#lots going on atm so updates will be a bit less frequent as it’s only me posting on this account | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

thecourtjester12 · 4 months

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Hello, friend!! Can I call you that? I'm not sure... I'm so sorry I didn't send an ask sooner! How have you been? I hope you've been well! Make sure you've been getting plenty of rest and water, and please do take breaks if you need them! I'm sure your event has been stressful to manage, and I've heard you had a lot of alt blogs on top of that! That's quite the juggle!

Please do fill me in on what's been going on since my last asks to you, my birds only tell me so much. No pressure, of course, but I feel as though you deserve to at least reflect on your accomplishments! Doesn't everyone need a confidence boost like that?

~🌻 Sunflower Anon, who has missed you dearly!

Sorry it's taken me a few days to answer you! I wasn't ignoring you or anything, just wasn't too up to answering and wanted to answer you properly! Always nice to see you too!

Hello! And sure! I'm perfectly ok with you calling me friend if you'd like! ^-^

And no worries about taking a bit to send another ask, send them whenever you want to and are feeling up to, don't feel bad if its awhile in between!

I have been ok, sometimes stuff can get too much so I try to step back for a bit and go with the flow a bit and focus on being ok again :3 The same goes back at you! Make sure to get enough rest and drink water and take care of yourself as well! ^-^

The event hasn't been too bad to manage, I most do things in the background, occasionally pull some strings and keep things organized as much as I can, which works great, I much prefer to work behind the scenes (While I am not opposed to spotlight, theres simply something nice about keeping all the lil details of something organized :3)

I certainly have a good few (not as many as SOMEONE I know, yes, I mean you Moonlight, they keep growing) But most of them don't get as much virtual traffic to them so I mostly do things on two 70% of the time which are this one and my main side one jestersdlc

Two other's are ask blogs, and those don't get asks too frequently so they mostly just chill there :3

And the last (known) one is a group one and that one is pretty slow on us all to update it, so it's not toooo bad :3 I can't remember exactly when your last ask was...(time wise I mean >_<) So I'll try my best! Not sure there's much to say tho :3

Idk if PDC was made before or after...but me and a pair of friends (whom you may know, Qwill and Sol) made an au blog called playdatecollectorau where we kinda shove a bunch of our au's together so we can have our beans have 'playdates' theres LORE of course, cause lore is awesome

Mostly just intro stuff on there atm but it's fun to have and plan

I have accumulated....more AU's, there is...so many for DCA au's there is....10 and a half (the half is PDC) (JDCAU, J-TOL, LOTC, MIW, LSAU, REDACTED, NBCau, ESSau, CTAMK and secret) along with a few TSAM's ones which there is...less of 3 and a half (Starboy, CuddleBug, SolarMoon and Dream Eater (which is the half cause its...all encompassing lets say)

And just recently got the SolarAndMoon blog up and running which is nice, they look real squishy

I have a couple little projects on the go or completed as well, a few oneshots have been posted (mostly on my side blog...) and am currently working on a mini series for Aromantic awareness week!

Certain characters are being...uncooperative...but I shall figure something out! (...moreso idk much on certain beans yet so its making it finicky to write them >_<)

and IT IS ARO WEEK NOW! ٩(^ᗜ^ )و ´-

So that is exciting, excuse to wear green (one of my favorite colors) and spread awareness for aromanticism! Its great :3

AND new pronouns! Idk if you popped in last before or after that but that was a funky thing, I now use she/they and ey/em/eir so thats fun! ^-^

And I have a few lil secret projects of course :3

I think that sums everything up.....sorry for the really long response! Hopefully you don't mind >_<

I'm in ramble mode rn from rambling to my friend about certain beans being disaster bi's and a disaster lesbian and silly shenanigans for certain au's

How have you been doing? If you're comfy sharing of course, feel free to ramble in turn if you'd like! No pressure tho! ^-^

But remember you deserve a nice confidence booster too :3

#jesterposts #jester answers #ask answered #anon ask #anon answered #🌻 Sunflower Anon

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enigmatic-elegance · 5 years

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Mas’ Must Follow MASterpost

[In no particular order]

People

@risrielthron One of the best. You will feel as if you are talking with your lifelong friend. Sweet, friendly, and generous. A true example of who we should all try to be more like.

@theodorebennas Daddy Beans. Chill dude. Knows he can be a bit of a meme and owns it. Actually extremely smart and has a ton of good sense. Crusade!

@tanzrielle Super chill in the most not chill way. Will talk your ear off about their awesome characters and want to hear all about your own too. Great person to know and bounce ideas off of.

@thebattlesheep @a-sheep-does-art Sweet thing. Loves to meet new people. Does not RP much but when they do they kill it.

@possum Loser. (Seriously such a humorous, sweet, and all around amazing person.)

@wiedaashcroft Really great character, and the person who plays them is extremely laid back and chill.

@the-petalpaw-family They don’t RP as much right now, but their stories and characters are next level. No lie, they take things like plot and character lineage to places you rarely see. Amazing places.

@kat-hawke ICly very interesting and intense character. OOCly a more grounded individual. Blunt, but never cruel.

@darthscharactervault Someone who does not give themselves nearly enough credit for how creative they are with their ideas and characters.

@gwenya Often NSFW but she’s a gem of a person. Amazing, chill, down for whatever. She’s the raunchy friend you never knew you wanted.

@the-real-arcanist-val Smart person, fantastic writer, extremely sensible and rational. All around someone you want to know.

@vaard Never personally interacted with him, but he’s an iconic figure among the community. Everyone should follow. (Does not take commissions but is an amazing artist, too.)

@harvee-sarah-zena One of my closest RP partners. Might not post as much as they SHOULD but if you can catch them their RP is some amazing work. And their characters are all so unique.

@thegreatnyehehe Likely not returning to WoW any time soon, but still one of the best characters ever. To this day, worth reading through their posts.

@kinzorscarstorm Chill dude with a cool character. Have not interacted much IC, but respect them OOC for their char and methods.

@open-world-azeroth Not really a ‘person’ but a great resource for some fantastic RP spots.

@mediocre-bladeleaf Very cool aesthetic, and from what I see of their writings they have some awesome characters.

@draenei-tales Shout out to a fellow active and really cool looking Draenei RPer. All I see from them is extremely interesting.

@leora-strauss Don’t know much about the character but their aesthetic is so amazingly cool.

@serelia-evensong Active and interesting RPer. Will fill your dash up with fun to read posts of all kinds.

@susan-gampre Hoe. But she knows it. And she’s good at it. The character and RPer both are sassy and take no shit, and I love them for it.

@storykeeper-wra Spooky character. But not tired and boring spooky. The sort that’s very interesting. Like a good book. Makes sense they are the storykeeper, because their story is very appealing.

@halforc-mercenary Have always wanted to interact with their character but never much got the chance. Still adore their writings on my dash, and they often impress me with their plots and quality.

@rhysgoodwin Cute char, updates often, fantastic writer.

@priestess-nightfury Elf RP/Aesthetic at some of its very best.

@stonestridernerd They will love you and make you feel like the best person ever just be hurling likes at you and complimenting your work. They are just a gem of a person. So, so sweet.

@theshadowborn Shame I’[ve not interacted with their character much, but they are a clearly talented writer.

@durotan-ofthe-frostwolf Lot of OOC silly stuff, but genuinely a cool person and always a pleasure to see on your dash.

@ranekvilmas Just a very talented writer and all around chipper guy. One of those people who always has something interesting on their blog to read.

@penvenomstarkstar A good head on this one’s shoulders. ICly their character is extremely well written with so, so much depth. Endless things to discover here.

@ravenpriest DAMN awesome aesthetic. Really nails the gothica vibe.

@longveil Such a cool aesthetic. I’d follow for that alone, and there is so much more there too.

@kyuusei-shadowleaf Another blog worth the follow for aesthetic alone. So cool to see across your dash.

@k-sunrael Followed for a long time. Their blog can sometimes be a bit NSFW but the content is quality.

@monster-of-master In the vibe of ‘dark’ aesthetic without being overtly in your face. The sort of subtle horror we all secretly crave. Very much enjoy their content.

@summysparklesprocket Such an amazing, kind, and funny person. And the character is next level because they are a Gnome taken seriously. Love them.

@quai-mason @andrew-mason Extremely talented writer and one of the few who posts so, so frequently. You’ll eagerly await their next post, trust me.

@unabashedrebel ICly they are a very cool character with awesome stories. OOCly they are a smart and conscience driven individual with a good moral sense. More than once they’ve shown they are not afraid to stick up for what matters. Lot of respect.

@safrona-shadowsun Killer character aesthetic, great reblogs, and does not ruin their theme with bullshit. Fantastic follow, this one.

@helryder666 All over the place with their posts, but its never unwelcome or uninteresting. They always seem to know what you wanna see, even if you don’t know.

@thewardancer Some of the best troll aesthetic I’ve seen, honestly.

@brandstonethings Just a big bear of a man. I love him, and you will too. He’s so well written he feels alive.

@archmage--khadgar I hesitate with people who RP lore characters. This one managed to be one of my few exceptions. They actually do a really great job with it.

@forhonorandglory Only followed for a short time, but still worth it in my books. Sharp wit, great character.

@covexalexanderkingsley Don’t know if they still RP as much these days but they remain a very fantastic and creative individual.

@eilitheduskbringer Very talented writers. One of the best I’ve seen. And they host to an amazing community I’ve come to respect.

@thepalewolfhowls Great artist too, but I mainly know them for their awesome character and fantastic sense of story and plot.

Guild/Other

@the-royal-courier A fantastic source of events and stories. While they don’t host many writings of their own, they still reblog community events. Absolutely advise a follow.

@stormwinduniv Been around about as long as my old arse. Very talented group of writers who put on so many community events and intellectually focused debates.

@the-silver-circle A group of extremely talented writers focused entirely on Kaldorei writing and storylines. Very high levels of respect from me.

@moment-in-time-wra Less a ‘guild’ but still a great service for in game photography. They make your events look fantastic! Run by Risri.

@atc-wra A very talented small group of RPers who know how to make stories pop. You just want to be a part of them, or read what happens next.

@deadsunharbor Very fantastic crew who are open to all manner of amazing RP opportunities. They do criminal/dark correctly and with finesse rarely seen.

@oathswornvanguard Lawful good guild done proper. They have stood the test of time not only with their quality but their kindness and openness to the community.

@wraconnect A great source of WoW events and blogs to follow.

@wowrpevents Another fantastic source of WoW events and blogs to follow.

@wracentral ANOTHER fantastic source of WoW events and blogs to follow.

Artists

@whimsicallyart @elaianna Talented, intelligent, observant, and all around a gem of a person. Worth knowing.

@littleliongod One of the best I have worked with. Talented, priced very fair, extremely punctual, very communicative. Can not possibly recommend enough for any commission work.

@artofaokori Worked with them before and would absolutely do so again. Their style is very unique and you’ll recognize it anywhere in a good way.

@vintrove @vinsketchbook Extremely talented. Some next level stuff. Commissioned them twice and both times they blew me away with the end product.

@catbatart @cat-bat Such a shame I’ve only worked with them one time. One day, I must commission them again because they are the sort of artist who will go that extra mile and bring your piece to life.

@ferachidoesart They are Ferachi. They do art. Really well. Great style, super unique, and their commission prices are way more reasonable than you’d expect for their amazing quality.

@auggusst-art @auggusst Really such a kind and talented soul. One of those hidden gems of tumblr. They deserve more notice, so go give it to them!

@blackdogmelancholyooc @blackdogmelancholy Nerd. But actually a really cool dude with a ton of raw talent. They are great to work with.

@anzka Have not posted here in a while, but you should take a peek. Why? Because no one. Draws. Gnomes. Better.

@planktonheretic You like thick ladies? What about buff ones? Then my friend, have I got a treat for you. That treat is Plank. Check out their Twitter too for even more fantastic work!

@kellydidathing Amazing artist. Very busy person, but worth the investment because the art is top notch.

@izzarra Talk about raw talent refined into a craft. This artist is going places, seriously. Amazing stuff.

@thestringking @jane-fitzgerald @ahn-qiraj Extremely talented young lad who I know will go on to kill it in the art industry. Already one of the best out there, no lie.

Self Plug

My blog should be easy to find, right at the top of this post here, or the bottom. If you want to see all my character blogs, please check out RIGHT HERE (under repairs atm so a few of the characters might not work or link improperly) for a complete list. Each character page here contains a link just under their summary that will take you to their individual blog. Check out the ones that interest you!

Also want to plug my own guild, @coldwall-collective, for still being some of the best writers and content creators I’ve had the pleasure of working with. Go check us out!

Not Here?

Don’t be sad! Many reasons could be the cause. Maybe we’ve just not interacted enough. Or maybe I’ve not seen many of your posts. Maybe I overlooked you because I’m silly. Any of these could be a reason. If you don’t see yourself here, it does not mean I don’t appreciate you. I do. You’re a part of what makes this community great and I have all the respect for you.

#ooc

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azuregold · 4 years

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all.....all of the fanfic asks :>

Hey! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

1. If you’re an author, how many WIPs do you currently have? (Be honest!)

Two, if I only count the ones that have at least part of an actual scene written for them and which I still intend to finish someday. (Because otherwise, they're not works in progress, are they? :P) Three if I count the one that's still in the idea stages but is starting to be fleshed out a bit more.

2. What’s next on your ‘to-read’ list? (Fan fiction or otherwise)

City of Stone and Silence by Django Wexler. Everyone, please give his books a try if you're into fantasy. They're so good. He's written for adults, middle grade, and YA, and all of it is fantastic. He's probably my second-favorite author atm (because I love Seanan McGuire and her writing too much to give the top spot to anyone else XD).

3. Do you prefer canonverse or AUs?

Yes.

(Seriously, I like both. I guess my very favorite would be canon divergence—where we're still in the canon universe but one or more things change)

4. What fandom’s/ship’s fan fiction do you read the most?

I don't think there's a clear winner? I bounce around a lot because I read too fast and am too picky with my preferences for one fandom to sustain me. I guess out of the fics I'm following that are still updating at least somewhat frequently, it'd probably be more-or-less a tie between BnHA and Trollhunters/Tales of Arcadia. But that only means, like, 5 – 6 fics each compared to 3 – 4 for most other fandoms, so. Not a big difference. ^^;

5. What’s a crackship you love?

I…can't think of any. ^^;

6. What’s the last thing you read that made you laugh?

I don't really remember. Maybe the newest October Daye book? Tybalt can usually make me smile even if he wasn't in this one much.

7. What’s the last thing you read that made you cry?

No idea. ^^; Probably a fanfic, but beats me which one it was.

8. Bed sharing or roommates AU?

Hmm…roommates, I guess?

9. Fake dating or arranged marriage?

Probably arranged marriage.

10. Mutual pining or enemies to friends to lovers?

Enemies to friends to lovers.

11. Kid fic or childhood friends?

This…depends a lot on how you define kidfic. If it's "the characters raise a kid together" then…I'm not all that interested in either, but I'd probably take childhood friends, depending on the plots of the individual stories. If it's "the adult characters when they were kids", then…they're almost the same thing, unless you're writing adult characters who grew up as childhood friends, and either way I have no real preference for either. If you define kidfic to include de-aging fics, then I'll take kidfic. Such a surprise, given my current WIP, I'm sure. :P

12. Friends with benefits or secret dating?

I guess secret dating, though I'm not fond of either.

13. Exes or established relationship?

Established relationship.

14. (For authors) Post a line of dialogue from one of your WIPs without context.

“Perhaps we should give him what he wants. There is no need for him to remain on the island when he is this desperate to leave.”

15. Post the last line you wrote without context.

Robin's neck prickled. That timing had been far too convenient. The librarian had likely known where the book was the entire time, if there was even a book at all.

(This is technically the last line I edited; the last new line I wrote was in the chapter I just posted and I have no idea which one it would be)

16. Describe your WIP that currently has the highest word count.

That would be Dissonant Echoes, so…The Straw Hats arrive on a mysterious island. Zoro disappears and comes back as a kid with strong negative reactions to the rest of the Straw Hats, and they have to find out what happened and try to fix things.

17. Describe a fic that is still in the ‘ideas’ stage.

A full AU, tentatively titled Praying to Embers. More-or-less modern times. Luffy and his friends come to an island on vacation (still working out which SHs come with him and which they'll meet there). They arrive just in time for a festival celebrating the island's god, Roronoa, and at the festival they meet Zoro, a local who Luffy ropes into being their tour guide. He's not very good at the guiding part, but Luffy's sure they'll be great friends, which is good for Zoro, because he's really going to need some friendly help soon, if he can learn to trust them before it's too late.

This is what I'll be writing after DE, barring a new idea taking me hostage unexpectedly.

18. Do you have a fic reading/writing routine?

Reading, not really, unless you count downloading fics to my kindle and doing most of my reading: in the bathroom, while waiting for laundry or food to be done, when I’m supposed to be sleeping, etc. Well, that and reading on the computer, trying to see the screen past my armful of big fluffy kitty while he kneads my neck and shoulders and arms and face. >.<; Writing, I like to have a cup of tea before I start, I guess? And usually some music.

19. What’s your favorite character headcanon?

I…can't think of any right now. ^^;

20. Do you have a favorite fanfic or author? If so, tag them/post a link and share the love!

I don't think I have a single favorite. I'm not sure I could even narrow it down to a half dozen, haha. But I'll link a few fics (not going to tag anyone because I don't know everyone's tumblr, if they even have one, plus that would be putting myself out there a bit more than I feel comfortable with atm. If one of the authors of these fics see this, I love your work and I'm sorry for being such a shy anxious mess ^^; ).

Going to keep it to one per fandom so this doesn't get obnoxiously long, though for most of them (looking at BnHA, Detective Conan, Coco, and ToA in particular), you can assume there are at least one or two other fics I like just as much as these.

From Muddy Waters, Boku no Hero Academia, by HLine

Want and Need, Fate/Zero x Fate/Stay Night, by Kiiam

The Case of the Missing Detective, Detective Conan, by Utukki

Don't Listen to Kafka (series), Tales of Arcadia, by Archaeopter-ace

A Pound of Flesh, Tokyo Ghoul, by notitlesapply

Population: 1, Voltron: Legendary Defender, by AvaBlook

El Camino a Casa, Coco, by Bookwormgal

The Human Mask, Natsume Yūjin-Chō, by harunekonya

Half of these are WIPs that haven't updated in years, which is really depressing T-T And I'm absolutely sure I forgot some, even limiting it like this, but they'll just have to wait for another time.

#Asks and replies #This was such a nice surprise! <3 #I've been thinking about you a lot lately #I hope you're doing okay ;u;#Thanks for the ask!#misfortuning

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dunamanticarchivist · 6 years

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The Munchkin Nein - Condor Widogast Part 1

Explaining this series

Starting things off we have everybody’s favourite hobo wizard, Caleb Widogast. Interestingly the pre-backstory theories imagine him to be a war mage of sorts. Which he kinda. Is. Kinda. Technically.

Whatever, we are here for the crunch. I’m working with data from Critrole stats (love you guys yall are awesome) as well as things I’ve picked up from obsessively rewatching combat scenes, as well as D&D wikis and compendiums.

Let’s start off with the straight up damage (DMG) side of things. Caleb atm is a Level 5 transmutation wizard and has understandably only fought with spells. Shy of roleplay, he should never, never get into melee. His spell attack modifier at this level is +8. His DC is 16. So here we go:

Chromatic Orb: (3 + spell level - 1) x d8 choice of one elemental DMG A pretty simple level one spell that scales with spell slot level. It costs one action and has 90 feet of range. Its elemental adaptability allows it to have some flexibility in target choice, assuming the target isn’t magic resistant, at which point our poor wizard’s option are much more limited.

Firebolt: (2d10 fire DMG) A cantrip, which does not compete for valuable spell slots. 2d10 gives quite a bit of variability in damage, but if the dice are hot, pretty sweet. Also, just one attack roll, but with a +8 to hit, shouldn’t be too much of an issue (well, dice gods may disagree, but that’s the fun)

Magic Missile: [(1d4 + 1) x (3 + spell level -1) force DMG] autohitting A decidedly more complicated level one spell at 120 feet, the big selling point is the autohitting, which would help against creatures in cover or are really, really hard to hit. Caleb would also be able to split the darts, each dealing d4 +1, possibly scything down multiple weak foes, like the goblins. Note, the Shield spell completely negates Magic Missile, so watch for enemy wizards that Shield.

Scorching ray: [2d6 x (3 + spell level -2) fire DMG] Similarly, scorching ray has multiple attacks in one spell. However, it doesn’t autohit, but gets the possibility of critical hits which we have seen occur rather frequently (when you roll lots of dice nat 20s arent that rare). Its damage potential is rather much higher and should scale better with spell level than magic missile, assuming you get those hits in. Once again, how hot are your dice today? Also, I actually have no idea what the glove of blasting does? The closest I can find is the circlet of blasting that gives scorching ray +5 to attack, without a spell slot once per day

Burning Hands (DEX save else, (3 + spell level -1) x d6 fire DMG, half if saved) 15ft cone An AoE spell, almost like dragon breath. Doesn’t need to hit, but enemies have to fail the DEX save to maximize the daamaaage (say it like Travis, or omelette du fromage from Dexter’s Laboratory). So aim at the less nimble foes if they get close. Has potential to outperform scorching ray with enough enemies.

Alright that’s all the raw damage spells (at the moment and to the best of my knowledge, please let me know if i’ve missed anything or gotten something wrong I will update). If you’re interested in the statistics, try out anydice.com to get a rough gauge of averages, variability, maxes and mins and all that good stuff. I actually didn’t anticipate having to summarize the spells this much until I realised that not everyone is addicted to paddling through wiki entries.

So for the more complex spells of buffing, debuffing and CC (crowd control), I’m going to make it a separate post. Traveller save us when we reach Jester’s options that’s gonna be monstrously long (and they’d probably reach level 6 already laughs and cries in math)

Stay burnt critters

#critical role #cr2 #cr2 spoilers #kinda not really #stay turnt #stay burnt #hobo wizard #caleb widogast #mathhammer #theorycraft #the munchkin nein #mine

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tech-battery · 4 years

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This Smartwatch Has a Baffling Price

Your average smartwatch brand usually puts out at least two types of watches: a premium flagship smartwatch, and a more cost-conscious alternative with about 75% of the flagship’s features. Samsung does it (Galaxy Watch 3 and the Galaxy Watch Active2), Fitbit does it (Fitbit Sense and Versa 3), and now with the Apple Watch SE, Apple has also gotten on board. So it’s not really surprising that Huami, a company that pumps out a lot of surprisingly stylish and affordable smartwatches, is also looking to do the same with the Zepp E, which is far more premium than the company’s other offerings.

If you aren’t familiar with Huami, let’s rewind a little. Huami is the parent company of Amazfit, which makes wearables like the Bip S. It also partnered with Timex for its Ironman GPS R300 and the Metropolitan R smartwatches. In general, it’s known for budget smartwatches that deliver a lot of functionality at a very attractive price point. I was more or less expecting the same from the Zepp E, but what I got was a watch that delivered budget functionality at a price that didn’t make sense.

The Zepp E costs $250, and to be fair, it’s a nice-looking watch. It comes in two variations: a round version, which I reviewed, and a square one that looks like an Apple Watch knock-off. I’ve spilled a ton of words on why Apple Watch clones need to die, so we’ll skip past that one, but the round version is quite sleek on the wrist. The 1.28-inch AMOLED display is crisp and easy to read notifications on. Colors are bright, and while you can see some pixelation if you squint, I never felt it was so bad that it detracted from watch faces or text. It’s also only 9mm thick, which is thinner than most flagship smartwatches out there. (The Apple Watch, for instance, is 10.4mm.) Huami describes it as “3D curved bezel-less glass” and while that’s marketing schlock, I will say it does look and feel like it belongs on a premium watch. I didn’t love the texture of the “moon gray” leather band they sent me, but it looked chic with the gold case and, for once, wasn’t pink.

But while the design seems like it would belie a premium watch, the features are lacking compared to other watches in this price range.

The Zepp E has a couple of features that other premium smartwatches have, such as an on-demand SpO2 app—much like the one on the Series 6 and the Galaxy Watch 3—and stress-tracking. It also offers continuous heart rate-monitoring and the typical sensors we’ve come to expect from smartwatches, like an accelerometer and ambient light sensor. You also get sleep-tracking, an estimated seven days of battery life, and with 5 ATM of water resistance, it’s safe for swimming. What you don’t get is NFC payments, built-in GPS, digital assistant, or cellular connectivity. I wouldn’t necessarily expect all of those things on a sub-$300 smartwatch. The Fitbit Versa 3, for instance, may not have cellular capability, but it does get you Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, built-in GPS, Fitbit Pay, and SpO2 monitoring for $230. The Apple Watch SE starts at $280, but you get Apple Pay, Siri, built-in GPS, and you can upgrade to a cellular model. The Samsung Galaxy Active2 also starts at $280, also has a cellular version, Bixby, Samsung Pay, and adds ECG. When you consider how much you can get for under $300, the Zepp E’s feature set feels a bit incomplete. The advanced features the Zepp E does have—an SpO2 app and stress-tracking—feel sort of tacked on, and lack some of the context provided on other, competing smartwatches.

That’s a shame because, for the most part, the Zepp E is a good, basic smartwatch.

For notifications, I found the Zepp E was pretty capable, though you’ll have to manually configure which alerts you receive in the Zepp app, under the Zepp E’s individual settings. That’s not uncommon—you have to do it for Fitbits, too—and personally, I like that you have more control over what does or doesn’t make your wrist buzz. It lacks a built-in music player, which isn’t the worst thing. You can control your music over Bluetooth, but if you want Spotify or Pandora on your wrist, you’re out of luck here.

In terms of interface, the Zepp E is similar to Wear OS. You basically swipe left and right to view widgets for things like weather and activity, and you can press the button on the right side to access a scrolling menu for your apps. Swipes were easily registered, and thankfully, I didn’t experience any latency.

The battery on the Zepp E is pretty solid. I got about 6-7 days of typical use on a single charge without the always-on display enabled. With it on, I got about three days, but to be fair, I logged more than two hours of activity-tracking during that time. Connected GPS doesn’t drain the battery as fast as built-in GPS does, but I had a setting toggled on to increase how often the Zepp took heart rate measurements during recorded exercise. That would also deplete the battery faster than on days with lighter activity. Depending on the options you choose for how often the watch measures your heart rate and how often you exercise, your mileage may vary.

The Zepp app is also decent, though not as slick as some other smartwatch apps. You can see basic tiles with information like heart rate, workouts, and sleep score in an easily understood layout. But it’s not what I’d call perfect. There are some wonky translations here and there, but nothing that’s incomprehensible. For non-metric users, there are times where the Zepp app will revert to metric units even if you have your settings on Imperial. For example, in my outdoor running activities, my split times are per kilometer even though I’m tracking my distance in miles. (I wish I was running 6'24" per mile, but alas, that’s my pace per kilometer.) And while you can view your long-term data, it’s not presented in an intuitive way in the app. For instance, to see all my workout records, I can’t just hit the activity tile. I have to tap the teeny menu that says All Records in the upper right corner of the tile, which is simple enough once you know where it is, but I tripped up enough times that it was annoying.

The Zepp E is best when it comes to health-tracking, but you’re not really getting anything here that you can’t get elsewhere. Sleep-tracking was accurate compared to my Oura Ring; both consistently logged the same hours slept per night, gave me similar sleep quality scores every night, and roughly corresponded when it came to sleep stages. Unlike the Bip S, the Zepp E also correctly noted when I woke up in the middle of the night. The Zepp E also has a beta “sleep breathing quality” metric, but I didn’t consider it particularly useful, because the description didn’t really explain how it was measured or what it meant for my overall health. I assume the feature relies on the SpO2 sensor, because that’s what other smartwatches use to give comparable analysis, but again, it wasn’t explained in the app, and the tips for improving were things you could easily Google: don’t drink before sleeping, lose weight, and exercise more.

Activity-tracking was also decent. The Zepp E doesn’t have built-in GPS, which means it relies on your phone. That’s disappointing in the sense that phone-free runs aren’t an option if you want accuracy. When running with my phone, the Zepp E reported distances that were generally within 0.5 miles of the MapMyRun app. For instance, on a 3.1-mile run logged by my phone, the Zepp E reported 3.08 miles and the Apple Watch SE recorded 2.98 miles. This was roughly the same for the seven test runs and the two test walks I did with the Zepp E, Apple Watch, and my phone. There was, however, one exception. During one test run, the Zepp E failed to find GPS—which was odd given my phone was on me—and logged a 3.06-mile run as 2.29 miles. That is just wildly incorrect and makes me think if you did leave your phone at home or if you’re a treadmill runner, you might get wonky results.

Heart rate-tracking, however, was more reliable. The Zepp E was generally within 5 beats per minute of both the Apple Watch SE and my Polar H10 chest strap. That said, during my runs, I noticed the occasional lag when it came to reporting my heart rate. I’d lift my wrist and it’d take a second for my metrics to update. Not a huge deal, just kind of annoying if you’re the type that frequently checks in mid-run.

I tested the SpO2 app against the Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 and my partner’s Apple Watch Series 6. They all gave me similar numbers (96%, 95%, and 96%), and are equally annoying in that you have to sit really still to get measurements. There’s no real flashy feature that utilizes SpO2 sensor yet, so the fact the Zepp E has it is sort of...useless. In the app itself, there’s no real context of how your SpO2 results relate to the rest of your health. There is a short explanation about how it can be used to monitor respiration, but no context for why you might care about that. In the app, it’s buried in several menus and not easily accessible from the home screen. It’d be one thing if it was factored into a recovery or “readiness” score, but that’s nowhere to be found.

In the same vein, I didn’t really get much out of its stress-tracking. In a week, my stress levels, which are based on my heart rate variability measurements, ranged from 11-96. Meaning, sometimes I was very chill and sometimes I was extremely not chill. I can tell you that without a smartwatch, and this feature didn’t help me understand my HRV any better. Like the SpO2 app, stress-tracking is also buried in a secondary menu, and it would be extremely easy to miss completely if you didn’t know it was there. For what it’s worth, the Fitbit Sense also tracks stress, but in a much more holistic, meaningful way.

One thing the Zepp E does have going for it is the PAI metric. Old Mio users might be familiar with it, as that’s where it comes from. (Huami acquired Mio in 2018.) For the uninitiated, PAI stands for Personal Activity Intelligence, and it’s a score that tries to simplify whether you’re getting the appropriate amount of activity per week—sort of like Fitbit’s Active Zone Minutes. The idea is to have 100 PAI over a 7-day period, and how many PAI you’re awarded for an activity is supposedly personalized based on your demographic data. It’s a bit hokey, but as far as metrics go, it’s a more useful measure than just going off steps alone. That said, you’d get this from any Huami wearable. The Bip S also uses it, so it’s not as if this is specific to the Zepp E.

That’s the problem with the Zepp E. You’re effectively paying $250 for a nice design and multi-day battery life. It’s not that the Zepp is a bad watch. It’s that you can get that and more for a similar price elsewhere. While I prefer the size of the Zepp E’s display, the Samsung Galaxy Active 2 is the better overall value given the wider feature set, especially if you like pretty, round watches. If you don’t mind square displays, the Apple Watch SE and Fitbit Versa 3 are more feature-rich, aren’t hideous, and are around the same price. Even Huami makes pretty compelling alternatives with the Amazfit GTS and GTR, which cost around $130 on Amazon and have built-in GPS.

If the Zepp E wants to be a premium smartwatch, it needs to at least have built-in GPS, NFC payments, or something to set it apart from budget watches. That could have been SpO2 and stress-tracking, but in both cases I found these seemingly premium features to be half-assed, and they weren’t meaningfully featured in the Zepp app’s health dashboard. For basic fitness-tracking and design, hybrid analog watches deliver the same kind of connected GPS-tracking and metrics, and they’re often less than $200. Many are also quite fetching on the wrist.

The Zepp E has budget features in a premium body. If you can find it on sale for under $200 (ideally $180 or under), I’d say the Zepp E is a watch you should consider. But at full price? Honey, you can do better.

0 notes

jessdoyletattoo · 7 years

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FAQ

Here’s a list of my frequently asked questions! I’ll be updating it when necessary :)

If you are looking to join the mailing list to be notified when my books are open, please go to:

http://www.ambassadortattoo.com/jessica/

*Please be aware this is not a wait list.

What does “books closed” mean?

It means I am unable to take on new tattoo projects or consultations! My schedule books out in three month increments and is currently full, but keep an eye out for posts about when they will open, or sign up for my mailing list to be notified when they do!

When will your books be open?

Sometime in October! I am booking in three month increments and do the bookings the month prior. I will be posting on Instagram and the Ambassador Website as soon as I have an exact date, so please keep an eye out! You can also subscribe to my mailing list.

***Please do not email me asking when my books are open. As soon as I know when they are open, I will post it

When your books open, how do I book in?

I’ll be posting all of the details of what to do as soon as I have an exact date in mind. I’m always trying to streamline the process to make it easier for you!

I only book 3 months at a time, and book those three months within the month before. ( Oct will be booking Nov-Jan. and then Jan will be booking Feb-Apr etc)

I emailed you a week ago, why haven’t I heard back from you?

I promise I’m not ignoring you! I receive a lot of emails everyday, and because I answer all of you personally, it may take some time for a response. Please be patient. I tattoo five days a week, draw for those five days in the mornings and evenings before work, and also need some hours in the day where I’m not working! If it’s something that needs more urgent attention, please call the shop and leave a message after you’ve emailed!

Can I book in with you?

At this time I’m not taking new projects on! I am now trying to only book in three month increments. My next bookings will be for Nov-Jan. Submissions will be taken sometime in October, so please keep an eye out on Instagram or sign up for my mailing list below

http://www.ambassadortattoo.com/jessica

The only exception to this is small tattoos (think a word or two of script, a small symbol etc) which I can sometimes accommodate at the beginning or end of a day. This does not include anything that requires a consultation. It never hurts to ask so feel free to shoot me an email! Please make sure you include every detail!

If you’re not sure if your idea is something I would take on, or you have a question that isn’t answered here, feel free to shoot me an email to ask**! Just keep in mind that it will likely be a bit before I can get back to you! Please include all the information below of what you want, it saves me a few emails asking you questions and I really appreciate it!

**If you're asking if I will take on a floral piece, the answer is 99.9% of the time yes. This is more so for if you're not sure if I can do your coverup, or fill in a gap, or you have a different idea that you aren't sure will work as a tattoo!

What:

Where (bonus points if you include a photo of the area):

What size:

Blackwork or colour:

Do you have a waitlist?

Due to how many people I deal with on a regular basis, it’s just impossible for me to keep up with a waitlist. Any openings or cancellations will be posted to Instagram!

What’s your hourly rate? How much will my tattoo cost?

Unless your tattoo is very small, its difficult to provide an estimate without a consultation. I cannot do this over email! The minimum charge is one hour, which is $180/hr at Ambassador Tattoo. If its a one shot piece I will likely quote you a flat rate. When travelling, I flat rate price my pieces for the most part.

Payment

I am all cash only! If you are coming in for your consultation and are looking to book, please be prepared to leave a min $100 deposit to secure your appointment. Anything over 2 hours requires a larger deposit of $200 or more!

Can I see my drawing before my appointment?

Although I wish I had enough time to prepare all drawings well in advance, the truth is that I just don’t! Drawings are ready for the time of your appointment. I often start one to two new drawings per day, so getting ahead of myself would just be impossible! I do not email out drawings. Small changes can be made day of, but please be aware any large redraws may result in rescheduling your appointment and require a new deposit.

Methods of payment

I am cash only for everything. The only exception being out of town clients, who may email money transfer or PayPal me a deposit.

I’m under 18, can you tattoo me with parental consent?

Sorry, but no, not even with your parents consent. We tattoo only 18+ at Ambassador. Same rules apply to me when I am travelling anywhere!

I need a touchup on my tattoo! How do I book this?

Please contact me within 6-12 weeks after your tattoo appointment if you need a touchup. It doesn’t matter if my books are closed, we will arrange a time that is suitable to you!

Free touchups apply to anything that didn’t heal properly (or healed a bit light) during the healing process and will be honoured up to six months.

If you do not follow aftercare, fade your tattoo by not wearing sunscreen, or it is simply just aging from natural processes, there will be a charge for your touchup.

Do you do coverups?

Sometimes, on a case by case basis when possible. Please keep in mind that coverups usually need to be darker, larger, and have lots of texture and detail to distract the eye from what is underneath. My dot work style shading almost never works for coverups unless its quite small. Feel free to email me a photo of your existing tattoo with a brief description of what you’d like to cover it with. From there I can let you know if its even possible, or if I would recommend a session or two of laser removal to lighten it. I’ve got referral cards at the shop that will give you a discount on laser removal at SkinPossible here in Calgary, and would be happy to set one aside for you! Remember to include the below:

What:

Where (recent photos are necessary):

What size:

Blackwork or colour:

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Deposit Policy

Please ensure that you have read and understood the following Terms and Conditions before booking a tattoo appointment.

Deposit terms and conditions

A non-refundable deposit is required to secure your tattoo appointment. Appointments are scheduled upon receipt by Jessica Doyle of the deposit. Payment of the deposit is confirmation that the client understands, accepts, and agrees to these terms and conditions.

Balance

The remaining balance of the cost of tattoo (minus deposit) is required in cashimmediately following the tattoo appointment.

In the case that multiple appointments are made, the the balance per appointment is required immediately following each tattoo session. The initial deposit is required to be carried forward throughout all the booked tattoo appointments and applied to the final session of the project.

Payments

Deposits and payments are accepted in cash only. The only exception being out of town clients, who may leave their deposit by e-mail money transfer. Confirmation of appointment is made when the deposit has been received.

Cancellations and rescheduling

All deposit are NON-REFUNDABLE. With a minimum of one weeks notice, initial design concepts may be altered, and appointments may be rescheduled to a different day or time. Appointments may be rescheduled a maximum of 2 times with notice. A third rescheduling may be subject to loss of deposit.

*Neglecting to give one week notice for rescheduling or design change will result in full loss of deposit

Drawings will be ready for the day of your appointment.

Please do not book a tattoo appointment if you do not fully understand and agree to these terms and conditions.

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Before your appointment

Please ensure you’ve sent any reference photos if necessary to me at least a week prior to your appointment. [email protected]

If there is anything you want to change/add to your idea other than what we discussed at your consultation, you must notify me via email a minimum of one week prior to your appointment.

Make sure you eat a big meal within the hour before you come! And bring some sugary snacks. It’s important to keep your blood sugars up and make sure your body feels good!

Don’t drink the night before your appointment! I always encourage you drink extra water in the week prior to hydrate your skin!

Make sure you wear something dark and comfortable, that allows easy access to the area we are tattooing. Ink usually finds its way onto your clothes, so don’t wear your favourite white silk top/bra/pants.

Bring extra things to make you comfy: a sweater in case you get cold, headphones if you want to zone out and relax etc.

I am cash only, but there are ATMs located nearby! Feel free to stop by your bank prior to your appointment

Drawings are ready for the time of your appointment. I often start one to two new drawings per day, so getting ahead of myself would just be impossible! I do not email out drawings. Small changes can be made day of, but please be aware any large redraws may result in rescheduling your appointment and require a new deposit.

If you need to reschedule, one weeks notice is required. Anything less will result in loss of deposit. (Appointments may be rescheduled a maximum of two times, the third may result in loss of deposit)

Please do not bring anyone with you to your appointment! We have a smaller studio and there’s not a lot of extra space at the station. We have music or movies going all the time, and I promise I’m good company if you get bored :)

2 notes · View notes

kristablogs · 4 years

Text

There are two near-perfect options for e-readers. And then there are the rest.

Trust us—if you were reading "War and Peace," that hammock wouldn't be half as comfortable. (Perfecto Capucine / Unsplash/)

E-book readers are one of the clearest signs the future is now—having an entire library in your pocket powered by a battery that almost never runs out is exactly what my seven-year-old self was dreaming of (sorry, iPhone).

If you love reading but are still new to e-readers, you’re in for a serious treat. It’s never been easier to carry around what would be a large hardcover to read on your commute or your vacation. And if you’re stuck with an old e-book reader and want to upgrade, now is a good time to do it. Unlike smartphones, the e-book landscape shifts glacially, but there are a few great options that weren’t available a few years ago.

The library conundrum

E-book readers aren’t really standalone devices—they’re the hardware expression of a whole software ecosystem. This means that depending on where you buy your e-books (Amazon, Google Play, Barnes & Noble, the Kobo store, etc), you will only be able to read your book on devices with a specific operating system.

Buy Little Women on iTunes and you’ll only be able to open it on the iBooks app on your Apple devices. Porting the same file to your Kindle (Amazon), or even reading it on the Kindle app for iPadOS or iOS, isn’t a simple process and requires breaking the digital rights management (DRM) seal that protects the file.

If you’ve already amassed a sizable e-book library and want to update your e-reader, the most important feature to look for is compatibility. If you have a Kindle, stick with Kindles, and if you have a Kobo, stick with Kobos. Switching operating systems involves changing your entire ecosystem; if you do so, be prepared to buy your entire library all over again.

If you’re buying an e-reader for the first time, you’ll definitely have more freedom. But still, choosing which store you want to go with is a major decision because you’ll have to stick with it at least for the foreseeable future.

Since the word “Kindle” is now synonymous with “e-reader,” it might seem Amazon has already won the e-book war, but the online retailer is not the only option. There are two other major choices with dedicated hardware available: the Kobo Store, and Barnes & Noble’s Nook Store.

There’s not a lot of difference between these alternatives. If there’s an independent author you love and they only publish on one store, that might be a reason to choose one over the other, but beyond that, all stores largely stock the same array of titles and let indie authors self-publish.

Barnes & Noble’s Nook Store raises a few red flags, though. After pulling out of the UK in 2016 (and leaving existing customers in a bit of a bind), they’re now only available in the US. Plus, their update their hardware less frequently and users have flagged their plastic build as inferior to that of Kindles and Kobos.

If you’ve already invested in Nook and have no problems accessing their store, sticking with it is not a bad idea, but given these circumstances, it’s definitely hard to recommend buying one as your first e-reader.

The Kindle is by far the most popular line of e-readers. If you’re getting an e-reader for the first time, going for a Kindle is a safe bet. Amazon is clearly committed to its roots as a bookseller and is highly likely to stick around and keep providing support for your device.

If you dislike Amazon’s business model, question their ethics, or simply don’t want to give even more money to a billionaire like Jeff Bezos, then a Kobo is an easy choice. Their hardware is every bit as good as Amazon’s, and their wide range of available titles will definitely satisfy all your reading needs.

The easy choice: Kindle Paperwhite

Is the lawn wet? Worry about your pants. The Kindle Paperwhite is waterproof. (Jingda Chen / Unsplash/)

For most people, the Kindle Paperwhite is the e-reader to buy. Sure, there are cheaper devices out there, but this one hits the middle ground between price and performance perfectly. And with Amazon’s huge e-book store, you’ll never be short of something to read.

It’s hard not to love it. It features a flush 6-inch, 300ppi E Ink touchscreen display that looks great, and at 6.4 ounces—about the weight of three Snickers bars—it’s easy to carry around. The device is IPX8 waterproof rated, so a few splashes by the pool, or even a quick dunk, won’t harm it. The LED front light makes it easy to read anywhere, whether in direct sunlight or curled up next to a flickering fire, and, if you have an Audible account, you can connect a pair of Bluetooth headphones and listen to audiobooks.

An 8GB Kindle Paperwhite with Special Offers (Amazon’s euphemism for those personalized ads that appear on the block screen) is $130, although it’s regularly on sale for as little as $85. The 32GB model with worldwide cellular service and no ads goes for $180.

The contender: Kobo Clara HD

The screen on the Kobo Clara HD resembles natural light depending on the time of day. (Perfecto Capucine / Unsplash/)

If you’re already tied into Kobo’s ecosystem, the Clara HD is a great upgrade to older models like the Glo or Touch 2.0, and if you’re looking for a new e-reader, it’s definitely the best non-Amazon option—though it’s hard to recommend it over the Paperwhite for any other reason.

It’s got a similar 6-inch, 300ppi front-lit E Ink touchscreen display, which is super easy to read on. What sets the Clara HD apart (other than the fact that it’s not tied to Amazon) is that it’s slightly smaller and lighter, but these differences are minimal and don’t have a huge effect on user experience. One nice touch is that the screen tints more toward yellow as the day goes on, but unlike its Kindle counterpart, it’s not waterproof and doesn’t have Bluetooth capabilities.

The 8GB Clara HD is $120, although it’s sometimes on sale for $100, and doesn’t come with any euphemistically titled ads.

What else is out there?

The Paperwhite and Clara HD are the best products in their respective lineups, but they aren’t the only ones. If neither of our suggestions work for you, you’re not out of luck.

More Kindle options

Amazon also sells the Kindle—an entry-level model—and the Kindle Oasis, but both miss the mark for totally different reasons.

At $90, the Kindle is too close in price to the Paperwhite to be worth the tradeoffs. It’s not waterproof and only has a 167ppi screen, so text will look noticeably fuzzier. The screen feels less premium, as it’s noticeably recessed—the bezel casts a slight shadow and it feels like one of those old-school ATM touch screens you had to thump to get it to simply register a touch. If you’re not sure whether you’ll use a Kindle or not, it can be a good taster, but it’s an inferior device.

The Kindle Oasis, on the other hand, starts at $250 and features a cool asymmetric design, aluminum body, an automatically adjusting 7-inch screen, and physical page buttons. It’s an absolute delight to use, but it’s hard to justify the $120 price increase over the Paperwhite, especially since I’ve found its battery life to be significantly worse.

Keep in mind that Amazon also carries a line of devices called Kindle Fire, and even though they can be used to read books, they’re strictly tablets, not e-readers. You can always try for one of these, but they’re an entirely different product.

More Kobo options

The Kobo Libra H2O, at $170, is worth a look. Like the Kindle Oasis, it has a 7-inch screen and an asymmetric design with physical buttons to turn your pages. It’s also IPX8 waterproof and, at only $40 more than the Clara HD, the premium features don’t come with the Oasis’ ludicrous price tag.

With 7.8-inch and 8-inch screens, respectively, the Kobo Aura One ($280) and Kobo Forma ($250) just won’t slip into a jacket pocket or small bag, so they’re almost too big to carry easily. Other than the bigger screen (which ends up being more of a fuss than a plus) there’s no way to justify their prices over the Libra H2O.

Nook options

The problem with Barnes & Noble’s Nooks isn’t the devices, it’s the ecosystem itself. Considering its fluctuation in size, if one of the three big e-book reader makers fall, odds are it’ll be Barnes & Noble. With that said, if you’re looking for a Nook, you have two options.

The Nook GlowLight 3 is big, plasticky and, despite having a similar screen and the added page-turn buttons, feels like a cheaper knock-off of the Paperwhite. It’s a decent e-reader, but at $120, the GlowLight3 is the same price as the Clara HD and impossible to recommend over it.

The GlowLight Plus has a 7.8-inch screen and IPX7 waterproofing, but is otherwise largely the same as the GlowLight 3. At $200, it’s a bit pricey and, just like it’s older brother, simply hard to recommend over anything else.

0 notes

asfeedin · 4 years

Text

There are two near-perfect options for e-readers. And then there are the rest.

Trust us—if you were reading “War and Peace,” that hammock wouldn’t be half as comfortable. (Perfecto Capucine / Unsplash/)

The library conundrum

The easy choice: Kindle Paperwhite

Is the lawn wet? Worry about your pants. The Kindle Paperwhite is waterproof. (Jingda Chen / Unsplash/)

The contender: Kobo Clara HD

The screen on the Kobo Clara HD resembles natural light depending on the time of day. (Perfecto Capucine / Unsplash/)

The 8GB Clara HD is $120, although it’s sometimes on sale for $100, and doesn’t come with any euphemistically titled ads.

What else is out there?

The Paperwhite and Clara HD are the best products in their respective lineups, but they aren’t the only ones. If neither of our suggestions work for you, you’re not out of luck.

More Kindle options

Amazon also sells the Kindle—an entry-level model—and the Kindle Oasis, but both miss the mark for totally different reasons.

More Kobo options

Nook options

Source link

Tags: ereaders, nearperfect, options, rest

from WordPress https://ift.tt/3cNvwuZ via IFTTT

#IFTTT #WordPress #Asfeed.in #asfeed #asfeedin #asfeed blog

0 notes

scootoaster · 4 years

Text

There are two near-perfect options for e-readers. And then there are the rest.

Trust us—if you were reading "War and Peace," that hammock wouldn't be half as comfortable. (Perfecto Capucine / Unsplash/)

The library conundrum

The easy choice: Kindle Paperwhite

Is the lawn wet? Worry about your pants. The Kindle Paperwhite is waterproof. (Jingda Chen / Unsplash/)

The contender: Kobo Clara HD

The screen on the Kobo Clara HD resembles natural light depending on the time of day. (Perfecto Capucine / Unsplash/)

The 8GB Clara HD is $120, although it’s sometimes on sale for $100, and doesn’t come with any euphemistically titled ads.

What else is out there?

The Paperwhite and Clara HD are the best products in their respective lineups, but they aren’t the only ones. If neither of our suggestions work for you, you’re not out of luck.

More Kindle options

Amazon also sells the Kindle—an entry-level model—and the Kindle Oasis, but both miss the mark for totally different reasons.

More Kobo options

Nook options

0 notes

hydrus · 5 years

Text

Version 363

youtube

windows

zip

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linux

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tar.gz

I had a good week of work. There is new 'has audio' detection for videos, extensions to the client api, and plenty of bug fixes.

As 8chan is down, this week's imageboard release is posted here:

https://endchan.xyz/hydrus/res/5.html

If you would prefer to give feedback Anonymously and are more comfortable in an imageboard environment, please expect for hydrus imageboard stuff to be there for now.

has audio

The client can now detect if a video has an audio channel and, if so, presents that information with the unicode character 🔊 on its thumbnail-right click and in the media viewer! Audio files and swf files will get this as well. You can now also search for this status (or exclude it) with the new 'system:has audio' search predicate.

This will apply to all new files. All existing video files will need to be reparsed to see if they have audio. This is a large job and so has been queued up in the new files maintenance system (under database->maintain->review scheduled file maintenance). By default, I have this system throttled to 100 files/day in idle time, but I suspect I will have to improve this throttle to do work more frequently in smaller batches, since if you have 50,000 video files, that's a lot of time at 100 files/day to catch up! You can of course manually run this job from the maintenance panel, although bear in mind it likely totals several hours of heavy CPU work to finish.

The new system actually reads the file's audio and tries to determine if it is one of those 'fake' silent channels. If you discover any false-positives here, where the video is silent but the system still thinks there is audio, or indeed false-negatives, please send some examples to me so I can check them out.

You can change the speaker unicode character under the new options->sound panel (for instance, if it does not display correctly on your machine), and increase the file maintenance throttle under options->maintenance and processing.

the client api

The Client API gets some extensions this week. The a file's 'known_urls' and the new 'has_audio' status is now sent on a file_metadata request, and I have added some simple cookie management.

The creator of the Hydrus Companion, a browser add-on that talks to the Client API, has already written support for this cookie management! It allows you to copy your cookies from your web browser to hydrus, letting it 'log in' to sites the current downloader system cannot handle. Please check it out here:

https://gitgud.io/prkc/hydrus-companion

the rest

'system:hash' and 'system:similar to' now support multiple hashes. This lets you do larger lookups, if, say, you have 100 md5s. Also, the thumbnail right-click->file relationships->find similar files will now work on a selection of multiple thumbnails.

The file maintenance manager panel now has some text to explain what to do and a new 'see description' button to say more about what each job does.

Subscriptions will now 'publish' their file results to pages/popups as each query finishes. This is a small thing, but it makes for a slightly smoother stream of new files if you are eagerly watching a large sub take takes a while to sync.

The tag autocomplete inputs should be a bit more receptive and accurate to fast typing and entering of tags. Let me know if you still have problems!

full list

has audio:

wrote a detection routine that can determine if a video has audio. it reads actual audio data and should be able to detect videos with a 'fake' silent audio track and consider them as not having audio

extended the client database, file import pipeline, and file metadata object to track the new has_audio value

flash files and audio files (like mp3) are considered to always have audio

all 'maybe' audio files (atm this means video) are queued up for a file metadata reparse in the files maintenance manager. your existing videos will start off as not having audio, but once they are rescanned, they will get it. this is one of the first big jobs of the new maintenance system, and I expect it will need some different throttling rules to finish this job in reasonable time--by default it does 100 files a day, but if you have 50,000 videos, that's a long time!

files now show if they have audio in their info string that appears on thumbnail right-click or the top of the media viewer. it defaults to the unicode character 🔊, but can be edited under the new 'sound' options page

added a system:has audio predicate to search for files with/without audio

updated file import unit tests to check 'has audio' parsing, and added tests for system:has audio

client api:

the /get_files/file_metadata call now provides has_audio info

the /get_files/file_metadata call now provides known_urls!

added 'cookie management' permission

added /manage_cookies/get_cookies to get current cookies by domain

added /manage_cookies/set_cookies to set or clear current cookies

added/updated unit tests for the above

updated help for the above

client api version is now 10

the rest:

system:hash and system:similar to now accept multiple hashes! so, if you have 100 md5s, you can now search for them all at once

the thumbnail right-click->file relationships->find similar files now works for multiple selections!

when system:hash was just one hash, it would run before anything else and complete a search immediately on finding a match, but now it works like any other predicate, checking for file domain and ANDing with other predicates in the search

the 'complete' file maintenance regen job now only does file metadata, not a complete thumb regen. its name and labels are updated to reflect this, and any existing job in the system will get the separate thumb regen job

the file maintenance manager now has a couple of how-to sentences at the top, and a new 'see description' button will talk more about each job type

the login script testing system now uses a duplicate of the existing domain manager (rather than a fresh empty one), so it will inherit current http headers such as default User-Agent, the lacking of which was messing up some tests

fixed the login script testing system not showing downloaded data

subscriptions with multiple queries now publish the files they have imported as soon as each query has finished, rather than waiting for the whole sub to be done

subscriptions now publish the files they have imported to page/popup even if they have an error

added 9:16, 2:3, and 4:5 to the duplicate comparison statement system, for various vertical social media types

the autocomplete tag search 'read', which appears on places like search pages, should now more reliably accept the current entered text when there are no search results yet to show

the autocomplete tag search 'write', which appears on places like the manage tags dialog, should now correctly accept the input (including appropriate sibling-collapse) when you select a 'stub' result while other results are still loading, rather than broadcasting the exact current text

fixed the deviant art file page parser to get source time--however the login script may now be broken/unreliable

fixed a missing dialog import when deleting a string transformation

reduced the base network connection error reattempt time to 10s (from 60s). there will be more work here in future

network jobs that are waiting on a connection error now have a reattempt wait override option in their cog icon menus

the post-bad-shutdown 'open your default session or a blank page' dialog will now auto-choose to open your default session in 15 seconds

a variety of ui-update events will now not fire as long as the main gui is minimised. as well as saving a sliver of resources, I believe this may fix an issue where long-running subscriptions and other import pipelines could sometimes put the ui in an unrecoverable state due to too many thumb-fade etc... events when the currently focused page was receiving new files while the main gui was minimised

maybe fixed a rare problem with deleting old pages

cleaned some misc code

next week

The 'has audio' work went better than I expected. Adding actual audio playback is still something I would like to do, and while playing with it this week, I felt better about getting that going. I will try to experiment more with it in the coming weeks and see how feasible it will be to get smooth playback.

But otherwise, I will be moving on to a big job of cleaning up several tag systems: figuring out some better tag repository management, so you get less of the tags you don't want, adding namespace siblings so you can rename entire namespaces you don't like, and adding multiple local tag services. Many tag systems are way overdue overhaul, so I am reserving some time to try to put out some fires.

#release

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blisssapling · 6 years

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Credit Card FAQs

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What is a credit card?

A credit card is a type of bank or payment card which operates in a similar way to your debit card but differs in that the money you pay is borrowed from the card provider, whereas a debit card simply allows you to pay what is already in your bank account.

A credit card is essentially an unsecured loan; you could borrow money to spend up to a certain limit and then cover it back later on. There's generally a minimal amount that you must repay every month.

You'll be charged interest on the money that you borrow on your credit card but exactly how much you are charged, and when the interest kicks in, will be dependent on the specific card you are using.

There are a wide variety of different types of credit card readily available designed to match different particular functions, and so it's always important to work out exactly what you want to use a credit card for before you go to choose out one.

What is APR?

APR stands for annual percentage rate and is basically the expense of borrowing money on your credit card in case you don't pay off the balance in full each month.

APR is fundamentally the rate of interest, but goes slightly beyond it insofar as it tends to also account for any other fees or penalties which come with your credit card.

It's very important to differentiate between representative and actual APR.. The agent APR is the advertised rate, but this is merely the speed that's given to 51% of consumers. Since each customer will be evaluated independently according to their credit rating, the actual rates offered may, and frequently do, differ from those advertised.

What is a credit limit?

The credit limitation of any credit card is the amount you're permitted to borrow at any 1 time.

How do I find out my credit limit and other info about my card?

The documentation associated with any credit card will include what is known as the credit card outline box. This summary box may include all the information applicable to this card such as the credit limitation, the APR and detailed breakdown of any related fees or rewards schemes.

While the outline box must contain (more or less) everything you want to know, if you can't locate the info that you want on yours, then get in touch with your credit card provider and they will be able to inform you.

What kinds of credit card are you?

Credit cards come in a whole assortment of shapes and sizes with a whole variety of functions in mind. Virtually All cards will fit into one of the following categories:

Standard Credit Card

Standard, low APR credit cards are the most elementary type and don't tend to come with any additional benefits or advantages. These are the kinds of credit cards that you should take out if you're just looking to boost your financial flexibility and give yourself the option of making purchases which you would otherwise not have the ability to make given the time of your pay cheques.

Credit Builder Credit Card

Credit builder credit cards are created for those who have bad credit ratings and include a high APR and very low credit limit, with the idea being that since you use them and pay off the balance regularly and on time, your credit rating will steadily improve.

0% Purchase Card

These cards include a time period during which you are going to be credit 0% interest on any money spent on purchases. After the interval is up, attention will start being charged at a higher than normal rate, so it's crucial that you attempt to pay off the whole balance before the interval ends.

Rewards Card

Certain credit cards will make you rewards like cash back for each pound spent together.

Shop Card

Many big stores like supermarkets offer credit cards that will earn you certain rewards when you spend money in the designated shop or chain or group of stores.

What is a balance transfer?

A balance transfer entails you shifting the balance from one credit card to another or into some other source of debt, giving you more time to pay off your existing debt without racking up a huge bill due to growing interest.

Specialised 0 percent balance transfer cards enable you to do so and will give you a period of time, often up to 30 months, where no interest is charged. This affords you a bit more time to save the money to repay the debt. You will usually need to pay a one off fee for the actual balance move, but this will be minimal compared the quantity you'll save in interest that you are not paying.

What kind of purchases should I make on my credit card?

Credit cards can be used for almost any variety of purchases.

They're especially helpful for buying expensive items like vacations or white goods as you can do so without needing to save up in advance; simply buy the item in your credit card and then pay back the balance steadily over time.

Particular cards will come with rewards that you can earn on certain purchases in certain stores such as supermarket store cards that are, as such, ideal for your normal grocery shop.

Can I always have to pay attention on purchases made with my credit card?

For the large part, if you pay off the balance of your credit card in full each month, you won't need to pay anything in any way.

It is only if you don't pay it off at full the attention will kick in. If you have a card that comes with an introductory 0% interest period, then for that whole time, provided that you keep up with the minimum monthly payment, then you won't need to pay any interest at all.

How do I repay my credit card?

Paying off the balance of your credit card is really straightforward and can be carried out in many different ways. You can pay it off over the telephone to your card provider; you can certainly do it by post by sending a cheque; you can set up a bank transport; you may establish a direct debit to pay the minimum each month and do the rest manually; or you'll be able to go to a branch and pay your balance off in person if your card is supplied by a bank or building society which has branches you can go to.

Generally speaking, it is best to pay off as much as possible each month to avoid paying too much interest on the rest. Every credit card will have a minimal amount that you must pay monthly if you want to avoid incurring hefty fees.

What is my credit rating?

Your credit score is essentially your fiscal footprint; it is a listing of all of your previous dealings with loans or any similar goods. Any late or missed payments will seem as a marker against you on your credit rating. Including missed payments for any utility accounts, subscriptions or even library penalties.

You can learn your credit score through one of the credit checking services active in the UK such as Equifax or Experian.

Importantly, if you've got a limited or non-existent background utilizing credit or any loans, then your credit rating will be the worse for it.

When you apply for a credit card or indeed any sort of loan, your credit rating will be assessed. The better your credit score, the greater the product you will have the ability to extract, and vice versa.

Can I still get a credit card with a bad credit score?

If your credit rating is bad or restricted, you will have trouble obtaining the best prices on credit cards. Sometimes you will be turned down entirely and will not have the ability to take a traditional card at all.

If this is true, you should think about a credit building credit card. These cards, with their typical high APR and very low credit limit, will permit you to improve your credit score over time as you use them. This will then stand you in better stead later on if you wish to take a much better kind of credit.

How do rewards cards operate?

Rewards cards arrive in a couple of distinct forms but broadly speaking they all work in about the exact same way -- making you rewards of some sort for money you spend using them.

The two most popular kinds of reward cards provide cash back and points redeemable on airline flights .

Cash back cards will make you money back in a set percent of the value of any qualifying purchases you make.

Airline points cards will earn you points for every pound spent that you can then redeem for money off airline tickets or updates on tickets. The two most popular airline point cards earn you Avios points (previously called Airmiles) or Virgin flying club miles.

What is my payment processing firm?

Each credit card will be issued by a bank or building society , sometimes, a store or chain of stores. The actual payment processing however will probably be dealt with by another firm, normally VISA, MasterCard or American Express.

To find out which payment processing provider handles your card, then look in the corner or your card, where the logo should be clearly exhibited.

Where do I use my credit card?

Credit cards can, in theory, be used more or less anywhere -- you can rely on them to make purchases in shop, online and over the phone.

Bear in mind however that not all credit cards will be accepted in all retailers. This is especially the case with American Express cards. American Express bill a slightly higher handling fee into the company so you will discover that lots of institutions won't take payments from them.

Can I withdraw money from an ATM using my credit card?

You will have the ability to use a credit card to draw money from an ATM but doing so will rack up hefty cash advance fees, and that means you should only do so if it's totally crucial.

Where possible, you should use your credit card just for making actual purchases, and then adhere to using your debit card to withdraw cash.

Can I use my credit card overseas?

You will typically be able to use your credit card to make purchases overseas, with the same limitations as using it in your home. But you will generally be charged a foreign transaction fee in a percentage of the value of every trade and so it's best to stick with using cash where possible.

Bear in mind that in some situations, these fees will apply to purchases made from any foreign exchange, even if you're still at home. For example, if you buy something on the internet and pay monthly, you might be subject to overseas trade fees -- check with your card provider if you're at all uncertain.

There are several credit cards available that will charge 0 percent on foreign transactions designed specifically for men and women that travel and utilize their card abroad often.

I paid for products or services in my credit card that didn't arrive/were faulty, can I receive my money back?

One of the reasons that credit cards are especially great for making big purchases is that you gain from defense under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act.

Section 75 protection applies to any purchase made on a credit card that prices between #100 and #30,000 and signifies your credit card supplier takes on the exact same obligation as the retailer does when it comes to supplying you with a refund in the event that something goes awry with your purchase.

Therefore, for instance, if you book a flight then the airline goes bust before you are due to fly, then your credit card supplier is liable to refund you back the money you spent.

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roinish · 7 years

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First and foremostSign up for TSA Pre-check! Do some googling, figure it out. It’s not that hard. The amount of time you can save at the airport is mind blowing. I’ve made it from car to gate in a packed Las Vegas airport, in 19 minutes. When having pre-check is the difference between making and missing your flight, you will thank me. If you can’t figure out how to get pre-check or are too lazy, you are hopeless, and have no reason to continue reading as you have no business flying internationally. In my personal experience, Global Entry is not necessary, as I have never had a hard time getting back into the States.Get a rewards credit card! Personally, I recommend Delta, but a better idea may be to use an airline that has their hub close to you as you should get a card with whatever airline you find yourself traveling with the most. You would be amazed at how quickly the free flights add up. Delta gave me what amounted to a free flight to Costa Rica, and Alaska just for signing up for their credit card! In addition, always make sure you are using your frequent flier number when you book flights! You are throwing money down the drain every time you fly and don’t do this. Bonus: With an airlines credit card, you get special deals to airport lounges. At the Delta lounge, $29 gets you all the beer you can drink, all the food you can eat, clean hot showers, large reclining chairs, free starbucks coffee. Need I go on or are you sold yet?Planning the tripIt doesn’t have to be expensive! A lot of people assume that I spend crazy amounts of money on travel. While I certainly have spent a good bit over my lifetime traveling the globe, I think most would be surprised how little you can spend on a short trip. A weekend can cost as little as $300 or as much as $3,000 for a couple. Its up to you where you fall in that spectrum.Keep your mind open! Many of the places that I have gone, have been for no particular reason other than that I was able to find a cheap flight there. Some of the best places that I have been for this reason include Iceland, Spain, and Ireland. Also, try not to be set on certain dates. You're not the only one who wants to use your Labor day weekend to travel, so you will pay extra for it.Booking the TripUse your miles! -A good deal on a domestic flight is between 10-15k miles, and 30-45k for an international flight. Delta is currently offering 70k miles to sign up for their Platinum AmEx.No Miles? No Problem! -Google flights is your best friend. If you are flexible on your dates, and where you are traveling, you can find crazy cheap flight deals. At the time of this writing I was able to easily find a flight from New York to Amsterdam for $320, and I have seen even better than that.Advanced Flight Booking TipsOther flight booking sites - Scotts Cheap flights Email updates on mistake and short lived flight deals -Skiplagged -Can be very useful especially when flying in between two airport hubs. Essentially, it searches for the cheapest flight possible that has a layover in your final destination. It works so well, that United sued the kid who made it. -Expedia/Orbitz/Hotwire/Etc. -No. Never ever. Do not use these for flights or hotels. They are a completely unnecessary third party that serve to do nothing but screw up the relationshipbetween you and the company you are booking with. This lesson took me too long to learn. I do use these to price check occasionally, but will always book direct.Bonus tip -Every US airline, is required by law to give you a 24hr free cancellation window. There will be times when you find a great flight deal, but arent sure if you can go yet. Maybe you’re about to get a confirmation that you can get the days off of work, or maybe you are waiting on a friend to answer. You can book and not worry about cancellation or change fees for a full 24 hours.Book towards the front of the plane! -Personally, I love being closer to the front. There is usually more legroom, and most importantly, you are closer to the door. This comes into play when you land at your final destination and especially if you are making a tight connection. Not only are you cramped and ready to get the heck off the plane, but you get to customs faster. I have seen humongous lines at customs, and the difference between being the first or the last off the plane can be a difference of hours. I believe it is worth it to spend around $10-20/ hour of flight time for more legroom/ closer to the front of the plane, but this is more of a personal preference. As you build rewards with your new airlines credit card, this will start to come free of charge.Visas -As a US Citizen, visas aren't a huge problem. Europe is great, and not a whole lot worse than flying domestically. Some places like Australia require a short form to be filled out online, as well as a small fee. Others like New Zealand and Egypt require a small fee when you arrive and require proof of a return flight home. Brazil, China, and Russia especially can require planning well ahead of time. It doesn't hurt to do a quick google search on Visas to _____ before you book your flight, but again, this is rarely an issue.Where should I stay? -I am a huge fan of Airbnb, for a few reasons. They operate in almost every country, and will always be cheaper than a hotel. Not only are they cheaper, but there are no hidden fees. I recently received a $2,000 bill for extra person charges and resort fees at the end of a trip, that made me say, never again. Make sure you choose a space that has lots of good reviews, and make sure you read them to ensure you get what you’re looking for. You can either share a space with a host, or get an entire house or apartment to yourself. I prefer sharing a space with a highly rated host when I am going somewhere that I don’t know much about. Look for a host that is spoken highly of in the reviews, and speaks english. Recently, I stayed with an Icelandic actor, who toured me around Reykjavik and brought me out drinking with him and his friends, and a Norwegian doctor who planned my entire trip for me (it was amazing). Scared to stay with someone else? That’s fine too. I recently stayed in a private treehouse mansion in the rainforest in Costa Rica, overlooking the Pacific Ocean, and my share of the room was $200. If you insist on a hotel, I recommend booking an american hotel chain in a central area of the city.Pack light! -There are a few reasons for this. More and more flights now are charging per lb of weight in your bag. Dont pack more than you need. You can always wash your clothes while you’re away, and even if you need something, it’s always fun shopping in new places! Also, checking your bag is never a good idea. I have seen too many bags lost to ever advise this. Not only that, but waiting for your bag at the carousel can feel like an eternity when you are anxious to get where you’re going.You landed. Now what?What about cash? -Never, I repeat NEVER use currency exchange booths. If you think they’re a good deal, then you’re not good at math. Think about how expensive it is to employ someone and operate a booth at the airport. How do you think they pay for that? The best way to get cash is to go to an ATM at the airport from a bank that you’ve heard of. You will pay $3-5 to take cash out and get it at a great exchange rate. When traveling places like Northern Europe, you may have no need for cash, as they are an increasingly cashless society. Your airlines card should hopefully be a global card that does not charge fees for using internationally. I personally never have had mine shut off when using it internationally, but it’s not hard to fix if they do.Getting to your final destination -This is best to plan ahead of time, but if you’re a procrastinator like me, all international airports have wifi, so don’t worry. Most major cities will have public transportation at or near the airport. Google maps does a fantastic guide of showing you how to get from where you are to where you’re going for little to no money. Not a fan of public transport? More and more countries have Uber, and I have yet to have a negative international Uber experience. No uber? Make sure you get a taxi from a designated taxi area! There are stories of random people waiting in the airport posing as taxi drivers, leading to less than pleasant situations. Even in countries where I do not speak the language, the words city center, or downtown will usually work. If you are ever lost with no internet, try to find a McDonalds or any coffee house. They are everywhere and always have free Wifi.What to do now that i’m here? -Simply googling what to do in ______ has been surprisingly helpful in my experience. Most parks and museums are great, and cost little to nothing to go to. Always make sure you read the reviews of places on google maps as they are surprisingly accurate and more trustworthy than tripadvisor or yelp in my opinion. There are a plethora of websites dedicated to what to do in various cities and countries, so I won't spend too much time on this.Eating and Entertainment -I am covering this because food and booze are always the most expensive part of a vacation. If money isn’t an issue, go out for breakfast, lunch and dinner! Look at google reviews and please try the local cuisine! It is such a shame to eat McDonalds or pizza in a foreign country. For those of you who are budgeting, I highly recommend going to a grocery store. If you listened to me and got an Airbnb, you probably have a kitchen with a fridge and stove. The amount of money you can save by pre-gaming local beers/wine at your place and bringing sandwiches out with you will change your life.Most importantly! Stay Safe! -Never keep too much cash in your wallet, and keep your passport somewhere safe in your hotel. There is no reason to be flashing bling on vacation, as it will only attract unwanted attention. Americans are known for being kind, but also loud, and possibly annoying, so try not to live up to the stereotype or piss anyone off. Traveling, when done right, is one of the most enjoyable things a person can do in my opinion, and you should try to do it while you’re young! I’ll leave you off with one of my favorite quotes. Thanks for reading :)“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.” -Mark Twain via /r/LifeProTips

#IFTTT #reddit

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analog-kyle · 7 years

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Cuba, Getting in and then Enjoying Yourself.

In 2016, President Obama lifted restrictions on travel to Cuba. Up until this time, American citizens could travel to Cuba with special permission from the state department; one had to go with a tour group for a specific reason listed by the government. With his historic move, Obama made is so we as citizens can travel to Cuba much easier. While you still cannot travel for "tourism", there are a list of 12 reasons for travel. My wife and I chose the Education and we planned our itinerary accordingly, which included museum visits as well as meeting with a film photographer teacher, and staying at a Cuban house for our stay.

Many people have asked me about how we went about getting "permission" to go, and the answer is simple; We bought plane tickets. We chose to fly Jetblue, so this is specifically our experience with them, however, I do not think that other airlines are going to be different, my friends flew Spirit, and they had a similar experience, albeit worse, but that is because Spirit is awful.

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When you buy plane tickets, the airline will ask you which of the 12 reasons your trip to Cuba falls under, and then they will send you an email affidavit, which you electronically fill out and return. When we arrived at Fort Lauderdale Airport, we had to get in line to purchase our Cuban visa, which, through Jetblue, cost us $50.00 (my friends said Spirit charged them $100 and only accepted cash.) We got our Cuban visa and our tickets were stamped to indicate the same. Other friends who went actually went to the Cuban Embassy in DC and got their visa that way, which is also a choice, but, with Jetblue making it so easy, we avoided that.

When you arrive in Cuba, the immigration and customs is just like any other country, they stamp your passport, and let you in. Returning to the US was the same, and we had the nicest customs agent we have ever encountered. He did not ask us a single thing about where we had been. The whole process was simple and required less hassle than our visa for Brazil or China. We decided to go before the inauguration, in case that cheeto-idiot decided to make travel more difficult.

You're in Cuba!

With all that out of the way, it is time to discuss being in Havana. Make sure you have cash, as you will not be able to use credit cards or ATM cards while in Cuba (this goes for USA, other countries you can use your cards, I think) and the exchange rate is 1:1 for the Cuban Convertable Note, the CUC. There is also another currency, though we never got any of it. We exchanged money at the airport; there were two upstairs and one downstairs.

At the airpot we picked up a taxi for 30 CUC to China Town area, which is where we were staying. Our taxi had put a screen over his rearview, ok Cuba, I like your style!

The ride to airport took around 30 minutes and took us directly to our house. Unfortunately, our house had a problem and we could not stay. In what was a good introduction, the owner had found us a better house at the same rate (30cuc a night) closer to downtown to stay in, which he walked us to. The place to stay was found by my wife on TripAdvisor forum, which she uses a lot as a resource for finding places to stay.

Our first night in Havana we had no plans, only walking around a little bit and then turning in early, as we had gotten in later in the day. I wish I had the information for our new place, as it was wonderful and the family who owned the house were great, but I was unable to get it from them; language barrier.

The first full day we were there, to fulfill our "requirements" of visit, we headed over to the Plaza De Revolution to educate ourselves on the revolution that saw Fidel take power. The walk was about 45 minutes or so from our house and was pretty straight. We saw a lot of stuff on the walk including tons of nice people. The streets of Havana are very narrow with houses on each side.

At the center of the plaza is the Jose Marti Memorial which has a memorial at the base. The museum is pretty nice, though it is not air conditioned. The cost to get into the memorial and the museum is about 5 bucks, so not bad. If one is so inclined, there are taxis as well as pristine convertibles to take you around the city, we did not do this, though it is very popular.

After the plaza, we took a long meandering route towards Old Havana and along the waterfront. There were men fishing over the waterfront, which was scenic. The car tours take you along this route, so convertibles pass by frequently.

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We ended up strolling all the way to Plaza de Armas, which is where we saw the most tourists, as this was close to where the cruise ships come into port and everyone gets off. There were shops and stalls, and I bought an expensive Coke, 4 bucks! This to me felt like the most "fake" part of Havana. When one thinks of Cuba, they think of old cars, old buildings, here there were no old cars, just 78 million tourists and things to be sold to tourists. I did enjoy the open air market in the park, people selling posters and shirts, records and books, that was really cool.

In this area was also this old pharmacy that is still in business. I was only able to take the one above photo as my film speed was slow and inside it was not that bright.

The rest of the day was walking the city streets and shooting photos, dinner, then back to our place. The next day was more of the same, with the addition of meeting some friends of friends from Miami. We ended up walking around, shooting photos, and getting dinner. After dinner we wandered about and sat in a square, in some chairs, just talking for about 4 hours. A stray dog hopped in my lap and fell asleep as I pet her, it was a wonderful experience. I also met a photography teacher, Ossain. He came to our house to just hang out. He was a great guy.

The Food

A lot of people always ask about the food when we travel places, and the answer we always give is "Eh". Neither of us is huge foodies (my wife is to a point, but finding vegan options is not always easy) we usually just buy food at a market and make meals at our hostel, hotel, or home. In this case, we ate at the same place twice, which was a Chinese restaurant. To give you an idea of how this place was, they had fries on the menu but had no fries, they had a full menu, only three of which were Chinese. The rest of the menu was a normal menu, the first night I got shrimp, which was pretty good, the second night I got pizza.

I did get some absolutely delicious ice-cream on the street twice, do not pass up street ice-cream.

The Cars

When people think of Cuba, they think of the cars. Everyone has heard it, I was ready to see them, I am not sure I was ready to see as many as I saw. The historic cars were everywhere, literally everywhere. If I wanted a photo with a specific color car, I had to wait a few minutes at most for that color car to come by. If I wanted to take a photo of a building on a side street with a car in front of it, I had to wait a few minutes. The amount of old cars here is staggering, as well as awesome.

Instax

My wife and I both brought our instax cameras, and unbeknownst to each other, we had both planned on taking photos of people and them giving them to whomever we photographed. Between the two of us we gave away about 80 photos to people on the street. As neither of use really shoot people, we weren't sure how people would react to this, but let me say, people absolutely loved it. My wife to a photo at the bar in the photo below, and after a few minutes, everyone in the bar came out, wanted their own photos, wanted photos with each other, it was absolutely amazing.

The above kids were playing soccer in the street, and I took a photo of the kid in jeans. I handed it to him when it was done developing, and when I looked back, all the kids were so hyped. The kid in the blue shorts took the photo and ran into the house to show everyone, and then my wife took the remainder of her shots of the kids. I was out at this point.

The people of Cuba were nothing short of wonderful. Everyone was friendly and helpful if need be. Not once while I was here, both in the day and the evening, did I feel unsafe or uncomfortable. I would, without hesitation, visit Cuba again, and would like to go across the island more.

The return journey to the airport was a trip, we had to catch a taxi, and some random guy on the street got one for us, then got in with us. We had to get gas, which we did at some random house out of a milk jug, and we were on our way. We took a different route to airport, which I think was to avoid paying a fee to drop us off. It was the perfect way to close out our short but wonderful trip to an island that seem shrouded in misconceptions. Go to Cuba, enjoy Cuba, we did.

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