#free software sites list

[lifehacksthatwork]

Just a bunch of Useful websites - Updated for 2023

Removed/checked all links to make sure everything is working (03/03/23). Hope they help!

Sejda - Free online PDF editor.

Supercook - Have ingredients but no idea what to make? Put them in here and it'll give you recipe ideas.

Still Tasty - Trying the above but unsure about whether that sauce in the fridge is still edible? Check here first.

Archive.ph - Paywall bypass. Like 12ft below but appears to work far better and across more sites in my testing. I'd recommend trying this one first as I had more success with it.

12ft – Hate paywalls? Try this site out.

Where Is This - Want to know where a picture was taken, this site can help.

TOS/DR - Terms of service, didn't read. Gives you a summary of terms of service plus gives each site a privacy rating.

OneLook - Reverse dictionary for when you know the description of the word but can't for the life of you remember the actual word.

My Abandonware - Brilliant site for free, legal games. Has games from 1978 up to present day across pc and console. You'll be surprised by some of the games on there, some absolute gems.

Project Gutenberg – Always ends up on these type of lists and for very good reason. All works that are copyright free in one place.

Ninite – New PC? Install all of your programs in one go with no bloat or unnecessary crap.

PatchMyPC - Alternative to ninite with over 300 app options to keep upto date. Free for home users.

Unchecky – Tired of software trying to install additional unwanted programs? This will stop it completely by unchecking the necessary boxes when you install.

Sci-Hub – Research papers galore! Check here before shelling out money. And if it’s not here, try the next link in our list.

LibGen – Lots of free PDFs relate primarily to the sciences.

Zotero – A free and easy to use program to collect, organize, cite and share research.

Car Complaints – Buying a used car? Check out what other owners of the same model have to say about it first.

CamelCamelCamel – Check the historical prices of items on Amazon and set alerts for when prices drop.

Have I Been Pawned – Still the king when it comes to checking if your online accounts have been released in a data breach. Also able to sign up for email alerts if you’ve ever a victim of a breach.

I Have No TV - A collection of documentaries for you to while away the time. Completely free.

Radio Garden – Think Google Earth but wherever you zoom, you get the radio station of that place.

Just The Recipe – Paste in the url and get just the recipe as a result. No life story or adverts.

Tineye – An Amazing reverse image search tool.

My 90s TV – Simulates 90’s TV using YouTube videos. Also has My80sTV, My70sTV, My60sTV and for the younger ones out there, My00sTV. Lose yourself in nostalgia.

Foto Forensics – Free image analysis tools.

Old Games Download – A repository of games from the 90’s and early 2000’s. Get your fix of nostalgia here.

Online OCR – Convert pictures of text into actual text and output it in the format you need.

Remove Background – An amazingly quick and accurate way to remove backgrounds from your pictures.

Twoseven – Allows you to sync videos from providers such as Netflix, Youtube, Disney+ etc and watch them with your friends. Ad free and also has the ability to do real time video and text chat.

Terms of Service, Didn’t Read – Get a quick summary of Terms of service plus a privacy rating.

Coolors – Struggling to get a good combination of colors? This site will generate color palettes for you.

This To That – Need to glue two things together? This’ll help.

Photopea – A free online alternative to Adobe Photoshop. Does everything in your browser.

BitWarden – Free open source password manager.

Just Beam It - Peer to peer file transfer. Drop the file in on one end, click create link and send to whoever. Leave your pc on that page while they download. Because of how it works there are no file limits. It's genuinely amazing. Best file transfer system I have ever used.

Atlas Obscura – Travelling to a new place? Find out the hidden treasures you should go to with Atlas Obscura.

ID Ransomware – Ever get ransomware on your computer? Use this to see if the virus infecting your pc has been cracked yet or not. Potentially saving you money. You can also sign up for email notifications if your particular problem hasn’t been cracked yet.

Way Back Machine – The Internet Archive is a non-profit library of millions of free books, movies, software, music, websites and loads more.

Rome2Rio – Directions from anywhere to anywhere by bus, train, plane, car and ferry.

Splitter – Seperate different audio tracks audio. Allowing you to split out music from the words for example.

myNoise – Gives you beautiful noises to match your mood. Increase your productivity, calm down and need help sleeping? All here for you.

DeepL – Best language translation tool on the web.

Forvo – Alternatively, if you need to hear a local speaking a word, this is the site for you.

For even more useful sites, there is an expanded list that can be found here.

[biggest-gaudiest-patronuses]

i'm begging you guys to start pirating shit from streaming platforms. there are so many websites where you can stream that shit for free, here's a quick HOW TO:

1) Search for: watch TITLE OF WORK free online

2) Scroll to the bottom of results. Click any of the "Complaint" links

3) You will be taken to a long list of links that were removed for copyright infringement. Use the 'find' function to search for the name of the show/movie you were originally searching for. You will get something like this (specifics removed because if you love an illegal streaming site you don't post its url on social media)

4) each of these links is to a website where you can stream shit for free. go to the individual websites and search for your show/movie. you might have to copy-paste a few before you find exactly what you're looking, but the whole process only takes a minute. the speed/quality is usually the same as on netflix/whatever, and they even have subtitles! (make sure to use an adblocker though, these sites are funded by annoying popups)

In conclusion, if you do this often enough you will start recognizing the most dependable websites, and you can just bookmark those instead. (note: this is completely separate from torrenting, which is also a beautiful thing but requires different software and a vpn)

you can also download the media in question (look for a "download" button built into the video window, or use a browser extension such as Video DownloadHelper.)

[bogleech]

Going to put all this in its own post too by popular request: here's how you make your own website with no understanding of HTML code at all, no software, no backend, absolutely nothing but a text file and image files! First get website server space of your own, like at NEOCITIES. The free version has enough room to host a whole fan page, your art, a simple comic series, whatever! The link I've provided goes to a silly comic that will tell you how to save the page as an html file and make it into a page for your own site. The bare minimum of all you need to do with it is JUST THIS:

Change the titles, text, and image url's to whatever you want them to be, upload your image files and the html file together to your free website (or the same subfolder in that website), and now you have a webpage with those pictures on it. That's it!!!!! .....But if you want to change some more super basic things about it, here's additional tips from the same terrible little guy:

That last code by itself is: <meta HTTP-EQUIV="REFRESH" content="0; url=001.html"> Change "001.html" to wherever you want that link to take people. THIS IS THE REASON WHY when you go to bogleech.com/pokemon/ you are taken instantly to the newest Pokemon review, because the /pokemon/ directory of my website has an "index.html" page with this single line of code. Every pokemon review has its own permanent link, but I change that single line in the index file so it points to the newest page whenever I need it to! While I catered these instructions to updating a webcomic, you can use the same template to make blog type posts, articles or just image galleries. Anything you want! You can delete the navigational links entirely, you can make your site's index.html into a simple list of text links OR fun little image links to your different content, whatever! Your website can be nothing but a big ugly deep fried JPEG of goku with a recipe for potato salad on it, no other content ever, who cares! We did that kind of nonsense all the time in the 1990's and thought it was the pinnacle of comedy!! Maybe it still can be?!?! Or maybe you just want a place to put some artwork and thoughts of yours that doesn't come with the same baggage as big social media? Make a webpage this way and it will look the same in any browser, any operating system for years and years to come, because it's the same kind of basic raw code most of the internet depends upon!

[2soulscollide]

my favorite free tools for writers

hello, hello! hope you're doing well.

today i am bringing you another list with my top 3 favorite (free!) tools that I find helpful for each phase of writing a novel.

brainstorming phase

Fantasy Names Generator - not only for fantasy (you can also generate real names). this website is just... amazing! it helps you come up with names for characters, places and locations, descriptions, generate traits, outfits (yes, outfits!!), and probably something else you could ever think of.

The Story's Hack - this one is so cool! you can generate names for everything, create your own generator, and practice writing through writing exercises! plus, you can save your generated names to see later, and you earn coins for each idea generated (you can later buy themes - dark, snow, forest, etc)

RanGen - my last favorite generator on this list is RanGen! you can generate plots, appearances, archetypes, love interests, cities, worlds, items, and more.

developing the idea phase

Bryn Donovan - in this blog you can find master lists under the tag "master lists for writers". it is so helpful when you first start developing the characters and need to find the right words to describe them and to find some quirks and flaws!

Writers Write (350 character traits) - again, this is so helpful!

Story Planner - ah, the number of times I've talked about this website... please, PLEASE take a look at it, you won't regret it. this website has literally everything you need to fully develop your idea with outlines for you to fill in step by step.

writing phase

Colleen Houck (80+ barriers to love) - need more romace conflict? there you go!

Cheat Sheets for Writing Body Language - so, you know how your character's feeling, but don't know how he'd physically act? check out this list!

Describing Words - honestly, this is a lifesaver. don't you struggle to find the right word to describe something? well, with this website all you have to do is to type the object you're trying to describe and see which description fits better to you!

revising phase

Language Tool for Google Docs - i know we all have heard about google docs before, but the truth is, it's almost impossible to find free softwares to check grammar and spelling. so, google docs is useful, because it automatically revises it for us, and it's completely free. plus, you can add adds-on, such as "language tool".

Unfortunately, there's only one (free) tool that I actually enjoy for the revising phase. if you know some others, please let me know so that I can try them out and feature in this list.

exporting phase

Google Docs - i find google docs very easy to format and export to .epub, so i'd recommend using it as a free tool.

Reedsy - this is also a free tool available online. all you have to do is to write down each chapter (copy and paste) or import your word document. it will format the document to your liking and export it to pdf, epub and mobi.

that's everything for now! i hope this post was somehow helpful or inspiring!

if you want to see more master lists full of resources, check these:

WEBSITES FOR WRITERS {masterpost}

BEST accounts to follow as a writer

BEST SITES & SOFTWARES TO WRITE FICTION

DIALOGUE IDEAS TO GET RID OF THAT WRITING BLOCK (masterpost)

Useful Resources & Tips for Writers

also, if you are a notion lover just like me, check the free template I just released with everything you need to develop and write your novel!

thank you so much for reading! hope to see you around, and have a nice day <3

[amazinglyspicy]

PIRATE SAFELY!! But pirate ;)

Hello! I’ve gotten a flood of new followers thanks to an addition I made about NOT torrenting from the Pirate Bay, so I want to address it better.

If you’ve come to check my blog for more piracy resources, advice, guides, etc, then check out some of the links in this pinned!

First and Foremost, Do not do Anything without an adblocker. Ublock Origin is the best.

Resources/Wikis: 🌟Top recommendation is the Free Media Heck Yeah Wiki, frequently updated, maintained, and transparent, as well as has a welcoming community behind it if you have questions. The rest are for redundancy's sake and for anything not found in FMHY, though most Wikis on this topic tend to repeat the same info. 🌟

VPN Comparison Chart - General Rule of Thumb, DO NOT use any VPN recommended by Youtubers, influencers, or any other shill with a profit motive. Large marketing budget does not equal good privacy practices. Do your own research.

-Since both Mullvad VPN and IVPN are planned to now suspend port forwarding support, the next best choices for torrenting though a VPN seem to be AirVPN and ProtonVPN.

HOWEVER, AirVPN has no evidence of a no logging policy (aka there’s a chance they keep records of what you do on their service) and ProtonVPN has no method of anonymously signing up and use a subscription model instead of a preferable pay-as-you-go model. So take that as you will.

(NOTE: You do not need to pay for a VPN if you are only directly downloading from a server or streaming off of websites! But it’s probably a good idea for privacy reasons anyways.)

A very good Comprehensive Torrenting Guide! -eye strain warning

And another one!

-If you torrent you need a VPN depending on how strict your government is on copyright laws. This works on a case by case basis, so I recommend looking up your own country's laws on the matter. Generally speaking, use a VPN to torrent if your country falls under The 14 Eyes Surveillance Alliance. More info on what that is Here.

A Note about Antivirus: - If you're using trusted websites, and not clicking on any ad links/fake download ads (Should be blocked by ublock), then you don't necessarily need any antivirus. Common Sense and Windows Defender should be enough to get you by. If you would like to be certain on what you are downloading is legitimate, then run your file through a virus scanner like VirusTotal. Keep in mind that when scanning cracked software some scans may flag “false positives” as the injectors used to crack the software look like malware to these scanners. Once again, the best way to avoid malware is to use trusted sites listed here and use an adblocker at all times.

If you have any questions on anything posted, need help finding things, or just need some clarification on any terms used, shoot me an ask or message! I've got a few years experience with not paying for anything I want, and LOVE to help others with this kind of stuff. But if you don't trust me, since I am a random stranger on the internet, that's fine (I wont be offended promise)! Do your own research!

INFORMATION SHOULD BE FREE!

Last updated: February 16th 2024

[diardri]

Dia's FFXIV Art Reference Notes, A possibly long post

Hello! I made this as a thread on my twitter but I might as well post a version of it here. For the record this will be a thread linking to the resources I use when drawing commissions or fanart, I have not made Any of these and whenever I can I will note the creators and link directly to their resources.

GPose Reference First and foremost, if you're drawing a WOL or ordering a commission of your WOL the most important thing is to take a proper reference GPOSE. I use the method in this post, to make sure I got all the angles. Clean refs are super important when drawing armor/intricate outfits so take care to take simple standing poses like the one in the tweet above. Cool dynamic poses might be fun but they're not really useful for referencing.

Gear/Weapon Reference

If you need good references for a weapon/outfit that you don't have a GPOSE for, I recommend using the attire website

This is a japanese website maintained by @/chiyo_asa on twitter and if you've ever looked up a piece of gear in the lodestone you've almost definitely come across their pictures.

This is a super rough translation in english of the menu of the website. While it is in Japanese it's very easy to navigate and all the pictures in the site are super high quality and very useful for referencing.

This is my number one source for gear references I haven't taken myself

The "mirapuri" button afaik is for glams they made themselves that they want to showcase.

An important note about this site specifically is that I believe it's currently undergoing an overhaul so Some weapons/gearsets might not be completely transferred in yet.

That being said, the majority of sets from dungeons/crafting/alliance raids/job gear sets etc are sorted like so, which makes it super easy to look for.

There IS also a search function but I'm pretty sure it works only for japanese input.

NPC reference sheets

@xivrefsheets Offers really detailed resources of npc models. They also occasionally accept requests on their ko-fi (closed at the time of writing this)

These are super useful and really high quality, especially for some of the boss refs they've done. As someone who doesn't use anamnesis I go back to their refs very often

Convocation of the Fourteen refs

Maintained by @/Igeyorhm on twitter this site has a nice list of Ascian refs per character in addition to some lore bits for each of them. Also some very useful closeups of the Ascian clothes.

Even more NPC and Boss Refs

I believe maintained by @/MlNRATHOUS on twitter, this site has a really nice array of major NPC and boss references in various angles and with colourpicks for skintone and hair which is super useful. I use them a Lot

Lalafell centric refs

Norirow Note is a super cute blog that showcases glam items/ weapons/ chocobo barding and more.

It is NOT meant to be an art reference, however if you play a lala like me, I find their showcases useful when drawing gear on lalas.

Even if you don't use it as an art ref it's a super cute blog that's just fun to go through AND fully translated in english so I recommend just having a fun time reading through it anyway.

Bonus- Au Ra Scales.

I literally found out about this today but @/saficchi on twitter has made a super detailed angled ref sheet for both male and female au ra scales and I love them for it

Bonus 2 electric boogaloo- TextTools

I use this to import 3d models of specific weapons into CSP if I'm drawing them.

I don't know how useful this is for other art software but it's saved my ass from freehanding titania weapons so in the thread it goes

That's the full list of refs I personally use, if there's more that people want to add please feel free to do so in the comments. I hope it helps people out in their creative endeavors!

[remidiy]

We Don't Gatekeep Art Resources | A Comprehensive List

Here's a list of some of the tools/sites I currently use or have used previously for works/studies. I'll separate it into Software/Utility, Reference, and 'Other' which will be just general things that could help you map out things for your experience with art. **[Free highlighted in pink, paid highlighted in green. Blue is variable/both. Prices Listed in USD]**

Software/Utility:

2D

Krita Painting app (PC) (my main digital art software on PC for 5+ yrs)

Clip Studio Paint [PC] [CSP 2.0+ allows for 3d modelling within the painting app and a lot of other cool features] [apparently allows up to 6 months free trial]

Procreate (12.99) [iPad/iPad Pro] (the GOAT)

Artstudio Pro [iPad/iPad Pro] (An alternative to Procreate if you enjoy the more traditional art app layout) -- I find this app handy when Procreate is lacking a feature I need, or vice versa. (you can easily transfer files between the two, but keep in mind Procreate's layer limit)

2D "Collaborative Painting/Drawing apps"

Magma Studio

Drawpile

Discord Whiteboard

Gartic Phone (Pretty decent for 2d animation practice, but has a hard limit on frames)

3D

Blender [3D Modelling, Sculpting + Layout] (PC)

Sculptris [PC] (it's an old unsupported version of Zbrush, but can help to get ideas out, and functions better than browser sculpting apps

Nomad Sculpt [iPad/iPad Pro] ($20) Works pretty well if you prefer a mobile setup, but it is a bit intense on the battery life and takes some getting used to

References + Study

Magic Poser [ PC and Mobile ] Has both free and paid versions, I've made do with just the lite version before

Artpose ($9.99) [Iphone + Steam]

Head Model Studio [IPhone] A 3D head, with both a basic blockout version for angles, and a paid version with more detail

Cubebrush [simply search "[keyword] pose reference pack"], they usually have good results + they frequently have sales!

Line of Action [Good for Gesture practice + daily sketching], also has other resources built in.

Quickposes Similar to Line of action, more geared toward anatomy

Drawabox | Perspective Fundamentals Improvement modules (Suggested by @taffingspy )

Sketchfab, this skull in particular is useful, but there is other models that can help you study anatomy as well.

Pinterest can be good, you just have to be careful, usually you're better off just finding reference pack if you have the money, sometimes certain creators have freebies as well

Artstation Marketplace can be decent [make sure to turn on the Aye-Eye filter so it doesn't feed you trash], a colleague of mine recommended this head model for practicing facial blocking, there is also this free version without lighting.

Local Art Museums [Unironically good for studying old "master work" if you're into that, or even just getting some inspiration]

Brushes + Other Useful software:

I personally have used both of these brush packs before making my own

(I actually don't know how to share my daily brush set because I frequently switch between Krita, Procreate, and ASP, but once I figure that out I'll be sure to do that lol)

Marc Brunet's Starter brush pack [Technically free but supporting him for this if you like it is ideal, there's some good brushes]

Dave Greco Brush Pack [$3]

Gumroad in general is a good place to find brushes and art resources. *Note; for Krita specifically, brush packs are a bit weird, so it may require you to find different packs, or import them in a particular way

PureRef [PC] - Reference Compiler/Moodboarding

VizRef ($3.99) [iPad] - Moodboarding/Reference Compiler

Artist Youtubers/Creators that helped me improve/guide me along as a self-taught artist from when I first started digital art to where I am today:

Proko

Marco Bucci

Sinix Design

Sycra

Hardy Fowler

Lighting Mentor

Winged Canvas

Moderndayjames

Swatches

Chommang_drawing

Marc Brunet (YTartschool)

+ Observing a lot of speedpaint art by people whose work I enjoy on social media/youtube, trying to dissect their processes

If you've gotten this far, first of all, congrats, you can read a lot, and second of all, thank you for reading and I hope this helps! I'll continue to come back and update this if I find any new resources in the future, or if my processes change :)

Much Love,

-Remidiy

[dilf-in-peril]

A quick guide to pirating wrestling

There are basically two options when it comes to pirating: streaming (that's what I am calling watching videos on some website for the purpose of this post) and downloading them via torrent.

The problem with streaming is the videos often get taken down from the sites they are hosted on due to copyright claims, which means a lot of links to older shows are just dead.

The problem with torrenting is that it's peer to peer (no hosting website, just all of us sharing the files amongst each other), which means that the older the show the less people still bother to share it, which means a lot of torrent for older shows are dead. (*torrenting also allows people sharing the file to see your IP which copyright holders can theoretically abuse to track you down and sue you but this might depend on your local laws and with torrenting dying because no one knows how it works anymore it's grown much rarer I believe)

Then there is also archive.org which in my experience does not suffer from the issue with videos being taken down but can be rather slow. Archive.org is also a proper archive that does not blast you with pop up ads and links to malware.

For the streaming option there are sites like watchprowrestling.co and watch-wrestling.cc (and many similar ones, they also change urls a lot unfortunately), which do not host the videos but link to them. Links to older shows are often dead as mentioned before.

There are some youtube alternatives that care less about copyright such as bilibili.com and dailymotion.com and have a lot of wrestling shows. You might even be so lucky on youtube.

If you're interested in torrenting you'll need to download some software, I'm sure you'll find guides if you use the search engine of your choice, and then you can also search "torrent sites" and find a list of sites, such as The Pirate Bay or 1337x, where you can search for the show you want to watch.

Lastly, there are some sites that stream wrestling shows live as they happen, such as baked.live.

And then there's asking around if someone's got the file and being invited to private google drive folders and all that, which I guess is modern tape trading but I can't help with that.

Plus, if the issue is not actually money, but just finding the show because it's too old or obscure, try wrestlinghdd.net which has a huge library of shows, which you can either trade for with digital tapes or pay them for.

Feel free to add onto this if you have suggestions.

[kkskdeaddove]

Officially announcing the 2024 KakaSaku Dead Dove Event, also known as "You Need Jesus January"! This event will take place from Monday, January 22nd to Sunday, January 28th and exists to explore / embrace the darker side of the ship.

Quotes

“I do envy your innocence”

“Are you my bad boy?”

“You’ll have to marry me”

“It’s for your own good”

“Don’t touch what isn’t yours”

“I told you, you’re mine”

“Take me instead”

Prompts

Lobotomy

Clone abuse / clone gangbang

Breeding kink

Captured by enemies

Somnophilia

Arranged marriage

Vindictive possessiveness

Rules

The KakaSaku Dead Dove 2024 Event will run from Monday, January 22nd to Sunday, January 28th. Creators have the choice of choosing any quote and / or prompt from the list below.

Submissions must not involve AI or other machine learning software, and must be creative content created originally by you, including but not limited to fanart, fanfiction, graphics, mood boards, edited/stylized manga caps, etc. 

Submissions must feature Kakashi and Sakura as the main pairing, although other characters / ships are welcome.

All content across the dead dove spectrum is encouraged. Please tag / warn appropriately. 

Use the tag kkskdd2024 for your submissions on Tumblr, AO3, and other content sharing sites. This blog will reblog any tagged submissions so long as they do not violate any rules. We will have a collection on AO3 for written submissions as well.

If you have any questions or concerns, please DM or submit an Ask.

FAQs

Do I have to do something every day?  Nope! You can create however much / little you’d like. 

Does a submission have to include a prompt and a quote? Nope! Feel free to mix and match as you’d like, or you are welcome to stick to one thing.

Is there a limit to the deadness of the dove? The limit does not exist. Please just tag accordingly as per typical AO3 rules. 

Is there a minimum deadness of the dove?  Not really. This week is about celebrating the darker potentials of the pairing, but it’s a sliding scale, so feel free to create whatever floats your boat :) 

[elexuscal]

ficlet prompt: Trinh POV of like. All Of That

'There's danger out there in the stars,' Granmeme always said. 'Maybe it'll be in five years, maybe fifty, maybe in five hundred, but don't doubt my mark, there's danger out there.'

'Yes Granmeme,' Trihn would always say, and then, 'Can I get you some coffee?'

And it wasn't that Trihn didn't believe the elders, exactly. How could anyone who paid a modicum of attention during history lessons? And even if you hadn't, the Adamantine Logo stared back at them from almost every other surface in the colony. Adamantine, the company that had founded the settlement, the company that had abandoned them, and the company which had, maybe, protected them?

Maybe, maybe not. And maybe the colony's existence was still listed out there, on some sort of spreadsheet 20 systems away. Maybe one day people would come looking for them.

But that was literally such a distant concern. Not when the plumbing on level 4 was still intermittently leaking green sludge, not when there were caterpillars in the bok choy beds, not when the lights in the south wing kept flickering.

No, if danger was going to come form anywhere, it would be in their own backyard, first and foremost.

Well, well, well. No doubt Granmeme was wagging mer finger at them from beyond the Great Event Horizon.

"We're so glad to have found you," Supervisor Leonide said, her voice oozing compassion even through the tinny translation software. "When your cousins at the initial base-camp first told us of a splinter group that had gone to found a secondary colony... And that it had been so long before any contact... Well, we were just so worried that something might have happened to you!"

"Why would you have assumed that?" asked Jerail, who's face remained impressively impassive as ze sipped the rich fresh coffee Barrish-Estranza had brought as a gift.

"Oh of course. You wouldn't know." A shocked and concerned expression. "I understand you left due alien remnant contamination at the initial site?"

"In part," agreed Trihn. That's the simple answer, at least. (She sipped the coffee. It was very good. It came from actual beans, not flavoured powder.)

"Well, you made a good choice! Over the last five years, the contamination became much more severe. Physical deformations, behavioural alterations... It's a terrible situation. That's why we're here, to help before it gets any worse."

It could have been a trick. They wanted it to be a trick. But Barrish-Estranza had pictures, videos. Even their expert didn't think they were faked. And this corporate envoy, they'd brought someone from the original colony to vouch for them. That person could have been an actor, except they spoke with a perfect Spirliet accent, and there was something of the Niziral clan in the bridge of the nose, in the shape of their cheeks.

Their claims were real. Some of them, at least.

Others were likely to come, Leonide said. While reasonable people could tell this planet was a wash, some people weren't reasonable. There were always those willing to take risks as they pushed the envelope of science. One needed to be careful when dealing with such risk-takers, lest you get sliced on the cutting edge.

And sure enough, another group came. From a university, they claimed. A smaller team, only four. This one did not come in two shiny fancy hoppers, loaded down with delicacies for the adults and toys for the kiddies. No, the university envoy saddled up in one of the colony's own pilfered hoppers, worn and wary.

The university envoy said that Barrish-Estranza were dangerous, that they were looking for an indentured work-force, that they would enslave the Adamantine colonists so severely that even their children's grandchildren would still be slaves. The university instead offered the colonists ownership of their own planet and/or safe relocation, free of charge.

Barrish-Estranza said that the university's offer was too good to be true, that they had clashed quite awfully with the other colonists and were looking for revenge, that they were looking for a naive population willing to stay behind as lab rats. Barrish-Estranza instead offered fair, gainful employment.

The only thing either group of strangers agreed upon was this: It wasn't feasible for their colonists to stay where they were.

But Trihn didn't want to leave. Of course she didn't. No, their underground bunker wasn't exactly luxurious. It was all grey steel and concrete, everything cobbled together from extra equipment. Yes, there were caterpillars in some of the hydroponics bays, and yes, some of the lights flickered. But wasn't it theirs? Hadn't they built it up over the past thirty years? Hadn't they carved out this sanctuary among the ice and snow? Didn't they have a sleet-ball court, and music recitals, and movie nights?

Wasn't this their home?

Could they really just be expected to leave it?

Opinions were all over the place, the leadership starting to splinter, just like it must have back at the original colony site. Lucia and his faction liked Barrish-Estranza, or at least liked the lifeline they offered. Zenchal's faction didn't trust any of this, didn't trust it one bit, thought they should shut the hatches and burrow deeper. Magnolio's faction went one step further, arguing that they should be opening up the armoury and preparing for a fight.

And Trihn. Trihn just didn't know.

{What do you think, Addy?} she asked the AI which was the heart and lungs and nervous system of the entire colony. It (she, Trihn liked to think of Addy as a she) had been watching monitoring both groups since their initial arrival, as much as she could.

{Hard to say.} Her servers whined slightly under the effort of generating plain human speech. {But I like the university team better.}

{Why?}

For a few second, the only sound was the hard-drives fans in overdrive. {Their SecUnit is friendly. Or acts that way.}

{What does that mean, 'SecUnit'?}

Addy couldn't define it, not really, though she pointed the SecUnit out from their surveillance footage. The tall, serious one with the splicing. Trihn didn't think they looked particularly friendly, but Addy had a different way of judging such things.

This information probably wouldn't do anything to sway anyone. The others were unlikely to be swayed by Addy's opinion; she was just a computer, after-all. But Trihn was less quick to dismiss her, and regardless... It made no sense to reject the university without even speaking to them. She would have to keep pushing the other leaders for a meeting.

In the next meeting with Leonide, though, she did ask, in as casual a tone as she could muster. "What's a SecUnit?"

"A SecUnit?" Leonide blinked, off guard, a rarity. Then she smiled that brilliant white smile. "Oh, just a type of robot, with a little extra something-something for oomph. They're here to keep us all safe." She gestured to her entourage, the armoured soldiers carrying large guns.

Trihn had not thought they were robots. And certainly, the "SecUnit" which Addy had pointed out did not look like a robot.

So that was at least one lie Barrish-Estranza had fed them.

How many more were there?

[wherethewolfsbaneblooms]

** STOLEN ART: STORKCLIPS.NET **

It pains me to have to write a post like this. But I have recently discovered a website trying to illegally sell my artwork without my permission. I found the site by simply googling “Vermithor” in the search bar with the goal of finding new screenshots of him from the recent House of the Dragon Season 2 trailer to use as reference for a new sketch of him. Imagine my surprise when I found my art came up as one of the most popular images of Vermithor! But my elation did not last long. The site in question: storkclips.net appears to steal artwork and photographs from artists and cosplayers to sell for their own benefit. Not only that, but it appears to be a scam website too and I suspect they are also guilty of data mining. I just wanted to make everyone aware of this so no one else falls victim to their crap. When I attempted to file a DMCA infringement complaint through their software, I was immediately denied access from the site. It is likely they have IP address assessing software that block people who try to accuse them of their crimes from accessing the website again. But I know for a fact the website is still active. This is what happened right after I filed the complaint:

I have included below screenshots of the original artwork I posted on tumblr of my updated Vermithor sketch compared to the thief site’s “product”. It is very clearly my art, as they didn’t even bother to remove my signature in the corner at the bottom of his neck. They also used the first portion of my art’s description Updated Vermithor sketch based off new concept from tumblr as their “product’s” title. It is also clear they completely ignored my VERY obvious disclaimer in the worst way possible.

Also, when I googled the website to try a find out information on them what I found gave me reason to believe this website, along with their products, are likely a fake. I’ve posted a screenshot of one of the only reviews I found on storkclips.net that warns people of them being scammers. What this person says is true too, the contact email the site has listed is a fraudulent address and doesn’t work.

To all the creative content makers out there, I suggest taking a look around this website to make sure they haven’t stolen any of your creative property too. I will post a link to my stolen art from the site below. If anyone has any more information, please feel free to reach out to me and I will update this post. Maybe if we can call them out enough on their scams they will shut the site down. Everyone please stay safe.

- Wolf

[violetsandshrikes]

Since sharing this post about a usful AI used to compile and graph research papers, I've realised I have a few other resources I can share with people!

Note: I haven't had a chance to use every single one of these. A group of post-grad students has been slowly compiling an online list, and these are some I've picked out that are free (or should be free and also have paid versions). However, other students using them have all verified them as safe.

Inciteful (Using Citations to Explore Academic Literature | Inciteful.xyz) – similar to connectedpapers + researchrabbit. Also allows you to connect two papers and see how they are linked. Currently free.

Spinbot (Spinbot - Article Spinning, Text Rewriting, Content Creation Tool.) – article spinner + paraphraser. Useful for difficult articles/papers. Currently free (ad version).

Elicit (Elicit: The AI Research Assistant)  – AI research assistant, creates workflow. Mainly for lit reviews. Finds relevant papers, summarises + analyses them, finds criticism of them. Free (?)

Natural Reader (AI Voices - NaturalReader Home (naturalreaders.com)) – text to speech. Native speakers. Usually pretty reliable, grain of salt. Free + paid versions.

Otter AI (Otter.ai - Voice Meeting Notes & Real-time Transcription) – takes notes and transcribes video calls. Pretty accurate. Warn people Otter is entering call or it is terrifying. Free + paid versions.

Paper Panda (🐼 PaperPanda — Access millions of research papers in one click) – get research papers free. Chrome extension. Free.

Docsity (About us - Docsity Corporate) – get documents from university students globally. Useful for notes.

Desmos (Desmos | Let's learn together.) – online free graphing calculator. Free (?)

Core (CORE – Aggregating the world’s open access research papers) – open access research paper aggregation.

Writefull (Writefull X: AI applied to academic writing) – Academic AI. Paraphrasing, title generator, abstract generator, apparently ChatGPT detector now. Free.

Photopea (Photopea | Online Photo Editor) – Photoshop copy but run free and online. Same tools. Free.

Draw IO (Flowchart Maker & Online Diagram Software) – Flowchart/diagram maker. Free + paid versions.

Weava (Weava Highlighter - Free Research Tool for PDFs & Webpages (weavatools.com)) – Highlight + annotate webpages and pdfs. Free + paid versions.

Unsplash (Beautiful Free Images & Pictures | Unsplash) – free to use images.

Storyset (Storyset | Customize, animate and download illustration for free) – open source illustrations. Free.

Undraw (unDraw - Open source illustrations for any idea) – open source illustrations. Free.

8mb Video (8mb.video: online compressor FREE) – video compression (to under 8mb). Free.

Just Beam It (JustBeamIt - file transfer made easy) – basically airdrop files quickly and easily between devices. Free.

Jimpl (Online photo metadata and EXIF data viewer | Jimpl) – upload photos to see metadata. Can also remove metadata from images to obscure sensitive information. Free.

TL Draw (tldraw) – web drawing application. Free.

Have I Been Pwned (Have I Been Pwned: Check if your email has been compromised in a data breach) – lets you know if information has been taken in a data breach. If so, change passwords. Free.

If you guys have any feedback about these sites (good or bad), feel free to add on in reblogs or flick me a message and I can add! Same thing with any broken links or additions.

[techmediabooks]

Alternatives to RARBG for Free

Best Sites Like RARBG to Search and Download Torrents with these best RARBG Alternatives currently available on the web.

RARBG is a popular torrent site or torrent provider that was founded in 2008. It provides its millions of users with a massive collection of torrent links and magnetic links from various genres such as movies, TV shows, games, e-books, and much more. Due to legal issues, the site was shut down in December 2008 (the same year it was founded). Allegations included a violation of entertainment laws.

And the site was taken down for a week due to BREIN's legal pressure (an association that is responsible for the protection of the rights of the Entertainment industry Netherland). Many alternatives have emerged since then via the internet. There are numerous options available. So, to save you the trouble of searching for them individually, we decided to put together a list of the Best RARBG Torrent Alternatives for your convenience.

Alternatives to RARBG Torrent

Here are the Best Free RARBG Torrent Alternatives to satisfy your desire for Torrent Files.

1. The Pirate Bay

When it comes to torrent search engine alternatives, the world-famous Pirate Bay is always at the top of the list. This torrent behemoth serves millions of users across a variety of genres, including movies, TV shows, games, registered software, e-books, and much more. Among its many strengths are its massive torrent file library and regularly updated index. The speed is adequate.

2. 1337x

1337x is one of the most rapidly growing torrent search engines in recent history. 1337x is the most versatile torrent provider due to its beautiful UI, massive library, and availability of adult content on the platform. The speed is incredible. Many users consider this to be their primary source of torrent links for their favourite movies and television shows. Furthermore, there are numerous torrent links for cartoons, games, software, and other items.

3. LimeTorrents

Nothing beats Lime torrents as a trustworthy and verified torrent provider. It is the most trusted source of torrent files, serving millions of people worldwide. Its main highlights are an extensive collection of torrent files on various genres such as movies, anime, games, and software. Except for one major disadvantage (for many), there are no links to adult content on this platform.

4. Yify Torrents

The most recommended torrent search engine for movies and TV shows is YTS or Yify (both are the same). The platform has the largest collection of torrent files related to movies and television shows. The content on this page is constantly updated and is available in 3D and high-definition quality. As an added bonus, many new releases take place here. So, if you enjoy Hollywood blockbusters and spicy American TV shows, Yify is worth a look.

5. Torrents.io

Torrents.io is a conglomeration of popular torrent websites. This platform gathers torrent files from a variety of torrent sites, such as The Pirate Bay, 1337x, LimeTorrents, and many others. The user interface is visually appealing. The tempo is quick. The torrent service provider also provides a wide range of genres, including movies, cartoons, games, and Porn. In a nutshell, everything is centralised.

6. Extra torrent

Extra torrent includes features such as a user interface and a library index for the user. This platform is one of the internet's most well-known independent torrent providers. It has a large collection of torrent files and allows users to upload their own without any technical difficulties. Regrettably, the website has been removed from the internet by legal authorities.

7. Zooqle.com

Zooqle.com, which sounds similar to Google, is a non-profit internet indexing service used by millions of people around the world. The website includes both torrent files and magnetic links to please users. It also employs the BitTorrent protocol, which enables seamless peer-to-peer file sharing. The only disadvantage is the user interface. It falls short of expectations and occasionally annoys users with intrusive advertisements.

8. Library Origins

LibGen (Library Genesis) is the only dedicated ebook torrent provider available online. It has a massive library that includes thousands of articles, ebooks, and limited edition releases. Readers can look through any ebook they want here. The user interface is fantastic, and the speed is adequate. The website was also embroiled in a controversy over a database that still contained paywalled articles and some academic content. But it went through it flawlessly and is now serving millions of people worldwide.

9. Kat.to

Kat.to, also known as KickassTorrent, is the world's most popular and controversial torrent search engine that is still in operation. It has a massive library of torrent files in a variety of genres, including movies, TV shows, software, games, and e-books.

10. TorrentReactor

Torrent Reactor ranks tenth on the list, thanks to its massive torrent file library. It is also one of the most trusted torrent providers. The website provides a massive collection of torrent files in categories such as movies, TV shows, cartoons, games, software, and much more. The search engine falls under the category of latest torrent providers, with a regularly updated index and the option of popular and latest torrents. To your surprise, authorities have taken down the website.

11. ISOHunt

The first legal torrent provider on this list is ISOHunt. It enables the user to legally download torrent files. The website has a large collection of torrents from various genres such as movies, TV shows, cartoons, new releases, and much more. However, the user interface is a shambles. However, speed is advantageous. Everything else is the same as it is with other torrent providers.

12. BitSnoop

BitSnoop, a new and distinct name in the category of torrent search engines, estimates serving 24 million torrent files to its users. The website is proud to have one of the internet's largest torrent file databases. The user interface is adequate. The speed is also acceptable. Without a doubt, BitSnoop will soon be among the most popular torrent providers.

So those are some of the best RARBG torrent alternatives. Please let us know in the comments section if you found this useful. That would be fantastic to hear.

[sonicenvy]

Here it is!!! The new and improved Weird, Wonderful and Useful web spreadsheet. Here you'll find:

Useful websites

Websites you didn't know you needed in your life

Quirky, old school corners of the web

Obscure javascript experiments by fun computer nerds

Websites to help out writers

Websites to learn new shit

& more!!

plus! you'll find a list of useful browser extensions & good (legal) free software to use in the second tab.

Because i am a neurotic nerd, you will find:

things are sorted into filterable columns, primarily a category column

I have done my best to test everything in gecko browsers (firefox, waterfox, etc), chromium browsers [derrogatory] (chrome, edge etc) and webkit browsers (safari). I did not test mobile on most stuff because why would you use the internet for useful things on mobile when desktop exists and is infinitely superior in every way imaginable.

I have done my best to note down whatever advertising you might find on the site without an adblocker. that said, get ublock origin today and elevate your internet experience by eliminating ads from the internet.

i have also helpfully told you if the thing requires an account or not.

if i missed something absolutely awesome in either tab, please drop me a line in the replies to this post, my tumblr inbox (sonicenvy.tumblr.com/ask) or by email at sonicenvy@icloud.com. i want to know about all the best, coolest, most underground parts of the web.

[fujocoded]

Funding FujoCoded: Stretch Goals!

It’s time! With our first goal met (🎉 thank you!), let’s talk about stretch goals. We have quite a few planned, so we're going to go through them one by one and explain what they are and why we chose them!

Before we go down the list, here's something fun:

Sticker Unlock: At 45 backers, we also unlocked one more sticker!

The goal of our campaign is to cover business expenses most of all. The unlocked content is an extra token of gratitude for your support that also helps us meet our own targets! 

With that said, let's get to our stretch goals...

$4,000: "That's Why I Ship On Company Time" Ao3 Sticker

At $4,000 we'll unlock one more sticker design that you can add to your collection! 

Our first version of this "shipping" sticker features VSCode and a terminal, but there's more than one type of shipping... here's to the other one!

$5,000: "Using NPM with Javascript" Article

Next up, we have our first article. Our plan is to add an Articles section to @fujowebdev where we'll collect simple, free guides to help beginners get past the roadblocks we see them encounter!

This first one will cover the basics of NPM, a core element of modern JavaScript!

"How do I install this JavaScript library? How do I run this open source JavaScript project? How can I get started creating my blog using a tool like @astrodotbuild?" are some of the most common questions we get in our Fandom Coders server. 

Let's give *everyone* the answer!

$6,000: Offering Website Art Prints

Next up, we'll turn the excellent art on our website into prints! These will be (probably) 8x10-sized art prints that will look amazing without breaking the bank. Full specs soon!

...and speaking of the site, you have tried moving the windows, right?

$7,000: "Catching Up With Terminal" Article

Next, another common issue for beginner developers: how to start learning how to handle the Terminal.

This will require some research to determine the major roadblocks, which is how our project operates: active learning from those going through it all!

$8,000: "Crucial Confrontations" Article

And last (for now), something very dear to us: an article extracting some wisdom from the book "Crucial Confrontations": https://www.amazon.com/Crucial-Confrontations-Resolving-Promises-Expectations/dp/0071446524

This may seem like an unusual choice, but it highlights how our teaching goals go beyond programming to cover collaboration!

After years of working within our community, we repeatedly found that developing effective communication and confrontation skills helps our collaborators thrive. Unfortunately, the world doesn't teach us how to effectively (but kindly) hold each other accountable.

Some of our most involved collaborators have read this book and found the tools within it transformative. Given this experience, we deeply believe that making some of this wisdom easily accessible (without having to read the full book) will allow all of us to collaborate better!

If we can reach $8,000, this will enable us to test this hypothesis and learn how teaching soft skills beyond programming influences what we're able to achieve! It's a bold idea, but we're excited to see how it turns out in practice.

Help us make it there!

And that's all...for now!

If you want to hop on Twitch right now, you can join us as we put some extra polish on our shiny new FujoCoded website.

And remember, you can back our campaign here to help us achieve these goals and more:

[em-dash-press]

How Traditional Publishing Works for Short Stories

You’ve written a short story and want it to reach readers, but you’re tired of combing through contests. Don’t worry—there’s a path to traditional publishing for short stories and you can follow it to build your writing resume with these steps.

1. Polish Your Work

Reviewing your story before submitting it is crucial. One or two typos may not disqualify you from getting accepted for publishing, but it could make the publisher pause.

Read through your work out loud to catch the tiny line edits that our eyes often skip over.

Ask a friend or family member to read it. A fresh pair of eyes on your work is priceless!

Use a text-to-speech reader to catch typos. You may hear the spelling errors more clearly, so try a site like this one: https://www.naturalreaders.com/online/

You can also use the spell check within your preferred writing software. It may not catch every spelling or tense-usage error, but it’s still helpful.

2. Research Publications

Longer manuscripts would normally look for publishing houses or imprints, but short stories just need publications.

Imagine the publishing world as an umbrella. Publishing houses are the fabric of the umbrella and imprints are the metal arms making the fabric extend. Imprints are subsections of publishing houses. Publications are like the stem and handle of an umbrella. They’re mostly independently owned, so that’s where you’ll find things like:

Literary magazines

Literary Journals

Ezines

Some are run by small groups of people who love making things like short-story anthologies and others will be professionally run magazines or journals with wide distribution. Your work may qualify for all of these publications depending on the length, topic, and what each publication is looking for.

3. Submit Your Work

Personally, I think finding the right places to submit your work is the most challenging part of publishing any story. There are an overwhelming number of places to consider. You might never learn about all of them!

Luckily, I’ve found a few tools to streamline the process.

Chill Subs is my current favorite site to find publications seeking short stories. You can find their site here: https://chillsubs.com/

This is what their homepage looks like—I’m breathing a sigh of relief just seeing it that encouraging welcome!

Once you make your free account (which is what allows you to track your submissions, results, etc.), you’ll find this page when you’re ready to start browsing:

It may seem like a lot, but selecting publication types and finding places that specifically want things like a spooky vibe or a quick response time makes submitting your work so much faster.

Just below this browsing section, you’ll find a list of publications if you just want to select a few without the filters. Here’s a screenshot of the first one I found:

There’s a great summary of the magazine and everything you need to know, like the facts that they have a super fast response time, don’t require a submission fee, and even their acceptance rate!

If you scroll further down under a publisher, you’ll find other invaluable information like:

Normally, you’d have to find all of these things by searching a publication’s website and recent published work. It would take much more time and you might not find what you’re looking for (I struggle when I’m too tired or distracted). Chill Subs will connect you to publications super quickly and easily, without charging a dime!

Next, I also like The Grinder, which you can find here: https://thegrinder.diabolicalplots.com/

Here’s what their homepage looks like:

This site is better for people who are more data driven! Right beneath the top of their homepage, you can automatically see the stats for The Grinder users who recently got accepted or rejected. At the time that I wrote this post, the people in the screenshot below had numerous rejections. I find it encouraging to see stuff like this because it’s a reminder that rejections happen to everyone. It’s just a matter of finding the right place for your work!

If you select “Search” on the top of the homepage, you’ll get a dropdown menu for things like searching for fiction or poetry submissions, plus publishers listed in alphabetical order.

For the purpose of this post, I’ve selected “Historical” as my imaginary story I’d like to submit. There are many other genres in the box if you keep scrolling. Here’s what the start of this process looks like:

Hit “Search” and this comes up:

Right away you’ll see what each place pays, which genres and lengths they accept and their response time. I’ve clicked on the first publisher and found this data:

Enjoy using the charts and data to gauge where your stories should go! There are many publications working with The Grinder, so there’s tons to search through as you get a feel for what’s out there.

Other potential places to submit your work: 

Submittable: https://manager.submittable.com/opportunities/discover (You’ll need to have submitted to a contest that uses Submittable to make an account, but the Discover tab has many publications organized by closest deadlines.)

Your university literary journals (if you’re a university student—most only accept work from students enrolled in that school, but it’s a major perk if you’re paying tuition because you won’t have to pay to send your work off!)

Local literary journals (many only accept work from writers who live nearby, which narrows down your competition).

4. Keep Track of Your Submissions

If you’re submitting more than one or two stories at a time, it’s best to keep a spreadsheet that tracks your submissions. As your writing career continues, you’ll always be able to reflect on which stories you submitted and where they went. It’s a great way to see how your writing has grown and note which publications you liked the most/had the most success with.

My submissions spreadsheet contains labeled columns for things like:

Date of submission

The story’s title

The page length/word count

The genre

The publication mae

The publication type

URL of publication if applicable

Final date of submissions

Date of notice if one is given

Potential prize money if applicable

Rejection or acceptance when notified

Some places only want unpublished writers, but most only want stories that haven't been previously published or placed in contest results. Keeping track of which stories receive prizes/publications makes it much easier to submit qualifying works in the future.

5. Evaluate Your Publishing Contract

Many publishers require writers to sign a contract so the legal reality of the transaction is clear to both parties. This happens for both short stories and long form work. You’ll have to review things like:

Allowing them to have print rights (typically worldwide because things are published online)

Allowing them to publish your picture and bio that is usually included in the submission form

Allowing them exclusivity (you may need to wait a specific time period before submitting the same story to other publishers/contests or selling it on your website)

Agreeing to author’s warranties (this means you agree that you wrote the story, it isn’t plagiarized, it isn’t libelous, and you don’t want it to be public domain)

Agreeing to a termination clause (the publisher typically reserves the right to terminate your publication contract for things like discovering plagiarism, getting sued for libel, if you sell the story to another publication within their exclusive time frame, etc.)

Agreeing to a reversion of rights clause (you’ll get all of the above rights to sell/submit the story if the publisher doesn’t get your story published by the deadline included in your contract)

Agreeing to payment terms (if you’ll be paid based on how many magazine copies are sold, based on your word/page count, or if you’ll get a flat fee). Also, how you’ll get paid (in installments, within a time frame after publication, via direct deposit or check).

A big thing to note—if a publisher doesn’t include a reversion of rights clause, they essentially want to lock your story within their publishing company permanently. You’ll never get the rights back for submitting or publishing it elsewhere. That includes if you write a collection of short stories and want to publish an anthology—you wouldn’t get to include the story taken by the original publisher.

It’s very important to know your rights as a writer before submitting.

You can read more about contract details over at Writing Cooperative.

And you can always look through Writer Beware, which tracks scams and legitimate publication opportunities.

-----

Hopefully this helps you get started with your next venture in getting published! The process doesn’t have to feel as confusing as it often does. Best of luck! 💛