Posts made by Auspice

(also why are we assuming every single person makes every single character for the purposes of TS. Says more about the person assuming that than anyone else tbh)

@surreality

Ike either sits in my lap or drapes on my shoulder. The latter usually gets her set on the floor.

I love the q-snap in general, but for this piece....... yeah. No. At 21x21 inches there was too much spare fabric for an 8" q-snap.

I have to frog stuff tonight tho. I did a whole bunch last night one row off. I dunno if I'll just cut it out or try to back it out. Even so, SECOND TIME I have to frog a whole section. I'm like, 2 steps forward 1 back on this damn thing. It's cursed.

I might go to the Star Wars blackwork just for a change of pace, even tho I'm damning myself by doing that whole thing in metallics (it'll look soooooo gooooood when I'm done tho)

I feel weird seeing Instagram 'influencers' used because most of them are trying to reach celebrity status.

I think it's once it's sort of 'household name' point that I'm more cool with it. Wanna use a Jonas Bro or ScarJo? Go for it. Wanna use some chick on Instagram who has one or two sponorship deals? Ehhhhh.

Cosplayers I am even LESS COOL with. Like. Not cool at all. But that might be because I just had a friend come back from PAX South having had so many people tug at her hair (INCLUDING A SECURITY GUARD) that she didn't even want to leave her room on Sunday. And this is a white girl who just happens to have a natural silver streak in her black hair. She wasn't even fully cosplaying, just wearing fun outfits.

@surreality I need a hoop/frame because I like the fabric to be TAUT as I work. It's an OCD thing. I think I spend more time adjusting the hoop/frame than I do stitching sometimes (upside: my fabric ends up very soft/supple by the end).

My mom has a standing frame she no longer uses (because she crochets and doesn't stitch now). I intend to demand she bring it to me next time they drive out here.

I DO have a lap. And it is occupied p much constantly. Black cat is obsessive over my time.

@surreality said in The Crafting Thread:

@Auspice Michaels has a stand thing. There's one with a frame built in, and one that clips to an existing frame. Would need to sit next to the desk, but those 40% off coupons are kinda handy for such things.

https://www.amazon.com/Frank-Edmunds-Universal-Craft-6111/dp/B000YZ7M0W/ <-- Michaels has this one.

I was just looking at one on etsy that's the 'sit on' kind and like meh, that'd be a pain. Plus, wouldn't hold the new scroll frame someone gave me (!!! she wasn't using it!).

Might have to add to my next Michaels order for sure.

That scroll frame is the main reason I want one. It's the perfect size for the HP cross-stitch, but it's been awkward to stitch. I can already stitch left- or right-handed, but holding it is still kind of a pain. (But not having to deal with oodles of fabric hanging out of a smaller hoop is nice)

@JinShei said in The Crafting Thread:

@Auspice Like this?

That would work! I was thinking like, a clamp that I'd put onto my own frames. I hadn't thought of one that's its own frame. HMM. Thank you!

I want something that will clamp to my desk and hold my cross-stitch frame/hoop.

I am struggling to google/search for such an item.

Surely one of you lovely people can help.

@Seamus said in Image Attribution & Creative Commons:

@Auspice
Not to be a nay sayer. But I was curious about all of this and a quick google search kicked up this stuff...

In most states, you can be sued for using someone else's name, likeness, or other personal attributes without permission for an exploitative purpose. Usually, people run into trouble in this area when they use someone's name or photograph in a commercial setting, such as in advertising or other promotional activities. But, some states also prohibit use of another person's identity for the user's own personal benefit, whether or not the purpose is strictly commercial. There are two distinct legal claims that potentially apply to these kinds of unauthorized uses: (1) invasion of privacy through misappropriation of name or likeness ("misappropriation"); and (2) violation of the right of publicity. (The "right of publicity" is the right of a person to control and make money from the commercial use of his or her identity.)

Now I am guessing at this but I think the stickler here may be A) The States involved and B) The Legal definition of benefit in this situation.

Like I said in the Savage Skies thread:

Since it's not being used for profit, 'ain't got time for that' usually factors in.
There's also, in your own quoted bit there, a few things to consider:
advertising, promotional activities, misappropriation... By and far we don't do those things.

Now, if we were to use, say, Ben Barnes' likeness to advertise a Westworld MU? That'd be a problem.

There's a lot of 'fan tumblrs' out there and actors know about them. Some actors even like them. I think, in many cases, they'd view what we do in a similar light (it's positive, it's not trying to make money off of, or claim to be them, etc.).

The main issue with PB usage (legally) isn't the actors so much as it is the photographer. It was mentioned in another thread that some actors do purchase their headshots, but many of the images we use are from magazines, candids, etc... those are photographer owned. So we're actually using an artist's work when we use PB pics.

That becomes an attribution thing. Now, most of the time? They won't give a shit. We aren't taking credit. We aren't making money. Where an actor might care is the context (Bob the Actor might hate being portrayed as a Werewolf that eats children). Where a photographer might care is that their pic was photoshopped and some passerby might think you made the pic.

We know we didn't take/make the photos, but there are communities that thrive off of stealing other peoples' art. It may very well be a good idea for us to begin including attribution. I'm sure @faraday could look into including this on a future release of Ares. Arxcode already has this on their website. One could easily do it in alt-text on most mediawikis.

For those that like to use non-actor art (@KDraygo is the person who immediately comes to mind ;)), you can specifically search google images for creative commons, but I also like https://ccsearch.creativecommons.org/. Again, for our purposes, it's not a big deal, but if you want to make sure you're legally 'in the clear,' something licensed under CC will cover you.

They allow dogs at work.
One of the pups that's around more often is this wonderfully sweet pit and she adores me and I adore her.

And I admit it gave me a bit of joy today when her human brought her on her 'rounds' and the person that sits next to me reached out to pet her and she went 'nope' and came right to me to lean up into my arms for snuggles and happy grunting.

@Ganymede said in The Art of Lawyering:

@Auspice

I have none until I see it.

Good for her if her intentions and statements are true. There are too many innocent people in jail.

Shame on her if it's another one of her schemes.

I think my initial take on it is I feel weird about her doing so before she's finished school / passed the bar. She's doing this show to free innocent people with an incomplete understanding of the law, so isn't there the risk of her doing more harm than good for these people?

Here's a question:

thoughts on Kim Kardashian trying to become a lawyer and her 'Justice Project' show?

@Tinuviel said in Real World Peeves, Disgruntlement, and Irks.:

It's like a sewer, but one of those old Victorian sewers with the nice brickwork, but it's still coated in shit.

what is this monstrosity of a sentence

@reimesu said in Real World Peeves, Disgruntlement, and Irks.:

@Auspice Query: how is the person on the other end supposed to know that you worked as a tech? Did you offer him your resume?

I always lay out all the steps I've taken at the beginning of a call.
I don't know about y'all, but I'm generally capable of surmising if someone knows what they're talking about vs. needs hand-holding.

But again, I'm not cool with someone lying. I mean, imagine if a restaurant employee lied about what a food contains if someone has allergies. Lying to a customer is not OK. And sure, this 'doesn't matter' until the day someone destroys their equipment trying to get the 'stuck feedback' out.

@Sunny said in Real World Peeves, Disgruntlement, and Irks.:

@Auspice

Or a little patience for the minimum wage worker. But hey, you do you.

Why aren't you actively protesting the company you worked for that paid minimum wage?!
The whole reason I've worked a half dozen tech support jobs over the years is they usually paid roughly twice minimum wage. I think the least I made at one was $12/hr, but most in the range of $14-17/hr.

@Sunny said in Real World Peeves, Disgruntlement, and Irks.:

@Auspice

And I'm sure you could tell people that if you are the one training them. As it stands, if you've worked tech support, then you know the quality of the training they got. He's just doing his job. It's aggravating as hell, but it's a problem with scripting and training. I get it's a peeve, but my peeve is people blaming tech support agents for the policies of their companies.

If it's policy to lie to customers, that deserves shaming from bottom to top.

@Sunny said in Real World Peeves, Disgruntlement, and Irks.:

@Auspice

Yeah, you caught him. A huge portion of people say they have restarted / reset when they have not, and it will solve the problem. So they have to get you to do it without calling you a liar.

Here's the thing tho: I've worked tech support. I know that you need to ensure they've reset the modem.
And it's as simple as: 'Can you restart it while we're on the phone so I can watch how it behaves as it boots up?'

That's it.
It's not lying and it helps the customer feel like you are actually paying attention to their issue.

Since last night, my 'net has been really bad. Super lagged. Things not loading at all. Gave it the night just in case it was a widespread thing (and had to sleep anyhow!)... but it's just as bad today. So I finally called tech support (after doing whatever I could on my end; reset modem, reset computer......find myself wishing I could afford my own equipment...).

Them: "Did you reset your modem?"
Me: "Yes."
Them: "Did you just remove the power or did you also remove the coax cable?"
Me: "Just the power."
Them: "Let's try again, this time removing both cables. You may have some feedback built up in the coax."
Me: "Sure. That sounds like a real thing."

He was quiet for a long moment after that.

But seriously, we wonder why people end up with these really stupid ideas of how tech works and it can so often be traced back to someone in support saying some bullshit.

@Wretched

This sort of thing actually makes me angrier with OCD.

Until you've been awake at 4am, in tears as you scrub floorboards... You do not have OCD. Everyone likes things a particular way, but not everyone is crippled by the need for certain things, habits, etc.

(Ever been mocked because you absolutely cannot at all handle a volume setting being anything other than a multiple of 5 (to the point you can't focus, can't think, and it's almost physically painful) and instead of just adjusting...the people you're with decide it's cool to make fun of you? I have. Many times in my life.)

@mietze said in Real World Peeves, Disgruntlement, and Irks.:

Shit, I can no longer deny that I need bifocals.

I've been considering bifocals for a while now.

When I worked from home, keeping two separate pairs of glasses was just fine. But a couple years into working outside of the house and I'm sort of sick of my options being 'take glasses to work' or 'deal with the eye strain.'

I need new glasses anyway, so I think I'mma just take the plunge.