I used Photoshop professionally for nearly 30 years. I retired and don’t need it anymore, so now I use GIMP on Linux for the few personal projects I want to make.

GIMP’s interface leaves a lot to be desired. One example, in Photoshop the Channels tab shows all the channels and includes any masks you make, they look and work similarly to the layers, and it’s intuitive–when you learn one, you know the other. GIMP doesn’t work that way, in fact I’ve yet to make sense of the channels.

Also, typically one would expect filters to only be applied to a selected layer and even to a selection within that layer. Some GIMP filters apply to the whole image, flattening my layers, and creating new ones. Fortunately, these are made in a new document, so you don’t lose anything, but the filter cannot be applied to a partial image, you’d need to pull the result back into your original image and mask out the part you wanted. Very strange.

I could go on about how selecting works and doesn’t work, but I won’t.

No, Adobe has not “lost millions” due to GIMP, they haven’t lost a cent. People who use GIMP were either never going to pay Adobe a cent, or already have and are using GIMP now, for similar reasons to my own. Virtually no one uses GIMP professionally at any volume of interest to Adobe.

It’s a good and useful tool, but it’s severely lacking compared to Photoshop.

The little chip contact on my debit card started getting flaky with certain machines. Finally, it wouldn’t work at all, and I had to use my credit card to pay for groceries. I never use my credit card, I wasn’t even sure it still worked. Then I had to remember to pay my credit card before the end of the month.

The only other time I replaced a debit card is when I lost one. When I chose the “lost or stolen” option from the dropdown, my card was immediately canceled, and I got the message I’d get a new one in the mail in a few days. I had to use my coin stash to put gas in my car, and I ate from the back of the pantry till the card showed up. Cut it close there, I didn’t know that was going to happen, and didn’t plan ahead.

It’s an old meme, sir…

You voted for it, you just weren’t paying attention. You paid attention to the racist rhetoric, and believed the obviously false promises. You “did your own research” by watching Fox “News”. You got what you voted for, you just don’t know it.

I had a co-worker who took a few semesters of Spanish in high school, she got all As, and then went on a class trip to Mexico. At first, she couldn’t understand a thing, but she said as she listened and tried, “something snapped” and suddenly she got it.

Most people who take a language in school don’t keep at it. We’re just doing it because it’s required, and to pass the class. I took French in high school. The only person I’ve ever met who spoke French fluently was my teacher. I really should have taken Spanish, but I wanted to be “different”.

In Europe, also, because of the open borders, and being packed so close together, people encounter foreign languages far more frequently. It makes sense they’d all want to, and benefit from, knowing multiple languages. And, they’d have more opportunities to practice. Not many Japanese speak a second language, compared to Europeans, for instance.

No, she could, it’s hers to give. It just wouldn’t mean anything to anyone but Trump. It would be like if Cillian Murphy gave me his best actor Oscar–absolutely meaningless.

And, maybe because of that, it’s a good idea? This is the fucking world we live in now.

Because, it’s NEVER been about protecting kids, or other vulnerable people. The filthy rich don’t give one flying fuck about vulnerable people.

I’m sure I could learn to read this as quickly as any other clock, given practice. I saw one 45 years ago on the mantel in someone’s house. My nerdy teenage friend had learned how to read it and taught me. I didn’t have one to practice with, and quickly forgot. Forty-five years later, and I’ve never seen another one.

This display, as a clock interface for humans, makes no sense in the real world. Outside of showing it to people as a novelty.

If you want a cool clock that anyone can read, get a nixie tube clock.

I’m on a desktop PC. I have LanguageTool installed, and it flags both spelling and grammar mistakes as I type. Also, I write fiction as a hobby and have plenty of practice typing, so I hope that I don’t post too many mistakes.

I hope the Iranian people can oust their corrupt and inept government.

Also, coming soon to a blue state U.S. city.

I just installed a new doorbell button, the little light burned out in my old one.

I don’t have a “security” camera. As far as I can tell, all they do is provide a memento of the crime after the fact, and prompt my neighbors to worry about “suspicious” people outside walking. They seem to do the opposite of making people feel more secure. They seem to raise anxiety.

Screaming is well and good to build public opinion against this stupidity, but all the CEOs in their towers will heed is no sales.

We need to make it uncool to like or tolerate AI bullshit in consumer products.

If you have friends, and they show you their new fridge with a touch screen, don’t be polite. Tell them it’s the stupidest thing you’ve ever seen, and then mock them for choosing it every chance you get. And, no, I don’t have friends anymore (but, this is not why).

JFC.

If you’re in Texas, get out.

If you’re staying in Texas to ride the shit wave for your own enrichment, fuck you.

If you’re planning on moving to Texas, WHY?

Probably. And, you first.

If you’re spending the day calling out hypocrites, it’s going to be a long, and unproductive day.

I tried to be surprised.

If you hand socially disenfranchised young men a bit of power, they WILL abuse it.

Lowballing, just like every damn billionaire grifter.

Remember when the bootlickers were responding, “We don’t have kings in this country, we have a President.”? Biggest fucking whoosh of the century so far. I’m convinced they sincerely missed the point, like they were reveling in correcting the semantics. Fucking idiots.

See, what no one in here realizes is that the plan was to use this as a master to cast an aluminum one. Aluminium is a metal, and metal is strong. I’m sure everything will be fine. Bonus–aluminum doesn’t rust, so it should last forever. OOP wonders why they weren’t made of aluminum in the first place, and figures it’s “planned obsolescence.”

He’s just waiting for his casting kit to be delivered. He expects to be flying again later that day.

If you think they’ll use it to find the package thief, you’re fooling yourself.

All these cameras do is give you a memento of the theft or other event. They do nothing to stop crime, and cops DGAF about looking at your video:

“Yep, that’s a video of a guy stealing your truck from your driveway. Prolly should’a put it in the garage.”