4·
1 day agoIf you have an M8 you don’t need the Polyends. Simplify, simplify
Jackie's Fridge
If you see me somewhere please let me know. I’ve no idea where I went.
- 0 Posts
- 374 Comments
Joined 2 years ago
Cake day: July 2nd, 2023
You are not logged in. If you use a Fediverse account that is able to follow users, you can follow this user.
2·2 days agoAbsolutely! I’ve had luck with the iFixIt step by step tutorials, but for this specific TV there was a YouTube video where the person walks you through troubleshooting and teardown. I kinda lucked out finding that!
I highly recommend learning how to solder as well as the basic techniques of using a voltmeter to test power and continuity. There are YouTube videos for these and other skills that help demystify troubleshooting and repair.
It also helps to have the mindset of “It’s already broken, so what’s the harm in trying to fix it?”
A couple years ago I grabbed a 55" LG tv from a curb dump. Owner said the screen would flash briefly, then turn off. Found out that’s typical when one of the backlight LEDs dies (resistance is screwed up). Got all new LED backlight strips for the price of a decent dinner and spent an afternoon switching them out. It’s been our primary TV since and I’m stupid proud about keeping it from the landfill. 100% recommend repairing stuff like this.
2·6 days agoOur cats are tree-obsessed. This year we are doing an experiment. I spent about $15 at Goodwill on a fake 4’ lit tree, a pressboard “live laugh love” framed thing and a little tin bucket.
Spread the branches to either side, flattening the tree on one half, paint over the vapid sayings on the board, and wire the tree to the front, hiding the light plugs & extension cord in the little bucket.
So far so good.
2·14 days agoUtopia Must Fall is a delightful Missile Command style game that finally runs on the Deck (it didn’t when I bought it). Lots of old school fun.
2·21 days ago(Sorry for writing a novel. And rambling.)
Someone recommended Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics, and I’d second that. It’s an in-depth look at how comics work, stylistically & philosophically, and presented in comic form.
For actually drawing, any tools will work. I started drawing stick figure comics in spiral school notebooks. They were crude, but they helped me improve my storytelling, pacing, and layouts. I copied the drawing styles of my favourite artists. I found a “how to draw” book that worked with my brain (there are so many out there - take the time to read through a couple chapters to make sure their instruction style resonates with your learning style). YouTube is good for tips, but comics are a static medium, so I feel print is a better medium for learning.
Read all the comics. Break down what works in your favourite titles and what could be confusing or ineffective. Study their timing, which story elements they use (and what they leave out). Track how the pacing changes for dramatic or comedic effect. McCloud’s book will give you the tools to analyse comics.
While you read and study comics, keep practising your art. There is no finish line - your art will change and evolve as you do, and you will probably never be satisfied with it. That’s okay. Just keep moving forward. Try new things. Keep what works and move past what doesn’t. Be proud of your achievements but not precious. You can always do better, but know when good is enough to move on.
Stuff I didn’t listen to Back Then:
If you drew it once, you can draw it again. Don’t be afraid to erase and try something else.
Draw everything, especially stuff you hate to draw (hands, props, cars, buildings, perspective). Eventually you’ll have a better understanding of how things are constructed and how to simplify them in your art.
Reference is not cheating. Don’t trace other people’s work, but keep inspiration around as you draw. Poses, lighting, colour, perspective, facial expressions - all of it.
Don’t chase perfection. Drawing a hundred imperfect things gives you more experience than trying to draw one perfect thing. It also helps you think faster as you create and recognise/avoid dead ends faster.
You can draw comics on anything with anything that will leave a mark. A friend of mine drew a comic with a stick dipped in ink and coloured it with scraps of fabric.
Back Then I went from notebooks to sketchbooks to Bristol paper (the classic comic paper). These days I use Procreate on an iPad Mini 6. Sometimes I sketch poses on receipts and sticky notes, take a photo with the iPad and import it into Procreate to finish. The more you create, the more you’ll dial in your style and preferred media. You will find a workflow that works for you, the same way your style will evolve into its own thing.
TL;DR: Draw everything you can on anything you can. Try all of the tools to see what works. Read and study all the comics.
TIL dogs speak rhyming slang
10·23 days agoI found two vintage, 100%wool blankets, one from the mid-40s, both in great shape. Got them both for the price of a decent lunch, and they should outlast me.
Krudler is coming at it like music is a zero sum game, which is silly. I love the Ramones. I also love more innovative, complex music, as well as plenty of vapid garbage. I’m happy jumping from Art Pepper to Guatafán. None of it is a waste of time if it’s what I’m in the mood for.
The Ramones were a fresh slap in the face back in the day, and without them punk & new wave wouldn’t be what they are. In the meantime, other artists have built on the Ramones’ foundation. Similarly, Jimi Hendrix revolutionised how people used the electeic guitar as an instrument, but other artists ran with it to the point that his stuff is archaic (I can’t listen to Hendrix for the same reason K dismissed the Ramones, but to each their own).
I guess what I’m saying is that even if you personally don’t like an influential band, you have to acknowledge that they might be exactly what resonates with someone else. That’s why we have so much music in the world. To the original topic though, Ramones music does all sound the same. Why mess with perfection?
On the old vintage Singer shuttle machines (the 27s and 28s) there was no reverse mechanism. The instruction book specified to make sure the needle is out of the fabric, lift the presser foot, slide the fabric back a few stitches’ worth, then lower the foot and stitch over the previous stitches. Do that a couple times and you’ve tied off the thread. That technique might help with yours.
5·27 days agoIf it’s the bobbin winding mechanism, the wheel will spin but the needle won’t move. In that case, tighten the centre of the wheel. Here’s a quick & dirty run through: https://youtu.be/DFwollQFufI
The 401 is an excellent machine and very much worth repairing.
I use Photoshop for work, and I keep GIMP installed as a conversion tool because for some reason Photoshop is an absolute wimp when it comes to opening downloaded PNG or WEBP images. About 1/4 of the time I get “Not a PNG” or “Can’t open image due to a programme error.” Clicking the Help option in the error dialogue takes me to Adobe’s help page about saving images, not opening them.
GIMP has effortlessly opened every single image I’ve thrown at it. After exporting from GIMP, suddenly Photoshop works. Bad look for the industry standard image editing programme.
I do like InDesign tho
Can recommend. I bought a huge bag of these exact babies and spent a Saturday morning hiding them throughout my entire office building, including my own work area (for plausible deniability). People were finding them for years. More than one co-worker would re-hide them, so the babies migrated constantly.
Nobody knew I started the whole thing they blamed our HR director, who was on holiday that weekend and had an alibi. The mystery kept people intrigued.
3·1 month agoAlso “Just don’t use” iOS, Android, any Microsoft anything, any Apple anything, all social media, television, print, and most other media, Adobe software, Google products, even freaking DuckDuckGo…
How about these companies just learn what consent is and let me disable it forever without asking again every time I open something? “Yes” and “Maybe later” is not a choice.
(Yes I am aware of FOSS alts, that is not the discussion.)
Gary’s hats don’t always have a connection to what he brings you, but they are always on point.
3·3 months agoI was going to advocate machines, specifically the vintage Singer machines (the black, all-metal dudes). They are very simple, there’s tonnes of information online for repairing & maintaining them, and you can usually find people just trying to get rid of them. Find one that isn’t rusty and moves freely and you’ll probably just need to oil it and mess with the tension.
If space is a concern, you don’t need to keep it in the sewing table (though it’s more comfortable). Those vintage machines are simple and tough to kill.
First thought: now I want grilled cheese and tomato soup Second and all-consuming thought: holy carp that is my exact stove