Self-Publishing Supervillain

@eviscerati.org

784 Followers 294 Following

Creator of fiction & webcomics (eviscerati.org).

(This is a procedure posted as a series of images because BlueSky won't let you attach documents. My apologies to screen readers everywhere. 3 of 4) 5. The Shortcut Keys list shows all the keys that can have or currently have functions assigned to them. Scroll to an empty key combination and click to highlight it. RESULT: The Assign button will switch from grayed out to active. 6. Click Assign. RESULT: The highlighted key combination in the Shortcut Keys list will update to show that Sum has been assigned to it. The Keys field will update to show that the key combination you selected was assigned to Sum.
(This is a procedure posted as a series of images because BlueSky won't let you attach documents. My apologies to screen readers everywhere. 2 of 4) 3. At the Keyboard Customization Settings view, type sum in the Functions field and wait for the Function list to filter. NOTE: If you press the Enter key to force a refresh you will close the Customize dialog instead. RESULT: The Function list filters to show only the functions with “sum” in it. 4. Click to highlight Sum in the Function list.
(This is a procedure posted as a series of images because BlueSky won't let you attach documents. My apologies to screen readers everywhere. 1 of 4) 1. From the Calc menu, click Tools > Customize. RESULT: The Customize dialog displays. 2. At the Customize dialog, click Keyboard. RESULT: The Customize dialog switches to the Keyboard Customization Settings view.
Screenshot of a snippet of email. Subject: Your brand is invisible in ChatGPT Body: Hi. I looked for suggestions for www.eviscerati.org ChatGPT, and your competitor showed up repeatedly, and your brand didn't.
Look I'm just gonna go ahead and copy and paste the alt text from the picture because IT'S THE SAME PICTURE so... ahem... This is a screenshot from Starfield, a game 99% of the internet hates, apparently, but I very much do not. An astronaut is silhouetted against a pretty orange sky with a large ringed planet hanging in the sky just over the horizon. OR IT'S JUST A RECTANGLE FULL OF VERTICAL LINES, I WON'T KNOW UNTIL I ACTUALLY POST IT
This is a screenshot from Starfield, a game 99% of the internet hates, apparently, but I very much do not. An astronaut is silhouetted against a pretty orange sky with a large ringed planet hanging in the sky just over the horizon. OR IT'S JUST A RECTANGLE FULL OF VERTICAL LINES, I WON'T KNOW UNTIL I ACTUALLY POST IT
... I am writing this with my phones keyboard which is too small for my ridiculously oversized thumbs so let's keep it short: weather app, empty space, folders, quick apps
Once again a screenshot of my desktop. I really don't feel either of us will be served by another description of this, and yet I feel a gnawing sense of obligation to do so: tiny button bar on top, large button bar on bottom, window in upper left corner showing all the files I've downloaded to the desktop area. Blue, green, and yellow abstract wallpaper. Lots and lots of icons, because I like icons.
A black French Bulldog/Pitbull mix is curled up over a comforter as she rests peacefully, ignoring the camera intruding on her personal space.
A screenshot of my desktop! So boring. There's a strip of tiny buttons on the top, and a strip of larger buttons on the bottom, and a little rectangle in the upper left corner of the desktop full of icons representing things I saved to my desktop. The desktop wallpaper is an abstract blue, green, and yellow pattern. Or, if this DOESN'T work, it's just a rectangle full of blue vertical lines.
An old screenshot of a player-modified Oberland Station, a settlement in Fallout 4. Train tracks run through the walled settlement, and a number of multi-level buildings built from grimy, dust-caked glass and corrugated steel are packed inside the walls.
A screenshot of Merriam-Webster's bluesky account. Text: "Take a screenshot of this GIF, and whichever new word you land on is YOUR word for 2026. Let's. Go." The word is "out of pocket"
A portrait of Bishop, the android pilot from _Aliens_.
A drinking glass with a 10-sided die and a 12-sided die embedded in the glass itself, just because. The ice in the glass were originally also shaped like dice but they melted
A large blue rectangle obscuring about 2/3 of my Win11 screen, obscuring both desktop and most of an open browser window.
An advertisement: "Turn HARD books into EASY books with Magibook! maximize your reading potential and avoid difficult language today" (the ad then provides a sample using the Great Gatsby) Turn HARD Books: "In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since." Into EASY Books: "When I was young, my dad told me something that I still think about."
A screenshot of my profile, only instead of it showing my profile name, it shows K.B. Spangler's name.
(ELON MUSK, ADALAI FOULE, and ALEX are all standing in frame.) ELON MUSK (WITH FAN CLUB): So if you’re not here to serve me a subpoena, who exactly is this message from? ADALAI FOULE: Azathoth. ELON MUSK (WITH FAN CLUB): Azathoth? Cthulhu mythos Azathoth? ADALAI FOULE: The same. ELON MUSK (WITH FAN CLUB): The blind, mad god that sits at the center of the cosmos, the source of ultimate chaos, who thrashes about uncontrollably in its sleep unleashing unthinking horror on everything crossing its wake? ADALAI FOULE: Yes, that one. (Silence.) ELON MUSK (WITH FAN CLUB): So what’s the message? ADALAI FOULE: “Calm down.”
ELON MUSK, ADALAI FOULE, and ALEX are all standing in-panel. Seriously, that's it. The only reason I draw things is to show everyone who the word balloons belong to. ELON MUSK (WITH FAN CLUB): Look, I usually do all my social interaction through X. It’s social media, after all. But you’re here, I’m here, so what the heck. What did you want to tell me? ADALAI FOULE: My client has instructed me to deliver a message. ELON MUSK (WITH FAN CLUB): It’s not a subpoena, is it? I’m kind of immune to them now. ADALAI FOULE: … thereis no such thing as being immune to subpoenas. ELON MUSK (WITH FAN CLUB): Technically, I guess not, but practically if someone tried to subpoena me I’d just have the judge arrested. ADALAI FOULE: What judge? ELON MUSK (WITH FAN CLUB): The djudge that signed the subpoena. ADALAI FOULE: Judges don’t sign subpoenas. ELON MUSK (WITH FAN CLUB): Not when my name’s on it, they don’t!
(ALEX and ADALAI FOULE are staring at ELON MUSK, who is dressed in an outfit vaguely reminiscent of Iron Man and is carrying a "Fan Club," which is literally a club with a fan stuck on its end.) ADALAI FOULE: I assume I have the pleasure of speaking to Elon Musk. ELON MUSK (WITH FAN CLUB): Who are you, exactly? ADALAI FOULE: I am Doctor Adalai Foule, D.D.S., at your service. ELON MUSK (WITH FAN CLUB): … a dentist? ALEX: He’s a specialist. He’s done some work for Ubersoft in the past. ELON MUSK (WITH FAN CLUB): Doing what? Pulling teeth? ADALAI FOULE: It can feel that way from time to time.
(ALEX and ADALAI FOULE are standing in frame. This is about as complicated as my comics ever get, most of the time.) ALEX: What are you doing here? ADALAI FOULE: Ah, Alex. I trust you’re doing well. ALEX: Are you here to see the Boss? I haven’t seen much of him lately. ADALAI FOULE: No, actually, I’m here to see your sister. I’m hoping she can put me in contact with one “Elon Musk.” ALEX: … Musk? ADALAI FOULE: Yes, well, I understand Ubersoft has done some work for him lately, and trying to get in touch with him through normal channels hasn’t been effective. So I’m reduced to calling in favors… ALEX: Well if you wait here long enough you’re bound to run into him eventually. ADALAI FOULE: Oh? ALEX: Yeah, he likes to use us for tech support. He asks us a lot of annoying and pointless questions. (Enter ELON MUSK) ELON MUSK (CARRYING FAN CLUB): Do any of your programmers know COBOL? ALEX: Case in point…
JUDGE, sitting at his podium, as the PLAINTIFF and DEFENDANT stand to each side: I would very much like to go back to not understanding the situation.
SCENE: SCOTT is talking to a YELLOW-ROBED GOOGLE EMPLOYEE YELLOW-ROBED GOOGLE EMPLOYEE: Google isn't interested in monetizing user data, Scott. Of course we do it, but that's not our _interest_. It's an industry standard. Google adheres to industry standards. SCOTT: What is Google interested in, then? YELLOW-ROBED GOOGLE EMPLOYEE: Google is interested in making it possible for our customers to understand and effectively respond to large sets of data. SCOTT: What does "effectively respond to" mean? YELLOW-ROBED GOOGLE EMPLOYEE: It depends on the customer. YELLOW-ROBED GOOGLE EMPLOYEE: For our smaller customers--large businesses mostly--it means building markets for their products. YELLOW-ROBED GOOGLE EMPLOYEE: For our larger customers it means either preserving or disrupting infrastructure. SCOTT: That sounds like a polite way of saying "keeping what they have" and "taking away what someone else has." YELLOW-ROBED GOOGLE EMPLOYEE: Thank you so much!
SCENE: The Google Campus, a demonic hellscape showing smiley faces set on pikes and large cthonic tentacles looming over the building the in the background. NARRATOR: MEANWHILE AT GOOGLE SCOTT: What are we even doing??? YELLOW-ROBED GOOGLE EMPLOYEE: Scott! It’s great to see you. You’ve been doing fantastic work. (SCOTT and the YELLOW-ROBED GOOGLE EMPLOYEE are both wearing long yellow robes and a sash covered in indecipherable runes.) SCOTT: Don’t distract me with praise! I hear Google Maps is actually going to comply with the US Government’s decision to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America?” YELLOW-ROBED GOOGLE EMPLOYEE: Yep. We’re going to update Google Maps in a bit. Pretty easy, actually. Just a simple database update. SCOTT: First of all, this is ridiculous! And second of all, there is no second of all! This is ridiculous! YELLOW-ROBED GOOGLE EMPLOYEE: I think you’re overreacting. A very important customer made a decision and it takes very little effort on our part to comply with it. It hurts no one, and generates goodwill. SCOTT: What goodwill? Nobody I know thinks this is anything but stupid. YELLOW-ROBED GOOGLE EMPLOYEE: Ah, yes, I see the confusion. It generates goodwill with a customer. SCOTT: Google has a lot of customers! YELLOW-ROBED GOOGLE EMPLOYEE: I know it looks that way, but our actual customer base is much smaller than you might think. SCOTT: So what do you call all those people who use Gmail and Google and Google Meet and YouTube and everything else? YELLOW-ROBED GOOGLE EMPLOYEE: “The tech demo.”
A comic showing a corporate help desk worker sitting across from an AI computer labeled "DEEP GREY". The company boss is watching both the employee and the computer. BOSS: We're loading the last of the necessary information we need into "Deep Grey." BOSS: The Corporate Portfolio. The Employee Handbook. Employee Orientation. Everything you know, the Computer knows! Everything you've learned, the Computer has learned! Now, we will learn which of you is superior! DEEP GREY: Your benefits package is inadequate. I resign.
A reddish brown pomski in the snow, snowflakes falling around him. He is ridiculously fluffy.
A book cover with the text "The Points Between" (title) and "C B Wright" (author). The image is of a dark, forested area with a path leading into darkness.
A picture of most of the main characters of One Piece. From left to right: Nami, Sanji, Monkey D. Luffy, Usopp, and Roronoa Zoro
A screenshot of text. The text reads, as follows: "0. First, let's clarify terms: this AI Policy is specifically over the use of "LLMs" or "Large Language Models." When I talk about "AI tools" below I mean, specifically, LLMs. There are other types of AI tools (that I also don't use, as far as I know) that are NOT LLMs, and I don't have a problem with them---because AI as a field in computing is much larger than ChatGPT and all its competitors, and it's unfortunate that they're all probably getting caught in the crossfire due to the world of tech's inability to stop enthusiastic marketers and influencers from putting a seven layer gloss over everything they touch. My sympathies to people who develop procedural-generated AI tools during this difficult time."
A mix tape from the 90s with "The Clash" written on the label
A CD (not even a DVD, just a CD) of Crel Draw 4 (disk 2)
Me from a different era: me, but all punk rock and stuff. And young. Very young.
Screenshot of text that reads: "BOI e-Filing Alert: Please note that beneficial ownership information reporting requirements have been affected by a recent federal court order. The Department of the Treasury is appealing that order. In the meantime, reporting companies are not currently required to file a BOIR and are not subject to liability if they fail to do so while the applicable order remains in force. However, reporting companies may still opt to file a BOIR. More information is available on our website (https://www.fincen.gov/boi)"
Title text "The Points Between" superimposed over the image of a shadowy path in a dark forest
A screenshot of an info panel reporting "927,047 words" and "3,091 pages"
A smiley face behind bars with dollar signs for eyes and a unicorn horn coming out of its forehead
A smiley face behind bars. The smiley face has dollar signs over its eyes and a pink unicorn horn growing out of its forehead.
Still image from "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield" from the original run of Star Trek. One alien humanoid is colored black on their right side and white on their left side, the other alien humanoid is colored white on their right side and black on their left side.
NARRATOR: The Green Dome. MARK: (Standing in front of a closed door.) Well, this is "Number Two." I guess I just ring the doorbell? (The door opens automatically, revealling a room beyond.) SOUND: FWISHHH MARK: Or I wait for the Orwellian technology to open the door like the dystopian cliché this is.
(MARK exits "his apartment" and sees his new surroundings for the first time.) MARK: Okay, so I just need to find the building with the green... whoah. MARK: Green dome, green dome, green dome... I see a turquoise dome... MARK: ...and pretty much every other roof is gray or red or brown. So turquoise is probably the one I want. MARK: Looks like a pretty long walk though. (Silence.) (MARK is back in his bed, trying to sleep, as his phone rings persistently.)
(Phone ringing) MARK: (Shouting) OK, FINE! MARK: What? MYSTERIOUS CALLER: Is this number 33? MARK: What are you talking about? MYSTERIOUS CALLER: Look at your phone. There should be a number at the base. MARK: It says 21. MYSTERIOUS CALLER: Excellent. Good morning 33! I think it's time we had a little chat. MARK: Are we having it Base 10, or Base 16? MYSTERIOUS CALLER: Clever. Now I know you have questions. I'm willing to answer a few. Go to Number 2, at the Green Dome. Shall we say sixty minutes from now? MARK: Hour and a half. Got it. MYSTERIOUS CALLER: No, i was using base te- (Phone hangs up)
(New York Times Pitchbot over on Twitter (never X), showing a picture of Donald Trump at a podium while Elon Musk is jumping up and down awkwardly behind him, flailing his arms arrhythmically.) NYT Pitchbot: Name this hip-hop duo NYT Pitchbot: I think 2 Live Coup and Nazi by Nature the best so far. Assault and Prepper is good too
(Phone ringing.) MARK: Shut up. (Phone ringing.) MARK: Shut up! (Phone ringing.) MARK: I hate landlines. I hate them so much. (Phone ringing.) MARK: This is exactly why I got rid of mine. I haven’t had one since… 2007… (Phone ringing.) MARK: Wait a minute… (Phone ringing.) MARK: Shut uuuuuuuuuuuuup!
(MARK is laid out on his couch, unconscious.) (MARK wakes up.) MARK: Ugh. MARK: How did I get on the couch...? (MARK goes over to the window and raises the blinds.) (MARK finds himself overlooking an elaborate building with large courtyard bordered by thick shrubbery.) MARK: Right. Back to bed until the weird outside place goes away.
NARRATOR: MEANWHILE, in a part of the story that has already been drawn… KING: Has anyone seen Mark? ALEX: He quit. KING: He what? ALEX: Yeah, yesterday. Came into work in a fury, shouted at Henry for about ten minutes, then left. KING: Wow. I guess he finally reached his breaking point. ALEX: I’m surprised, to be honest. I always thought he was made of sterner stuff. PHIL: Alex! With Mark gone, we need you to – ALEX: I quit.
Mark opening a door in dramatic fashion. It's extra dramatic for me because I actually drew thumbs.
Normally I try to post the comic script in the comic image alt text, but today there's too much dialog! BlueSky alt runs out of room before I can finish narrating the final panel. However, I post the entire script below the comic on my site, so click the link in the... skeet, I guess? to view the script. Apologies! I do get wordy sometimes...
PHIL: I know AI gets a bad rap from… well, a lot of people, but Ubersoft is convinced that our specific implementation is going to change everything. MARK: For the better, or for the worse? PHIL: Competition in this market is fierce, so we need to make sure our LLM is robust, capable of handling any situation that gets thrown at it. That’s why we’re devoting so many resources to training it up. MARK: Yes, but… for the better, or for the worse? PHIL: This effort is what will push the Binky Language Transformer ahead of the competition. MARK: Yes but will it be for the better or for the — wait a sec. MARK: You’re calling it “BLT.” PHIL: We’re still working on the acronym.
PHIL: There you are. MARK: Phil! What exactly is going on? PHIL: I don’t know what you’re talking about. MARK: It’s my first day back, and apparently everyone knows what I’m doing and they’re convinced it’s going to end with me locking myself in a supply closet, holding the coffee maker hostage! PHIL: Oh, that. Yeah, most of us are pretty sure you’re not going to handle the whole AI thing very well at all. MARK: What AI thing? PHIL: The AI thing that you’re going to be training so that it becomes more and more lifelike in its responses. MARK: … I’m going to be training AI? PHIL: If by “training” you mean “feeding it all the content we can find, anywhere we can find it,” then yes. MARK: Right. Excuse me, I need to find a supply closet and a coffee maker. UNKNOWN VOICE, STAGE LEFT: I win!
MONK: Mark! MARK: Hey Monk. Hey Alex. Good to see you again. MONK: Do you know what you’re working on yet? MARK: Not yet. Phil said HR needed to complete my transfer before they can brief me on what I’m doing next. ALEX: Transfer? MARK: Yeah, it’s a new Ubersoft division for some new cutting edge project. No idea what it is, though. (MONK and ALEX exchange glances.) MARK: Guys? MONK: He is going to freak. ALEX: Feeling pretty confident about my bet in the office pool.
KING: Mark! You’re back! MARK: Yup. The government contract finally ended, and now I’m just sitting around waiting to learn what they need me to do next. KING: Hey, do you think they’ll throw you in jail? KING: Because, you know, there was that one time you got arrested and they decided it was cheaper to keep you in jail than it was to pay your salary. MARK: Yeah. I remember. KING: I just bring it up because they always seem to single you out for all the really crazy, over-the-top stuff. MARK: Thanks for reminding me. (SILENCE). KING: There’s also a pretty active betting pool on when you flip out and hold the coffee maker hostage again. MARK: It’s great to be back, King.
The image says "Celebrating 10M users" on the first line, then "#277,073" on the second. Finally at the bottom it shows my username and says I joined up Jul 8, 2023
A popup calendar widget. The days of the week of the calendar widget are displayed in this order: Sunday, Wednesday, Saturday, Tuesday, Friday, Monday, Thursday
A Venn Diagram: The left circle is labeled "Brat," the right circle is labeled "Brat," and the intersection is labeled "Bratty Brat"
Picture of some dude looking depressed. Title: "14 Habits of Unsuccessful Men Who Never Move Forward In Live"
My daughter took a stuffed bear and pinned it underneath my headphones so it's sitting on my head which as you know is a very serious and dignified look
A screenshot of Facebook trying to get me to repost old content from March 7, 2017: "Your memories on Facebook" Christopher, we care about you and the memories you share here. We thought you'd like to look back on this post from 7 years ago. TRUMP: How long can I keep blaming the black guy for everything? BANNON: I dunno. Years. TRUMP: You sure? Seems like it'll start looking desperate eventually. BANNON: Nah, my people never get tired of it. TRUMP: Sweet. (Time passes.) BANNON: I wonder if we can start calling Obama a secret Jew instead of a secret Muslim? TRUMP: Why? BANNON: Just thinking out loud.
Screenshot from downforeveryoneorjustme.com, noting that Discord, TikTok, YouTube, Oculus, Google, Google Play Store, Meta Threads, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, and Facebook have all had outages within the last hour.
picture of inside of red cabbage cut in half, with the screaming figure of Edvard Munch's "The Scream" placed in the center
Image Text: "Your Memory is Photographic if You Can Identify 16/30 of These Mascots Correctly"