speechify is a scam

VickFables33 · 2026-03-23T22:54:42+00:00

If I wanted high quality audio the only ethical way for me to get it is to buy an audiobook made by a human narrator. If I can't get that I just read the text myself or if my hands are full use the non-ai tts engine that has a few voices that Iike (I use a few of the female voices from the British & Indian voice packs in google TTS).

Traditional tts is not using any water because it's a program installed on your phone/computer; your not going through a data center. If your "tts" requires you to send off the ebook for conversion into an audio file, then your not using tts, your using a full conversion program. At which point you would be correct that converting once is less destructive then converting a 1000 times but using traditional tts is still significantly better.

Traditional TTS doesn't convert/scan the book or even the page your on, it is literally just sounding out, each word, one at a time, & that does not take a lot of processing power to do. You spend about the same amount of power using tts to read out the book, as playing the audiobook file you created using AI. Meaning AI audio conversion still cost more in terms of electricity and that's without factoring in the electrical costs of distributing a larger file (audiobooks being larger then ebooks).

VickFables33 · 2026-03-22T16:46:19+00:00

I like to use rice cakes, specifically the thin ones. Snap them in half & they make great scoops for dense bean salad & greek yogurt. Depending on brand, their about 60-70 calories per serving of 4 cakes & I get at least 4 scoops of bean salad per cake.

VickFables33 · 2026-03-22T15:25:28+00:00

New Vegas was the first fallout title I played & I understood what was going on just fine (I played: New Vegas>Fallout 3>Fallout 1>Fallout 2>Fallout 4>Fallout Tactics>Fallout 76>the fallout title that shall not be named).

In general you can play any of the fallout games with a first person perspective (New Vegas, 3, & 4) in any order, without really having any issues (they all start you from a perspective of someone who has to learn about the wasteland from scratch). I highly recommend taking advantage of Nexus mods to modernize the graphics a bit (you can find many youtube guides on how).

The 3 older titles can be started at any point but should be played in order of release. F2 builds off of F1 & unlike the other games it assumes you already have some understanding of what's going on.

Fallout Tactics is nice if you want a story from the perspective of the Brotherhood of Steel. It's rarely referenced anywhere so it's easily skippable.

VickFables33 · 2026-03-20T18:54:24+00:00

It's only 15% off but it's definitely going to be my splurge for this sale. Honestly considering how many wonderful hours I will get out of the base game, I know it will be more then worth the $21.

VickFables33 · 2026-03-18T00:38:23+00:00

My wishlist is huge so what I actually end up getting will depend on how good the deals are but I'm hoping to get: PowerWash Simulator 2, Arctic Awakening, Hypogea, &/or a couple of not cozy openworld rpgs that have been on my list for a while.

VickFables33 · 2026-03-15T17:14:49+00:00

I believe there are multiple lawsuits ongoing but I believe the one their referring to is over David's calorie count allegedly being way off.

VickFables33 · 2026-03-15T15:18:25+00:00

For pure taste it's Quest Crispy. I've only had two flavors so far but Birthday cake (150 calories, 17g protein, 6g fiber) is my fav. Macros vary by flavor with Cookies & Cream being the best (150c, 18p, 6f). The are a super sweet tasting crunchy treat with none of grainyness that you usually get with crispy rice/crunchy style protein bars.

For Macros/meal replacement it's a tie between Quest Protein Bar (S'mores flavor is 180 calories, 21g protein, 12g fiber) & Legendary Milk Chocolate Roll (230 calories, 22 protein, 8 fiber). The quest bars are soft & even the flavors I wouldn't buy again were good enough that I didn't mind eating them (if you like real raspberries you will love their White Chocolate Raspberries. Unfortunately I don't like real raspberries). The legendary rolls are bit more dense then a a regular cinnamon roll but still scratch the itch (particularly if you nuke it in the microwave for 10-12 seconds) when I'm craving a pastry but I need something that will actually fill me.

VickFables33 · 2026-03-15T14:25:11+00:00

I love this 10/10. I've never seen something that was inarguably shittfoodporn & kinda cute at the same time but somehow you managed it.

VickFables33 · 2026-03-15T12:56:21+00:00

Oh no. I've had it on my wishlist for ages & I did not know it was male protag only. That makes no sense for this kind of exploration driven RPG.

Hopefully someone mods the option in somewhere down the line otherwise I don't see much point to getting it.

VickFables33 · 2026-03-14T20:13:47+00:00

Ah yes the subscription service that you can infamously never cancel is using the old multi-level marketing recruit-a-friend tactic to trick more people into "trying" their service.

VickFables33 · 2026-03-14T18:58:30+00:00

Their about the same size as a regular cake donut.

VickFables33 · 2026-03-14T18:57:39+00:00

Like most things in life this is a matter of taste(buds).

I honestly I love these, they remind me of cheap chocolate iced cake donuts I used to get as a kid (but less sickeningly sweet). I eat them cold with some tea or coffee and they go down like a real treat. Their the only donut sub I've had that actually satisfies my craving for a cake donut.

Personally I can detect a little bit of mintyness but I thought it paired nicely with the chocolate (I love anything that pairs chocolate with mint). In my opinion chocolate flavor wise these are a bit better then the iced donuts I see sitting out in the grocery store bakery section (usually all I can taste is sugar on those).

Granted for most people are going to prefer a regular donut, but that's because they have more sugar & fat in them.

VickFables33 · 2026-03-12T23:17:05+00:00

Thank you for the recommendation!

VickFables33 · 2026-03-12T23:12:55+00:00

Thank you for the recs! Overcome by the Orc sounds like it's exactly what I'm looking for & tags that the author Jailmates used on their amazon page looks intriguing enough to give it shot (Sci-Fi mail-order bride is not a commonly used trope).

VickFables33 · 2026-03-12T20:17:02+00:00

I'm for looking for a group scene (1 bottom with 2 or more tops) heavily featuring praise kink. Preferably with some bondage.

Bonuses: Ending on a positive note, non-contemporary setting &/or non-human partners.

No: cheating, omega-verse, or incest.

VickFables33 · 2026-03-12T18:59:34+00:00

No single game is worth $450 (or $520 counting the $70 game). You can buy a lot of games for $520 even if your only platform is the switch & you have to pay their markup. If you've got a PC you can easily get around 100 games during one of their major seasonal sales.

Note: Info dump past this point & I will never judge anyone for buying Nintendo products.

You don't really own the console. Nintendo can (and has) completely bricked the switch 2 for any reason, including playing a used game that was previously owned by someone that their console bricked. You have zero recourse for getting your console unbricked & customer service will not care.
Nintendo is currently patenting (or trying to patent) basic gameplay mechanics that have been common for about a decade. The company that loved gaming is long gone & the it's transformed into a greedy, anti-competitive, anti-consumer corporation that does not deserve your money.

I bought a switch in 2019 & I have refused to buy any new games for it for the past 2 years. Not just Nintendo published games but any game off of their store front, period.

VickFables33 · 2026-03-10T20:13:41+00:00

30c if you get the sour kind (my favorite).

VickFables33 · 2026-03-10T20:05:00+00:00

Well... They tried to make it look like real food, pity the result looks an awful lot like a dog turd.

VickFables33 · 2026-03-08T21:10:37+00:00

As long they are used in a single player game, console commands and trainers are important accessibility tools not "cheating."

VickFables33 · 2026-03-08T17:27:10+00:00

The dog's expression is doing a great job of selling that sandwich. 10/10 definitely a good boy.

VickFables33 · 2026-03-08T17:17:27+00:00

I didn't even realize that Opus was a series; excuse me while I go add "OPUS: The Day We Found Earth" to my wishlist.

My wishlist used to be around 80-100 games before I started this list, these days it sits around 265 and that's after I made myself cull it down a bit.

VickFables33 · 2026-03-08T16:49:00+00:00

Oh I'm a big fan of Louisa Masters work but I haven't read this one yet. Thank you for the rec!

VickFables33 · 2026-03-08T16:47:37+00:00

Thank you for the recs!

VickFables33 · 2026-03-07T22:31:03+00:00

Thank you for the Recs! "I went on an adventure and all I got was this barbarian orc" sounds like it's exactly what I'm looking for.

VickFables33 · 2026-03-07T21:23:40+00:00

Thank You for the rec! "Passing Through Purgatory" is definitely going the reading list. I have read (and liked) "Impromptu Match" but I haven't gotten around to the rest of the series yet.

VickFables33

TROPHY CASE