be able to draw something today, just to say that I drew again. I tend to spend much of my time not letting my life get to me instead of taking life by the horns and telling it how I'm gonna run things. Chances are it will be a random doodle of one of my characters, or I'll try a character sheet of Serenity, 'cause she's awesome.
Current things to watch for out there in the world of the real?
ACTA
This is an international treaty that was created behind closed doors over a year ago that is in the process of ratification amongst the countries the US has trade agreements with to allow our IP/Copyright enforcement power in those countries. At least that's what I got from it when I first saw it brewing a while back. Go check it out!
Other things on my list to do:
1) Doctor's Appointment! Not for the cold, but because I want to pursue overall health improvement, and be able to find a way to manage my stress that will involve no longer smoking. 'Cause really, I hate the smell, other people hate the smell, and while it works I need a better way.
2) Rebuild the Startide IV community website so I can start working on that project again. Because I want to finish that MUSH someday, and be able to RP on there with people.
3) Folding laundry, because yeah.
4) Find houses to search for tomorrow.
5) Arting. I would like to be able to draw something today, just to say that I drew again. I tend to spend much of my time not letting my life get to me instead of taking life by the horns and telling it how I'm gonna run things. Chances are it will be a random doodle of one of my characters, or I'll try a character sheet of Serenity, 'cause she's awesome.
Current things to watch for out there in the world of the real?
ACTA
This is an international treaty that was created behind closed doors over a year ago that is in the process of ratification amongst the countries the US has trade agreements with to allow our IP/Copyright enforcement power in those countries. At least that's what I got from it when I first saw it brewing a while back. Go check it out!
Still Sick - Politics!
Posted 14 years agoSo this year the crud decided to sucker punch me instead of the usual weak front-side assault. I've been working through it but I feel vaguely like I've been flying to and from work with my /arms/ every morning, and like I've been running forever too.
But aside from that, I *think* I'm getting better. House hunting will be on this week, still trying to find a good place, because I really want one.
This week in politics so far! That Lamar guy in the Congress-y thing... I think maybe his mother ran off with the internet or something 'cause he sure hates it. PIPA was delayed and SOPA was benched while PIPA was delayed... and the guy pushes through PCFIP to the House... and I mean *quick*.
PCFIP (HR1981): Requires all ISPs to keep a rolling 18-month log of everything site you visit and every transaction you make, makes them liable only to alert you if that data is breached, and is essentially nationwide warrantless wiretapping in law.
The best part? "Protect Children from Internet Pornographers"... seriously, that's its name. It has nothing to do with children, nothing to do with pornography... its wiretapping plain and simple. I am also concerned it may require breaking the SSL trust chain to do what it wants to do, which would kill off secure transactions over the internet, since the details are very sketchy.
So hey, if you happen to be in Texas, which is where this Lamar guy hails from, mind putting him out to pasture before he breaks the backbone of the internet?
In other news...
Megaupload went down during a coordinated raid that arrested multiple people form multiple countries without an extradition order for allegedly violating US Copyright law, without the help of ACTA, SOPA, PIPA, or PCFIP.
Since the Mega* services were literally yanked out of the wall, sites like the xda-developers and other services that used Megaupload for legitimate (or non-legit) reasons have discovered their data is now on the chopping block for evidence and no longer accessible.
The chilling effect of this rippled through other File Sharing sites as they disabled the "Sharing" aspect of their service and went to a single-user file locker style site, where you only have access to your own data, with I believe the two leading the pack being RapidShare and FileSonic.
What can learn from this?
1) ACTA, SOPA, PIPA, and the new PCFIP are completely and utterly bogus and not required, as we pretty much took down one of the largest bandwidth using companies with regular ol' warrants and brass balls. Mind you we arrested a group of foreign nationals (from multiple countries) on foreign soil (New Zealand) for laws that are primarily US Only (copyright - although some treaties broaden our ability apply our laws elsewhere). Heck, copyright holders still can't use the DMCA right without abusing it, what makes them think they need MORE useless add-on laws?
2) Lamar from Texas hates the internet, and has been quoted as saying that his stuff only fails when he tells people about it. Which generally means they are bad ideas. He's trying to make laws that are against the constitution (freedom from warrantless wiretapping, freedom of speech, etc), can we get rid of him? Please Texas? Just pretend he's making an anti-gun law or something.
3) The concept of the internet as the single best medium for sharing ideas is being murdered in its heyday by corporate middleman greed, loose-gun enforcement, and people that are trying to make rules while not understanding what goes on. The ability to communicate and send stuff back and forth has helped massively improve communication and services among internet connected countries! Not only that, but the US Government pretty much drove the USPS into the ground, so I have no idea why they'd want us to have to back to using them for everything.
Welp, time to get ready for work! Check out the current events though, fellow furs. Its important!
But aside from that, I *think* I'm getting better. House hunting will be on this week, still trying to find a good place, because I really want one.
This week in politics so far! That Lamar guy in the Congress-y thing... I think maybe his mother ran off with the internet or something 'cause he sure hates it. PIPA was delayed and SOPA was benched while PIPA was delayed... and the guy pushes through PCFIP to the House... and I mean *quick*.
PCFIP (HR1981): Requires all ISPs to keep a rolling 18-month log of everything site you visit and every transaction you make, makes them liable only to alert you if that data is breached, and is essentially nationwide warrantless wiretapping in law.
The best part? "Protect Children from Internet Pornographers"... seriously, that's its name. It has nothing to do with children, nothing to do with pornography... its wiretapping plain and simple. I am also concerned it may require breaking the SSL trust chain to do what it wants to do, which would kill off secure transactions over the internet, since the details are very sketchy.
So hey, if you happen to be in Texas, which is where this Lamar guy hails from, mind putting him out to pasture before he breaks the backbone of the internet?
In other news...
Megaupload went down during a coordinated raid that arrested multiple people form multiple countries without an extradition order for allegedly violating US Copyright law, without the help of ACTA, SOPA, PIPA, or PCFIP.
Since the Mega* services were literally yanked out of the wall, sites like the xda-developers and other services that used Megaupload for legitimate (or non-legit) reasons have discovered their data is now on the chopping block for evidence and no longer accessible.
The chilling effect of this rippled through other File Sharing sites as they disabled the "Sharing" aspect of their service and went to a single-user file locker style site, where you only have access to your own data, with I believe the two leading the pack being RapidShare and FileSonic.
What can learn from this?
1) ACTA, SOPA, PIPA, and the new PCFIP are completely and utterly bogus and not required, as we pretty much took down one of the largest bandwidth using companies with regular ol' warrants and brass balls. Mind you we arrested a group of foreign nationals (from multiple countries) on foreign soil (New Zealand) for laws that are primarily US Only (copyright - although some treaties broaden our ability apply our laws elsewhere). Heck, copyright holders still can't use the DMCA right without abusing it, what makes them think they need MORE useless add-on laws?
2) Lamar from Texas hates the internet, and has been quoted as saying that his stuff only fails when he tells people about it. Which generally means they are bad ideas. He's trying to make laws that are against the constitution (freedom from warrantless wiretapping, freedom of speech, etc), can we get rid of him? Please Texas? Just pretend he's making an anti-gun law or something.
3) The concept of the internet as the single best medium for sharing ideas is being murdered in its heyday by corporate middleman greed, loose-gun enforcement, and people that are trying to make rules while not understanding what goes on. The ability to communicate and send stuff back and forth has helped massively improve communication and services among internet connected countries! Not only that, but the US Government pretty much drove the USPS into the ground, so I have no idea why they'd want us to have to back to using them for everything.
Welp, time to get ready for work! Check out the current events though, fellow furs. Its important!
FC2012 - Twitter - Con Crud - Work!
Posted 14 years agoSo I've been out of touch for quite a long time (a year since my last honest upload from my own arts?!) but I did manage to, at last minute, get my fuzzy butt over to FC.
It was a blast! And just because the internet/signage wasn't where I was expecting it I also ended up hopping on Twitter finally, in case anyone wants to hear me be really boring and mundane ;)
I got to Commission
pmoss and 
jace and 
0niros among others for badges, and I have to say that it was a great time to get badges!
Also for the first time since... uh... '01? I finally had a semi room party set up. It was a private movie and drink (no alcohol) party and it sounds like it was really well received and people liked it. I'm considered trying for the part floor next year so that I can do a loud fun party then on Saturday maybe like a Chill Lounge... just need someone that can spin some 80s and some Ambient to help out with, and a year to make decorations/ buy lighting!
I'm excited again about the community and the Con really helped refresh my mind... although coming home was a HUGE downer, as it reinforced the fact I really, really need to get to a better place before this one drives me nuts. That, and it sapped my will to the point where Con Crud is finally setting in.
On the plus side, catching up on some Anime in the mean time while sick, and trying to fix the phone lines too! Panty, Stocking with Garterbelt is a great "WTF Gainax, what are you on?!" and I've been checking out Fairy Tail, which the Manga was a pretty fun read.
Anyway, figured it was time for a new journal entry. Now I just have to get myself constructive again WHILE working!
It was a blast! And just because the internet/signage wasn't where I was expecting it I also ended up hopping on Twitter finally, in case anyone wants to hear me be really boring and mundane ;)
I got to Commission
pmoss and 
jace and 
0niros among others for badges, and I have to say that it was a great time to get badges!Also for the first time since... uh... '01? I finally had a semi room party set up. It was a private movie and drink (no alcohol) party and it sounds like it was really well received and people liked it. I'm considered trying for the part floor next year so that I can do a loud fun party then on Saturday maybe like a Chill Lounge... just need someone that can spin some 80s and some Ambient to help out with, and a year to make decorations/ buy lighting!
I'm excited again about the community and the Con really helped refresh my mind... although coming home was a HUGE downer, as it reinforced the fact I really, really need to get to a better place before this one drives me nuts. That, and it sapped my will to the point where Con Crud is finally setting in.
On the plus side, catching up on some Anime in the mean time while sick, and trying to fix the phone lines too! Panty, Stocking with Garterbelt is a great "WTF Gainax, what are you on?!" and I've been checking out Fairy Tail, which the Manga was a pretty fun read.
Anyway, figured it was time for a new journal entry. Now I just have to get myself constructive again WHILE working!
FoxBat Isn't Dead Yet
Posted 14 years agoCame fairly close to it, though! Lets see, last update UI had decided to send me a bill instead of a check, I was flat out of money, having trouble being able to make it to FC, having a horrific home life, depressed and totally single in the immediate area (which doesn't count online dalliances).
Well, things have thankfully changed. I am now employed through Volt, on Contract with Apple Inc (which is a hilariously fun company to work for), slowly crawling out of my debt hole kicking and screaming, and things are starting to look up.
Still mostly single though. I say mostly because I have someone who needs to figure out if they're interested or not (and they watch my journal, so consider this a poke!).
Friends by far have been the only things keeping me from imploding under my own weight. From my roomies that are just plain cool to IanKeith and Leapri whose love for one another and willingness to spend time with me has kept me out of trouble, to my coworkers and all the SacFurs that I occasionally bump into.
Good news, though! I has new arts. Well, technically new art. It was started 3 months ago. Finally inked it. But I also have some birthday art that I will post after I give the present away. It'll be in grayscale here (practice in photoshop) but today I'm using some prismacolor pencils for the original. :)
Well, things have thankfully changed. I am now employed through Volt, on Contract with Apple Inc (which is a hilariously fun company to work for), slowly crawling out of my debt hole kicking and screaming, and things are starting to look up.
Still mostly single though. I say mostly because I have someone who needs to figure out if they're interested or not (and they watch my journal, so consider this a poke!).
Friends by far have been the only things keeping me from imploding under my own weight. From my roomies that are just plain cool to IanKeith and Leapri whose love for one another and willingness to spend time with me has kept me out of trouble, to my coworkers and all the SacFurs that I occasionally bump into.
Good news, though! I has new arts. Well, technically new art. It was started 3 months ago. Finally inked it. But I also have some birthday art that I will post after I give the present away. It'll be in grayscale here (practice in photoshop) but today I'm using some prismacolor pencils for the original. :)
