the-eccentric-eclectic

[the-eccentric-eclectic]

It’s so crazy that suicide prevention is just people going awwww don’t!! Awwww come on noooooooooo stopppppp

[the-eccentric-eclectic]

making patches — a zine

1st proper hand drawn zine! i think it came out quite well.

also apologies for the shitty photo quality, my camera is to blame :(

[the-eccentric-eclectic]

GenAI v. not GenAI round up.

So you can avoid them stealing things from you, the artist/writer, etc.

Pro GenAI websites/Programs:

Facebook

Instagram

X/Twitter (Remember, Grok gives people cancer)

Threads

Pro Writing Aid

Grammarly

Duolingo

Google Docs

Microsoft Word/all Microsoft products Takes from and will feed their machine.

Youtube (taking advantage of people who are hearing impaired. ==;;)

Adobe Products. All of them. If you HAVE to use them (Some businesses require it), save offline because there is a film of at least some privacy protections there, so if you have to sue, you can say it violates US privacy law. Remember, contracts do not circumvent US law.

Corel won't feed the machines, but still uses AI stolen from other artists. Which sucks since Corel Draw is the second best overall for vector programs. (Plus I love Painter, but I bought the offline version to avoid AI). (Canadian company)

Canva Takes and feeds their machine.

Deviant Art Not only supports AI, but put a tool in and said they are going to steal your work if you like it or not for their machine.

Sketchup went Pro-GenAI. The thing is that you can do the same thing in Blender these days with precise measurements.

Autodesk has stated they are Pro-Gen AI here. It is not clear if they will use your models to feed their machine. But be on guard. They make Maya and 3Dmax. You can replace it with Blender.

Neutral ground:

Tumblr (there is a way to opt out [Link] and they don't have an active AI machine.) https://www.tumblr.com/dookins/743519550598987776/heres-how-to-disable-third-parties-like-ai

Etsy allows GenAI, but still has some (minor) restrictions. I'd still be cautious. (Also be cautious of drop shippers). Complaints about too much AI and AI images+patterns made by Ai still exist on the website. They lean slightly more pro-AI, but still won't let it run completely amok, say like Facebook. They won't feed your work into a machine, but also don't ban it through robots.txt.

Bluesky They don't use an AI algorithm except for in the "Discover" section of their website, but while they are anti-GenAI strongly, they don't seem to block the Gen AI bots from entry, so you'd still have to use Nightshade or Glaze (links below). There is no opt-out because they don't need an opt out. (Leaning towards strong position on AI, but I wish they would block GenAI bots).

Searxng- If you super want to screw over Google, in general, and have some tech savvy, you can set up your own search engine through searxng. It's easier on Windows and Linux than it is on a Mac. (Mac you need Docker), but if you're determined on privacy, Searxng adds a layer of privacy. Some of it sometimes uses bits of AI, but most of it doesn't and you can fuss with the settings so it doesn't spit out AI results. At sheer minimum Google will stop spitting out weird videos on Youtube at you because in your private browsing, you searched for the origin of ball bearings while not logged in for a book and Google likes to break privacy laws.

Strong positions against AI:

Scrivener (Creator vowed against AI) Writing program. There is an active forum, and versions for Mac, Linux and PC. It is paid, but at ~60 USD, it's cheaper than most programs. There is usually a holiday sale around Christmas. It has a learning curve, but with an active forum with the programmer of it there to ask obscure questions it's not a dead zone. They often take suggestions and implement them over time. (Especially if you rank the importance, applications, etc) US company.

LibreOffice Open source and free Spreadsheet and Word processor program that can replace Microsoft Word. Some people might have seen older versions where it was called Neo Office (now extinct) and Open Office. LibreOffice is still populated, plus the forums are super helpful if you get stuck. The UX is pretty intuitive if you've used Microsoft Word. Scrivener, BTW, supports exporting to odt (the native file) as well as .doc, and this can open both. The slight thing is that sometimes it doesn't export to .doc smoothly. And I DO wish more magazines, and agent (big clue here) supported .odt files since it is free. Part of the reason .odt isn't as supported is because Microsoft and Adobe have a deal with the devil with each other, so Adobe's Book formatting program InDesign doesn't support ODT. (BTW, if you have a good open source replacement for InDesign that supports ODT, let me know.)

Dabble (as suggested by SF stories, see reblog) is a writing program. Similar to Scrivener. Has vowed against AI and to resist it. 108 dollars a year for Basic. It is almost twice the price of Scrivener who lets you update for fairly cheap. 29 dollars a month, v. 59 dollars for the whole program (Scrivener) for the same features of Premium. You choose.

yWriter is a free Writing program and like Scrivener, and has vowed against AI Last I looked it had some UX issues, but some people swear by it. The learning curve is higher than Scrivener which is saying something.

Ellipsus is an online writing program and vowed against AI. The main feature I like (which Scrivener doesn't have) is the ability to change spellcheck based on region/language. It is a requested feature of Scrivener, but lower priority. So if you have a Brit, you can get the spelling for the character. They are a British-based company.

Cara.app (The creator of the website sued GenAI there is no chance they'll convert) is an artist website. Cara is trying to institute an auto Glaze/Nightshade into the website if given enough funds. People see it as a soft replacement for deviant art. (which went fully AI) If you believe in human art, please donate if you can. Zhang Jingna, the Creator,is Chinese-Singporean. She lives in Singapore.

Clip Studio Paint added AI, but saw the light and decided to protect artists instead because of protest and removed it. There are tutorials and a good forum if you get super stuck. Based in Japan, so the UI and UX is really clean.

Davinci Resolve Pro is a film editing software that's super good. There is a free version and a paid version. The forums are responsive. The programmers aren't always present. There is a healthy group of tutorials. US company. Clean UX. It does take a little bit of time to remember the shortcuts.

Tahoma2D is anti-AI and open source animation program. Takes a little getting used to, but is good for animations and doesn't crash as often as Animate. Programmers are in the forums and some bugs are fixed within hours. The forums are super responsive and helpful.

Krita open source and free, no AI. I'd rank it secondary to Clip Studio Paint (which is paid) I haven't tried the forums, but it's pretty intuitive and can stand for a lower level replacement for Painter, and do a lot of the basics of Photoshop. It's usually ranked higher than the equally open source Gimp.

Writer P AKA Writer+ (app for when you're on the go) is a simple word processor app for your phone that doesn't use AI. The original programmer stopped updating, so Writer+ person took over and isn't out to make a profit since it's free in the spirit of the original app. It has subfolders you can use. Since it was programmed before GenAI it doesn't have AI. Intuitive, easy to use. Fairly easy to upload the files through three dots->share. The files can save to your card or phone with some settings fussing. Simple word processor.

Inkscape is a free vector program and no AI. It is harder to use than illustrator and has less features. But if you're doing smaller vectors for one-offs with less complexity, it'll do you after some learning curve. Best of the lot. I hate Affinity Designer which is the same thing, only paid. (Neither Affinity program was worth the money paid)

Affinity (Designer, etc) swore to be AI-free and does Vector and Photos. The UX is messy, I dislike the program and regret paying for it. Inkscape and Krita are better UX and do the same thing. The forums aren't as friendly since there has been an onslaught of people seeing it's supposed to be a replacement for Photoshop and Illustrator, but the programmers aren't present. The people on the forums are often on edge about this assertion. And the capabilities of the program don't outshine basically Krita or Inkscape capabilities (both free). What is usually intuitive is not. UK company. If you're going to pay for a program, go for Clip Studio Paint which rivals Corel Painter.

Blender is a 3D art program and does not use GenAI. It can do 2D animation, but Tahoma is easier to use in this regard. It's open source and free. Plus there are plenty of tutorials. The forums can be touch and go sometimes, but there are plenty of sub Blender communities that might be responsive. It can also do animation.

Handmade vowed against AI and promised to never sell itself for stock prices to prevent AI (as a replacement for Etsy.)

Proton (to replace Google Suite) as suggested by SF Stories (see reblog) Vowed against AI. They are missing a spreadsheet, but have online and offline capabilities, plus a built-in VPN.

But you need a pro website...

Look up robots.txt and AI bots: https://www.cyberciti.biz/web-developer/block-openai-bard-bing-ai-crawler-bots-using-robots-txt-file/

Use cloudflare:

Use Nightshade:

https://nightshade.cs.uchicago.edu/whatis.html

which will poison the algorithm

Use Glaze:

Take Away:

The thing is you think you doing it alone will do nothing, but the more AI feeds on itself, AI images, the worse they become, and the less detailed so, denying it the images, adding poison or not being able to read the human text is eventually going to lead to an AI collapse.

And why not help that along?

I don't want to give cancer to poor people [Link] or make the planet burn faster [Link]. So GenAI collapse is everything I dream of. GenAI apocalypse is not.

[the-eccentric-eclectic]

Ooh, these have some I haven't seen before!

Because I absolutely love joan_de_art’s sustainable city series I’mma share it in one post since I see the art scattered about.

[the-eccentric-eclectic]

some organizations working on the ground in gaza right now

gaza soup kitchen

the sameer project

salam charity

watermelon relief

[the-eccentric-eclectic]

fiber arts tutorial links!

I’ve gotten quite a few asks about spinning, fiber prep, and dyeing, and since I’m utterly incapable of answering a question without writing an essay, they often turn into tutorials. I’ve compiled them here for easy perusal ! More will be added as I find and/or write them.

SPINNING

The basics of getting into drop spindles

A comprehensive guide on how to spin on drop spindles

Processing fleece on hair combs to get perfect hand combed top (a cheap fleece processing tool)

How to get your yarn off your spindle

How and why to block handspun yarn before using it

Niddy Noddy sizing

Blocking linen and cotton yarn

How to tell if your handspun yarn is over or undertwisted

Moving from park and draft spinning to suspended spinning

Debugging: roving twists and knots around the edges while spinning

Debugging: compressed roving

The visuals of 2 ply vs. 3 ply

Whittling supported spindles

Very short video-centric guide for supported spinning

FIBER PREP AND/OR DYEING

Steps of fleece processing, including the many methods and tools you can use

What prep to dye in

20 questions of natural dyeing

Dyeing with onion skin

How to clean a blending board

All about mordants

KNITTING

Knitting with chronic pain (more advice from others in notes)

[the-eccentric-eclectic]

I found a cool map and article from 2023 that talks about third-gender and trans identities around the world. Its a good starting point for learning about gender outside of colonizer influences.

[the-eccentric-eclectic]

refseek.com

www.worldcat.org/

link.springer.com

http://bioline.org.br/

repec.org

science.gov

pdfdrive.com

[the-eccentric-eclectic]

kids deserve so much more respect and it turns out that saying that is a great way to locate the horrible people in any community <3

[the-eccentric-eclectic]

iFixit

iFixit is a wiki-based site that teaches people how to fix almost anything. It was started in 2003 by Luke and Kyle, in a dorm room at California Polytechnic University when they tried to fix an old iBook together. With no instructions, they tinkered, fiddled, broke some tabs and lost some screws. But they fixed it. When they decided to start selling spare parts themselves, iFixit was born. It now hinges around its step-by-step repair guides, which are free to download and use under Creative Commons licenses.

Now, anyone can create a repair manual for a device on iFixit and anyone can edit the existing set of manuals to improve them. The site’s founders say that thousands of people make use of the guides every day.

“We’ve heard repair success stories from forensic detectives, field translators, and even kids,” say the pair. “From New York to Alaska, Tibet to the Faroe Islands, people have used our guides to fix their stuff.

“Our philosophy is that if you can’t open it, you don’t own it. Once you disassemble, repair, and put back together your laptop or iPod, you have a much better understanding of what goes into it. It’s astounding how just 20 minutes of work can make an iPod good as new – but most people have no idea that there are instructions available to make the work easy. And why should they? Apple tells everyone that the battery isn’t user-serviceable.

“That’s where we come in, filling the ecosystem hole that Apple created by manufacturing a device without an end-of-life maintenance and disposal strategy.”

Restart Wiki

This is a place where members of the Restart community share tips for mending appliances and gadgets with people who are starting out, or whose knowledge lies elsewhere.

This wiki won’t show you how to fix a particular make and model of device: they leave this to the various fix-it websites and disassembly videos. (You can also get help with a device on social media using #SOSRestart). Rather, contributors to this page concentrate on basic and widely applicable principles, for example soldering and how to stay safe while fixing things.

The site is aimed at anyone with a curiosity about how things work and how to fix them. No prior knowledge is assumed. In the spirit of spreading knowledge as widely as possible, everyone is welcome to read it – and to share it. Anyone is welcome to reuse anything on the wiki, under the terms of the Creative Commons ShareAlike Licence 3.0.

[the-eccentric-eclectic]

Is there anything special I need to know about spindles before I try making one myself? I’ve enjoyed the Turkish drop spindles, and since I’m almost certain my dad has the right tools and an abundance of scrap wood, I’d like to try to build some spindles in different styles myself.

[the-eccentric-eclectic]

The idea that there are "too many people" and the belief that we need to "work harder and be more productive" in order to keep society functioning are probably two of the most harmful neoliberal myths.

[the-eccentric-eclectic]

Some real talk as someone who has managed the sweater category at several brands: most sweaters, scarves, gloves, hats, etc for sale in stores right now contain a blend of acrylic and other fibers. Often (but definitely not always) wool, cashmere, or alpaca are a part of those blends, but one thing I've learned the hard way is that consumers say they want sweaters made of natural fibers, but then won't buy them because they feel too rough, itchy, or heavy. Yes, believe it or not...many customers gravitate toward acrylic without even knowing it! Furthermore, acrylic and acrylic blends can be washed and brushed to make them super soft, cozy, and appealing.

That said, acrylic is not a good friend. It pills SO MUCH. If you wash it with other garments that are different colors, the lint from those will attach itself to the acrylic pills and make your sweater look really gross. Acrylic is highly flammable, so it MUST be treated with flame retardants in order to be safely sold. Yes, retailers really test the flammability of these items in order to avoid future lawsuits. And yes, I have worked on styles in the past that failed the flame test!

Acrylic is not biodegradable, it is virtually unrecyclable, and its production has a negative health impact on both the workers making it and the people living in the area around the factory.

Yet customers vote for it time and time again....because they just don't know! So...READ THOSE LABELS! You can't spot acrylic by hand feel. You can't identify it by price (yep, acrylic blends are being sold at a wide range of prices). And you can't assume that a garment is not acrylic and made of natural fibers just because you bought it at a specific store. Acrylic is everywhere and if you don't want it in your life, get ready to read some labels inside clothes!

That said...DON'T ABANDON YOUR ACRYLIC CLOTHING! It's going to be hanging out on this planet for centuries, so let's get the maximum use out of it. The same goes for any acrylic yarn you've got stashed away in your house. I used a bunch of thrifted acrylic yarn to create decorative tassels in my bedroom.

If you're enjoying this series, please like, share, save, and comment. 

[the-eccentric-eclectic]

Great additions, thanks!!

Hey kid, look at me.

I want you to T-pose. Turn your right thumb up and your left thumb doen and look at your right thumb. Move your arms up and down a bit until you feel a nerve running from your armpit to your palm. Now turn your right thumb down and your left thumb up, and look at your left thumb. Keep your chest facing forward and your shoulders back. Move your arms again until you feel that nerve again. Keep alternating between these two for a minute, or look at each thumb thirty times each.

Now sit down. Put your left hand firmly under your left buttock, palm down. Keep your shoulders back and put your right hand over the crown of your head, very gently pulling it to the right. Do this for thirty seconds, then do it again but with your right hand under your right buttock.

These are stretches for the nerves in your arms, and are very good for people who sit behind a computer a lot, or fibre artists, or you name it. Do them daily. They will hurt in the beginning, but keep doing them, even after the pain has gone, or it will return and you'll have to start all over.

[the-eccentric-eclectic]

Ai:

1) uses literal slave labour in countries like Kenya - Once again, Black slaves are being used to "improve" the world with absolutely no care to their welfare or wellbeing. In fact, they're being deeply traumatised by the images and information they have to see as they load all the info into the computers. So slavery and trauma. Good job.

source source source source

2) emits an absurd amount of CO2 and uses a crazy amount of power and water, and is quickly undoing what progress we've made against climate change.

source source source source source source source

3) destroys communities with the e-waste-- primarily marginalised communities- Once again, screwing primarily Black neighbourhoods

source source source source source

4) steals material from people with no compensation or credit. Most recent example, ScotRail stole the voice of a voice actor for their announcements and refused to notify, pay or credit her. They've recently backtracked on this because of the backlash, but they've got away with it for some time.

source , source

5) literally atrophies your brain

source source source

There are multiple sources for all of this-- these are just one or two links to prove my point. Which is

FUCK AI. and fuck the people forcing it on us, fuck the people using it.

[the-eccentric-eclectic]

Top 10 protest dogs!