It's been a while since I've published anything here in the "X" Files, so here's my eXcuses why!
Greetings, friends!
Well, it's been over 3½ months since I've added anything into my "X" Files, so this morning I'm going to FORCE MYSELF to write something (this) to publish here. I actually feel quite guilty for not writing anything for so long, and it's not like I haven't had things to say, I've had a LOT that I've wanted to talk about, but I just haven't had the time to do it.
First of all, spring happened. I haven't had a lot of time to remain glued to my monitor and keyboard like I did during the winter months. Here on Vancouver Island, where I live, all plants grow like weeds, and due to health issues my yard has been terribly neglected for about 3 years. This year I am FINALLY feeling 'normal' again and I am actively trying to 'catch up' and get things looking half decent again. As I'm sure you can imagine, it's hard work, and when I'm done working outside there's not much left of me, so I turn into a couch potato afterward. The summer heat hasn't arrived here yet, but that could change any day now, and if/when it does, I will have more time indoors again. That's eXcuse number one!
Second of all, the time I DO have on my computer is dedicated to making images! When I get up in the morning I usually have 2 to 3 hours of computer time before I have to get ready for work, so that's my image creating time during the week. When it comes down to making images or writing something, making images is going to win every time! It's funny because I could literally sit on my butt all day long making images and not get sick of doing it, but when it comes to writing something, anything, I really have to be in the mood to do it. Often, like right now, I have to force myself to start writing something to get it accomplished. Since I now have limited computer time, I don't feel like forcing myself to do anything, so I just make my pretty pictures instead. I am definitely an artist and NOT a writer. That's eXcuse number two!
Now as I mentioned above, there have been a LOT of things I've wanted to write about, but I just didn't have the time, (or motivation), to actually sit down and force myself to do it. For instance, a few weeks back one of the most popular artists at DDG used one of my prompts that I wrote over 2 years ago! She probably had no idea it was mine, but I found it very interesting as I always thought she wrote her own prompts. The last time I checked the stats on it, it had about 250 likes and well over 30 try clicks. Those numbers are likely much higher now. I guess that's one of my prompts that will likely outlive me.
I also had an email encounter with the DDG gods themselves about the popularity algorithm at the site. I won't get into all the details here, but they actually admitted to me that they were aware that it's an 'issue' at the site and asked me if I had any suggestions as to how it might be fiXed? I never did answer them, but have been thinking about it ever since. And then I've also really been wanting to do a 'how to' article on how I've been using the AI Upscaler at DDG, which is pretty much how I create ALL of my images, but alas, I got busy and it hasn't materialized.
Since returning to DDG I've been incredibly entertained with the site's capabilities and trying to push them, and myself, to the limits! Of course I will never actually get to the 'limits' of anything, but I'm sure having fun trying to! THIS is how my time online is currently being spent. During the weekdays I have a couple hours each morning to 'play' at DDG, so that's eXactly what I do.
I'm sure my online time will increase one of these days, and when it does I'll get back into writing my blog posts here as well, so I hope you'll 'pop in' every so often to check for them.
I hope you had a wonderful spring, and now I can wish you a happy summer, too!
"X"
25/06/25