Just A Bunch Of Useful Websites - Updated For 2023

i feel like tumblr is the place i can blatantly say you can download all of OK KO! Let’s be Heroes from okko(dot)fun including the promo and mini episodes

how to grow the fuck up

>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.

Approaching Your World-Building Through Two Perspectives

Creating a new world for a story is intimidating! Sometimes it feels like as you're writing, you're tacking on world-building details that get buried in your draft.

I've also re-read my work and felt like the characters were vivid, but their world was blurry. There are a few ways to help your work when you come across these problems.

Perspective 1: Zoom In From Outer Space

Imagine looking at your world, country, city, or any other location from outer space. Create a new document or grab a fresh sheet of paper and start taking notes as details come to you, like:

Is your world mostly water, land, or a mix of both?

Do the inhabitants of your world survive on oxygen?

Is your protagonist more human or an otherwordly creature?

Where on that planet or in that country does your protagonist's story take place?

After getting these ideas down, you can zoom in a bit closer. Ask yourself questions like:

What's the geography like where your protagonist lives/experiences your plot?

How does society operate in that location? (Are there economic classes, politics influencing their lives, discrimination holding them back, etc.)

Who fits best in that society, who doesn't, and why?

What does your protagonist like about that location and what do they not like?

Zoom in further if you want to start your world's backstory. You should be able to answer things like:

What local or national history created that societal or political system?

Did any historical event take place that influenced your protagonist's current life? (Maybe their grandparents relocated after a regional drought devastated their farms and others nearby. There could have been a national tragedy or success.)

What is your protagonist's personal history with the area? (Are the fond of their hometown because it's where they were born? Did they move there as a kid and meet their antagonist?)

This method is best for people who love to plan their work. Enjoy learning about the world that influence's your protagonist's journey and remember that it's okay to start writing at any point!

Perspective 2: Start With Your Protagonist

You can also start world-building by focusing on your character. Address details of their personality like:

What is their normal routine?

How does their routine work with or against their local society?

Do they enjoy their current lifestyle?

What's most important to them?

What do they believe in, outside of themself and their abilties?

Then you can start asking the most important question—why.

Why does your character never eat meat?

Why doesn't their current life serve their interests?

Why do they have the relationships with friends and family members that they have?

Why do they have their specific set of values?

Why does their life start changing at the inciting incident of your story?

The "whys" will lead you down natural paths to expanding your new world. It's better suited to people who write without planning—just make sure you keep a record of your answers/world-building details along the way!

Play Around With Your World Building Routine

Creating your first in-depth world is a challenge, but it will come much more easily with practice. Try both perspectives in your writing to see what works for you!

I’m noticing an increase in new fic writers on AO3 who…uh…mayy not know how to format their fics correctly..so here is a quick and VERY important tip

Using a random fic of mine as example..

The left example: ✅✅✅

The right example: ❌❌❌

Idk how many times I’ve read a good fic summary and been so excited to read before clicking on it and being met with an ugly wall of text. When I see a huge text brick with zero full line breaks my eyes blur and I just siiiigh bc either I click out immediately or I grin and bear it…it’s insufferable!

If a new character speaks, you need a line break. If you notice a paragraph is becoming too large, go ahead and make a line break and/or maybe reconfigure the paragraph to flow better. I’m not a pro writer or even a huge fic writer but…please…ty…

calling all authors!!

i have just stumbled upon the most beautiful public document i have ever laid eyes on. this also goes for anyone whose pastimes include any sort of character creation. may i present, the HOLY GRAIL:

https://www.fbiic.gov/public/2008/nov/Naming_practice_guide_UK_2006.pdf

this wonderful 88-page piece has step by step breakdowns of how names work in different cultures! i needed to know how to name a Muslim character it has already helped me SO MUCH and i’ve known about it for all of 15 minutes!! i am thoroughly amazed and i just needed to share with you guys 

every time i see those posts like ‘what food from a show did YOU always wanna try’ i go lol none? but i just remembered im a liar

i always wanted the fucking soup brock made in the pokemon anime

Ever since February I’ve considered more and more using my actual main just because I worked hard for these boop badges dammit and I want to show them off!