What made me unhappy today ?

[CatrionaGrace]

I occasionally go looking on Amazon for more picture books for my kid, and the dead-eyed, slightly-off AI-produced picture books are appearing more and more (publication date 2025 onwards). The thought of so many kids soaking up bad art makes me sad.

I haven't found a way to filter them out, so this will probably be the nail in the coffin for my Amazon book purchases. I'd already switched over to local companies for most orders, but Amazon search is now also useless.

If you are of a Christian bent, or at least not hostile to the idea, Leslie Colburn and her illustrators produces some nice work. (Disclaimer: I am emphatically not of a Christian bent, lest anyone think I'm proselytizing here.) Mother and daughter team Mary and Rosian Fichtner produce a series of children's books about western ranch life that are also well done. Both Mary and Leslie have won awards and acclaim not generally given to self-published books.

Mary's books Leslie's books

 

[Luxuria]

I am trying to do schoolwork and Word is crimping my writing style. I hate it's 'grammar' suggestions. Because what I wrote IS correct, it just has more words and doesn't sound like it's written by a computer.

 

[big soft moose]

You can turn that off on the menus

 

[Maycontainthunder]

I am trying to do schoolwork and Word is crimping my writing style. I hate it's 'grammar' suggestions. Because what I wrote IS correct, it just has more words and doesn't sound like it's written by a computer.

Word does that to me as well only it's word use. What I used is correct but, if I were to use its suggestion, the sentence wouldn't make any sense.

One instance it didn't pull me up on was mistakenly using rouge instead of rogue. Laugh all you want!

And to stay on topic; found document corruption with some words being changed from last time I performed a read through.

 

[Dogberry's Watch]

I am trying to do schoolwork and Word is crimping my writing style. I hate it's 'grammar' suggestions. Because what I wrote IS correct, it just has more words and doesn't sound like it's written by a computer.

It suggested "your" in a sentence where I had "you're" (used correctly), and I was almost offended by the insinuation I didn't know what I'm doing. I do leave it on because sometimes my fingers go so fast typing, I'll miss some letters, but it doesn't catch those as frequently as it used to.

It's a frustrating function. I offer you a cup of your favorite hot beverage and a slice of your favorite bread.

 

[Rath Darkblade]

I am trying to do schoolwork and Word is crimping my writing style. I hate it's 'grammar' suggestions. Because what I wrote IS correct, it just has more words and doesn't sound like it's written by a computer.

I'll see your Word and raise you LibreOffice Writer. It's just like Word, but it's free and opensource, and millions of people use it without complaint (including companies and government departments in all kinds of countries). It also allows you to do anything Word can, including saving files in the .docx format and even the .doc format (for backwards compatibility).

I've used LibreOffice (the full office suite) for years and years, and never had an issue. I thoroughly recommend it.

The only slightly prickly issue I had with it is that sometimes it doesn't catch my smelling pistakes (spoonerism ftw!) ;-P But to be honest, when I make a spelling mistake, it's often something like "rogue" vs. "rouge", etc. -- the kind of thing anyone might miss.

 

[Luxuria]

I'll see your Word and raise you LibreOffice Writer. It's just like Word, but it's free and opensource, and millions of people use it without complaint (including companies and government departments in all kinds of countries). It also allows you to do anything Word can, including saving files in the .docx format and even the .doc format (for backwards compatibility).

I've used LibreOffice (the full office suite) for years and years, and never had an issue. I thoroughly recommend it.

The only slightly prickly issue I had with it is that sometimes it doesn't catch my smelling pistakes (spoonerism ftw!) ;-P But to be honest, when I make a spelling mistake, it's often something like "rogue" vs. "rouge", etc. -- the kind of thing anyone might miss.

Thanks for this. I tried Office Writer ages ago and we didn't vibe. I think I will stick with Scriviner, which is my processor of choice. But the thing that's nice about Word is that I can type of on my phone when I am out and about.

 

[Dogberry's Watch]

I either have a cold or an allergy attack has lasted all day. If I sneeze one more gosh darned time.

 

[Rath Darkblade]

*hands Dogberry's Watch the box of Kleenex*

That doesn't sound much like fun. Hope you feel better soon.

 

[Luxuria]

Don't trust Word Backup! I almost lost a HUGE chunk of one of my uni papers!

 

[Link the Writer]

Brain gremlin being a dick to me. Convincing me no one's interested in what I have to say. Evidence? None. It just wants me to feel bad.

 

[Rath Darkblade]

Don't trust Word Backup! I almost lost a HUGE chunk of one of my uni papers!

I hope you got it back! Losing an important document is gut-wrenching. I've grown used to saving files every so often.

*drags Word Backup out the back and shoots it with a water pistol*

Brain gremlin being a dick to me. Convincing me no one's interested in what I have to say. Evidence? None. It just wants me to feel bad.

I'm interested. See? Your brain gremlin is wrong.

 

[Luxuria]

I hope you got it back! Losing an important document is gut-wrenching. I've grown used to saving files every so often.

*drags Word Backup out the back and shoots it with a water pistol*



I'm interested. See? Your brain gremlin is wrong.

I thankfully got it back, because I messaged it to a family member who was tutoring me. Haha. So... thank the Gods?!

 

[ps102]

Don't trust Word Backup! I almost lost a HUGE chunk of one of my uni papers!

I remember when I trusted that LibreOffice would auto-save for me, so I let the laptop discharge to 0%. Something in the neighbourhood of 1.5k words were gone when I opened the document again.

It turned out that the feature which lets you restore progress you didn't save after an unexpected shutdown was not enabled by default. What a stupid idea.

Don't trust word processors to keep your work safe. They make interesting decisions. Have your own backups instead.

 

[Catrin Lewis]

Brain gremlin being a dick to me. Convincing me no one's interested in what I have to say. Evidence? None. It just wants me to feel bad.

Bugger the brain gremlin!!!

Sounds like a brother to the voice in the head that used to plague me. I called it The Objector. He--- it was definitely a he--- objected to everything positive I thought or felt or perceived.

I almost never hear it anymore, but for years it was a pain constantly having to tell it to shut up. Sometimes the only way I could do it was by charging it with lying about the other people.

 

[Link the Writer]

I think I’ll do that, tell it to shut up with evidence to its contrary.

 

[edamame]

Less sunlight during autumn and colder weather means I can feel myself getting into hibernation mode. Been feeling very tired lately. Hope it's just adjusting to the season and not something else. I wonder if any of you guys also go through this?

 

[ps102]

Less sunlight during autumn and colder weather means I can feel myself getting into hibernation mode. Been feeling very tired lately. Hope it's just adjusting to the season and not something else. I wonder if any of you guys also go through this?

I am glad I am not the only one. Late autumn and winter are really uncomfortable months for me. There is something about the lack of sunlight and the constant cold that doesn't make me feel so good. There is a charm to a rainy day indeed, but take away the sun for too long, and I start to feel less energetic.

Spring and summer I feel more at ease. Every time spring comes, I always feel as if a hard period is over.

 

[Homer Potvin]

I just miss my patio and doing yard work. And paying for heat. Biggest adjustment is moving from gin and tequila to whiskey and red wine.

 

[Rath Darkblade]

Less sunlight during autumn and colder weather means I can feel myself getting into hibernation mode. Been feeling very tired lately. Hope it's just adjusting to the season and not something else. I wonder if any of you guys also go through this?

I've been feeling very tired for years. It may be the fact that I work in healthcare.

But I also feel less energetic in winter. Wearing those big wool coats etc. all day can get tiring. It's easier not to have to. :-\ *floofs up the pillows for edamame and ps102, and offers a cup of tea*

But summer's just around the corner for us! Woo-hoo!