one voice for many

Every now and then a difficult period like this comes along: so it's time to request some assistance.

I've kind of been neglecting my vision for the past year or so, aware that I needed new glasses (and to go have a consult for possible eye-related surgery), but putting it off... and now the situation has, as it were, come home to roost.

The other day, when I was typing something and then (to check it before posting) had to pick up the Mac and hold it up to my nose to see what I'd typed... I realized that if this went on much longer, even with dictation (because after you dictate, you still have to edit...), I wouldn't be able to write.

That would be bad.

I need to go see my Eye Lady, get examined, and get both sets of glasses re-fitted with new prescriptions. This—as usual, each time it needs to be done every year and a half or two years, due to Weird Eyes—is going to run into a low-four-figure-ish kind of money. And due to other recent unexpected medical expenses, right now there's not enough dosh around (or spondoolicks or whatever term you prefer...) to get things sorted.

Therefore: can I get people interested in keeping a writer, you know, writing (as I've got three novels working at once at the moment...), to consider doing one of these things?

(a) Go over to Ebooks Direct and buy a book. (Or a bundle. Or a gift card for somebody else who might like my work.) And if you do: thanks so much!

(b) Stop by my Ko-Fi and drop a little something in the pot. It'll be most appreciated.

And if you can't do either of the above:

(c) Reblog this and let other people see it?

Usual reminder that I've got a listing where you can buy mystery packs of cards - some from posts I've calligraphied, some from the massive archives of request cards I've made

- they’re Opawz pet specific dyes. Non toxic made specifically for dogs. Once they’re set and rinsed they can groom themselves normally, they pose no danger to her in any way, no fumes, there’s no bleach involved

- my dog is trained with cooperative care skills, the process is not stressful for her, she gets paid heavily for her cooperation and looks forwards to the opportunity to earn extra snacks with the grooming

The Gravity Falls Theme Song played by the Imperial Orchestra. They'll be playing in Moscow, May 10th! At the CSKA Arena!

 [ID: Digital art of a flying robot holding a genderfluid flag and saying, "Be gay do crime". The genderfluid flag has five stripes of fuchsia, white, purple, black, and dark blue. End ID.]

I found a neat looking game on steam. 90% text-based colony sim with a little bit of tasteful ASCII art. All the gameplay revolved around typing commands in a terminal. And the theming was 100% my thing

Sunk two hours into it and genuinely loved it.

Then I checked out what else the developer made—

Like, twelve reskins of the same low-quality shovelware game, all with colorful AI-generated graphics, all released within a month of each other, with the game I played randomly slotted in between.

And now I’m disgusted that I liked something that’s now so clearly AI garbage— I immediately lost interest when I found out, and now I feel pretty betrayed

Anyway, I guess what I’m saying is that you have to be prepared for the day generative AI makes something that you like.