Call. Me Crazy. I Love My Friends. I Call Them Names. I Bully Them

Dawn pt. 9

<<Previous                   Next>> (coming soon)

Archive/ About / Linktree

>First, we’ve discovered that about a quarter of all the internet connection in or out of the house were ad related. In a few hours, that’s about 10,000 out of 40,000 processed.

>We also discovered that every link on Twitter was blocked. This was solved by whitelisting the https://t.co domain.

>Once out browsing the Web, everything is loading pretty much instantly. It turns out most of that Page Loading malarkey we’ve been accustomed to is related to sites running auctions to sell Ad space to show you before the page loads. All gone now.

>We then found that the Samsung TV (which I really like) is very fond of yapping all about itself to Samsung HQ. All stopped now. No sign of any breakages in its function, so I’m happy enough with that.

>The primary source of distress came from the habitual Lemmings player in the house, who found they could no longer watch ads to build up their in-app gold. A workaround is being considered for this.

>The next ambition is to advance the Ad blocking so that it seamlessly removed YouTube Ads. This is the subject of ongoing research, and tinkering continues. All in all, a very successful experiment.

>Certainly this exceeds my equivalent childhood project of disassembling and assembling our rotary dial telephone. A project whose only utility was finding out how to make the phone ring when nobody was calling.

>Update: All4 on the telly appears not to have any ads any more. Goodbye Arnold Clarke!

>Lemmings problem now solved.

>Can confirm, after small tests, that RTÉ Player ads are now gone and the player on the phone is now just delivering swift, ad free streams at first click.

>Some queries along the lines of “Are you not stealing the internet?” Firstly, this is my network, so I may set it up as I please (or, you know, my son can do it and I can give him a stupid thumbs up in response). But there is a wider question, based on the ads=internet model.

>I’m afraid I passed the You Wouldn’t Download A Car point back when I first installed ad-blocking plug-ins on a browser. But consider my chatty TV. Individual consumer choice is not the method of addressing pervasive commercial surveillance.

>Should I feel morally obliged not to mute the TV when the ads come on? No, this is a standing tension- a clash of interests. But I think my interest in my family not being under intrusive or covert surveillance at home is superior to the ad company’s wish to profile them.

>Aside: 24 hours of Pi Hole stats suggests that Samsung TVs are very chatty. 14,170 chats a day.

>YouTube blocking seems difficult, as the ads usually come from the same domain as the videos. Haven’t tried it, but all of the content can also be delivered from a no-cookies version of the YouTube domain, which doesn’t have the ads. I have asked my son to poke at that idea.

this is what telling people to read house of leaves is like

Funmaxing: How to Create a Character You'll Like Playing

Part One: Choosing a Role that Fits

I'm about to be a player in a full campaign for the first time in 5 years (I was lucky enough to play in a few oneshots and an 8-session mini-campaign during that time), and for the first time in a long time, I get to really think about being on the player's side of the table!

If you, like me, are about to embark on the journey of creating a D&D character, this one's for you.

If you've played D&D before, you've probably had the problem where you came up with an awesome character concept and started playing, only to realize you picked features that your character wouldn't use, or that didn't work with the way you like to play.

Some DMs may let you change it at some point, but the majority of the time, the only solution to being dissatisfied with the mechanical choices you made is to...retire the character. Make a new one. When you really enjoy roleplaying the character, it can feel like you're between a rock and a hard place: say goodbye to a character you love, or muddle through with mechanics you hate.

(this can happen the other way around as well! I'll be writing about that later)

So how do you get in front of this problem? How do you choose mechanics you actually like that also make sense for your character concept?

The advice below assumes that you have come up with a character that is willing and able to go adventuring.

The first step in designing a character's mechanics is to ask yourself:

What roles do you like playing in D&D, both in and out of combat?

There are many different roles in D&D. Some are pretty well-known: you have the tank, the DPS, the glass cannon, the healer. But you also have the support caster, battlefield manipulation, and more. At the same time, not all of D&D takes place in combat. Depending on the game, there are different ratios of combat:exploration:social interaction. If one of those 'pillars' of play doesn't interest you, that's okay, but there will likely be some elements of all three in every game, and it's helpful to have a character that is capable of interacting with all these pillars.

The lists below are not exhaustive. It's also typical to enjoy more than one role, and to take on more than one role at a time. As you review the lists, think about which roles you would most enjoy playing.

Combat Roles

Tank: soaks up attacks. If you like taking huge amounts of damage or making enemies waste attacks on you that never hit, this is a good role for you.

DPS: for the uninitiated, this stands for 'damage per second'. If you like doling out huge amounts of damage each round, this role is a good fit.

Glass Cannon: like DPS, this role deals out high damage but frequently has limited resources, like spells, and has a low defensive capability. If you like to feel powerful 'at a cost', this is a good role for you.

Healer: this role keeps allies standing and protected against danger with wards and restorative abilities. If you like to feel like a rescuer and pull your party out of bad situations with a clutch move, you may enjoy being a healer.

Support: this role focuses on making your allies stronger and your enemies weaker. If you like setting up your fellow players for extreme power without wanting it for yourself, or get satisfaction out of watching your enemies crumble, this is a good fit.

Battlefield manipulation: this role controls different elements of the encounter by moving allies and enemies around, taking control over enemies, and creating effects that change the physical landscape. If you like thinking tactically about placement on the board, affecting who can go where/do what, and turning enemies to your side, this is a good role for you.

Summoner: this role uses other creatures to fight on your behalf, not just summoned ones. If you like having animal companions, constructs, or summoned creatures take on the fights for or alongside you, you may like the summoner role.

Exploration Roles

The Trap-Wise: this role is on the lookout for unexpected dangers, like ambushes, pitfalls, and cursed treasures. If you like to stay on your toes, monitor what others are doing, and be a front-liner of exploration, this role is a good one for you.

The Looter: this role is looking for Stuff. You might be checking bodies, foraging for the party's dinner, or combing through bookcases for interesting tomes; if that sounds like your kind of fun, you might enjoy the Looter role.

The Puzzle-Solver: this role wants to gather and resolve information about the scenario, whether that's literally solving a puzzle or figuring out the BBEG's secret plans before she can put them into action. If you like thinking about how the scenario works and gathering intel, you might like being a Puzzle-Solver.

The Poker: this role sees something interesting and decides they're going to poke it. If you want to throw caution to the wind and just trigger the pressure plates already, this role could be a good fit.

The Mapper: this role is for figuring out where you are, where you're going, and how you're going to get there. You might be checking for secret rooms and hidden doors, or scouting ahead either on your own or with a familiar or divination ability. If you're always thinking about the next step forward, you could have fun as a Mapper.

The Prepper: this role is getting ready for the next threat. If you want to set up defenses for your camp, heal or empower your allies before you face danger, or divine the future, you might like the Prepper role.

Social Roles

The Friend: this role tries to get on others' good sides. You may deescalate a tense situation, convince an untrusting NPC to let down their guard, or earn the favor of a powerful creature. If you really did come here to make friends, this might be a good role for you.

The Powerhouse: this role uses skills, physical strength, or magical power as leverage. You might magically or physically force a confession, show off your competency to get an adventuring contract, and back up your allies' words with an intimidating presence. If you want to say more by saying less, you might like playing a Powerhouse.

The 'I Know a Guy' Guy: this role relies on interpersonal connections, linking the party to NPCs for resources, information, and new quests. If you like networking and building connections, you might enjoy playing this role.

The Information Broker: this role collects and exchanges information, from gossip to news to clues. If you like plying others for intelligence, you might have fun as an Information Broker.

The Trader: this role speaks the language of barter and coin, assessing others for their material worth and goals. If you like transactional roleplay encounters from haggling to bribery, the Trader could be a good fit.

The Influencer: this role distracts crowds, plants the seeds of gossip or discontent, and directs the favor and ire of the public. If you want to be at the heart of the crowd, you could enjoy the Influencer role.

The Cold Reader: this role assesses others for their motives, intentions, and feelings to gain a social advantage. If you like to understand what's happening at the heart of an NPC, you might like playing a Cold Reader.

Once you've identified the roles you enjoy, think about the group as a whole: will anyone else want these roles? It can be extremely frustrating to choose a glass cannon role, only to discover everyone else is playing glass cannons, too. Party composition doesn't need to matter to play a good game, but when you have the same role as another player, it can be easy to feel like you aren't adding anything new or interesting to the encounters.

Next, think about the game you're about to play: will these roles be useful in this game specifically? Some DMs might leave out the elements necessary for a given role to work, or the specific game you're playing won't give you many opportunities to use a certain role. You can always let the DM know what you want to see, so they can give you situations that play to your interests, but it's also fine to acknowledge that not every role will fit in every game.

Finally, consider your character concept: which roles fit with the character I've come up with? If you know things about your character's personality and background, you can compare them to the roles you're interested in and see where there are points of alignment. You don't need alignment between the combat, exploration, and social role, but some roles fit better together than others, like a DPS combat role being Trap-Wise in exploration and an 'I Know a Guy' Guy in social encounters -- that describes a very typical rogue archetype, and rogue abilities often serve these roles well.

Once you've assessed the roles you like in combat, exploration, and social encounters, you're ready to build your character's mechanics!

A short example: In the upcoming campaign I'm playing in, my character concept is a drow woman from a minor noble family who was disowned for improper behavior. She was previously trained in martial fighting, but has since become a pit fighter to help make ends meet. This character is going to be mostly battlefield manipulation with some tanking, because I love to play with combat tactics and soak up damage. In exploration, I'm not yet sure; I think she'd be a good Poker, but another player really gravitates toward that role, so my backup choice is the Looter. For social encounters, she'll be mostly Influencer, but since she'll be tactical in combat I think she'd also be a Cold Reader when it comes to assessing potential threats and their capabilities.

'part two: choosing your features' can be found here.

i want i want i want i want i want i want i want i want i want i want i want i want i want i want i want i want i want i want i want i want i want i want i want i want i want i want i want i want i want i want i want i want i want i want i want i want i want i want i want i want

you ever watch something and just think... "god i cannot wait to get on ao3 after this"

itch.io

StimuWrite 2 by Eve Harms

Emojis rise while you write and more

I've been using this the past couple days to work on larkin/larkinrelated projects/my school work and let me tell you friends it WORKS. for fans of the 'making my font really small' or 'writing in comic sans' tricks, this writing program is sooo for you. it lets you set a word count goal that's accompanied by a little progress bar to help illustrate how far you are, it lets you change visual backgrounds from waves to a fireplace to old tv static, quite possibly my favorite feature--it allows you to enable typing sounds--so that you can make it so it sounds like you're writing on a type-writer! Can't recommend this project enough to my fellow writers <3