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pansyfemme · 1 year

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hello jude!!! do you have tips on collecting/wearing accessories if you can’t commit to going full decora (/another subculture)? i want to dress cooler but i always stop accessorizing after like. earrings. i’m not really sure how to start

hi! thx for asking- im gonna start by saying- theres absolutly no need to commit to decora if you want to try it out, its not a fashion you need to consistantly do when you start doing it (as well as it being pretty common amongst jfashion wearers to be part of multiple subcultures) but like. in general.

i think "collecting" is def the keyword. Everytime you go somewhere that sells cheap colorful things- keep an eye out. Thrift stores, Dollar stores, Flea markets.. etc. Also don't be afraid to diy! one of the first things i did was buy a 5$ pack of like. 200 plain barettes and some superglue and went thru my old toys to see if i had anything small enough to turn into a hairclip, earrings, necklaces.. etc. obviously not everywhere has this but ive noticed them popping up around the USA lately- but theres a 'creative reuse' store near me (which is basically. a place that sells secondhand art supplies and junk that could be recycled into new art for very very cheap, i usually spend under 5 bucks there and leave with a ton of stuff.) In terms of like- online places to find accesories, i search "toddler hair clips" on etsy pretty often as well as the usual mishmosh of terms like "kawaii" "rainbow" "decora" or "fairy kei" to find cute handmade accesories- but watch out for aliexpress resellers, there are more than u think on etsy. Even like. handmade looking stuff can be a reseller so keep a watchful eye open. Theres also a lot of people who buy big packs of charms for very cheap and glue them on barettes which is fine- but you can do that yourself, so don't bother. I only look at etsy when I want to specifically find high quality, handmade clips so i tend to get ones made of resin, clay or fabric- but since these are usually pretty expensive, if you want to do an effect like the standard decora mess of clips on top of clips- you're also going to need to look into cheaper options to fill the space. This is where most decora kids go to sites like aliexpress, amazon, wish, shein.. etc. you don't have to, it's totally possible to wear decora and similar styles buying exclusivly from small businesses, but it's generally what keeps the cost of wearing styles like decora reasonable. I try to keep a balance of small business made, DIY, and mass produced accesories on, personally. Decora does not have to be an expensive style, nor does any jfashion- but every style has its compromises. Moving on- when buying accesories outside of clips- i have less tips but still important ones. When buying necklaces, get ones of differing lengths. Layering necklaces are a lot more visually intresting when they're equally visable, and having different lengths helps them to not hide behind eachother. If you're intrested in kandi-as many coloful styles have it as a staple, it's fun, but it becomes kinda of a hobby of its own (and pony beads are more expensive than u think when you start making bigger cuffs- they use a LOT of beads.) also, kandi gets uncomfortable quick. Arm warmers are so underated and i love them, they're super cozy and look really cute. as for rings- i don't wear or have many personally, since im a visual artist and they really get in the way of my flow, i can't work with them on. (also. if you look at plastic colorful rings online, they're almost certinly for kids, even if the listing doesn't say so. you won't be able to fit them. if the listing doesnt specifically say adult or gives ring sizes, don't buy them.)

As for wearing- i gave some tips on other accesories, but im super specific about how i layer hair clips so ill say the best i can. I don't have bangs currently, (my hair isn't straight and ive never rlly found a way to style them since combing my hair looks rlly bad) but theres a reason most decora kids with straight hair have them- it's literally a flat plane to fit clips on. Otherwise, you're going to need to find a way to balance your clips and your hair in a way that looks cute, but also fits as many clips as possible (if that's what you're going for.) I tend to use like. three subcatagories of clips in the way i do it, i call them "Statement Clips" (Large clips, fabric clips, anything really flashy, tend to be heavy.) "Stabilility clips" (Medium sized, Lotsa barettes and bobby pins) and "Filler Clips" (Small. Butterfly Clips, anything that can fit into small gaps) If you can't tell already, i start by putting on clips to stabalize the area. Clips are heavy, and if you have a hair type that responds more to gravity than others, you're going to need to work against it. The point of stabalizing the area for me is to create like. a plane to put clips on. then, i tend to move on to the showier clips to create a visual effect, and fill the gaps with small ones. it's not too time consuming, it usually takes me 15 min or less.

A tip i give like. most decora kids out there. is 1) even in a style like decora, colors can clash- hence why i avoid blacks and browns when im doing a rainbow look. It's personal prefrence, but if you don't have a lot of accesories, you don't have to wear every one you own if you feel they won't go, even if it means less accesories. 2) decora as a style is stronger when your base outfit is as layered and colorful as your accesories. it's another investment, yes, but wearing decora accesories with a black hoodie and grey sweatpants won't nessecarily make that a decora outfit, if you get what i mean. im saying these as someone who did both when i was first getting into it.

i hope these help a little!! im sorry it took me a bit to respond ive been like. working on finals constantly and been on here mostly to just browse or update the queue so!

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shop-cailey · 12 days

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STORY . com

CHEAP - LOOKING - JAPANESE

ANIMATION

ARTFLOW AI - BEAUTIFUL

ANIMATED - PHOTOS BUT

IT's - JUST - PHOTOS WITH

OUT - MOVEMENT - BUT

SPECTACULAR - BEAUTY

ARTFLOW AI - GENERATES - PRETTY

ANIMATION - CHARACTERS - IT - YES

INSPIRES - ME - DELIGHTS - ME - ITS

MY - RESTING - TIME - FR - HARD FL

WORK - ETSY - PRINTIFY - IS - WORK

PRICES - ARE - EXPENSIVE

ARTFLOW AI - PRO PLAN - $25 - MONTHLY

I'M - GIVING - UP - FOOD - AMAZON PRIME

FLIKI - THE VOICE OVER - OF ARTFLOW AI

I - DON'T - LIKE - THEIR - FEMALE - VOICE

SHE's - SCARY - SOUNDING

FLIKI - PROVIDES - BETTER - VOICES

MALES - FEMALES

STANDARD - $21 - MONTHLY

CHAT GPT - BEST - STORY - MAKER

CHAT GPT - $20 - MONTHLY

SO - 2 - CREATE - ANIMATION - 4 - ME

MY - SOCIAL - MEDIA - MY - SANITY - 2

TOTAL

ARTFLOW AI - $25

FLIKI - VOICE - $21

CHAT GPT - $20

I - WANT - BETTER - STORIES

MORE - ROMANCES

TOTAL - ANIMATED - VIDEOS

MONTHLY - $66

PRINTIFY - $29

ANIMOTO - $20.30

TOTAL - $115.30

ANIMATED - VIDEOS - GENERATE

INTEREST VIEWS - SUBSCRIBERS

LET - ME - THINK - AND - DECIDE

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newcanoninfo · 1 year

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Canon EOS R8 Review: An Annoyingly Good Camera

Canon EOS R8 Review: An Annoyingly Good Camera –

“Wait, they don’t even sell it as a kit with some L-glass?” I asked my friend on the phone when I got the Canon EOS R8 in for review. And so, I tried to figure out what lenses to test it with. When I mounted the 100-400mm onto it, I didn’t expect the Canon EOS R8 to have better performance than the Canon EOS R5 in some ways. And I absolutely didn’t expect it to do well with a lens like the 100-400mm – which I otherwise consider to be, candidly speaking, garbage. But a few minutes of testing it, and I was making faces filled with surprise. I know that I didn’t have high expectations for the Canon EOS R8 when I originally wrote about it. But I didn’t expect something at this end of Canon’s camera lineup to outperform a bunch of other cameras on the market.

The Phoblographer may receive affiliate compensation for products purchased using links in this blog post.

The Big Picture

The Canon EOS R8 is a camera that truly puzzles me but also makes a lot of sense. Canon is trying to find a way to get more market share with a very affordable camera model. They can easily push it like crazy during the holidays at a cheap price point, along with bundles and more. We know, if you’re reading this, that it’s not such an excellent camera in some ways. But in a slew of other ways, this camera beats a lot of what’s on the market. For the record, it completely obliterates anything in the APS-C camera realm from all the competitors at the moment. This is thanks to the AI integration and how well it works. At the same time, the Canon EOS R7 is a much better buy.

This is a good first camera to get if you’re just trying to seriously get into photography. But if you’re already a Canon customer, there’s no use in bothering with this even as a backup camera.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

We’re giving the Canon EOS R8 three out of five stars. Want one? Check them out at Amazon.

Buy Now

Pros

Good image quality

Small

Lightweight

The autofocus really works

Very affordable

Cons

I wish the weather resistance was even better, and that it had a bundle with L lenses.

Otherwise, I’m truly annoyed at how this camera even gives the R5 a run for its money in some ways.

Innovations

At this price point, there’s nothing like the Canon EOS R8 on the market. This camera crams a 24MP full-frame sensor, AI autofocus algorithms,

Gear Used

We tested the Canon EOS R8 with the 24-50mm kit lens and the 100-400mm zoom lens. All of the units are loaners. We purposely didn’t test this with Canon L lenses because we don’t think that it’s the right target audience.

Ergonomics

Here’s a look at the front of the Canon EOS R8. As you can tell, there isn’t much to it. It looks like the Canon EOS R and EOS RP.

The top of the Canon EOS R8 has a few controls. The on/off switch is around one of the exposure dials with the lock setting curiously in the middle. On the left is the switch between video and photo. All the other controls are pretty standard.

Unfortunately, the Canon EOS R8 doesn’t let the shutter come down to protect the sensor.

The back of the Canon EOS R8 shares the same excitement of doing laundry. There’s no joystick, and so with that said, you’re going to have to get used to using the touchscreen or the D pad in the back. It feels like something from nearly 10 years ago.

And, of course, this is a Canon camera. So the screen comes out and can be fun to work with.

Build Quality

The Canon EOS R8 has weather resistance, but it’s not all that good compared to some of the higher end products from Canon. What’s more, this camera doesn’t let the shutter come down over the sensor to protect it from dust. So overall, using the Canon EOS R8 is like using a Rebel camera if it had weather resistance.

In the hand, the camera feels good and is quite small. That specifically makes you want to take it with you everywhere. But what this really needs is an RF variant of the Canon 40mm f2.8 pancake lens to make it shine.

Ease of Use

This camera is simultaneously better and worse than the Canon EOS R5 and EOS R7 both. And in many ways, it’s better than the original EOS R. What’s most annoying is that the R8 gets the “direct subject to detect” option that the R6 II has; and this can be programmed to a button. The R7 and R5 are the cameras that really need them though. And the R8 even gets an auto-subject to detect option as well. Come on Canon.

Otherwise, if you’ve been a Canon user for a while, this will be a pretty straight forward camera to use. You won’t be able to do everything that you can with a camera with more buttons quickly because there are fewer buttons. However, you can use the touch screen to do most things still. Using the touch screen isn’t bad, but it’s not the direct input that a set button can give you.

Truly, I realized when shooting with this camera that shooting with Canon has never brought my actual joy. It’s a soulless system that really needs L glass to really like what it produces. But L glass is massive.

Let me put it this way, I was very bored testing this camera out, particularly because it doesn’t do much that’s special. So to cure my boredom, I took painterly photos of trash along the streets in Queens, NY. This showed me how image stabilization of the lens works at 1/15th with excessive movements.

Metering

For the most part, the Canon EOS R8 conforms to Sunny 16 standards when shooting in manual mode. The sensor is only around 1/3 of the way off; and that’s pretty good. In other metering modes, it kind of just does whatever it wants.

Focusing

The problem with a camera like this is that we have no idea how someone buying it would use the autofocus. Would they not touch it? Would they leave the camera in auto mode the entire time? We don’t know. But we do know how the AF performance went.

When we tried photographing birds and humans in the all auto functions (focus picking whether Servo or single combined with whole area af) the camera couldn’t always figure out what we wanted. In this way, it’s behind Sony’s entry level options. And it’s also behind the R5. But if you want to fine tune things like the focus point and specifically which scene detection you want, this camera turns into something that’s better than even the R5 in some ways.

We barely tested this camera with L glass. Honestly, I don’t know who’d use it with L lenses either. As it is, this camera made me realize that the joy of using Canon RF is still with its lenses; not the camera.

Image Quality

The image quality of the Canon EOS R8 makes the want to call this the iPhone of Canon cameras. While the image quality can be very spectacular, we can’t expect much in terms of overall versatility. Truly, I wouldn’t bother shooting with this camera in RAW.

JPEG Output

Where the image quality of the Canon EOS R8 really shines is with the JPEG Output. Indeed, this might be one of Canon’s best cameras for it. Coupled with the light weight and full-frame sensor, I’d probably never want to shoot RAWs with this camera — that would especially be the case if I didn’t know any better.

High ISO Output

We had to edit in Lightroom Classic, and let me tell you: the high ISO output is really not that great in the shadows. Because of this, I didn’t even bother to do our printing tests. This sensor, whatever it is, is disappointing.

RAW File Versatility

Okay, these are bad. They’re really bad when it comes to getting information from the shadows. Essentially, when I started working with these files, I told myself that I have to shoot with this camera like it’s got chrome film inside. And at the end of the review, I agree with this statement.

Extra Image Samples

From day one, The Phoblographer has been huge on transparency with our audience. Nothing from this review is sponsored. Further, lots of folks will post reviews and show lots of editing in the photos. The problem then becomes that anyone and everyone can do the same thing. They’re not showing what the lens can do. So we have a section in our Extra Image Samples area to show edited and unedited photos. From this, you can make a decision for yourself.

Unedited

Edited

Who Should Buy the Canon EOS R8?

The Canon EOS R8 is kind of an odd one. It’s incredibly affordable, has features that even the Canon EOS R5 doesn’t have, is lightweight, and can give you great JPEGs. Plus it’s weather resistant to a degree. But on the flip side, it eliminates the ability to flip the shutter down over the sensor, and if you’re very used to Canon gear already, it can be a bit of a pain to use. If you’re brand new to cameras, I think that it will make things fairly easy as long as you play with it for a while.

For the price point, the Canon EOS R8 is doing a lot. At the same time, it’s just not exciting. If you’re looking for full-frame at a super affordable price, then get the R8.

Buy Now

Tech Specs

Specs are taken from Lensrentals.

BrandCanonCamera TypeMirrorlessEnvironmentalOperating Temperature32 to 104°F0 to 85%Operating HumidityExposure ControlShutter TypeElectronic ShutterElectronic Shutter Speed1/16000 Up to 30 Seconds in Manual Mode1/16000 Up to 30 Seconds in Time Mode1/8000 Up to 30 Seconds1/4000 Up to 30 SecondsBulb Mode, Time ModeElectronic Front Curtain Shutter SpeedBulb/Time ModeISO SensitivityPhoto/Video: 100 to 102,400Extended: 50 to 204,800Center-Weighted Average, Evaluative, Partial, SpotAperture Priority, Manual, Program, Shutter Priority-3 to +3 EV (1/3, 1/2 EV Steps)-3 to 20 EVAuto, Cloudy, Custom, Daylight, Flash, Fluorescent (White), Kelvin, Shade, TungstenMetering MethodExposure ModesExposure CompensationMetering RangeWhite-Balance PresetsContinuous Shooting – Electronic ShutterUp to 40 fps for up to 120 Frames (JPEG) / 56 Frames (RAW)Up to 6 fps for up to 1000 Frames (JPEG) / 1000 Frames (RAW)Yes2/10-Second DelayInterval RecordingSelf-TimerFlashBuilt-In FlashNoAuto1/200 Second-3 to +3 EV (1/3, 1/2 EV Steps)eTTLIntelligent Hot ShoeFlash ModesMaximum Sync SpeedFlash CompensationDedicated Flash SystemExternal Flash ConnectionFocusingFocus TypeAuto and Manual FocusContinuous-Servo AF, Manual Focus, Single-Servo AFPhase Detection: 4897Phase Detection: 4067-6.5 to +21 EVFocus ModesAutofocus Points – PhotoAutofocus Points – VideoAutofocus SensitivityGeneralBattery Type1x LP-E17 Rechargeable Lithium Polymer1x 1/4″-20 Female5.22 × 3.39 × 2.76″Tripod Mounting ThreadDimensions (W x H x D)Weight1.0 lb. (With Battery, Recording Media)0.9 lb. (Body Only)ImagingSensor ResolutionEffective: 24.2 Megapixel35.9 × 23.9mm (Full-Frame) CMOSSensor-Shift, 5-Axis (Video Only)NoneStills & VideoSensor TypeImage StabilizationBuilt-In ND FilterCapture TypeInterfaceMedia/Memory Card SlotSingle Slot: SD/SDHC/SDXC1x Micro-HDMI OutputVideo I/OAudio I/O1x 1/8″ / 3.5mm TRS Stereo Microphone Input on Camera Body1x 1/8″ / 3.5mm TRRS Headphone/Mic Headphone Output on Camera Body1x USB-C (USB 3.2 / 3.1 Gen 2)2.4 / 5 GHz Bluetooth 4.2 ControlYesOther I/OWirelessMobile App CompatibleGlobal Positioning (GPS, GLONASS, etc.)NoneItem TypeCameraMfr. Model Number5803C002MonitorSize3″1,620,000 DotArticulating Touchscreen LCDResolutionDisplay TypeMountCanon RFStill Image CaptureAspect Ratio3:2C-RAW, HEIF, JPEG, RAW14-BitImage File FormatsBit DepthVideo CaptureInternal Recording Modes H.264/H.265/MP4 4:2:2 10-BitUHD 4K (3840 × 2160) up to 23.98/25/29.97/50/59.94 fps1920 × 1080 up to 23.98/25/29.97/50/59.94/100/120/150/180 fpsNoneCanon Log 3, HDR-PQExternal Recording ModesGamma CurveRecording LimitUp to 30 Minutes in 4KUp to 30 Minutes in 1080p HFRNTSC/PALStereoBroadcast OutputBuilt-In Microphone TypeViewfinderTypeBuilt-In Electronic (OLED)0.39″2,360,000 Dot22mm100%Approx. 70x-4 to +1SizeResolutionEye PointCoverageMagnificationDiopter Adjustment

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choicesvewor · 2 years

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How to change preferences on bookbub

#How to change preferences on bookbub download

#How to change preferences on bookbub free

Lyndsee Simpson is a contributor to The Penny Hoarder. An added advantage is the online book reviews, which I definitely use when choosing a book. If you’re after a specific book, it’s best to just purchase it like any other book.įor me, BookBub is like wandering through the library, picking up whichever book strikes my fancy. Since I’ve been on BookBub, I’ve seen deals on work by Michael Crichton, Anne Rice and Alice Hoffman.Ĭan You Search for Specific Books on BookBub? Most of the books I’ve purchased have at least four stars out of five on Amazon.Īnd books by well-known authors also pop up from time to time. When I first signed up, I assumed these cheap books would be lower quality or less prestigious than the full-priced titles.īut that hasn’t proved to be the case. Once you’re on the book’s page on Amazon or another book-buying site, you can see its ratings and reviews. How Do You Know Whether the Books Are Good? From there, it’s just like purchasing any other ebook. When you choose a book from the email, the link takes you to the purchase page in Amazon’s Kindle store, Barnes & Noble’s Nook store or Apple’s Book Store. How Do You Buy the Books?īookBub doesn’t sell the books directly it just lets you know about deals you can get elsewhere.ĭeals are for a limited time only, so if it’s best to snatch up something you want, but you can also set up the app to send you reminders before the deal expires.

#How to change preferences on bookbub free

Lucky for us, the service is free for readers. Publishers pay a fee to submit their books to BookBub and be included in the daily email. The highest price I’ve seen is $4.99 for an entire series. Most are on sale for $1 to $1.99, a few are free and a couple might cost $2.99. I checked mysteries, nonfiction and young adult.Įach afternoon, BookBub sends me a customized email with a list of discounted books in my chosen genres. You create a free account, which was pretty painless by my standards, then indicate the device you use to read ebooks and choose your favorite genres. To save some money without denying my reading needs, I’m using a site called BookBub in the first two months, I estimate it saved me $60 on five titles. However, I soon realized the cost of replacing my library habit with a bunch of Kindle books was adding up.

#How to change preferences on bookbub download

When I unwrapped my new tablet, I was quick to download a bunch of ebooks.

#How to change preferences on bookbub

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delcakoo · 2 years

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HEY KOOBEAR IM SO SORRY I HAVENT BEEN TALKING TO YOU THE OAST 3 DAYS :((( I missed you sm 💗💗💗☹️☹️☹️😘😘😘😘🥰🥰🥰😍😍😍

we….. FINALLY MOVED IN!! I HAVE MY OWN BEDROOM!! We didn’t decorate it yet, I have a futon for a bed lol we’re waiting until prime day and thanksgiving for the deals. Saving money isn’t a habit it’s a LIFESTYLE 🥵 but I didn’t have internet for 3 days I was absolutely gonna go feral. I couldn’t listen to enha for so long I started hearing d-d intro randomly 😟😟 but whateva. I have a google mini and it serves as a scrumptious head banging jump upping move yo body speaker quality and I have drunk dazed playing on rn. BEST TITTLE TRACK FIGHT ME 🫵🫵👊👊💪💪🤬🤬💥💥‼️‼️

But like right tomorrow we’re leaving for India so I can’t talk to you for a month :(((( I’ll miss ur writings sm

Also my friend invited me to her awesome epic ass Halloween party BUT I CANT GO. SOBBING OSMBDJSND. HER PARTIES ARE ALWAYS SO FUN AND I LOVE DRESSING UP.

Also the new concert has me raving curling my toes punching the wall stabbing my gut crying tears head aching like I’m actually sad. THEM SINGING SHOUT OUT MY COMFORT SONG. Playing I need the light and shout out on my loud ass speaker rn it just feels right

But on the bright side she has a thanksgiving party, Christmas party OMG CHRISTMAS. AOMANDKW LYES, YES YES. THAT INE KPOP COVER OF ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMASS BLESSING FOR MY EARS OMFG. BLASTING THAT SHIT ATTEH CHRISTMASS PARTY OMGMGMGMG

Also an Amazon india you can get so much makeup for cheap it’s like 😲😲😫😫😡😡🫵🫵 GIVE RIGHT NKW DKAMDKWMD a lip tint for 44 dollars here is like 13 ish dollars on Amazon India like dayum 😱😱🤭🤭 also not to brag but I got 3 properties of dirt soil and brick in my name in India 🤩🤩 a house, an apartment complex, and a mansion mhmhmnmjm when I literally came from the womb I was gifted with gold. Ain’t ever accepting no less from a partner. My standards are sky high so either be anyone from enhypen or treat me like a queen or just don’t bother. I say all this acting like I’d pull anyone 😍😍‼️‼️💪💪

Speaking of pulling people my hot ass cute ass pretty ass scrumptious ass friend didn’t :(((( she liked some guy who wears highlighter shirts (get rid of them 4eva) and he was kinda ugly ngl but my queen deserves better idc he just wasn’t the one. But basically I had gym and then German after and I saw my queen in the hallways and she was like “WAIT HES IN UR GYM?!” And I said “yeah and in my German tew” and she was like “PLSPLSPLSPLSLKSOLSLS ASK HIM IF HE LIKES ANYBODH BE DISCREET ABT IT” and I was gonna ask him bc me and my friend were walking and he and some guy (NAMED JAY 😱😱😟😟🥺🥺) were walking and jay was like “yo are (kuma’s queen) and you going to the Halloween dance” and he was like “nah bro” and jay was like “well (kuma’s queen) likes you imagine” and I was just quietly listening to them talk ish abt her and it broke my heart :( BUT TLEAST WE KNOW HE AINT IT MY QUEEN DESERVES HER KING FRL if he ain’t taking her out I will she deserves the world omg

Sorry for so many paragraphs I would’ve cut this inbetween 3 days but no internet ☹️ HYD MLOVE MDEAR MDARLING I HOPE UR HAVING A GOOD DAY BBG 😘😘💗💗‼️‼️😍😍

AHHHHH KUMIE WUMIE HIHIHI MY LOVE, I MISSED U SM TOO :((((

WTF WTF WTFTWTETFTWR KUMA I LITERALLY FINISHED WRITING THE ENHA WHEN YOU’RE ON YOUR PERIOD THAT YOU REQUESTED HOLD ONNNN AHAISN. OKAY YKNOW WHAY IM GONNA POST IT IN A FEW MINUTES SO YOU CAN READ IT BECAUSE IT WAS LITERALLY FOR YOU and plus im on my period rn it sucks GRAHHHH OKAY JUST WAIT

AJSJSHKDNDH IM SO HAPGY FOR YOU, THATS A SHAME YOU HAVE TO WAIT TO DECORSTE BUT ITLL BE WORTH IT!! AND SO TRUE DRUNK DAZED IS THE BEDT TITLE TRACK I’LL FIGHT WITH HOU 🔥🔥‼️‼️✊✊✊

DONT SPEAK TO ME AB THE CPNCERT OKAY. IM STILL MOURNING AND SCREAMING AND PRETENDING IT DIDNT HAPPEN ❤️

DAMN WTF WHY DOED UR FRIEND HAVE SO MANY PARTIES 😭 THATD GOOD U CAN ATTEND THE OTHER ONES AND OMFG YOU KNOW THAT COVER????? BRO 100% AGREE ITS A LITERAL EARGASM WENDYS VOICE IS INSANE, AND BANGCHANS HARMONY HAD ME CRYINGJGNG I LISTEN TO THAT COVER RELIGIOUSLG I WISH IT WAS ON SPOTIFY 😭😭😭✊✊

DAMN WTF.. I WANNA GO NOW GIRL GET A SHIT TON OF STUFF AND MAKE SURE TO DO A HAUL FOR ME OKAY ‼️‼️‼️

UM YES YOURF RIEND DESERVES BETTER.. NOT THE HIGHLIGHTER SHIRT 🧍 AND OMG JAY?? jaY ENHYPEN GOES TO UR SCHOOL REAL?? 👁👁

EDIT: I JUST REALISED I READ THIS A DAY LATE AND NOW UR IN INDIA 😭😭😭 IM SOBBING IM CRYJGNFH IM SO SORRY KUMA NOOO MY LOVE, OKAY I’LL POST IT RN ANYWAY IN UR HONOR 😭😭😭😭💖💖💖❤️💖❤️💖❤️

#delcakoo #kuma <3

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urban-homesteading · 3 years

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Hey do you know what kind of tools I should buy if I want to move into a house? It won't have a yard yet, but fingers crossed for the future. Thank you!

Congratulations on the new house! Since you said that there's no yard yet, I'm going to focus only on tools I use inside my house and ignore gardening and lawn maintenance.

What tools should you have around your house?

So here's a pretty simple list that will cover most minor problems you will encounter.

Hammer

Cordless power drill

Screwdriver set (grab one with the ten basic sockets)

Drill set

Adjustable wrench

Level (bubble works, but I upgraded to laser and it makes life so much simpler)

Tape measurer

Utility knife

Flashlight

Extension cord

Step stool

Spare batteries

Toolbox (or even a cardboard box, just make sure you have somewhere to return your tools or they will escape to the four winds)

So how to acquire these tools while maintaining zero waste?

1) Start with your research

If you are completely unfamiliar with tool brands and the features available on tools, do a little research. Visit the websites for Sears, The Home Depot, Lowe's, Menards, True Value, Ace Hardware or any retailer that sells tools, and take a look at their new selections. Most websites organize tools in a straightforward way so you can easily find what you're looking for.

Head to a local store to get a firsthand look – many tools will be on display and out of the box so you can actually pick them up. You'll see the most-recent models, from low-end to top-of-the-line. Make notes on the prices and available features (especially relating to safety). This is your base from which to work when evaluating prices.

The next step is to look at online auction sites, such as eBay, to get an idea of prices for used tools. This gets a bit tricky because you'll need to really look at the age and condition of the tools as described by the seller. But again, make notes for a range of features and prices. Don't try to list everything you see – just make a list of price ranges for the tools, with notes on the variances in relation to brand. For example, for circular saws that range in price from $30 to $60, jot down what separates the bottom-priced tool from the top.

Head over to pawnshops as well. Pawnshops only buy items they know they can turn around and sell, so they won't have tools that don't work (everything they purchase is tested), and a pawnshop won't carry poor-quality brands. Also, the prices will accurately reflect the current value of tools in the marketplace. Make sure you visit operations that are members of the National Pawnbrokers Association, as these businesses abide by a code of ethics established by the association.

2) Name Does Matter (For the more expensive tools)

Now that you have an idea of what you'll expect to pay, it's time to consider how you'll evaluate and decide what to buy.

It used to be that if a name brand was good, it was good. But I have found that the ‘good’ name brands have been sold so many times that most manufacturers are coasting on their reputation and they are the same quality as the ‘cheap’ tools. Even worse, manufacturers will have different quality tools that are sold by different stores. For example, a DeWalt power drill sold at a Home Depot will be better quality than a DeWalt Power Drill sold at Walmart because DeWalt will have two different manufacturing plants and they will send the lower quality ones to Walmart, since Walmart demands that DeWalt sell them to them at a cheaper cost or else they won’t buy from them at all.

My personal rule of thumb is buy cheap for the first one, then if you use it so long or so much that it needs replaced, buy expensive quality the second time. This prevents you from spending hundreds on tools you’re only going to use a couple of times.

3) Where To Buy

You can start your shopping by revisiting some of the places you accessed when doing your research. Clearly you'll save money on shipping if you go to a local operation or an individual. Remember to test and examine tools closely no matter where you shop.

Pawnshops As mentioned earlier, pawnshops are a good bet for buying tools. You're going to find better-known brands that are probably on the higher end of the quality and price spectrum. Although, you're going to have little to no negotiating room on price compared to if you were buying from an individual.

Thrift Stores A thrift store may be a little less reliable for quality, and you'll probably find a lot less availability, especially at a thrift store that obtains its wares through donation. However, those that aren't donation-based aren't going to want to develop a bad reputation by selling inferior items.

Live Auctions Check local notices for potential auctions in your area. You may have a good chance of finding quality tools, but “auction fever” may set in, and you could wind up overpaying if you are bid up. These may be a good source for large equipment.

Garage Sales You could score the best deal at a garage sale, as the seller may be less likely to know the value of the tools being sold. Sellers will also be more open to price negotiation, and you can offer a bundle price for several items. Quality is going to be your biggest concern, so look these tools over really well.

Flea Markets These are similar to garage sales when it comes to negotiating, but the seller at a flea market will probably be more knowledgeable on price. Some flea market vendors have access to surplus or closeout suppliers, so you could see a potential mix of newer and older tools that haven't sold well at retail.

Classifieds Search online or newspaper classifieds under the equipment and tools categories. You may see a set or combination of tools listed as one price, which can be a good deal. As with garage sales, look these tools over carefully.

Online Websites offering tools are almost too numerous to mention, but eBay is certainly one that comes to mind. Check the seller ratings and reviews when shopping on auction sites. You'll also want to take a look at Amazon, which offers a lot of items, both new and used. Overstock.com, for example, has surplus items and may be a good source for refurbished items. You can often get limited warranties.

Retail Speaking of refurbished items, you may do well by looking at the clearance aisles at hardware stores and home centers. Sometimes they will heavily discount tools that have been returned. Check the reason for the return because it can be merely cosmetic.

4) Be an Inspector

On corded power tools, examine the electrical and basic mechanics of the tool. Aside from plugging it in and turning it on, thoroughly inspect the cord. Look for any visible defects, such as a crimp (what looks like a big dent), or if the cord is bent at a severe angle. A thick wad of electrical tape will be a big tip-off that something might not be right. Also take a look at where the cord meets the tool to see if it's heavily worn or loose. Closely examine the prongs of the plug. A slight bend on one of the prongs isn't a big deal, but if the metal looks heavily worn at the bend, it may be close to failure. And don't forget to check out the switch to see if it is loose or cracked.

Cordless tools present their own challenge. If you've ever looked at the price of replacement batteries, you know they can be quite pricey. Some are very expensive in relation to the cost of a new tool and can be as much as half or more of the cost of a new tool. Plus, it's hard to tell if the battery will hold its charge for any length of time. Sure, it may work fine in the short time you test it, but it's difficult to determine if it will hold a charge for longer than a few minutes. Only opt for cordless tools that you know are at most a couple of years old. Refurbished units are your best bet here.

With both corded and cordless power tools, be sure all the parts and guards are there. It's a bonus if the case and operating manual are included (although you may be able to find a copy of the manual on a tool manufacturer's website). You can easily find replacement accessories, such as saw blades, for many tools because the standards for accessory sizes are pretty consistent.

While you can't exactly take a small screwdriver and dismantle a power tool to look at its inner workings, you can search for a few telltale signs that all may not be well. Be prepared to use all five senses.

Take at look at the motor vent area of the tool (which looks like little slits in the housing). Ideally, you want this to be free of any sort of dirt, grime or buildup – a tall order for a used tool, but a good indication of how well it has been maintained. While inspecting this area, look for any burn marks or smoke trails (take a peek at the switch area as well). These would be clear indications that there's been an electrical problem. But just in case the evidence of a fire has been cleaned up, give the vent area the old sniff test for odor of smoke.

Keep the focus on this area and turn on the tool. You don't want to see smoke or sparks emitting from the housing. Notice how the tool feels in your hand while it's running. Look for intermittent operation or jerkiness. Yes, a power tool will vibrate in your hand, but you should be able to control it. If it feels like the tool could jump right out of your hand, there could be issues. Listen to the tool. Is it making erratic sounds or grating noises? Think back to other tools of the same type you're inspecting. Does the used tool sound significantly different?

You can look for specific things such as the movement of the blade in a circular saw or table saw. With the tool off and unplugged, move the blade around to see if there is a significant wobble to its motion. An old blade may be the culprit, but the arbor (the metal rod on which the blade is attached to the saw) may be bent. It would be difficult to replace and not worth purchasing the tool.

These tools will be a pretty good head start and will enable you to repair most minor work around your home.

#tools #homestead #house #home #DIY #zero waste #reuse #reduce

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aplusblogging · 3 years

Video

youtube

An Analysis on the History of Gender in the Horror Genre

This is one of my classmates’ final projects for Sociology. I loved it so much I asked for her permission to share it here. Hope you enjoy it too!

Transcript under the cut, since the auto-generated captions are mostly accurate but punctuation is good for comprehension.

TRANSCRIPT:

“My name is Davis Barelli, and in this video essay I'm going to look at the portrayal of gender through the lens of the horror genre.

Women in particular may have a reason to keep coming back to the genre, outside of a cheap thrill. In a study done by the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, and Google, using the Geena Davis Inclusion Quotient—or the GDIQ—it was determined that women are featured on screen and in speaking roles more than men only in the horror genre. With the advent of the MPAA rating system in the '30s, the kind of horror we know today didn't re-emerge until the '60s.

Making female characters who would later become known as "Final Girls" the vessel for traumatic experiences allowed viewers—especially men and boys coming home from war—to see someone reacting to trauma in the way that they wanted to, but wasn't socially acceptable. Instead, the model for men to see themselves in was the macho, womanizing jock who goes outside to find the big bad, typically resulting in him being the first to die. While there was a lot of good in the survivors of these horror movies very commonly being female, a specific archetype of the female survivor made it clear what kind of girl it took to be the hero.

The Final Girl being portrayed in '60s, '70s, and '80s slasher horror as an innocent virgin stereotype was no accident, what with America experiencing the breakdown of the nuclear family and Christian morals thanks to the free-love movement of the '60s. This led to frequent themes of occultism, homosexuality, and hypersexuality in horror at the time. Characters who gave in to these evils were given a death sentence, as opposed to the Final Girls, who were rewarded for their abstinence with survival.

When films did stray from the norm by casting male leads in sequels in place of the Final Girl, a double standard emerged. Male protagonists were branded as "homosexual" for acting like the Final Girls before them, and the actors who portrayed them had their careers effectively ruined. Where the '70s gave rise to exploitation horror centered on violence against women, '80s niche horror had different scapegoats.

Cannibal Holocaust, released at the beginning of the decade and directed by Ruggero Deodato, tells the story of a group going to the Amazon in search of a missing film crew. They discover footage detailing the gruesome things the crew did to the tribe they encountered before they were killed. Not only is the portrayal of hostile tribes in the Amazon harmful to the actual tribes in the Amazon, but framing the main character of the film as a kind of white savior for not wanting the footage of the tribe distributed is basically rewarding him for the absolute bare minimum.

The other standout film of the '80s notorious for its subject matter is that of Sleepaway Camp. Sleepaway Camp tells the story of a young girl who experiences the death of her family during a boating accident and is sent to live with her aunt and cousin. She and her cousin go to the summer camp and it quickly becomes a bloodbath. The reveal at the end is that the young girl was the culprit, because she wasn't a girl at all, but her twin brother who was forced by the aunt to live as a girl. The narrative of trans people as dangerous, deranged villains pretending to be a different gender due to mental illness or against their will is deeply harmful to the LGBTQ people who were battling misconceptions at the time similar to this, and still are.

This energy evolved with the '90s, which shifted its focus to supernatural teenage hormones, with the likes of The Craft and many others. Looking at the villains of these movies, though, is a clear pointer to the ostracization of the "weird kid" in the '90s. This is most prominently seen in The Craft, where a girl with supernatural powers befriends a group of girls pretending to be witches. She bestows them with real powers and hijinks ensue. The film culminates in the ringleader—who, out of the group, is the least conventionally attractive—being put in an insane asylum for her misdeeds, while the rest of the group gets off relatively scot-free. This served as an unfortunate continuation of the narrative that girls who were weird were to be punished, but if you were pretty, you could get away with it.

With the 2000s filled with American-made J-horror and classic horror remakes, I'd like to skip forward, save for one movie.

In the 2000s a movie came out that caused a huge ruckus over how bad it was, but I think deserves a spot here for its portrayal of teenage girls in horror. Jennifer's Body, directed by* Diablo Cody, starring Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried, tells the story of Jennifer getting possessed after a botched human sacrifice because she lies about being a virgin. It was almost universally panned by critics, who called it a "sexploitation film lacking the all-important ballast of sincerity." Both Cody and Fox—who were gaining fame for Juno and the Transformers franchise, respectively—were already written off by critics, most of whom were men, before the movie had even been released. In reality, Jennifer's character was unique for being the mean girl who gets killed off, the big bad, and a revenge film-esque survivor, all in one. And her best friend, "Needy," was the sarcastic, dorky, sexually active Final Girl we never would have seen in classic horror.

The last decade has given rise to a genre dubbed "intelligent horror," ushering in an age with less mindless bloodlust and more nuanced characters and themes. Directors Jordan Peele and Ari Aster are arguably at the forefront of the intelligent horror genre; Peele's Get Out and Us giving people of color representation in a severely whitewashed genre. Get Out, especially, has received praise not just for the representation of people of color, but the very real, very prevalent issues of race and police brutality. One of the most important aspects is the depiction of the white savior character in the form of the protagonist's girlfriend, who is revealed to actually be a villain, showcasing the dramatization of the danger of performative activism and how that affects people of color.

Ari Aster, on the other hand, deals with themes of mental illness and family trauma, something unfortunately somewhat universal. While mommy issues and cults are nothing new in horror, Ari Aster's work frames both subjects very differently, especially in regards to the women in his films. Midsommar heavily focuses on Dani, the protagonist's, mental health and manipulation by others throughout the film, as she navigates grief unapologetically and realistically. This portrayal of grief in Midsommar from a woman's point of view is so important, because Dani is clingy, she's anxious, she's emotional, and she's human. As opposed to the polished, over-dramatic depiction of women and their emotions that are so commonly seen in horror.

Over the decades, horror and its portrayals of the human experience have shifted to continue being a compelling mirror for the issues of the time. But something that will always be current is that we can be scared.”

End of transcript.

*Jennifer’s Body was written by Diablo Cody and directed by Karyn Kusama

#horror #video essay #women in film #women in horror #film analysis

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tetedurfarm · 4 years

Note

Do you have any advice for getting into keeping rabbits? I was looking into getting a couple for meat production and possibly starting to learn to tan pelts but I don’t want to get confused over all the conflicting info on the internet about wire flooring and such things.

ugh, it’s so frustrating, isn’t it? with pretty much every other animal you can just google “how to raise x” and get tons of good advice, but the rabbit results are dominated by HRS forums that will crucify you for even mentioning breeding, much less meat production.

so here’s some points i’ve learned from experience to help you out:

1. wire flooring is not evil. in fact it’s great. it’s clean, it’s sanitary, there’s airflow if you use it in a hutch, and if you do it right you won’t have foot problems (unless you’re raising rex or giant breeds, but even then there’s easy fixes like my lattice mats.)

here’s what you’re looking for: 1″x0.5″ grid 16g - 14g wire. if you order your cages from a manufacturer like Bass Equipment (my preferred cagemaker,) or Klubertanz, this will come standard. if you make your own cages or buy from a feed store, it’s a bit more hit and miss.

make sure the half-inch wires are on top when you build your cages, so the weight is distributed properly:

see how the smaller gaps are “on top”?

vs this side. (shoutout to me having like twenty cages all in pieces in my living room to get these nice reference pics ;p)

i also recommend you get your floors galvanized after weld; they’ll last a long longer that way!

–

2. babysaver wire is called that for a reason. babysaver is when there’s a 1x0.5 grid near the bottom of a cage. it’s there to keep kits from falling out of the cage, and helps prevent predators from easily pulling kits out.

this is a cage with babysaver. it does what it’s meant to. i use these for my doe cages, and even if a kit gets dragged out of the nest, as long as i find it in time, it’ll survive because it didn’t roll out and get snatched by something off the ground.

vs one without:

i use these for bucks and my growout pens for older kits. they are cheaper than babysaver cages, but it’s worth the money to keep your babies safe.

–

3. invest in a good pair of j-clip pliers. even if you buy prefab cages, often times they’re cheaply made and you’ll need to fill in gaps so they don’t fall apart so easily. it’s also good to keep them around just because, because after a while the clips can get rusty and fall off, and you’ll need to replace them occasionally.

good on left, not so good on right. the ones on the left cost my about fifteen bucks from my favourite hilariously-named rabbit supply site: Rabbitnipples.com. the ones on the right were like $8 at my local feed store. so a significant markup, but VERY worth it. the good pliers are more comfortable to hold in your hand, and make much nicer/more secure crimps than the cheap ones. i often have to crimp clips twice or more with cheap pliers, because of the way they’re shaped:

the good pliers have a solid mouth that make a clean loop with no pointy outy bits. and they can double as removers if you mess one up!

this is topical because i lost my good pliers and had to order new ones, and in the meantime i built four cages and my palms are so sore/bruised from the cheap pliers. don’t be like me.

–

4. vets kinda aren’t worth it. one of the things you’ll see on HRS sites is that vets are ABSOLUTELY necessary. i don’t hate vets, but they chronically have no idea how to treat rabbits, often making them worse or causing them to die because they administered a med that’s safe for cats but not rabbits. they also often subscribe to HRS rhetoric that pellets are evil and rabbits should only eat hay and greens, which is…wrong (i’ll get to that in a minute.) if you can find a good vet it may be worth it for one or two rabbits, but once you get into the double-digits, it’s just not worth it. exotics vets are expensive, and i can’t afford $50 just for a consult for thirty rabbits. learn how to treat everyday ailments like sore feet, wounds, abscesses, eye infections, stasis/bloating, and birthing issues on your own. i suggest joining up with a meat rabbit forum (i like rabbittalk.net,) and going through their articles on rabbit medicine and herbology. if i can’t fix it myself, that rabbit is soup. and if a rabbit chronically has health issues, don’t use it as a breeder. bad immune systems/teeth/feet/etc are hereditary.

–

5. things will die. get used to it. with livestock comes deadstock. if you can’t handle animals dying, including newborn babies, or having to euthanize animals (including newborn babies,) don’t get livestock. if you can’t look your food in the eye and thank it for its sacrifices, then don’t get livestock. this is not a place for bleeding hearts.

–

6. don’t breed a new doe by herself. rabbits are running on hormones only for their first litters, and sometimes they mess it up. having an experienced doe kindle alongside her that you can foster to gives the new doe’s kits the best chance of survival in case she doesn’t get it quite right. this ties in with the last point, though - you’re gonna have dead babies. sometimes you have to make the babies dead yourself, because mama screwed up and the foster already has eight of her own. not everyone has a n’rithaa who can nurse nineteen and not break a sweat, and the kindest thing to do is pick the strongest and cull the weaker ones so mama doesn’t have so many to feed.

–

7. feed them pellets until you know what you’re doing. pellets are formulated to be perfect nutrition for rabbits. they are the healthiest option imo, and definitely the easiest. it can take a few tries to find a feed that works for you, but they’re generally not too expensive and if your animals keep weight and make babies, then they’re fine. trying to feed fodder only is expensive, time-consuming, and often ends up with animals not getting enough vitamins that cause bone issues, bloating, and tooth problems. i am 100% convinced this is at least half of the reason why you see a lot of house rabbits that go into stasis a lot and have bad teeth. (The other half is they’re always poorly bred byb rabbits, but that’s another conversation.) fodder can be done well, but unless you really have the time/resources to grow appropriate plants or have a lot of pasture to graze on (and no worms/cocci or other bad things in your soil,) pellets and hay are perfect. especially if you show.

–

8. if you wanna get into tanning, just get a synth tan, and don’t expect fur rabbits to be an ideal meat producer. fur doesn’t prime until the animal is about six months old, and typically you’ll be slaughtering them for meat around 12 or 16 weeks. so if you want to produce fur, either stop caring about the quality of your hides, or get ready to spend more in feed while you grow them to prime. i know it’s popular to use rabbits as a dual-purpose animal, but you need to set expectations lol. so far i’ve found rabbits that are half rex produce really nice furs before “prime” age, but they still take longer to grow out than my meat-specific rabbits. dual purpose really just means “not that great at one or both purposes.”

also just don’t even bother with brain/egg tanning and get you a synth tan like Rittel’s or Trubond. “natural” tans have too much of a learning curve, require smoking to make them waterproof, and the results are subpar. synth tans are cheap, easy, usually safe to put down a train if you’re on city water/toss outside if you’re on septic, and will produce a waterproof skin that’ll last forever.

also alum isn’t a tan. if you get it wet it’ll start rotting again. if you wanna make clothes or rugs, use a real tan. please. i beg of you.

–

9. auto-water systems are godly but don’t waste your money on expensive ones. if you don’t know this, i’m disabled, and i like to make things easy on myself so i’m not having to fill 39458639458 bottles a day. it sucks. auto-water systems are SUPER convenient because you only have to refill the reservoir every few days and keep an eye on the nipples to make sure they aren’t clogged.

the problem is: they leak. all the time. forever. when i first got started i used cheap water nipples from amazon and was annoyed at how often they’d start leaking, or were leaking right out of the package. so i switched to the more expensive Edstrom system that you can order online from places like rabbitnipples.com, bunnyrabbit.com, the bean farm, and bass equipment. problem is, those leaked just as bad, and the edstrom water nipples cost FIVE DOLLARS EACH. when half the nipples leak directly out of the box, i’ve just wasted $20+. at least the ones from amazon are like $20 for a bag of 100. if they’re all gonna leak anyway, at least i won’t go broke having to replace them all.

–

i can’t think of anything else off top my head so i’mma cap it here. i’ve been doing this for five years and learned many many things the hard way so hopefully you won’t have to!

#questions #cecile posts #faq #housing #equipment #this post is so long my neck hurts now from concentrating #foxstew

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sweaterlinkcafe · 3 years

Text

Tarot Card Deck ~Wish List~

I’m relatively new to Tarot card readings, and I really only do them for myself for that exact reason. But I absolutely have fallen in love with many tarot deck aesthetics. Each have their own art style, and are so beautiful and unique~

What I have come to learn is that not all decks have the standard tarot deck. Not all have the minor arcana with the pentacles, swords, cups--and wands and the major arcana. Some are really unique.

I have both examples. One of my decks is the Crow Tarot deck, which has the standard major and minor arcanas. My other deck is a Wisdom Oracle deck with pictures of vintage paintings with different words on it outside of the standard form.

So today I wanted to share some decks I would love to purchase~

1. Tarot of the Divine

This one is has a lot of different cultural folklore cards. Spanning from Asia, to Africa, Europe, the Americas, and so forth~ I browsed through some of the designs from the reviews, and I find them really stunning~

This has a standard tarot deck layout with the major and minor arcanas too. Aaaand it’s relatively cheap on Amazon~

2. The Starseed Oracle

This one is pretty obvious. Pastel blues, pinks and purples? Heck ye. It’s so ethereal and celestial it’s a gorgeous deck. This is *not like the other decks* and has its own card names and such. It’s cute, and is cheap on Amazon~

3. Moonology Oracle Deck

I’m a night owl, and as such, have an odd obsession with the moon. The art work is, again, amazing, and has a watercolor vibe in some of them. And has a astrology feel, like the one on the bottom right, it look like an aquarius.

The price tag is not bad either. Some decks go as high as 25 - 30 bucks so I say around 17 is a pretty good price.

4. Dark Mirror Oracle

This deck is a yes. Based on this first photo, it gives me drow vibes~ And they are custom, so it’s really nice~ It gives me also a gothic victorian vibe, kind of like the vibe you get from Bloodborne but if it were a high fantasy movie.

5. Ethereal Visions Tarot Deck

So gorgeous! I see this everywhere on Pinterest and it’s on Amazon too! It has a gold foil on the, and depict these ethereal figures~ It’s more on the pricey side, but I think it would be worth it because of how beautiful in person they are.

6. This Angelic Amethyst One

I don’t know which one this is, I’ll put a link to the user’s tarot reading on Etsy, but I have no idea what this deck is called or where you can get it. But it’s so pretty and I would love to have it~

7. Pastel Affirmation Deck

I saw it on Pinterest, and it’s from a UK site called Chlobo, but I think it’s so cute~ Would love to get~ I don’t know if I can though...but if you’re from the UK, it’s only £10 .

That’s all for now folks~!

#tarot #tarot decks #tarot deck wishlist #amazon #etsy #pinterest

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courtneyyharper · 3 years

Text

10 Christmas Gifts ‘for her’ if you’re completely clueless

Since it's apparently time to start thinking about that time of year I thought I'd jump on and attempt to give you some help in an attempt to spark some ideas. Whether you're using this list for ideas for your other half, your mum or sister, or even if you are that person that likes something on this list why don't you send it over as a wee hint... the irony of this is that I've banned my boyfriend from looking at this list as there's a few spoilers on here for his gifts! (Hope he enjoys a wee eyeshadow palette😬).

So let’s start...

1. AIRPODS

I'm sure this will be a big gift this year and a perfect gift if you know they'll be getting a new phone or laptop! Perfect for a music lover or just the person that always needs to have the next big thing! I'd recommend planning to get a pair of these bad boys from Amazon or Currys during the Black Friday sale.

2. STUDIO LIGHT

A gift my mum got me unexpectedly a few years back and I haven't looked back. Not just for the MUA or photography student in your life but even just for every day make up application and I know my friends always use mine for checking their outfits or taking selfies before a night out! I've shown in the product photo how you can get a full sized one or a desk sized one easily on Amazon, your choice. Along this line would also be a Hollywood mirror, the big vanity mirrors with the bright lights installed but they can be hard to source as they're so popular and you need to make sure they're the bright studio lights. Top tip would just be to check the dimensions so you know what you're getting.

3. POLAROID CAMERA

I wanna say this is a cult favourite. I don't know many girls who don't have one of these now but if your gift recipient is one of them then it'd be a great gift! They're a great idea for Christmas, birthdays and anniversaries because it means you can capture the memories and of course ironically take a photo of the polaroid with your phone and post it to Instagram!! They come in a variety of colours and you can purchase accessories and refillable polaroid packs for other special occasions after, making it the gift that keeps on giving.

4. VINYL PLAYERS

Another gift that keeps on giving. If they're a real music lover and always have Spotify going in their room, and with the lack of concerts this year, this would be a very thoughtful gift. You can get these lads pretty cheap on Amazon or fork out for the pricey ones from UO. The only downside is that the actual Vinyl records themselves is where this gifts will cost you the most, but at least you'll always have an idea for next years present.

5. FOREVER ROSES

Now these guys can be quite boujee and I remember them being really popular a few years ago. If you type 'forever roses' into google or, probably better yet, Instagram you'll get a lot of companies selling gift sets of these specially preserved roses that can last for years. An incredibly romantic and surprising gift, this one can cost you big bucks but if you shop around enough you can get single roses for around £20 or major bunches for a few hundred but it's sure to win you major brownie points.

6. LUSH

This is the standard gift and perfect for a Christmas Eve bath. If you couldn't come up with this present on your own then please pay close attention to this blog because oh buddy you will need it! There are so many gift boxes to choose from at Lush and the great thing is you can't go wrong with any of them. Not to worry if you don't have a bath too because I also have you covered with these Lush sprays which are sooo good that you won't need to work out what their favourite perfume is for the third year in a row. (Also a great brand to support for its morals which is a bonus!!)

7. BLANKETS

Not only perfect for those cosy Winter and lockdown nights but also a great home decor item that is so popular on Instagram! These massive knit blankets can get incredibly pricey online, ranging from 20ish quid for a tiny one to a few hundred for the massive ones, so if you're willing to pay that then go ahead but top tip is to have a look in Home Bargains because they had these guys in all year for £25 and even Primark Home had a few in recently but I'd get ahead of the game for this one before they sell out...

8. JEWELLERY

Now I'm not a massive jewellery fan myself but some girls just go ga-ga for a princess ring. If you're wondering if your girlfriend/sister/daughter is one of them you can identify these people by their less-than-subtle 'just gonna post this here xx' social media posts sharing the Pandora sales. I know most boys get scared to choose jewellery in case the person 'doesn't like it' blah blah but chances are unless they've told you somethng they specifically want or you've been missing some massive hints (ie. ring photos 'accidentally' sent to you) then they'll appreciate literally anything you choose. It's the idea you've went and chosen something specifically for them more than the item itself that matters. If you like it, they'll like it more. The big site is Pandora and many sites like it will have 'Christmas Gift Guide' sections to make it super easy for you. Top tip: you could do a wee price low-high if this is just an add-on gift and although it's horrible to say they will most likely look it up and check how much you spent on it... sorry about that!

9. EYESHADOW PALETTE

Now this is one you will most likely skip over because it feels like delving into a massive jungle with no map and no water and actually no shoes and no clue whatsoever of where to start. That's what boys feel like trying to buy girls make up and I really can't blame you. In fact, if you haven't been told exactly what to buy then who could blame you but if you're really looking to impress and go the extra mile and know they like make up then I'm going to attempt to help you as best I can and try and keep it really simple! So, first of all you'll need to somehow have a look at their collection when they're getting ready or be super stealthy and just double check they don't have the palette you're going to get them.

This is important. Right, so question one is do they watch YouTubers do make up? Because if they do then simply find out who they watch and check if that influencer has a palette or collab with a makeup brand because then your job is done for you!! If they've told you all about the James Charles/Tatti/Jefree Starr drama that encapsulated YouTube in the past then find out who's side they support because all three of those guys have palettes! James Charles x Morphe Artistry palette, Tatti has her own brand, or if they came out supporting Jeffree Starr and Shane Dawson in the whole fiasco then the Jeffree Starr 'Conspiracy palette' is for you. To each their own. These two main palettes I've featured on the left below for you to have a look at.

The top right palette is the new HUDA Beauty Naughty Nude palette and it's the one I'd go for if you're really unsure still! It's a new release so doubtful they have it and there's no crazy colours so can be used by everyone. It would be my top recommendation for make up this Christmas.

The three below that are all YouTuber/Influencer collabs with makeup brands that have been pretty popular this year. From the left: BPerfect x Stacey Marie Carnival III Love Tahiti Palette is one to get if you know they love doing colourful and adventurous looks, middle: Carli Bybel Palette x Anastasia Beverly Hills and far right: BPerfect x Jah Makeup Artist Clientele Palette are both perfect for more simple looks or if they don't go wild with colour and are both from big brands so will be very much appreciated!

God, this really could have been its own post where I explained it a bit better but alas...

10. HAIR CURLERS/WAVER

Maybe they're not as into makeup and prefer hair, or maybe they just love both? Then a Beauty Works hair styler would be a boujee gift for them. So, for this you can do the standard version of the products (gold) or you can do the newer versions in the collab with Molly Mae (pink). It's up to you. These products are pricey but great quality. First is the hair curler (Professional styler) which is great if both you and they love their hair curly, and you can't go wrong with Molly Mae's signature bouncy curls. The second option is a new trend in hair his year, The Waver, which creates the mermaid waves that I've pictured Molly Mae wearing below (and yes boys they’re different than curls) and a great gift if they already have the curler. Top tip: is to get these lads while ASOS have 20% off because you're grabbing yourself a bargain or if you're really on a budget many brands do these products without the hefty price tag.

BONUS: GIFT ADVENT CALENDER

This year there is a major boom in the idea of gift advent calendars, so behind every door is a small gift instead of chocolate. Now what would be super adorable is to buy advent boxes online and fill them yourself with personalised gifts but luckily many brands have brought out their own versions! The best one I have saw so far this year is this PrettyLittleThing beauty calendar but it has been sold out for some time now! ASOS etc. are doing their own versions and there have even been adorable versions in the likes of HomeBargains and B&Ms where you can get candle or even alcohol versions.

Well, I hope this helped even a little bit! If you're really on the ball you'll have noticed I haven't included anything like the staple Primark pyjamas or everything seems catered towards girlfriends or 'for her' but not to worry I've many more versions planned, including 'for him', 'on a budget', and 'how to dress up your present'!

Happy (very early) Christmas!🎁🎄

#giftguide #gifts for men #gifts for her #christmas gift #Christmas #presents

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shavingexpert · 4 years

Text

Is cheap electric razors bad?

Electric razors they aren't that expensive but this one is gonna be the

cheapest one I found so far twelve bucks and so I just wanted to check it out it says run wiid on it and it took a while again you know I ordered it and apparently it came from Russia .

it was not Amazon Prime but I did get it on Amazon and that's why I was so cheap so

I thought I'd check it out

it's an RS 988 it's a USB power I'm not sure what kind of you know part of what

we do here is check out the cheap stuff

so we do have a little brush here for cleaning up that's kind of nice have I

cable in here and what's interesting

About this cables it's long it's USB but.It's kind of that standard electric

shaver plug now some of the other ones

Check out other review on that 30 or $40 electric shaver

the plug on that is micro USB which is awesome I kind of dig that especially

for traveling and you don't have to

worry about having the report and here is the shaver itself so it's a little

covered I'm suing came on there but it's pretty loose and so pops off just like

that

let's see we have some gold accents around it you know plastic it's pretty

light but seems as good as any other

shaver you can see the plug there for power and then right here looks like we

have a lock button in a power button and

then on the back what we do have is just

pull it down just like that

a beard trimmer which is pretty cool I definitely love those and then on

the top here we have a three three heads ,now what's interesting is that there

they do move they kind of float a little bit in and of themselves but some of

these are like ace a plastic pad that the whole thing articulates a little bit

this does not have that so that's part of the I don't know the inexpensive

nature the cheapness let's call it but you get to those and then here's a

button to flip it open you can see we get the little motor drives here this is

where you would empty out here and kind of clean it out give it a little brush out you know so that's all well and good and then if I hit the power button let's see if I pull that down that's online so if I hit the power button it's like I could lock it on it's that's okay so you if you're holding in and gripping it tightly you don't have

to worry about it.

turning off on you but it's a slightly strange in my opinion so turn it on

there if you have a little it's like a battery indicator and it looks like it's

red friend use it needs a charge I'm gonna hit that and then I'm gonna put

this down and see if you get that it's kind of hard to see though this is

working

so pretty cool if you need an electric razor does come with its own power cable

for $11.99 this is the one check it out

#Electric razor #shaving

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sonipanda · 4 years

Text

I am back in another pair of wide net in white, but this time with a lovely cherry blossom design. I thought it would be cute to try out as I haven’t done coloured nets in a while.

If you haven’t seen my previous reviews before, then click on the links below (opens in a new tab):

Voberry Fishnet Tights

Zinspire Blue Sparkle Fishnet Tights

The Spec

Colour: White

Size: One Size

Denier: Unknown

Materials: 90% Polyester, 10% Cotton

Price: £10.74

Website: Amazon – ZINSPIRE Womens Fishnet Sparkle Rhinestone Stockings High Waist Pantyhose Tights Socks Over Knee High Stocking

My Outfit

Luckily I was indoors most of today, so I could get away with not layering my nets. I paired up my bodysuit with some leather shorts and went casual with a pair of white trainers.

My Deets

Bodysuit: CDR

Shorts: H&M

Tights: Zinspire

Trainers: Justfab

The Review

From The Website:

Product Information:

Material: Nylon + Spandex

Gender: Women, Lady, Girl

Decoration: original embroidery and rhinestones

Season: Autumn, Summer, Spring,Winter

Maintenance: Hand wash lightly in cold water & hang dry. Do not dry clean. Do not bleach or iron. Be careful with pulling it up if you have long sharp nails.

Occasion: Provide fashion style for any wardrobe, fit well with dresses, skirts, high heels, etc. applicable to many occasions, casual, home, party, club, etc

Package Content: 1 x fishnet Stockings

✧ Global Limited Sales：A “must-have” item for your wardrobe. Show your unique charisma and charm.

✧ Be a variety girl: Matching different styles of occasions and clothing mix of methods. (Variety of fashion matches: matching different styles of occasions and clothing mix of methods.)

90% Polyester, 10% Cotton

✧ Comfortable fabric: High-quality stretch fabric, comfortable waist and toe design, wear more comfortable, more fit.

✧ Updated design: New upgrades for this season’s new products in a purely handmade original embroidery way with shiny rhinestones decor.

Manufacturer warranty will not apply. Please review Amazon’s return policy, which usually offers free returns within 30 days of receipt.

The Packaging: once again these came nicely packages as you can see below and is identical to the previous pairs I have reviewed.

It has a cardboard piece inserted into one leg, which shows off some of the design nicely but is hard to get out!

Getting Them On: the struggle was real trying to get these on the legs, but I did it after 20 minutes! What made is super frustrating was that I didn’t have a base layer so my toes were getting caught, and the fact that the cherry blossom design was glued onto the inner part of the legs rather than the outer part so I had to really twist these so they try and sit at the front rather than the inner thigh.

These were fine over anklets as well; they are a wider net which means that my anklets would have been popping out of them anyways.

On The Legs: well this was another little mission. Let me start off by saying that the design does not stay in place at all. Every time you move or walk around, it will start turning wanting to sit on the inner thigh rather than facing forward. I has spent so much of my day messing around with these, to the point I gave up and let it do its own thing. I was so disappointed with them, and I thought the bodysuit would help keep in some way – never mind.

The quality of them are standard really; they’re just a cheap one-size pair from China so not much to brag about here. They do have a little stretch to them as they’re supposed to fit larger sizes too, but to be honest I wouldn’t recommend.

The fit of them could have been so much better, but that’s the thing with Asian companies; they mass produce and lose the quality element.

The feel of them are pretty itchy on the legs, especially when you don’t have a base pair underneath. The glued parts are the worst; they just keep irritating the legs as the glue is everywhere underneath the design. I should have taken a picture to show you all so you know what I meant!

Apart from all that, the look of them are lovely. I thought they would work perfect for summer and amazing to layer with in winter.

The Toes & Ankle: these have a smaller net which acts like a reinforcement around the toes and then works into the larger net design.

There is plenty of room around the toes and feet for them to move and breathe during the day. Around the ankles it’s a fitted smooth finish unlike the last time!

The Waistband & Gusset: I apologise as I forgot to take my waistband images for you. But let me just say they are identical to my last pair that I did. They try to hold them up in place, but it’s so hard as they just keep on falling down. My saving grace was that I was wearing a bodysuit so basically they had no choice but to stay put, and I have to say it was hard as you could feel it being tugged around a little to begin with.

The band did fit me ok, and it does have plenty of stretch in there to fit all sizes, but I can’t say I was impressed with it to be honest. I thought it could have been a lot better.

There is also no gusset on these; you’ll find a little part sewn so you know that’s the middle and then it works into nets again.

My Thoughts?

Well I thought these might have been a little better, but I was wrong. I love the design and how summery they look, but that’s it. The blossom design kept on twisting throughout the day and was uncomfortable to be in.

Zinspire White Cherry Blossom Fishnet Tights I am back in another pair of wide net in white, but this time with a lovely cherry blossom design.

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thebookworm0001 · 4 years

Note

Words cannot express how much i want either a gaming laptop or a pc

Friend, I understand you completely. It’s why I saved up for a long time to build my own. Did you come here for a how-to on how to build one for yourself? Probably not! But I’m gonna tell you how anyway because it is significantly cheaper to build yourself a pc than to buy one (and laptops are even more expensive).

So! You wanna build a computer? Here’s what you need:

-Motherboard. All the things plug into this. Very Important. Do not break. When handling, touch metal beforehand so you don’t shock it with static and fry it. Comes in 3 sizes aka form factors: ATX (standard). mATX (smaller). itx (holy shit its tiny) smaller=/=cheaper! all pretty much have the same layout and all come with a manual. front panel connectors are a bitch.

-CPU. Your processor! The thing that processes all the ones and zeros into shit you actually understand. Very expensive. Very delicate. Do not drop. Needs something to keep it cool. Lots of cpus will come with a cpu fan in the box but not all. They touch the cpu with a weird paste called thermal paste that helps heat go away. Fans or liquid cooling will screw into the motherboard over the cpu.

-GPU. The most expensive part of your build, probably. If you’re building a gaming pc it’ll probably be ~1/3 of your budget. It’s the thing that makes everything pretty and visible. Gotta have a graphics card to see what the ones and zeros are doing. Two brands rule the GPU market: Nvidia and AMD. Idk if one is better than the other but I went AMD because i could get a better one for cheaper so.

-RAM. Your computer’s short-term memory. Lots of RAM means more tabs of Google Chrome open at a time. 16 gigs will get you through just about anything. 32 is generally overkill. 8 is less than you want for a dedicated gaming pc since most newer games have a higher RAM demand.

-Storage. Comes in two forms: a physical hard drive (reliable but kinda slow at this point when compared to an ssd. definitely your cheapest option) or a solid-state drive (smaller than a HD. much faster. more expensive. generally comes either as a 2.5″ brick-looking thing or a stick called an m.2 which is even more expensive and even faster) You want enough of this to store your operating system and games on. Lots of people go with a base of 1 TB (1000 gigabytes) because games take up a lot of room. 500 can get you through if your library is smaller or you don’t mind rotating games on and off the computer. can get one big storage thing or as many as you want. some people have a smaller ssd to hold the operating system and frequently used games (so they load fast) and store everything else on a much larger hd.

-Power Supply. Pretty self explanatory. The thing that powers all the other things. You want one that gives you enough power for all the parts to work at the same time at max capacity. Don’t cheap out on this they can do weird shit like explode and break all your parts. Come in three types: non-modular, semi-modular, and modular. it just determines how many power cords are permanently attached to the power supply. non-modular are cheaper, but tend to have mustard-and-ketchup colored cords (not pretty) and they can be a pain to manage. you gotta hide those extra cords you aren’t using somewhere (which is why people like cases with a ‘shroud’ or little box that hides the power supply). Modular are more expensive but it’s really nice to only plug in the cables you need.

-Operating system. Yeah you built the computer but you gotta have a thing that lets you interact with it. Windows is the most common. You can also get it for free. Kinda. Gotta flash drive? Go here and download the windows installer, stick the usb into your new computer and BAM! Windows is installed. You’ll have a nasty watermark and be unable to put your own background on it without an activation key (~$130 for Windows 10) but you can use it.

-Case. The thing you put everything else into. Can be plain black boxes or wierd illuminati pyramid things. Make sure the size matches up with your motherboard form factor. There are these little screws called standoffs in the case that secure the motherboard to it. The standoffs have to match up or the motherboard won’t fit. Power supplies and graphics cards also have to fit inside the case - make sure it’s big enough. Those dimensions will be listed with the info for the case and the individual parts. Case can come with fans or without. (You need fans. They keep your parts from heating up - which kills them. there’s also water cooling but its more expensive and scares the heck out of me. most cases only really need the fans that come with but you can add more.)

That’s it! (well. plus a monitor and keyboard and mouse and speakers/headphones but those aren’t the computer. also optional: rgb - the fun lights that make your case look like a unicorn barfed inside it. can be part of your fans or just strips of lights. lots of gaming motherboards have rgb built in. i like rgb.)

Sites like https://pcpartpicker.com/ will help you figure out the parts you need and if they’re compatible. Because it sucks to buy your parts and realize they don’t go together. The big ones? Motherboard and cpu. CPUs are generally made by either Intel or AMD. Currently, AMD is the best bang for your buck. Motherboards are designed to work with one brand of cpu - and generally specific chipsets. Motherboards will tell you the chipsets or series they work with (eg a 3000 series chipset which means it can work with any ryzen 3000 cpu like a Ryzen 5 3600 or 9 3900x). Motherboards will also only work with specific RAM depending on your CPU. There’s a support page on their sites that gives cpu and ram compatibility. RAM support pages show up like this:

which sucks (this is for the B550M AORUS ELITE (rev. 1.0) board from Gigabyte)

just google that module pin and the right shit will pop up. that first one is the VENGEANCE® LPX 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4 DRAM 4000MHz C19 Memory Kit - Red (aka corsair’s vengence lpx line of ram with 4 8gb sticks of ram that run at 4000 megahertz in a fancy red case - you can see all that info in the pin number if you pay attention but its easier to google. the faster the ram [that MHz number] the more expensive. the more gigabytes the more expensive. ram also comes with rgb options. they are more expensive.)

Always makes sure stuff is compatible. Pcpartpicker will tell you if something isn’t. It’s very helpful. but also check the motherboard support lists. nothing else has compatibility issues generally: manufacturers want you to be able to use whatever parts you can get with their stuff so you keep buying from them.

sites like https://benchmarks.ul.com/ https://www.gpucheck.com/ and https://www.userbenchmark.com/ are great for comparing. wanna know if you can get a cheaper part that works just as well? go to these places.

benchmarks.ul

gpucheck (RX Vega 56 vs AMD Radeon Rx 5600 xt)

userbenchmark (Jedi: Fallen Order recommended parts vs my own build)

Newegg.com is a really great place to buy your parts and it usually has the cheapest prices. Make sure to shop around though. pcpartspicker is pretty good about telling you where the best prices are, but sometimes amazon or newegg will drop their prices randomly. also with the plague times, prices and availability are fucking weird right now. stuff will be out of stock for weeks. just. pay attention and check frequently.

I really like this video for trying to figure out budgets. Only have $300 to spend? They got you. Have $3000? They’ve got a guide for that as well. There’s a ton of budget build guides out there but this is the most recent one I like. Motherboard prices could be down a bit due to the very recent release of the b550 chipset, but again, plague times are making computer parts more expensive. That channel has a ton of reviews actually (and step-by-step guides for building) and is geared toward the gaming-minded so if they say a laptop or prebuilt computer is good and fits your budget, check it out. Prebuilts make life easier for you, but you can end up getting a less-than-stellar quality with the additional cost of construction. plus building your own means you know exactly what to do when it comes time to upgrade your parts.

once you put everything where it should go, turn it on! it might not work, that’s okay. you might not have plugged something in all the way! or maybe a part was dead on arrival. get that fixed and install your operating system. once that’s done - get connected to the internets (if you don’t have a wifi card installed you gotta plug that sucker into the wall via an ethernet cable) and start downloading drivers from the motherboard manufacturer’s website and the gpu manufacturer’s website. your motherboard might come with a dvd of them but if you don’t have an optical drive (dvd player) that doesn’t help you. update your operating system. then download your games and play! (you can also do this thing called overclocking where you go into the bios when your computer is loading and max out all your hardware’s settings but that isn’t necessary for casual gameplay and can also void your warranties)

i hope you enjoyed that infodump you didn’t ask for!

#in which i explain how to build a computer even though no one asked #thatfluffybabyduck #hannah answers asks

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weshallneverrevolt · 4 years

Text

In-Home Streaming, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Couch

I’m a longtime PC gamer for many reasons. Yes, there’s the snob factor: PC games can look better than consoles almost all of the time. But it’s also because of the customizability. You pick your framerate, your resolution, your graphical settings. But you also own a machine, not an appliance: you learn its quirks, its inner workings. It’s something you take care of. For an enthusiast, a custom built computer is like a tailored suit.

And yet, there’s something I have missed for a long time: gaming on the couch.

Couch gaming is how I grew up. Huddled with friends around a tiny TV and N64, controllers in hand, shouting and laughing. Or leaned back in a chair with a cold soda, savoring every moment of a lengthy Final Fantasy cutscene. An office chair just isn’t the same. It’s rigid and harsh. It says “at attention,” not “relax.” It was the antithesis of my ideal gaming experience.

But after I got my PC, I never bought a console. For one, I couldn’t afford them. In college my money was precious, and my computer – already cobbled together from low-end or used parts – was expensive enough to maintain. The idea of dropping hundreds on a console and proper television was out of the question.

As an adult with more disposable income and now a home of my own – complete with an awesome living room my wife put together – I wanted to have that experience again. But my budget-mindedness and graphical snobbery hadn’t changed, and my PC was upstairs on the other side of the house. What to do?

I wanted couch gaming. And I managed to get it without buying a console or moving my PC to the living room thanks to a hugely underappreciated technology: in-home streaming. Here I’ll share what I’ve learned, discuss setups, and evangelize one of the coolest tech tricks I’ve discovered in homeownership.

What is In-Home Streaming?

You’ve probably heard of Google Stadia, Google’s uh…interesting new streaming game service. The basic idea is that your console isn’t in your living room. Instead, it’s located in a Google datacenter, which streams the game as a video through the internet. It sort of works, with the hiccups you’d expect with streaming a game over the internet: lag, input delay, graphical glitches. It’s like having very, very long HDMI and USB cords.

In-home streaming is basically that, but in your house. With the distance being just a few rooms instead of across state lines, latency becomes much less of an issue. It finally gives PC gamers the one thing we were missing: the couch.

Because it encodes video in real-time, in-home video streaming is a pretty new technology, and it requires certain hardware and software. The two dominant solutions are Steam and Moonlight, and they’re different in important ways.

Steam Remote Play

Steam Remote Play is by far the simplest method. For one, it integrates directly with Steam, so there is no complicated setup. Just install Steam on both devices, boot em up and you’re good to go. It pairs well with Steam’s “Big Picture” interface for a console-like experience.

Steam streaming also runs on just about anything, including very small computers like a Raspberry Pi. This is because it uses H.264 encoding, a standard that has been around for a long time. Just about any computer made since 2008 can play H.264 video, meaning that your old laptop or a $25 PC from Goodwill can be turned into a stream machine. Encoding H.264 on the host machine also has little performance cost.

Where Steam hits a limit is in resolution. Steam can only stream games at the resolution they use on your native monitor. So if your computer monitor is 1080p, you can’t play in 4K when it’s streamed to your TV. You can go lower resolution, which is fine if you’re streaming to some laptop screens.

Steam works with all Xbox controllers, as well as the Dual Shock 4 through DS4Windows.

Moonlight

Moonlight is what I use for in-home streaming. It’s an open-source implementation of NVidia’s “GameStream” technology, originally developed for their Shield devices. My main PC has a GTX 1070, which supports GameStream.

Moonlight has a number of significant advantages over Steam. For me, the most important is its ability to stream in a different resolution than your desktop. So while my desktop monitor is 1080p, I can play games in native 4K on my TV set! For newer games that my PC can’t run at full 4K, I use NVidia’s dynamic super resolution feature to run at 1440p or another resolution, then upscale it to 4K.

GameStream can also encode in HEVC, a cutting-edge video codec that offers superior quality with lower bandwidth. There’s virtually no artifacting, and colors usually look better than with Steam streaming. There is also HDR support. Because HEVC is lower bandwidth, it’s also ideal for wi-fi streaming.

If you’ve been keeping up with all the NVidia mentions, you’ve probably figured out the most significant drawback of Moonlight: hardware exclusivity. GameStream can only encode certain NVidia graphics cards. For instance, the 10-series locks GameStream to the 1050ti or higher, so budget gamers with a 1030 or 1050 are out of luck. Good news is that the receiving PC can run non-nVidia graphics.

GameStream also supports H.264, but for HEVC you need more powerful hardware on the receiving end. So while any old shitty laptop could stream with Steam, it would choke on HEVC.

Moonlight has the same controller support as Steam.

My Setup

When I first built my setup, I set a few standards:

4K, 60 frames per second

Option for “upscaled” 4K similar to the PS4 Pro/XB1X

4K Blu-ray quality HEVC (around 100mbps bitrate)

Quiet

An unobtrusive look, like a home theater appliance

A hard-wired setup for low latency

Less than a week after we moved in, I hard-wired my house for internet. I ran an Ethernet cable all the way from my office, through the garage, under my crawlspace and into my living room. I then crimped the ends (badly) and installed a wall outlet in my office (barely.) If I were to do this now, I’d buy a pre-made 200-300ft CAT6 cable on Amazon and just run that. That said, my cable still works for what I need.

For my streaming PC, I knew that I had to go small form factor. The credenza in my living room didn’t have space for a full-size PC, and the aesthetic of most of those would offend my non-gamer wife. I considered building one, but most SFF hardware is targeted at enthusiasts and so doesn’t come cheap.

But small form factor PCs have a particular application: offices. When offices dump their old hardware, you can get it for almost nothing. I found just such a deal on reddit’s /r/buildapcsales for a Lenovo ThinkCentre m58p, refurbished from Staples for $20 shipped. It was small, simply designed, and not too flashy. But it is from 2008, and needed a few cheap upgrades:

I swapped out the dual-core E8400 processor for a quad-core Q9400 I had on hand.

I replaced the loud, slow hard drive with a small, cheap ADATA SU635 solid state drive.

For my quiet living room setting, I also replaced the cooling fan with a high-quality Noctua model.

But chief among these upgrades was a graphics card. This PC, being more than a little old, could not play HEVC video without specialized hardware. And it had to be silent, not require much power, and be able to fit inside this small case.

So I turned to the NVidia GT 1030, specifically the MSI low profile silent model. Targeted at home theater PCs and poor gamers, the GT 1030 is not gonna blow anyone’s socks off. But it does 4K, and it does HEVC, and it does all of this over HDMI so it plugs straight into my TV with no issues. One quirk with my model is that the heatsink didn’t fit in my unusual case, so I had to take a hacksaw to it.

For a truly 1%er experience, I wanted to be able to start my upstairs PC remotely. That way when I want to play, I don’t even have to walk up there. For this I used an Android app called Unified Remote, which allows you to remotely control a computer from a phone. Unified Remote is free, but I bought the premium version with Play Rewards points.

The Value Question

Let’s get the first question out of the way: if a NVidia Shield is $150, why not just buy that? A few reasons:

It has hard-wired ethernet. No matter how good your wifi is, hard-wired is better.

Moonlight’s interface is more flexible than the Shield’s.

This also runs YouTube with a full keyboard remote for easier searches.

I can install a Blu-ray player at some point, if I choose.

I can emulate many games on the living room PC; the GT 1030 is great for that.

It runs party games like Jackbox just fine.

This is more fun.

So let’s run a tally. I’m not counting the hard-wiring, since I needed that for my office computer anyway.

The PC itself: $20

GT 1030: $75

Noctua 92mm fan: $15

Bluetooth receiver: $10

SSD: $15

Q9400: free to me, but you can get one on eBay for like $10

So for $135 – less than a PS4 Pro or Xbox One X – I get 4K couch gaming at higher framerates and higher settings. And for certain games, like Overwatch or Cities: Skylines, I still have a killer keyboard and mouse setup.

You can easily make this cheaper, especially if you use Steam and aim for 1080p instead of 4K. A Raspberry Pi – around $60 with accessories – can do 1080p Steam streaming flawlessly. Most Intel CPUs made after 2011 can decode H.264 without a graphics card, and the 6000 series and higher can even decode HEVC. You could also go for a GT 1030 with a fan, which are usually cheaper.

So How’s It Perform?

In short: great!

I’ve played everything from The Outer Worlds to Slay the Spire to Rocket League on my streaming setup, and they all work perfectly. Sekiro – which requires extremely precise inputs – does suffer a bit from the input lag, but I can’t detect lag with most games. Visual quality is excellent with very little loss in color saturation. You will notice artifacting on grass or leaves when you’re up close, but this is less visible at 1440p or higher.

I would not play competitive games on a streaming setup. The only one I play seriously is Overwatch, and there is definitely a difference in my performance when streaming. Competitive first-person shooters also suck to play on a controller, and a proper couch desk is not an investment I’m prepared to make.

Be prepared to tweak graphical settings if you’re shooting for 4K on most setups, as the video encoding does have a slight performance cost. This is not true for older games; Dark Souls and Dishonored run at a locked 4K and 60fps. For modern games, Forza Horizon 5 runs at 1800p on High, and Resident Evil 2 is smooth as silk at 1440p.

One final tip: if you’re streaming over wi-fi, be prepared to make some compromises. I would stick to 1080p to avoid lag, or do 4K only on HEVC with lower visual quality. Also streaming basically requires 5ghz wifi, so if you have an old router you should probably cut back to 720p.

So that’s in-home streaming! If you’re already a PC gamer, it’s an affordable and easy way to achieve a console-like experience. Feel free to DM me with any questions you have about hardware or software setup.

#tech #gaming #streaming #in-home streaming #remote play #steam #moonlight #nvidia #gamestream #hardware #pc gaming #couch gaming

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