miracu-ace

[miracu-ace]

Fellow Windows 11 users: how to disable newly-installed Microsoft AI!

Folks, with the new updates that've come down recently, Microsoft has installed its "Copilot" AI app on your machine. It cannot be removed.

But it can be disabled. Here's how (courtesy of the excellent Pihko Misit, aka @smokepaw.bsky.social over at Bluesky). I've just done this to my own desktop machine, and all's well with it now.

Here's what to do:

(1) You need to have Admin rights for the machine and be logged in to the administrator account.

Now, right-click on the Start menu (Windows logo on the Taskbar.) A menu pops up; about half way down it you'll see Terminal and Terminal (Admin). Click on the Terminal (Admin) option.

(2) A DoS-like box will open. (For those of you who've never interacted with a Windows terminal window before, it looks like this:)

On the command line (i.e. the first empty line), copy and paste this:

reg add HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsCopilot /v TurnOffWindowsCopilot /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

Then hit Enter.

If successful, you'll see a line pop up saying so. Congratulations! But you're not quite finished.

Now you need to close all programs and fully shut down the machine. A restart isn't enough, it needs to be fully powered down and started back up.

"And now," Pihko says, "ou have a NSA-like AI spy dormant on your machine. Stay vigilant, odds are it'll turn back on with future updates! Big Corporate wants you to be compliant. Don't be!"

[miracu-ace]

hi i just created an excel sheet where i can pick a meal and have it autopopulate the ingredients i'll need as a shopping list

i have never felt so smart

[miracu-ace]

my friend just told me that there's a secret second dashboard that solely contains posts from people you've turned on post notifications for, and when i click the link in the messages it opens it within the tumblr app, so the tumblr app also has a secret second dashboard for post notification blogs, and the only way to access it is to open the link for it within the app.

i literally love tumblr

[miracu-ace]

After seeing your comic about the gel pens, I can just imagine the letter to Alphonse being written in sparkly gel pen 😂

Anon this is the funniest concept ever to me.

[miracu-ace]

Hi everyone! I hate to do this, but I’m opening up some emergency commissions. I’ve been out of work on a disability leave for the past 2 months after a mental breakdown, and am in dire need to catch up on rent and groceries

[miracu-ace]

Hello everyone! I’m very excited to announce that I now have commissions open :) If you’re interested, feel free to reach out to me via tumblr dms! In the instance that you don’t want to commission me but would still like to support me monetarily, you can also buy stickers and prints from my redbubble here.

[miracu-ace]

this is going to sound like such a little sibling ass take but i genuinely believe that being a little bit annoying is actually a greater sign of maturity and self awareness than being universally likeable and on good terms with everyone

[miracu-ace]

Hey, so, I just found out there's a new bug in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet that can corrupt your save file? It hasn't happened to me yet (knock on wood), but I thought I'd share what little I've learned about it.

There are two error messages that may occur. Save Data Not Recognized (hereafter "NR") and Corrupted Data Was Found (hereafter "CD"). Of the two, NR is the more serious. There are apparently fixes for CD, but none yet for NR. The NR message is generated in the game itself, while the CD message is from the Switch.

It should be noted that NR appears to be a relatively rare issue, but it's always better to be prepared. Possible causes appear to be connecting to Pokémon Go, preordering the DLC, or even just updating to version 1.2.0.

If you experience the NR error, do not erase or overwrite your save data. It may still be recoverable. Contact Nintendo Support.

The CD error may be related to attempting the Walking Wake/Iron Leaves raids without updating to v1.2.0, or it might just be a thing that happens sometimes. But it is less serious and can be fixed.

If you experience the CD error, it can apparently be resolved by starting a new game on a second profile, saving, and then switching to your original profile. It may also be worthwhile to contact Nintendo Support in this instance as well. (I'd say do it even if this fix works for you. Let them know how broken this game is. Bemoan the fact that the "Official Nintendo Seal" used to actually mean something. But please be nice to the customer support agent; it's not their fault.)

You should also back up your entire SD card. Turn off your Switch, remove the microSD card, plug it into your computer, and copy all the files to your hard drive.

(Also, there is a megathread on r/PokemonScarletViolet. You should check there for more information because this is all I know about the issue, and I got most of my information from there.)

[miracu-ace]

Late Night Baking

Hey, @wavewright62 , I’m your @mlsecretsanta ! I enjoyed writing this for you so I hope you enjoy reading some family bonding with the Dupain-Chengs!

Also on AO3

In the wee hours of the night, little eight-year-old Marinette found herself unable to sleep in her bed. Her mind was filled with all kinds of thoughts that circled endlessly. Tossing and turning in her bed only seemed to fuel them further. With a huff, Marinette sat up in her bed and scrunched her eyebrows in the dim light of the room.

“Maman always says the best way to relieve stress is through baking,” Marinette muttered to herself, nodding along as she spoke.

Without a second thought, Marinette threw her blankets off, scrambled out of her bed, and made her way down the steps from the bed to the lower part of her bedroom. She slipped on a pair of fuzzy pink slippers to muffle her steps.

Moving as quietly as a mouse, Marinette made her way out of her room and towards the kitchen. When she reached the kitchen, Marinette started to search through the cabinets for the cookware required.

“Hm, if I were a cookie sheet, where would I be?” Marinette whispered to herself.

She opened each cabinet one after another, standing on precarious tippy toes to reach the high ones. Without paying attention, Marinette knocked into one of the lower cabinets while reaching for a higher one.

“Uwah!” Marinette cried as she tumbled.

With a thud, Marinette landed on her back. She quickly covered her mouth once the shock wore off and scrambled back onto her feet. Marinette looked in the direction of her parent’s bedroom and waited, holding her breath.

“Phew”, Marinette muttered under her breath. “Maybe I should take this downstairs.”

Moving with extra care, Marinette made her way past her parent's room and down into the back of the bakery.

“This time I’ll start with a recipe,” Marinette said out loud, eyeing the counters.

Fortunately for Marinette, one of the recipe books had been left out on the counter just within view. She grabbed a small stool on her way to the counter and quickly slid it under her feet. From there, Marinette began leafing through the pages looking for a good recipe.

“Maybe snickerdoodles? Those are pretty simple to make.” Marinette muttered, talking to herself. “Ooooh or macarons.”

Marinette continued to flip through the various recipes, sticking a finger for every recipe that piqued her interest.

“I could just make more than one?” Marinette scrunched her face, not completely convinced but too tired to give it any more thought.

Determined and unsure, Marinette pulled the stool near the bag of flour. She did her best to be careful as she stood on tiptoes to pull the bag closer to the edge. Once it was closer, Marinette hefted the bag into her arms and stepped off the stool. She grinned at her accomplishment and carried it back to the recipe book.

Soon she’d have a tasty snack and then she’d be able to fall asleep. Marinette's excitement and optimism grew as she eyed the recipe book.

~~~

In the wee hours of the night, Tom found himself dreaming of sweets. He could smell the spicy scent of cinnamon from snickerdoodles, the subtle smell of almond from macarons, and a handful of other smells that could not be made out. While dreaming of sweets was not an uncommon occurrence for a baker, even Tom’s sleepy mind was surprised by the strength of each smell. It was almost as if he could smell them.

His sweet dream continued until a clatter from the back of the bakery rang so loudly, it echoed throughout the rest of the home. Tom rose with a start, eyes still bleary before he turned to Sabine.

“You don’t think we have mice in the bakery, do you?” Tom asked, sleepy eyes growing wide as he spoke.

Sabine answered him with a soft chuckle as she rose from her side of the bed.

“I can think of only one little mouse capable of making this much noise.” Sabine mused, “A little mouse that should be asleep in her bed.”

After a short pause in thought, Tom nodded along and rose with Sabine. Now that he was more awake, Tom could tell that the scents he had been dreaming about were coming from the back of the bakery.

Flicking on the lights as they made their way to the back of the bakery, Sabine and Tom stopped when they reached the kitchen first.

“Looks like the mouse started here,” Tom remarked, an amused smile on his lips.

“I just hope this is the worst of the mess.” Sabine mused with a yawn.

The pair paused long enough to close each of the opened cupboards before descending into the bakery.

Peeking their heads around the doorway, they watched as an exasperated Marinette flailed her arms in the middle of the room.

Various pots and pans lay scattered around her feet each coated in various amounts of flour. Together the pots and flour created a long trail leading back to a nearly empty bag of flour on the floor. Among the flour, little footprints were left all leading in different directions. Nearby, dirty mixing bowls and rolling pins filled one counter with a stack of cookie sheets and bread pans next to it.

From the smell, Tom recognized the cookies from his dream including one cookie sheet holding an unrecognizable, but clearly burnt, batch of cookies.

“This is a disaster,” Marinette mumbled, attempting to wipe flour from her cheek with a hand equally coated in flour.

“Oh honey, is everything okay?” Tom asked, stepping as carefully as he could around the mess on the floor.

Forgetting the flour on her face and hands, Marinette wiped her hands down her face as she turned in the direction of the doorway.

“Everything is a mess.” Marinette sighed tiredly.

Tom moved next to Marinette and knelt on his knee. He reached out with his hand and ruffled Marinette’s hair, knocking off some of the flour on her head.

“What were you trying to do?” Sabine asked, moving next to Tom.

“You always talk about how you guys like to bake to clear your minds so I thought it’d help me fall asleep.” Marinette yawned, “but I couldn’t decide what to bake and then things got out of hand. I promise I was careful with the flour, but when I tried to put it back on the counter I sneezed and kind of tripped.”

Marinette gestured vaguely around with her hands.

“Well, hun, you know what we do when we make a mess, don’t you?” Sabine asked, brushing the flour off of Marinette’s shoulder with her hand.

“We clean it up!” Marinette chirped.

“Exactly.” Tom smiled.

With only the energy an eight-year-old could muster, Marinette zipped over to a nearby closet and began digging for cleaning supplies. Sabine and Tom couldn’t help but laugh as they went over to join her.

~~~

“We have a few hours left before we need to start getting the bakery up and running for the day. Why don’t we take a little time to play some Ultimate Mecha Strike II?” Tom asked, eyeing Sabine.

At the mention of the game, Marinette’s eyes lit up and she turned to her mother for approval. Sabine couldn’t help but chuckle at the look.

“You’ve got time for a few games, but then it’s time for bed.” Sabine responded, “Just try not to be too loud. We don’t want to wake the neighbors.”

Before Sabine had even finished, Marinette was already heading back up the stairs.

“Of course, we won’t be too loud” Tom promised, kissing Sabine on the head.

“I’ve got dibs on 2TO!” Tom shouted as he ran to catch up to Marinette.

~~~

“Triple combo Tom style, booyah!” Tom cheered as his character knocked out Marinette’s character.

“Careful Tom,” Sabine spoke quietly, holding a finger against her lips.

Tom looked to Sabine and then followed her eyes to find Marinette asleep on the armrest of the couch, the controller still in hand.

“Oh, sorry,” Tom whispered back, carefully putting his controller down on the coffee table. “Looks like someone finally fell asleep.”

Sabine moved to get it but stopped when Tom raised his hand.

“I’ve got this. I’ll carry her back up to bed.” Tom explained quietly, taking Marinette carefully into his arms.

Marinette shifted in his arms a little as he walked, but stayed asleep.

While he left with Marinette, Sabine sat down on the couch, intending to only rest for a moment. Before she knew it, she felt a nudge on her shoulder. Sabine opened her bleary eyes and realized she had fallen asleep when she saw Tom standing over her.

“Don’t worry about getting up.” Tom smiled, “I just wanted you to scoot over. We’ve got another hour or so before it’s time to get to work. I already set an alarm.”

Sabine gave him a nod and scooted a little further to the side of the couch. Tom slid in next to her and Sabine shifted herself closer, snuggling into the crook of his neck. With one arm secured around Sabine, Tom pulled a blanket over them with the other.

It wasn’t long once they were both comfortable that they fell asleep cuddled on the couch.

#mlss2k22 #miraculous ladybug #marinette dupain cheng #family bonding #tom & sabine #My fic #wavewright62

[miracu-ace]

a collection of motivational insights regarding content creation and creative hobbies

and of course the classic

[miracu-ace]

Wow! I’m totally blown away by how beautiful this piece is. 😍 I love the colors and lighting and the dynamic pose. Amazing work!

Happy holidays @miracu-ace! I’m your secret santa this year!

Hope you enjoy the kagaminette :))))))!

This was a lot of fun to participate in! Thank you @mlsecretsanta for organizing <3

[miracu-ace]

Here is a free pdf of the players handbook

Here is a free pdf of xanathars guide to everything

Here is a free pdf to monsters manual

Here is a free pdf to tashas cauldron of everything

Here is a free pdf to dungeon master’s guide

Here is a free pdf to volo’s guide to monsters

Here is a free pdf of mordenkainen’s tomb of foes

For all your dnd purposes

[miracu-ace]

the student loan forgiveness application site just went live btw

[miracu-ace]

i learned that in August 2014 Women’s Voices for the Earth commissioned testing of four types of Always menstrual pads, manufactured by Procter & Gamble. The certified laboratory STAT Analysis Corporation analyzed the products for volatile organic compound.

“The results of the testing indicate that both scented and unscented Always pads emit toxic chemicals, including chemicals identified by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services National Toxicology Program, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, and the State of California Environmental Protection Agency as carcinogens, and reproductive and developmental toxins. None of these chemicals are disclosed on the product by the manufacturer.” (x)

[miracu-ace]

[miracu-ace]

Writing advice from my uni teachers:

If your dialog feels flat, rewrite the scene pretending the characters cannot at any cost say exactly what they mean. No one says “I’m mad” but they can say it in 100 other ways.

Wrote a chapter but you dislike it? Rewrite it again from memory. That way you’re only remembering the main parts and can fill in extra details. My teacher who was a playwright literally writes every single script twice because of this.

Don’t overuse metaphors, or they lose their potency. Limit yourself.

Before you write your novel, write a page of anything from your characters POV so you can get their voice right. Do this for every main character introduced.

[miracu-ace]

on a scale of mei to retsuko how red panda are you