Photoshop updates -

lothar wrote:
Rotation sounds cool. I think I could do without the rest, especially the ai stuff.

Ha! The rotation is part of the GPU usage.
That and the ability to use more RAM (with CS4 and the 64 bit version), are the best upgrades for artists. All the other stuff is just fluff and improvements for photo editors and graphic designers.

Actually the improved brush capabilities are something too… Those happened after CS4 so I don't have them but in later versions you can get brushes made by other people.

Can I rant a little bit? This past month has been absolute crap. I can't wait for winter to be over. I'm working 6 days a week but I'm broke AF, credit card company deceased my limit to below my balance and now I can't use my card. I can't even buy food cuz the only cash I have left is for the bus so I can go to work. I used my entire paycheck to fix my car only to have the brakes go out the next day. So now I gotta walk more than an hour each day just to go to work. There's snow and ice on the ground so walking is fucking grueling. The temperature is still below freezing my heating fuel is almost out. I got lawyers hounding me for money that I don't have. And I just realized I'm out of cat food and the store is a 30 min walk. Cats can eat dog food, right?

lothar wrote:
Can I rant a little bit? This past month has been absolute crap. I can't wait for winter to be over. I'm working 6 days a week but I'm broke AF, credit card company deceased my limit to below my balance and now I can't use my card. I can't even buy food cuz the only cash I have left is for the bus so I can go to work. I used my entire paycheck to fix my car only to have the brakes go out the next day. So now I gotta walk more than an hour each day just to go to work. There's snow and ice on the ground so walking is fucking grueling. The temperature is still below freezing my heating fuel is almost out. I got lawyers hounding me for money that I don't have. And I just realized I'm out of cat food and the store is a 30 min walk. Cats can eat dog food, right?

That's awful man. I'm sad to learn that :(

Has DD been unusually slow and sluggish for anyone else today, or just me?

J_Scarbrough wrote:
Has DD been unusually slow and sluggish for anyone else today, or just me?

At some times in the day it slows down, probably because of spam attacks.

It's probably because of that ship that sank in the red sea

lothar wrote:
It's probably because of that ship that sank in the red sea

That sounds like a period joke XD

—————

Today I feel super flat for some reason. Exhausted- physically and mentally wasted, and down and depressed a little too. But mainly really exhausted.
I could barely do my morning exercises but I managed nevertheless.

I need to slowly re-energize over the course of the day.

Meanwhile, we need more rants here.
I still find it amazing Lothar was married and had a horrible divorce… I always thought of him as a lone bandit

Rant:

America is so wired. You guys had a president who lost an election so tried to start a revolution to take over the country and yet he's still eligible to be elected again? XD
It's like a bad plot in a TV show that you think is stupid because it couldn't ever happen in real life…

In any other country he'd be in jail or deported from the country, never allowed to return.

——-

Also the Israel/Palestinian situation is still horrible. :(

He's been allowed to get away with his shit all of his life simply because of who he is. Had it been any other former President who has held Office, yeah, their ass would've been in jail long before now . . . but this guy? He has too much wealth, too much power, and too much influence . . . and if he gets back into Office, he has practically promised that he will basically do to this country what Hitler did to Germany.

As for the Israel/Palestine war . . . I'm confused. First, it was the Palenstinians who were the bad guys because they're always trying to kill the rest of the entire world in the name of Islam, but now all of the sudden, it's the Israelis who are the bad guys because . . . why?

J_Scarbrough wrote:
As for the Israel/Palestine war . . . I'm confused. First, it was the Palenstinians who were the bad guys because they're always trying to kill the rest of the entire world in the name of Islam, but now all of the sudden, it's the Israelis who are the bad guys because . . . why?

Hamas had sworn to kill every Jew and erase Israel off the map. They're the very definition of an existential threat. So they actually pull off a pretty serious attack. So Israel decides to kill all of them and erase their part of Palestine off the map and they can really do it.
According to some polls done back in the day a huge majority of Palestinians agreed with all Hamas stands for including erasing Judaism and Israel from the planet. So it could be argued there are no innocent bystanders here.

Countries shouldn't go doing this. Sure there's all the bravado and ‘ Murica “nuke’em till they glow and shoot them in the dark” but that's ridiculous behavior in the real world. It's Poe's Law. Israel is doing what was once a satire. They're acting out Team America: World Police.

And the US is aiding and abetting Israel. The US is fueling this fire and keeping it burning.

This is Old Testament: the enemy attacks and venting wrath upon the enemy tenfold. Iron Age vengeance stuff, not the 21st century. But a lot of people's mind are stuck back there with their literal interpretation of ancient texts.

And the US has a guy who appeals to that crowd inching back into the White House. The problem with being a democratic republic with a constitution and rule of law is if someone tries to overthrow the country you can't just lock them up. You actually have to convict them in a court of law. Can't just ban them from an election. They have to be ruled unfit by the courts. Dig deep enough into American history and you'll find precedent and that the nation has faced this before. Will the US keep its republic this time?
(A reference to when asked what kind of government the Constitutional convention had created, Benjamin Franklin replied “a republic, if you can keep it”)

That's my rant. Someone has turned the stupid all the way up. So high the meter measuring the stupid has had to be recalibrated. It wasn't designed for this level of stupid.

J_Scarbrough wrote:
As for the Israel/Palestine war . . . I'm confused. First, it was the Palenstinians who were the bad guys because they're always trying to kill the rest of the entire world in the name of Islam, but now all of the sudden, it's the Israelis who are the bad guys because . . . why?

Ah… nope LOL
This is a totally American understanding of world politics hahaha!
Does not reflect reality.

The Israel Palestine thing is complex but…
There was a country called Palestine, Inhabited by Palestinians, it had a traditional Jewish population as well as other groups like Christians, Samaritans etc. After WW1 it got independence from the Turks.
After WW2 it had a flood of European Jewish Refugees. With external help and terrorism they seized the entire country and took it over.

This is the reason Palestinians are angry. They lost their home and were forced into controlled prison cities basically, with many exiled to refugee camps in Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt…
It's this situation and injustice that has fuelled so much hate and terrorism since. :(

Israel has never, ever, ever been the good guy. Hamas is not all Palestine. The Palestinians have never been the bad guys.
It's just a terrible situation all round and idiots are in control on both sides.

Meanwhile it's the civilians in both ethnic communities that suffer. Israeli and Palestinian.

-The silly myth is that Terrorism in the middle East is all caused my an innate Muslim hate for the west and non-Muslims.

The truth is that it's caused by hundreds of different historical and political factors. A lot has to do with the fallout of the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and people's borders being rearranged, different ethnicities and sects taking power, and external entities like Britain and France taking advantage of them.

Islam is NOT a cause, it's just something that happens to culturally unite a lot of warring ethnicities, the same way orthodox Christianity did for the Balkans and Eastern Europe when they fought against the Ottomans.

———-

The Israel/Palestinian situation is part of that.
A lot of hate in the middle East is fuelled by the injustice suffered by the Palestinians being forced out of their country and trapped for decades in refugee camps.
Israel is basically a modern European colony that's supported by the West, mainly the USA, and any time people try and sort out things out in a way that could be ok for both sides the US and Europe squash it and act as if only Israel matters, and so the hate stays fuelled.

———-

In the end there needs to be a TWO state solution, both Israelis and Palestinians deserve their own freedom and countries.
Anyone who thinks one group is expendable or doesn't matter or is bad is an outright moron and should have no say on he issue.
All those people's lives are valuable and they all matter.

I'd really recommend reading “Legacy of Violence: a history of the British Empire” there's great sections on the Arab revolt in the 1930s and the Jewish revolt after WW2 that led to the birth of Israel. Palestine was never it's own nation. It was a British mandate. After the Ottomans it was run by the British Colonial office. A lot of what we see is a legacy of how the British played the groups off one another and their broken promises to one side or the other going back to the Balfour declaration.
Israel is not as European as one would think today as quite large populations of Arab and African Jews have come to live there. There were once large thriving Jewish populations across the Middle East but since WW2 Arab nations have evicted the populations and forced to migrate to Israel further muddying the waters of who's on what side.

And it's not helped by Zealots and evangelicals and fundamentalists of the
Abrahamic religions all pressuring their governments to take sides. The main supplier of Hezbollah and Hamas are not an Arab states. Their weapons suppliers aren't even Islamic states. You'll find Chinese and Korean inscriptions on a lot of those rockets.
There's a lot to unpack here.

And a whole lot of stupid. But better not be too critical of Israel or you'll be labeled an antisemite. In fact in some circles your posts Ozoneocean would be called an antisemitic dog whistle. Put “because they're Jews” after a couple of your sentences and you'll see how it could be interpreted that way. Careful, it's very thin ice and I don't want to see your fair minded evaluation and conclusions get misinterpreted.

The horrible thing is that people blame Jewish people for the terrible things that are done in the name of Israel.
An it's not even Israel's fault. The issue is that the country is controlled by a far right warmongering crazy regime that's been in power since Yitzhak Rabin was assaainated by an ultra rightwing Israeli setler terrorist in 1995.

People like to claim Britian for the issues but that's really part of the popular focus on the British empire and its issues… It was a factor but in reality the break up of the Turkish Ottoman Empire and the colonialist issues involved there are the true cause of the problems.

And Israel certainly IS a European colony. The African and middle eastern Jewish population have always been second class citizens in everything unfortunately. It's a country bthat massively prioritises settlers from Europe, Russia, America…

Being too careful about things just means silence and lies are perpetuated unfortunately.
The rightwing reigieme in power in Israel is the issue, not Israel as a a country and certainly not Jewish people. The Jewish people are victims.
Just like the Palestinians should never be blamed for the crimes of Hamas.

Ozoneocean wrote:
The horrible thing is that people blame Jewish people for the terrible things that are done in the name of Israel.
An it's not even Israel's fault. The issue is that the country is controlled by a far right warmongering crazy regime that's been in power since Yitzhak Rabin was assaainated by an ultra rightwing Israeli setler terrorist in 1995.

People like to claim Britian for the issues but that's really part of the popular focus on the British empire and its issues… It was a factor but in reality the break up of the Turkish Ottoman Empire and the colonialist issues involved there are the true cause of the problems.

And Israel certainly IS a European colony. The African and middle eastern Jewish population have always been second class citizens in everything unfortunately. It's a country bthat massively prioritises settlers from Europe, Russia, America…

Being too careful about things just means silence and lies are perpetuated unfortunately.
The rightwing reigieme in power in Israel is the issue, not Israel as a a country and certainly not Jewish people. The Jewish people are victims.
Just like the Palestinians should never be blamed for the crimes of Hamas.

Well said.

Well said, indeed. I couldn't put it more succinctly.

Both sides fell into the trap of electing their respective radicals out of frustration that since the Oslo Accords nothing ever has seemed to move into any new direction, let alone a peaceful one, and that historic handshake with all its optimistic promises is a whole generation ago after all. In a manner of speaking, the whole history of the Israel-Palestine conflict is a cautionary tale against a situation that has to be perceived as “those up there” just deciding on something without bothering to check with those whose lives their decision affects on eye level - starting with the UN partition plan and moving on to pretty much everything that has followed to this day. It's a blueprint of how not to do it.

The same mistake has been repeated in many African countries by just leaving the arbitrarily drawn colonial borders intact without really bothering to check how they match up (or rather don't) with the ethnicities that live there and how they get along with each other (or rather, again, don't), to name but the tip of the iceberg.

By extension, our Western countries today are in danger of repeating the same mistake again; the Trumps, Le Pens, Wilders, Weidels, Höckes, Orbáns and so on would be no more than a source of mild amusement or probably wouldn't stand a chance of getting even that far if too many people hadn't felt that “those up there” rule them out of some parallel world quite disconnected from their own. Please note that I'm not saying that this really has to be the case, it's enough if a critical mass of people is somehow made to get that impression. Also, I'm not saying we're heading towards our own civil wars, only that most problems that currently give us that many headaches and cause so much suffering could have been avoided with a little foresight and not rushing things in the wrong places (and instead rushing them where it would have mattered).

The sequel to the cautionary tale here is that people like Putin jump at this chance we unnecessarily gave him to cause dissent from afar. Is this the case in Israel/Palestine, too? I'm not ready to go out on a limb that far just yet. In the Middle East in general it sure as Jahannam is, though, and all of these conflicts are unfortunately linked in intricate ways - look no further than Yemen.

{\ my two agorot's worth - I got started and ended up with more political ranting than I ever intended in these forums, sorry}

In point of fact, the Israel/Palestine crisis is the very topic I'm teaching in my year 7 geography lessons right now, as we're in the Middle East part of the curriculum. It cost me a lot of pain-in-the-arse working hours to make this whole mess somewhat accessible for 12-13 year olds, as in getting a rough grasp on what the heck is going on there (completely understanding it would be too much to ask of anyone) AND keeping it as objective as possible. Some students have family in Syria and other places down there, that makes it extra-interesting. I'm not sure yet how successfully I managed, but if you're curious, I'll be happy to tell you what these children think of it all once we get to that point.
At least, I can say with some confidence that even the last one has realised by now that war is not a game but rather a nightmare where common sense doesn't seem to apply, nor any standard notion of good and bad. It's a start, isn't it?

Erm… Happy St Patrick's Day to all its fans out there! 🍀🍺🥃🍻🤪☘🍀😁

Ozoneocean wrote:
Rant:

America is so wired. You guys had a president who lost an election so tried to start a revolution to take over the country and yet he's still eligible to be elected again? XD
It's like a bad plot in a TV show that you think is stupid because it couldn't ever happen in real life…

In any other country he'd be in jail or deported from the country, never allowed to return.

——-

Also the Israel/Palestinian situation is still horrible. :(

I'll give you even worse TV plot. Current US president is so demented that he even doesn't get to choose what color of sock he will be wearing and everything is controlled by some people with dual citizenship (Jews) nobody voted for.

Sounds like somebody's been watching Faux News.

ArrenMcStealsalot wrote:

Current US president is so demented that he even doesn't get to choose what color of sock he will be wearing and everything is controlled by some people with dual citizenship (Jews) nobody voted for.

This is hilariously similar to what happened to me today! So I bring down a large picture frame from the attic for my son to use, but the plastic film it was coated with has started to peel off in parts. I try to pull off the rest but it's stuck fast, so being the resourceful type I reach for my wife's hair dryer.

A few seconds with the hair dryer softens up the adhesive and I can start to peel off the rest of the film, but I quickly realise the hot glue is putting out some suspiciously strong fumes. Being the resourceful type I reach for the best quality mask I have and continue apace, oblivious to the noxious fumes.

A few minutes later I'm starting to feel a little dizzy and I realise the mask is not sufficient to completely shield me from the effects of the adhesive. I decide to abandon the task for today, as soon as I've removed the last remaining section on one side of the frame. At this point I become aware of a new companion to my right, admiring my work. He's a pink and purple rocking horse and he's turning towards me with a toothy grin, clearly about to say something. Being the resourceful type I quickly disconnect the hair dryer and make my getaway before he has a chance to speak. No brightly painted novelty wooden horse is going to trot his twisted equine notions around my paddock, no sir.

Ironscarf wrote:

ArrenMcStealsalot wrote:

Current US president is so demented that he even doesn't get to choose what color of sock he will be wearing and everything is controlled by some people with dual citizenship (Jews) nobody voted for.

This is hilariously similar to what happened to me today! So I bring down a large picture frame from the attic for my son to use, but the plastic film it was coated with has started to peel off in parts. I try to pull off the rest but it's stuck fast, so being the resourceful type I reach for my wife's hair dryer.

A few seconds with the hair dryer softens up the adhesive and I can start to peel off the rest of the film, but I quickly realise the hot glue is putting out some suspiciously strong fumes. Being the resourceful type I reach for the best quality mask I have and continue apace, oblivious to the noxious fumes.

A few minutes later I'm starting to feel a little dizzy and I realise the mask is not sufficient to completely shield me from the effects of the adhesive. I decide to abandon the task for today, as soon as I've removed the last remaining section on one side of the frame. At this point I become aware of a new companion to my right, admiring my work. He's a pink and purple rocking horse and he's turning towards me with a toothy grin, clearly about to say something. Being the resourceful type I quickly disconnect the hair dryer and make my getaway before he has a chance to speak. No brightly painted novelty wooden horse is going to trot his twisted equine notions around my paddock, no sir.

Next time open a window. 🤣 I actually keep a large box fan nearby to clear fumes.

bravo1102 wrote:

Next time open a window. 🤣 I actually keep a large box fan nearby to clear fumes.

Now that's proper resourceful! Thanks for the suggestion, I have one up in the attic somewhere.
I keep thinking I might have been a bit hasty yesterday though. What if that horsie had something important to tell me? Maybe he wanted me to buy Clop Studio Paint 3 while the sale is on.

Ironscarf wrote:

bravo1102 wrote:

Next time open a window. 🤣 I actually keep a large box fan nearby to clear fumes.

Now that's proper resourceful! Thanks for the suggestion, I have one up in the attic somewhere.
I keep thinking I might have been a bit hasty yesterday though. What if that horsie had something important to tell me? Maybe he wanted me to buy Clop Studio Paint 3 while the sale is on.

I used to airbrush lacquer clear coats on my models. They really worked well. Then came the day and all the wonderful colors. I went downstairs and my feet didn't touch the ground.

You robust people!
When chemicals get too much they tend to make me ill and give me a massive migraine XD
As may ex would say- I'm rather fragile, haha!

Ozoneocean wrote:
You robust people!
When chemicals get too much they tend to make me ill and give me a massive migraine XD
As may ex would say- I'm rather fragile, haha!

The migraine came later. 🤣🤣
Strangely enough so did the munchies.

Reminds me of when I used bleach cleaner to kill off mould on a ceiling. It didn't give me too much of a headache, but it took one or two days until I could smell anything again. There doesn't seem to be any permanent damage, my sense of smell is still excellent, but it did have me worried.
The mould never came back, btw..

I shouldn't have worried, anyway: my good friend, the mauve-coloured hedgehog said it's perfectly safe. 😉

dpat57 wrote:

This is the kind of post I would have expected from lothar.

I can only dream of being lothar. Maybe one day…

J_Scarbrough wrote:
This is the kind of post I would have expected from lothar.