I read somewhere, and believe it, that inkjet printers work on the modified Gillette razor principal: sell the initial product cheap and profit by selling the always-needed refill that keeps it working.

Except that - and here's where "modified" comes in - while safety razors will take any blade of the correct shape, printers can be DRM-chipped (looking at you, HP) to ignore anything but the manufacturer's own refills. Those can then be priced as that manufacturer pleases, and discount sources can do only so much to ease the sting.

They can also be chipped to stop working when one colour runs low, no matter the state of the others. (Looking at you again, HP). This can be annoying enough with individual colour cartridges; it's bloody infuriating if the four colours are in a single unit that has to be replaced en bloc before the damned thing starts working again.

We had one of those (guess what brand) and it didn't take much simple arithmetic to realise that it would take very few refills before we reached the price of a more expensive but much better device.

So we sold the HP and got a Brother mono laser 3-function for heavy work, and a cheap-ish Canon colour inkjet 3-function for everything else.

*****

Best move ever.

It cost about €130 more than a printer-only inkjet, was bought in April 2018, is only on its second toner cartridge (generic, not branded), works reliably on the house network and so can print from any device from PC to phone.

*****

For colour work @dduane has that non-network Canon, which continues to print well when required - cross fingers, spin three times and spit to foil the gremlins - probably because its 4 x individual-colour (we made sure of that) cartridge consumption is more balanced by doing only colour printing rather than heavy black-only use for docs.

*****

The Brother we got was DCP-L2530DW...

...which may be available at discount since it's been discontinued and replaced by DCP-L2660DW...

...though IMO this other current model, DCP-L2620DW...

...is better for home use.

The specs suggest it's a more direct replacement for our device, and that flat top is far less intrusive than the angled feed hopper (which also prevents use as, inevitably, a part-time shelf).

DD's Canon is Pixma MG2550S...

...and AFAIK is still current.

This info is provided for reference; we're not shilling for Brother or Canon, just passing on satisfied-customer opinions, so all of the above is IMO and YMMV

:->

Are you alright, honey? You've barely put your blorbo in situations

Okay but back when I could afford a therapy my psychiatrist asked if I had written any fanfiction or planned any out in my head, and I was "nah, not really." And she nodded and looked down at her notes and was like "so how do you feel about possibly trying Zoloft?"

I started laughing and she was like "I know it sounds funny but it's been six months without you engaging in your favorite hobby and that's a sign the depression is getting to a point where we might why try some treatments with meds in addition to therapy."

So like. yeah.

humbled

this is a PSA for fic writers who haven't updated in a while :

there are fics out there I'm subscribed to that have gone double digit months without updating.

rest assured the moment those babies catapult an AO3 email my way i'm dropping from the face of the earth to sink my teeth into them

i'll wait, and so will your readers

young artist posting your work online, heed my warning. im holding your face so gently in my hands, you have to stop caring about numbers right now and start caring about making the weirdest and most self-indulgent art you possibly can

STOP listening to the demon of capitalism and START listening to the angel of hedonism, i love you i believe in you keep making what you love forever ok?

site that you can type in the definition of a word and get the word

site for when you can only remember part of a word/its definition 

site that gives you words that rhyme with a word

site that gives you synonyms and antonyms

THAT FIRST SITE IS EVERY WRITER’S DREAM DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY TIMES I’VE TRIED WRITING SOMETHING AND THOUGHT GOD DAMN IS THERE A SPECIFIC WORD FOR WHAT I’M USING TWO SENTENCES TO DESCRIBE AND JUST GETTING A BUNCH OF SHIT GOOGLE RESULTS

OMG

This one’s an always-reblog, because who knows who needs it and hasn’t seen it yet?

I regret to inform you that Discord's new Terms of Service includes an arbitration clause. You can find it here https://discord.com/terms/#16. This clause includes an opt-out, which I have transcribed here:

You can decline this agreement to arbitrate by emailing an opt-out notice to arbitration-opt-out@discord.com within 30 days of April 15, 2024 or when you first register your Discord account, whichever is later; otherwise, you shall be bound to arbitrate disputes in accordance with the terms of these paragraphs. If you opt out of these arbitration provisions, Discord also will not be bound by them.

These clauses are underhanded ways that corporations seek to deprive you of your right to participate in class-action lawsuits and your right to a jury trial. (This does only apply to us users ,other people still spread the word though )

#whats arbitration someone help me

Bad news, @noodelzmop. Arbitration basically means that if you want to sue Discord for whatever reason, the dispute needs to be handled in house. Specifically, in their house. If you don't get this email out, you're basically signing away your right to legal recourse if they do criminally shitty stuff to you, like with the McDonalds app.

I have been told that emailing "I am confirming that as of the date of this email, I am choosing to opt out of binding arbitration to settle disputes with Discord." With the Email you used for your discord account is enough for the notice but take this with a grain of salt as this was not said by a lawyer

reiterating that this only applies to US users

THIRTY DAY LIMIT BTW. I suggest taking sixty seconds to fire off a quick email with op’s recommended text. I have no plans to sue discord but better safe than sorry

90% of art advice videos on youtube are unhelpful dogshit btw no matter how good someone is at drawing knowing how to draw is different from knowing how to teach people art skills

Excal's Art Tips has a ton of very specific, very clear advice with non-exaggerated visual examples of anatomical mistakes you might be making, why you're making them, and how to go about fixing them. I recommend his shorts over his full videos.

Sinix Design has longer videos but they are also very clear and helpful with slightly more intermediate advice on digital painting, style, and composition.

Art By Annabelle's video on color theory is a very concise and visually descriptive guide if you're not familiar with basic color theory.

Derek Yu's website has lots of very clear advice on how to get started with pixel art.

I can't link them but I recommend the Morpho books, they have VERY valuable advice regarding anatomical studies. In particular the books on fat and skin folds, muscled bodies, and hands/feet will be invaluable if you feel you already have a decent grasp on drawing form and want to improve and add variety to the bodies in your art.

Feel free to add on but these were very helpful for me as a digital artist and hopefully will help others 👍

My latest obsession

REVERSE TROPE WRITING PROMPTS

Story time! a few years ago my grandma found out that my sibling is nonbinary. Sibling was nervous at first bc it was an accident, and even tho our grandma fully accepted me as a trans guy, she presumably had no idea what being nb or genderfluid meant. and to an extent the sib was right—she was totally unaware that those concepts existed when we agreed to meet for lunch that day

but. but. she brought a full on PACKET of printed research and a pen. and asked questions. she took honest to god notes.

so anyway. thank you Grammy for loving your grandkids unconditionally. the feeling is mutual 💕

Grammy, squinting at her papers: “what’s this word mean? ‘nibling?’”

sibling: “so ‘pibling’ is the gender neutral word for aunt/uncle, like ‘parent’s sibling’, then ‘nibling’ is a play on that by taking the ‘n’ from niece/nephew, so—“

Grammy: “—so you’re my gribling?”

sibling: “Huh?”

Grammy: “like granddaughter or grandson”

Sibling: “Grammy—“

Grammy: “or is ‘grandthey’ better?”

Sibling: “you could just say—“

Grammy: “I just want to get it right for you because—“

Sibling: “GRANDCHILD”

Grammy: “…”

so anyway she still calls them gribling. and it’s wonderful

haha wild sorry for burning ur eyes ….itdidnt look like this when i drew it 

Time has passed...

.

.

But nothing really change huh

A Caretaker’s Intervention

Sorry for the spoiler to anyone who has not seen/played the true Pacifist route of Undertale.

Legit my favorite part of the game. This took way too long to make. Blame me for wanting to put in a bunch of special effects…

what if