[originz]

hi :) if you are a studyblr who wants to go through my blog u should go take a look at after st valentine :))

feel free to scroll through this one too but most of my posts are really old.

[bonefarm]

I said it in the notes on the last post but I’m gonna say it again.

I’m married to someone with severe memory problems. Automation of household appliances & systems helps him a lot and helps me a lot because it reduces the number of things I have to keep in my brain at all times. I love doors that lock themselves, being able to schedule dog food being delivered, a thermostat I can manipulate from wherever. Beyond my little bubble it should be noted that voice controlled appliances can be really good for people with mobility concerns. Appliances that can measure and talk and remember little tasks can be such a blessing for people.

I will never forgive Amazon and Google for taking technologies that could be really helpful and weaponizing them, and fuck everybody who acts like its some kind of conspiracy theory that those devices are spying on you. You absolutely should be distrustful of those devices but just make sure you’re getting angry at the right people.

[creekfiend]

Making accessibility devices evil is just like so Disney villain

[prismatic-bell]

My mom is blind and without her Alexa literally could not cook, go shopping, or do a million other things. Because Alexa is voice-activated, she doesn’t have to fumble with knobs or write a list she can’t read.

I will never forgive Amazon for how much I hate a tool that allows my mother to live her life.

[olivia0823yxa]

Open source and secure alternatives for some of these:

- Voice activated smart speaker: Mycroft (can be purchased as a complete unit, or DIYed with a Raspberry Pi and microphone+speaker array) https://mycroft.ai/

- Smart Home automation: home-assistant (cannot be purchased, originally developed by MIT) https://www.home-assistant.io/

- Zigbee (the wireless protocol for smart lights and other smart devices) bridge: Conbee II (this takes the place of a Phillips Bridge, for instance. And is in many cases better because it works with all brands of smart light that use Zigbee--which is almost all of them, including the cheap IKEA ones--and also works for devices that aren’t lights. Cannot really be DIYed because Zigbee needs special hardware, not just software) https://phoscon.de/en/conbee2 

I don’t know any alternatives for locks, vacuums, thermometers, or anything else sadly. None of these are that difficult to set up with just a little bit of tech know-how, and extensive guides already exist for almost all problems you could run into because the open-source community is almost psychotically dedicated to its projects, unlike Amazon, Google, and Apple where it’s practically impossible to get help with any problem that’s even slightly unusual.

[bonefarm]

Oh thank you!! These area really neat

[ryncoon]

Oh thank you so much! My grandmother has an alexa and it’s really improved her enjoyment of life, but I hate even talking around it. It’s linked to my amazon and I’ve gotten suggestions based on things it’s heard. That wigs me out so much.

[seperis]

Can confirm, Home Assistant is amazing; I transitioned everything I could for it to control and right now that’s literally everything. It can also be integrated with other voice-activated smart speakers than Alexa as well as Alexa. It also comes WITH an Add-on called Ada for voice.  So far, there is very goddamn little on the market that isn’t either officially supported or community supported and stuff is being added at the rate of literally weekly. If you do scripting and have a taste for diy, you can be Dr. Doom and your home is your supervillain lair.

Because of the market, most smart appliances and devices are Alexa enabled, but unless they’re made by Amazon, that doesn’t mean they’re Alexa exclusive and even then, someone is hacking their way into the API and pulling the endpoints. Right now, the only thing I can’t work in here (yet) is my Nest Thermostat and HA is working on adding that back in right now.

Home Assistant is fully compatible with the zwave and zigbee standards as well as wifi and bluetooth; you can directly control zwave and zigbee items or link up your existing hubs for it to control like SmartThings.

https://www.home-assistant.io/

It can be run in several ways; I’ve done it on a Pi 4 both 4G and 8G and a VM on my Ubuntu server and while the Pi is recommended--I recommend it too for convenience--it’s one of several possibilites.  Currently I’m using a Raspberry Pi 4b 8G with a solid state hard drive instead of SD card.  You can purchase z-wave and zigbee modules to add to it for direct control of z-wave and zigbee devices or use your existing hubs (or both). Beneath the HA umbrella is also links to the blueprints of building your own zigbee and zwave devices with Arduino just to start that HA can also control. I’m not saying you’re going to be building your own smart thermostat on the weekend, but apparently, some people are doing just that.

This does not require a high tech start value; most integrations are automatic, you just say yes and login and let it happen, it even creates your Dr. Doom dashboard with TABS.

Again, you DO NOT NEED TO KNOW ANYTHING BUT COMPUTERS EXIST AND HOW TO CLICK YES AND NO TO USE THIS. For me, it was actually easier than a lot of setups with shit I had to pay money for that said they were easy.  This is open source, but that is not synonymous with user unfriendly; a lot of work was done to make this accessible to the casual automation user. The UI is card based; when you first start, HA does it all for you and creates discrete cards that control different things on your dashboard; no effort on your part, you can turn on and off any light in here or turn them red while someone is in the bathroom because that’s fucking funny.  But as you get more comfortable, you can start to create your own configurtions, take direct control of the UI, and mix it up; it’s up to you.

But.

If you are a DIYer or just want to be or never knew you wanted to be but feel the vibes and need a place to start, this is the perfect sandbox for learning and escalating.  There are a metric ton of tutorials, community add-ins, and message boards to consult. If you can imagine it, it can be done and its likely someone is working on version eight right now. The primary languages are python and javascript with yaml for configuration files for DIY.  You can create your own layouts, your own sensors, and your own cards if you don’t like what they have. If you’re like me, you may also go in to community addins and add new stuff to their code so it runs like you want it to; it’s all up to you.

I am not a dev pro, I’m a QC analyst with a scripting hobby; I do this quite literally for fun on weekends or when I’m bored or anxious and need to soothe myself with coding.

Here is the home page of my MULTI-TAB dashboard. Yes, that is a floorplan of my apartment and those glowy orange and dark grey bits are things that I can turn on and off from the comfort of my bed.  It’s fun.

I seriously would kill to get more people into this and have someone to play with and enjoy the feeling of controlling all within my (apartment) kingdom with but a single command.  Dear God tell me if you’re into it; we’ll be best friends and hopefully you’ll be okay with that.

Here’s an intro to Home Assistant I wrote back in September in DW when I first started, with screenshots.  You’ll also be able to see my Dash when I first started compared to the dash above. Feel free to ask me anything from the perspective of someone not a dev professional, an engineer, or even has a degree in anything, much less anything like this, and yet is a QC lead who codes their own testing tools and for whom this is just something cool and fun.

Home Assistant: An Introduction

[youcandalekmyballs]

this is cool af! reblogging for anyone interested in automation but not bezos!

[eesirachs]

“I loved you, always.”

[scp-469-blog]

going to comment a little on this game: the overseeing voice talks as if it owns you, and defies your free will. if you follow its orders, you are praised, and the worldview becomes sharper and more detailed. if you don’t, you are chastised, and the world becomes more vague and difficult to navigate, but also more colourful and loud. it’s odd, and sort of eerie, but definitely interesting. take it as you will.

[scarecrows-talk-deactivated2018]

This game really unsettles me. It unsttles me that my first choice to obey, and when I played again and disobeyed, I got really emotional really fast. Failure hurt me more the more I disobeyed. It was… interesting to experience.

[some-asshole-with-a-pony-icon-d]

i’ve always said we are trained to obey more than to think.

[bobateebrek]

holy shit. i reblogged this the first time without playing. then i played in and it is terrifying. i very much like this, but it will give you intense feelings. 

[inarticulate-spaghetti]

What’s the game??

[bobateebrek]

you obey everything the game tells you too, even jumping into barbs and basically killing yourself. if you dont youre chastised and even the scolding is terrifying

[theanimatedraccoon]

So, essentially, it’s a game that illustrates what it’s like to be in an abusive parents or an abusive relationship - and how it affects you emotionally. That is horrific and ingenious - the next time someone negates the affects of emotional abuse, I’ll take them to this game and let them come to their own conclusions.

[phiasmir]

This game absolutely gets it. The most solid and reliable degradation is a gendered insult. The more you obey and co-operate, the better understanding you seem to have of your word, and things seem easier. But what really gets me is the contradiction. You are not allowed to have the correct answer. Are you a boy or a girl? The answer is no, I will give you the answer. even towards the end, your "praise” is “no, I will give you the answer. You earned this answer, but it is given to you by me.” Disobeying makes the world frightening and confusing and difficult, but beautiful in a world devoid of flavour.

[mr-deep-downer]

Nintendo paywalling to the ability to play classic n64 and sega genesis behind a second paid online membership

so yes emulating is still morally right fuck these bastards

[mr-deep-downer]

20 year old games for an extra 8 dollars on top of whatever how much Nintendo online costs already like you’re not even owning these games it’s a fucking rental service.

Just pirate.

[idealred]

[ahrva]

Feel like this is something that would be useful here so here’s a link to a website with updated, working, safe emulators for 16 different consoles and handles.

It also has roms for said emulators and even pdf versions of the manuals.

[auraseeingcoffeebean]

Hey! If anyone is trying out The StoryGraph beta site and looking for fellow bookish nerds to follow, follow me 😊. Username is Emmarae C.

StoryGraph is a cool alternative to Goodreads. It has some features that goodreads does not. It has a yearly reading challenge but also more features on your reading data. Its pretty cool and you can upload all your data from Goodreads to StoryGraph. 👍🏾

Here's some of my reading data that I thought was interesting:

Anyway follow me if you'd like 😄📚

[kevinjonashateblog]

gr8 free google chrome extensions mini masterpost

Honey - automatically searches and applies coupon/discount codes in checkout for all online stores ummm????amazing????

Tumtaster - download any audio post on tumblr

Ears - EQ any audio online (soundcloud, youtube, spotify,ect)

Whatfont - identifies any font just by hovering over it

Readism - get reading time estimates for articles ect. (this ones cool)

Peek - lets you preview and interact with documents/links before you download (great for dropbox, mediafire/music links you dont trust)

Speakit! - converts text to speech, in any language, so u dont have to read (great for homework)

MindTheWord - great language immersion tool, in every webpage visited it randomly translates a few words into the target language specified by you (must register an account)

Night Mode Pro - switch from day to night mode for an ease to ur eyes and also a cool look

Lagom - really cute minimalistic customizable new tab page (really cool)

Palette Creator - creates a color palette for any image just right click

Hola! - access websites/videos blocked in your country, school ect.

Cite This For Me - super easy way to create website citations in APA, MLA, Chicago, or Harvard referencing styles just by one click

Aliexpress tool - reliable way to check sellers on aliexpress by rating, checking price changes and any video reviews that exist

[ninpen]

Things that have helped me (coding related)

jsfiddle - Helps you test out your code instead of using tumbr’s shitty customization page

cssportal - offers a variety of services,including: testing out your css code (gives you a live demo), generators (box-shadow etc) and others

dirtymarkup - Cleans up your code. Basically makes it legible

patternify - creates small patterns (it’s what I use to create my icons). This is honestly my favorite tool.

w3schools, codeacademy, learn-shayhowe, learnlayout - all of these websites help you learn the fundamentals of html/css and more

google - it is literally your best friend. It’ll answer any question you have no matter how vague

stackoverflow- very helpful website. Helps you answer any questions you may have (code related). BUT PLEASE, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE SEARCHED YOUR QUESTIONS BEFORE ASKING. These are actual people who are taking their time to answer your questions, and they will take your “question asking” privilege away from you if you abuse it

tutorialzine  codrops- tutorials to help you with coding. It can go from very simple, to “that’s way too much time investment for me”

css-tricks - it’s like a combination of helping you code, to asking questions, to tutorials (this is my favorite website)

behance, dribbble, awwwards - great place to find inspiration

 validator - checks the validity of your code

iconfinder - holy grail of icons. Some are free some aren’t

fount - it can identify any font that a webpage is using

colourcode - just check it out. 

colorlovers- color palette galore 

caniuse- says in the name

Now if you’re trying to see how your code/theme etc looks on different screen resolutions this is how you do.

Google chrome

right click on page then click on inspect or (Ctrl + Shift + I) look for this (it’s the two ipad looking icons)

All you have to do now is input in whatever specs you want If you don’t want it anymore, just click it again and it’s gone.

Firefox

click on the menu icon (the 3 lines in the right hand corner)

click developer then responsive design view or (Ctrl + Shift + M)

I hope you found this helpful. Enjoy your day

[officialkendallroy]

reblog this and tell me in the tags how bad your spotify is

[glumshoe]

Shopping for laptops fucking sucks ‘cause I don’t know shit about computers. I’ve never had a computer with a functional webcam or microphone or the ability to play computer games made later than 2005 or a speaker that could play anything loud enough to hear from more than a foot away. How the hell should I know what I want?!

[glumshoe]

wow that would be such useful advice if only desktop PCs were small and portable and did not require desk tops on which to place them and I could take them with me when I traveled

[eamhhair]

I know this is a haha funny post, but for anyone who needs it, here's a quick-and-dirty of what you're most likely going to see while shopping for a computer/laptop (w/Examples)!

Cores/Intel Cores (Ex. i3, i5, i9)= Processing Speed= how fast your internet and other programs run. More cores is better.

Hard [Disk] Drive(HDD)/Solid State Drive(SSD) (Ex. 250GB, 480GB, 2TB)= How much you can store on your computer (files and apps and programs). A Terabyte(TB) is 1,000 Gigabytes.

*HDD is cheaper and more storage while SSD is faster, more durable, and uses less energy.

Memory/RAM(Random Access Memory) (Ex. 4GB, 8GB, 16GB) = How many different things your computer can do At The Same Time.

Ex. A computer with 4GB of RAM will probably shit itself if you try to play a game with with the internet open.

Video/Graphics Cards (Ex. NVIDIA, Intel HD Graphics, AMD) = How much visual complexity your computer can handle without throwing a tantrum. Only important if you play video games, do digital art, or watch a lot of movies on your computer. (When you're watching a video and it pixelates and lags when the action stuff happens, that's a bad/small graphics card)

[ralfmaximus]

Also the “avoid refurbished computers” tip is dead wrong.

‘Refurbished’ means it’s been in a technician’s hands recently and can’t be sold as new. That’s it. That’s all. In the US the FTC makes it illegal to sell something new if it’s been sold to an end user, so by definition a lot of perfect, ready-to-go hardware must be ‘refurbished’ in order to sell it again, no matter the circumstances.

Reasons a machine might be a refurb:

- Customer bought the item, decided they didn’t like the color, and returned it

- Customer bought the item, couldn’t figure out how to turn it on, and returned it

- Retailer opened the box for some reason and lost some of what gets shipped inside (manuals, cables, charger) and returned it

- Company bought 100 computers but went out of business before they could be installed or used

- Customer got a replacement for a damaged computer under warranty, and the manufacturer fixed what was wrong with the old machine and is now selling it as a refurb

I HAVE PERSONALLY WITNESSED ALL OF THESE SCENARIOS

Bottom line: ‘refurbished’ hardware has been repaired, tested, cleaned, and renewed back to original specifications by a trained technician. If anything, it’s probably MORE reliable now that it’s been doubly-tested. 

All responsibly refurbished equipment comes with a factory warranty... the only refurbs I would avoid are items sold ‘as-is’ without warranty. That’s dangerous unless you know what you’re doing, like buying stuff for parts.

A lot of my most reliable hardware -- servers, laptops, tablets -- were bought as refurbished goods at huge savings. When I go shopping for a new thing I always look at the refurbished options first. 

tl;dr: Refurbished is great!

[fluoresensitivearchived]

JSTOR still isn’t free, that’s a bummer, but here are the websites I use to get eBooks! If you’d like to support an author you admire, that’s fine, and if you’d like to go through the library system, that’s fine too. I’m just a vigilante weirdo who hates long wait lists and encouraging a garbage publishing system! Also, we’re all stuck inside so we might as well pirate.

add more if you know of any more!

mobilism, this is where i got most of my ebooks from! you should also download an ebook reader onto your phone and your computer, depending on where you want to read. i recommend moon reader for your phone and calibre for your computer. you will need to sign up to get access to the downloads/forums but they don’t send any annoying emails, and the free trial for premium is pretty great!

Z-Lib: also really great, but they have a download cap of five per day. you can get more if you share a post to facebook or donate a small amount. very rarely disappoints and if i can’t find something on mobilism or vk, i know i can find it here.

Lib-gen, i don’t use it that often but it’s very good. real quick, just to make sure it worked well and had sort of Obscure Offerings, I looked up a book I’ve been hunting down (the novelization of the Batman: Knightfall arc …) and it was there! Amazing!

VK’s BOOKS & MOVIES in English Board and VK’s English Bookland: I wouldn’t recommend these to people who are new with pirating things, but if you know how to work it it’s really good! These two boards let you suggest books/ask someone to find you a book, and can search around through their very large databases. They do tend to repeat the same books in their posts sometimes, which means you’ll have to do a lot of scrolling/filtering out.

[minimalistgrufti]

Z-lib is my shit like the recipes I’m gonna make

[noodledesk]

today’s morning tool: the a11y project, an accessibility driven code & design resource for better, more accessible web design

[killyouranxiety]

hobbies masterpost!

a really excellent way to reduce anxiety is to pick up a new hobby. find something you’re interested in, learn it, then use it as a healthy and productive way to cope.

learn to play guitar

learn how to make interactive stories with the free program Twine

learn how to make pixel art

learn another language

learn how to build a ship in a bottle

learn how to develop your own film

learn how to embroider

learn how to make chiptunes (8-bit music)

learn how to make origami (the art of paper folding)

learn how to make tumblr themes

learn how to make jewelry 

learn how to make candy

learn how to make terrariums

learn how to make your own perfume

learn how to make your own tea

learn how to build birdhouses

learn how to read tarot cards

learn how to make zines

learn how to code

learn how to whittle (wood carving)

learn how to make candles

learn how to make clay figurines

learn how to knit scarves

learn how to become an amateur astronomer

learn some yoyo tricks

learn how to start a collection

learn how to start body building

learn how to edit wikipedia articles

learn how to decorate iphone cases

learn how to do freelance writing

learn how to make your own cards and

learn how to make your own envelopes

learn how to play the ukulele 

learn how to make gifs

learn how to play chess

learn how to juggle

learn how to guerrilla garden

learn how to chart your family history

learn how to keep chickens

learn how to do yoga

learn how to do magic

learn how to raise and breed butterflies

learn how to play dungeons & dragons

learn how to skateboard

learn how to do parkour

learn how to surf

learn how to arrange flowers

learn how to make stuffed animals

[mx-chunks]

IM GOING TO LEARN THEM ALL

[bziadraws]

CHALLENGE considered :’)

[left-reminders]

David Harvey's got you covered

[left-reminders]

[badmoxxi]

For real though, David Harvey is the man when it comes to Marx’s Capital, he’s been reading and teaching about it for decades and I highly recommend checking him out. He’s got free classes on youtube and all, it’s great and really accessible if you don’t know much about economics or theory.

https://www.youtube.com/user/readingcapital

[left-reminders]

[one-time-i-dreamt]

Read more here:

Adobe Tells Users They Can Get Sued for Using Old Versions of Photoshop

"You are no longer licensed to use the software," Adobe told them.

[awsomelink]

Friendly reminder that GIMP does pretty much everything Photoshop does, and it’s 100% free. Fuck DRM and the license culture, we have plenty of open source options available to us as a consumer.

[socialistexan]

Lightworks is a freeware video editor on par with Premiere

Blender is an excellent freeware 3D renderer,possibly better than After Effects

Lightzone to replace Lightroom

Inkscape to replace Illustratr

Audacity to replace Audition (I also received a free version of Pro Tools with my Scarlett Solo audio interface)

If Adobe is going to be greedy shitheads, then fuck ‘em. Don’t use their stuff. Freeware can be just as good, if not better, than Adobe CC.

[originz]

so like........... i think i'll use my main (this account) only for organization purposes.

so luckyfailure - - > originz

[systlin]

So my sister wants to start sewing more, because

a. She’s 5′ 11″ and can never find pants long enough for her legs or shirts long enough for her arms.

b. She hates synthetic fibers as much as I do and it’s difficult to find natural fiber clothes that aren’t made of cotton

c. She’s a biologist and would physically fistfight microplastics if given half a chance

So her gift from mom and dad for her birthday was a sewing machine. Not a super expensive one but a good solid serviceable one.

And recently she asked “So where do I GET wool or linen and thread that isn’t polyester” and mom was like ‘go ask your sister’

And I, of course, crashed into the group text like “GET A PEN I HAVE WEBSITES FOR U” and honestly I’m thrilled about this

[systlin]

“Where did u get all this”

“Bets, u know I’m a 15th degree blackbelt of buying shit on the internet”

“oh yeah tru”

[hermesmuse]

Op can may we inquire about the website list

[systlin]

Linen; https://www.graylinelinen.com/

cotton and Silk thread; https://redrockthreads.com/

Linen thread and wool fabric; https://burnleyandtrowbridge.com/ (they’ve got wool stuffs and worsted wool fabric for $15 a yard! I just got three yards of navy worsted wool I’m making a constellation winter skirt from)

More linen thread and wool; https://wmboothdraper.com/ (just ordered wool broadcloth to make a coat)

Silk fabric (THE best place to get silk lining fabrics and raw silk fabric):https://www.dharmatrading.com/

A varying assortment of wool and silk and cotton and even some leather, use coupon code  spring2020 for 50% off your full order, worked yesterday when I bought some stuff there; https://metrotextilesnyc.com/

Wool. You want wool coating for under $20 a yard? Sure you do. It’s here. Not a huge variety of colors, most are black or brown, but hey https://www.fashionfabricsclub.com/Catalog?refinementIds=4096748&Keyword=wool&pageSize=16

[wingedtyger]

I don’t know a lot about sewing, but I want to make or have my mom make some linen pants & shirts for when I’m watering, because it gets to 105 here and we have mosquitos so I need to be covered. What type of linen do I buy? Also, linen pajama shorts, yes/no?

(I’ve been wearing my renfaire pants which are a linen mix, I think. But the frikking mosquitos that hide in the tomatoes get my arms)

[systlin]

Medium weight is what I’d go with.

And linen pajama shorts is a HARD yes.

[anarchopuppy]

I want other young people to understand that if the extent of your radical action is posting “eat the rich!” on social media and waiting for somebody to tell you a revolution has started, nothing will change and you’ll get arrested in the Third Red Scare and that’ll be it

[saint-aries]

What’s the plan?

[anarchopuppy]

Join a local trade union and the IWW. Join or start a local tenant’s union. Volunteer with Food Not Bombs and do other mutual aid in your community. Support your local solidarity economy and maker community. Build, fix, and grow stuff. Use free, open-source software and stop letting companies sell your data. Pirate stuff. Break unjust laws. Attend local actions

And most importantly, join radical groups in your area. Strength is found in numbers and none of us can change the world alone. If you need help finding your local movement, DM me and I’ll look around for you so you can start getting stuff done

[goingtobed]

If you’re younger and can’t join unions or go to protests, you can still do some of the above.

Like as stated above for example, use open source software. Switch from chrome to firefox. Read the terms and conditions.

Shop at antique/thrift/pawn stores and stop buying everything new.

Barter. Exchange services, items, or skills with your peers. Are you 16 and able to drive your friends around? Carpool, and ask that your friends pay you back with food sometime, or teach you a skill that they have. Maybe that band kid is really good at knitting. Learn how to do that.

Never think that your contribution is useless. An ocean is just a multitude of drops.

[queeranarchism]

Also, you can definitely join radical groups and participate in organizing protests and action groups when you’re younger.

There’s always a lot of work to be done and not all of it requires experience, a specific skill set or being legally an adult.

Tons of action groups would absolutely welcome young people and if some don’t, do not take it personally and just try another.

[bigantifabully-blog]

Also, and this is important, even if you don’t find or have access to A Group With A Plan, absolutely nothing stops you from taking individual action on your own time. Does your community have hungry people? Shoplift some bread and balogna, and let them know while you eat together why you did it. Rack some concrete and fill some potholes. Stencil some propaganda. Be the damage you’d like to see on the world.

[callme-iyalode]

I was with you until you said fill some potholes… is that something regular people can do?? LOL

But definitely archiving this post.

[anarchopuppy]

How to Repair a Pothole

Anarchists In Portland Are Fighting The System By Fixing Potholes

[bisexual-brazilian-bunnybitch]

“Radical” is a bit of a red flag word, but otherwise YES individuals coming together to enact greater change is very important.

[anarchopuppy]

Hell yeah it’s a red flag!