I’ve been thinking about the situation with Treblo. This is the second time I’ve been locked out of my account, or had my account limited, unless I agreed to a new “Terms of Service.” At least I wasn’t paying for Treblo, but I don’t have the time to go over a lengthy ToS and give it due legal consideration. For those who expect to be nobodies forever, maybe it doesn’t matter. I’m not a somebody, but the web traffic indicates that I may be, very slowly, getting somewhere. I don’t want to give Treblo the right to use my image in perpetuity, in whatever medium ever exists. Not that they have it, but would the ToS allow them to grab a pic of me from somewhere else? Can they create an A.I. avatar of me, and use it as their brand ambassador? Yeah, I think I’m moving on. ACE-Step 1.5 XL is free, open source, and can run natively –
My computer can’t run any of this stuff, and it will be a good long while before I can get a new one – but this is the direction I want to go in. No more “services,” no more subscriptions. As a general principle, it’s best not to be in any legal agreements with anyone, nor have recurring payments going out. Can’t help it with the power company, or water company, but I don’t need to make more music. I’d like to, but I’ve got plenty to release still, and there’s enough already posted. Most successful musicians of the past haven’t released as much. It’s not doing a lot for the comic anyway, although it is getting some listens. Not enough to sweat bullets over, if I can’t release any more.
In the meantime, the comic with Yaoi Hokkaido and the dwarf is an example of something that might be a good idea. I came up with the joke at work. The illustrations are A.I. variations of the familiar panel from Trekkee Muyo! Now the comic is becoming a technology demonstrator and social experiment. What strange times we live in. I can draw these pictures, but I can’t get paid to draw these pictures. I can get paid to do menial labor in a factory. Which doesn’t leave me time to draw my own drawings. I have to get the A.I. to do new drawings, based on what I drew years ago. Well, one foot in front of the other, and maybe we’ll get to a better place – but the rules of “supply and demand” are what they are. There is not enough demand for my “real artist drawings” for me to be able to supply them. The comic is still a personal indulgence which needs to be minimized, because it takes the place of work that has real value. But, it’s good for my mental health and perhaps it’s an investment that will pay off in the future. I’ll keep it going in some form.