I miss when the Internet used to be like a club, a friendly collection of people sharing assorted information. Not for profit, just because they wanted to share what was interesting to them and likely useful to others.

I still find old sites, usually pretty forgotten or neglected, which were created without thoughts about marketing information or resources. I trust information from those sites, though it may be outdated, it isn't created to prey on my credit card.

You aren't likely to find personal home page and hobbies sites now. AI is moving in too. You don't even know if a site is made by a human being any more. AI can only fake being friendly. I don't see how you can trust, or feel welcome, by that.

The club is gone. Its not on social media. Social media could have been the next club for the Internet. But, it isn't.

I miss that feeling of shared information and friendliness. It was welcoming. I haven't found that in awhile. Even in places where I do share art, information, ideas I have to be careful about what I post - think twice and post once.

These are two things I found in my old blog and decided to repost here. I don't have a source for either of them, originally posted in 2004. Quite awhile ago.

New Celestial Computer V!rus3s Detected

While the Hale-Bopp comet may not have any spaceships in its tail, it apparently has released several new celestial computer v!ruses into our galaxy. Initial reports indicate 12 such v!ruses have been detected. The following is a listing of the new v!ruses and their attributes:

The ARIES v!rus continuously creates new *.ini files, and repeatedly reboots your computer to initiate them.

The TAURUS v!rus automatically backs-up all files on your hard drive and prevents you from ever deleting any information or files.

The GEMINI v!rus opens any available communication software, logs on to the internet, and uses your web-browser to search for gossip about celebrities and politicians, starting a new search every 2 minutes.

The CANCER v!rus fills up your hard drive with cooking recipes, home repair tips, and old Dear Abby columns, and then installs a screen-saver that flashes 1-800 numbers for various 12-step programs across your screen.

The LEO v!rus announces its presence with a RealAudio roar (often followed by a QuickTime clip of the MGM lion if supported by your hardware) and proceeds to delete files from your hard drive to make room for the long list of computer systems it has conquered.

The VIRGO v!rus continuously eliminates any files or programs you haven't used for a month and defrags your hard drive every time you exit a program.

The LIBRA v!rus downloads from the internet any optional features it can find for your installed software, and installs pop-ups for each new feature that describe its pros and cons and asks whether you want it installed now or later.

The SCORPIO v!rus lurks in the background, surreptitiously downloading x-rated binary files every time you surf the net (now you know the real reason web-browsers are so slow!).

The SAGITTARIUS v!rus immediately begins searching your hard drive for the one true Source code, identifying and deleting all mere object code in its path.

The CAPRICORN v!rus constructs and continually updates a database of all information on your hard drive searchable by file name, creation date, file size, author's name (and last known address), subject, and Library of Congress classification code.

The AQUARIUS v!rus deletes all old versions of any software on your hard drive, and provides new wireless remote connection capability for obtaining the latest version of each program by FTP transfer.

The PISCES v!rus reconfigures your hard drive(s) to eliminate any artificial boundaries such as partitions, directories and files, and instead unites all software code in one universal string.

" Live Life Like A Computer "

If you messed up your life, you could press "Alt, Ctrl, Delete" and start all over!

To get your daily exercise, just click on "run"!

If you needed a break from life, click on "suspend". Hit "any key" to continue life when ready.

To get even with the neighbors, turn up the sound blaster.

To "add/remove" someone in your life, click settings and control panel.

To improve your appearance, just adjust the display settings.

If life gets too noisy, turn off the speakers.

When you lose your car keys, click on "find".

"Help" with the chores is just a click away.

You wouldn't need auto insurance. You'd use your diskette to recover from a crash.

We could click on "send" and the kids would go to bed immediately.

To feel like a new person, click on "refresh".

Click on "close" to shut up the kids and spouse.

To undo a mistake, click on "back".

Is your wardrobe getting old? Click "update".

If you don't like cleaning the litter box, click on "delete".

I had started a site to post about Sims4 and then changed my mind about the whole thing. Not because of the turmoil going on now with the new owners. But, because in the end, I would just be promoting someone else's product (the game itself and CC and mods from others) and not really doing anything of my own. It just feels kind of feeble, for lack of a better word.

This is what I wrote for my introduction/ about page. I thought I would save that much.

I bought this domain with the impulsive idea to make a site about bad gift choices I found online. But, it never quite found its way. I lost track of exactly the idea I had in that moment. It's not the first or the last time (likely) that I have bought a domain on impulse. Still, after having it hanging around over a year, I decided it would be an ok domain and name for a site about The Sims 4. My own experiences, ideas, CC finds and so on.

I had started writing for a site which posts about The Sims 4 and other related games. It didn't work out. A month or so afterwards, I started getting back to posting about Sims4 finds on my bluesky social media account. Then, I starting thinking about the posts I had planned to write and didn't finish (for that other site). Also, those I did write. I decided not to repost them (as they were/are) Simpler to just rewrite them, same ideas and information but written fresh, with updates and new perspectives. After all, I still have me. I can come up with more ideas and find more content to add to those original posts.

I enjoy shopping for new CC for The Sims. I plan to post my shopping highlights here. But, I will post more finds on social media (see the link above). It's just so much easier to post quick, short bits there than come back here and load images, choose categories and tags, etc. I will work to have good tags so you can (maybe) find something you are especially looking for. But, I'm not a great source for knowing where something in particular is. I have my own favourite lost swimsuit CC file which I've never been able to find again. Deleted by mistake.

I am a Witch, in my own way. So I do like finding Witch content for the Sims but not the goth/ costume content so much. Some of it is fun, and some is just wrong. Upside down pentacles shown as Witch CC kind of annoys me. But, people just don't know enough to understand the mistake. If you get funny ideas - I do not worship the devil. I will have a special category and tags just for Witch related finds, mods and CC.

I do wish The Sims had more evil/ bad options. What we have now seems sadly comical versus what it could be. I'm not saying I want extremes (I tried some of those mods and didn't like them enough to keep). But, Sims should be able to lie, be selfish jerks, make out with someone without being in love, and all those everyday sort of things.

Yes, its all a virtual dollhouse world with paper dolls to dress up and mess around with. But, no one is that perfectly good and altruistic all the time. I like finding others who torment their Sims, at least a little. Playing with Sims is like never having to say you're sorry.

Note: I am not going to filter my opinions about biological women, in particular our safety and privacy. If you don't know what I'm talking/ writing about, don't worry about it. It's not something I get focused about with The Sims but it sometimes pokes its head up. Its one thing that rubs me the wrong way about The Sims. I won't get started right now.

I hope this site will be in markup/markdown, not HTML. I've been learning to use it on my personal site. Also, it seems like a way to avoid the WordPress editor which wants to create so much extra HTML in blocks. More is not always great.

• Markup Markdown
• HTML to Markdown Converter

That's all for now.

Laura

I've got two links to share:

• Markup Markdown
• HTML to Markdown Converter

Both have been great. The Markup Markdown plugin could use some tweaking. Mainly, the editing window does not keep the editing toolbar in view. So, if I need something I have to go all the way back up on my screen and then all the way back down again. Mostly this is when I'm typing in a URL, because it is still easier to have the software/ editor add the code than type it in myself (I don't always catch typos in the code when I do it myself).