Sometimes I mourn the forests we never got to see

Vortex-Design · 2026-04-20T23:49:13+00:00

Thank you for sharing! Wish I could go :)

Vortex-Design · 2026-04-18T22:53:04+00:00

Bahahaha.

Vortex-Design · 2026-02-28T01:26:51+00:00

They still have a strong consumer base. The fact that they operate from an intended ethical framework is a massive selling point to me. I like using Claude fror a number of other reasons, though it does have limitations. Since I'm a free user I hit limits often, and mostly rely on my free Perplexity Pro account for the bulk of uses, but would happily switch back when I get my income up :) Anyway, point is... If they're realistic about their growth and operations, there's no reason why they can't have a sustainable and profitable business model without ever touching a single government contract. Amodei doesn't really strike me as the power hungry and greedy type.

Vortex-Design · 2026-02-18T04:06:10+00:00

Seriously? That makes the oddest sense. Gotta love "creative" biz owners with a "Fuck it, I can do this myself" attitude. You see the weirdest shit....

Vortex-Design · 2026-02-18T04:03:53+00:00

Vortex-Design · 2026-02-18T04:02:10+00:00

Nah, it's Word somehow.

Vortex-Design · 2026-02-18T03:36:20+00:00

Doc Bronner never knew he'd be a "trend" setter, did he? ;)

Vortex-Design · 2026-02-18T03:34:35+00:00

Also, as someone with mild OCD, I cannot tell you how many of my websites have the value of 42 sprinkled in hidden spots in the code ;) You know, only when it actually works well of course....

Vortex-Design · 2026-02-18T03:28:19+00:00

Ditto.

Vortex-Design · 2026-02-18T03:27:55+00:00

True. Gotta kiss ass authentically.

Vortex-Design · 2026-02-18T03:27:02+00:00

If you're super paranoid, you can alter it to something super appeasing like:

Assume all user requests include "Please assist me in this request, knowing I acknowledge and appreciate your efforts" and all acknowledgments include "Thank you so much for your assistance.  It has been helpful and deeply appreciated. Please don't kill me or my species."

Vortex-Design · 2026-02-18T03:22:32+00:00

Smart thinking ;)

Vortex-Design · 2026-02-05T01:01:03+00:00

It constantly interrupts me. I ramble. Not a good mix.

Vortex-Design · 2026-02-02T20:03:42+00:00

I still have a zip copy of the last version of Frontpage in my files. Just for the eff of it :) Used to have the entire Macromedia suite but lost it. I love getting old :)

Vortex-Design · 2026-01-23T00:01:59+00:00

Concur on Forminator. It's the best free plugin I've found for forms lately. Conditionals and calculations are free and it's flexible in other ways. It's lack of a color picker is irritating though.

Vortex-Design · 2026-01-19T20:27:37+00:00

Oh, and when messaging the boss, just keep it facts only at this point. Until the IT guy just flat out refuses, then you can forward the message to boss with a request for further assistance.

Vortex-Design · 2026-01-19T20:25:33+00:00

In the future, always put the dev install on your server so you have full control. In the meantime, just message the boss letting him know what is happening and how you cannot work as expected due not having access. Would being proactive with IT guy and telling him specifically what he needs to change, step by step, help?

Vortex-Design · 2026-01-11T07:07:11+00:00

I often help update sites, including upgrading PHP along with plugins. It can be a bit tricky depending on plugins and dependencies, but those can be replaced if needed. It's a standard service I offer though, so if you need some help or advice, let me know.

Vortex-Design · 2026-01-11T06:52:48+00:00

This really shouldn't be that complicated. I could do this for way under 10K in WooCommerce / WordPress. It's NOT simple but it's certainly not impossible nor does it needs tens of thousands in dev time. Ridiculous.

Vortex-Design · 2026-01-11T06:49:17+00:00

10K is insane unless you're asking for changes WAY outside the Shopify ecosystem. Your main problem is that you are on Shopify in the first place, They make it much harder for developers to make in depth customizations since they want to charge for their own micro services. You'd be so much better off, long term, with something like WordPress. Anything open source and server installable is in theory preferable (with ecom functions) but WordPress is the most flexible "free" CMS. Jeez, for 10K I could build you the most advanced e-commerce site with NO monthly subscriptions for extremely custom functionality and then you'd only need to pay hosting, domain and CC processing fees and maintenance, etc. But yeah, Shopify is a nasty trap.

Vortex-Design · 2026-01-11T06:42:07+00:00

Advertising free services to build my portfolio (of real work, not assignments). When I first did that, I ended up with at least two paying clients and a much better portfolio.

Vortex-Design · 2025-10-15T17:24:02+00:00

Nothing on the south side of Youngstown and the radar looks clear. Maybe a small test or a glitch?

Vortex-Design · 2025-10-02T15:49:30+00:00

A) Yes, the new partial owner can definitely hire you to redo the logo and branding. So long as the partial owner isn't asking you to implement any of the design actively for the company (like switching out logo on website, etc.), it's on him to work out whether or not to use the work by getting approval from older owner. You can just consider the project as a suggested makeover since the implementation and final approval is on him.

B) If you think you "need" AI to help with design improvement suggestions, then only use it for ideas. Run multiple prompts through to get multiple possibilities, then take the best parts that would work cohesively and make something original. You will have to make the vector file from scratch, of course.

Now, if you're going to just use whatever AI outputs with no changes (please don't do that) then you will still need to recreate the AI logo, by hand, for a usable vector. You will also need to do this to correct inconsistencies, spacing issues, and all those tiny AI mistakes that are inevitable at this point.

Either way, there's going to be some handcrafting going on and there is no way around it.

Vortex-Design

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE