I'm generally fairly computer literate which is and has been a good
thing given the amount of time I spend on a computer. It's also a good
thing given the number of viruses, trojans, worms and the like that lurk
in the wings waiting for opportunity to infect the home PC.

A couple of weeks ago my PC was bitten by a nasty bug. The H1N1 of
computer viruses. Damned thing kicked my butt! I spent 5 days researching, deleting, wrestling with files that didn't belong and finally admitted defeat. I saved what I could (thank goodness for external hard drives) and reformatted.

I did lose a few things, and in the long run I suppose it's good to have cleaned up and started from scratch however...reinstalling everything I HAD
on this machine has been a daunting task. I never realized just how many
software programs and plugins I had amassed. I've been reloading for two weeks and STILL not quite done.

I certainly don't want to go through this again any time soon!

In the meantime...patience folks I'll get to you all
_______________________________

TERMS OF USE FOR MY BRUSHES:

All brushes © midnightstouch

Please respect the time and effort that I put into making these brushes.

They are free for personal use

To members of Deviant Art : I do grant permission for use in DA Prints. I simply ask that that I be given credit with a link back to my DA page, and that I be notified of their use so that I can check out your creation, fav and add it to my wish list. Off-site use is generally not a problem with me, but I do like to be asked and again, credited with a link back to my DA page.

Commercial use : You DO require my permission, but I'm generally very accomodating

To all users : You may share them, but you must include the READ ME along with the the brushes. You may NOT alter them, package them with other brushes and/or redistribute them as your own.

My stock :

PITCH A FIT!!!!!!

(And I apologise in advance for being a bitch)

But at this point I'm freakin' pissed!!!



Here I am peacefully browsing my way through the DA stock section and what should I see but my second set of Grasslands brushes (preview image MINUS all the blatant copyright marks on it) posted on THIS twit's page

How big of an idiot do you have to be to take a set of popular brushes, post them on a HUGE art community website and expect that NO ONE will recognize them????

He apparently downloaded them from the ever popular, uber-sleazy "Rapid Share". They have been informed in no uncertain terms to remove them. However they were uploaded there from someone who got them from....not surprsingly Photoshop-land.RU

This delightfully scummy little cyber cesspool masquerading as a legitimate Photoshop resource website is offering several of my sets for download. And guess what?

They've removed MY README.text, AND removed the copyright brush that I include at the beginning and end of each of my brush sets. I've since torn them a new a#$hole as well!

I'm left at this point with a couple of options.

1. I take all my sets down.

2. Stop making brushes.

3. Send legal documents to every website offering my brushes without my permission

OR

4. Henceforth on every single brush in the set, slap my copyright into the brush and stop including the image files in the pack. I know this would be annoying as hell for the brush user (but anyone who uses photoshop will know how to erase the unwanted portion. That way every time a brush was used, my info would be immediately visible. I'd also make the image pack available for people who directly contact me for download.

I'm not crazy about any of those options, but I'm also livid beyond belief.

Is it not enough that I spend large amounts of time, effort, creativity and energy making them and offering them for free??????

Do I have to be a colossal bitch and publicly state that if I learn of or catch anyone distrubting or using the brushes personally or commercially WITHOUT FOLLOWING MY TERMS OF USE....I will sue their stupid asses off until their grandchildrens grandchildren are destitute and starving???????



#(*^&%(*#(&@#*#!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


End of rant.

_____________________________

TERMS OF USE FOR MY BRUSHES:

All brushes © midnightstouch

Please respect the time and effort that I put into making these brushes.

They are free for personal use

To members of Deviant Art : I do grant permission for use in DA Prints. I simply ask that that I be given credit with a link back to my DA page, and that I be notified of their use so that I can check out your creation, fav and add it to my wish list. Off-site use is generally not a problem with me, but I do like to be asked and again, credited with a link back to my DA page.

Commercial use : You DO require my permission, but I'm generally very accomodating

To all users : You may share them, but you must include the READ ME along with the the brushes. You may NOT alter them, package them with other brushes and/or redistribute them as your own.

My stock :

How is it that time seems to pass by so quickly? One day it's warm and sunny and I'm planning my holidays and the next time I look up it's cold, the leaves are turning and it's October. Life really needs to slow down just a little.

3 V's

Vacation...At long last, a much needed break...however...2 weeks is not nearly enough! *lol*

Victoria...Where I spent my vacation and I was so happy to go back. Two years was too long to wait. Loads of pics of course which I will be uploading eventually.

Vehicular Mishaps... My 2nd day in Victoria, my niece is driving me to Mount Doug and we get creamed right in the middle of an intersection. She was fine, though quite shaken, the van was totaled and me... well, I broke a tooth and needed to visit the dentist for a root canal and crown (not a fun thing to do on vacation). My knees and shins took a beating, the most amazing shades of black, blue and purple for the next few weeks. Given that I only had two weeks there, I didn't let the ordeal stop me, I just hiked at a considerably slower pace than usual

On the plus side...ICBC took pity on my poor treatment and abuse by Victoria drivers and paid for the dental work and a little extra compensation for pain and suffering.

Consequently the vacation was paid for and I FINALLY purchased my long lusted after
Nikon D80! It came with an 18-55mm VR lens, a 55-200mm VR lens, tripod, remote, camera bags, lens hoods, close-up lenses, filters, 3 batteries and 2 16 gig
memory cards.

Expect LOTS of wonderful new stocks and photos folks!

Thanks to everyone for all the favs and adds. As always they're much appreciated.

Well...back to the long list of notes to answer, faving all the wonderful artwork that I've missed. Have a great weekend everyone! See you soon!

___________________________________

TERMS OF USE FOR MY BRUSHES:

All brushes © midnightstouch

Please respect the time and effort that I put into making these brushes.

They are free for personal use

To members of Deviant Art : I do grant permission for use in DA Prints. I simply ask that that I be given credit with a link back to my DA page, and that I be notified of their use so that I can check out your creation, fav and add it to my wish list. Off-site use is generally not a problem with me, but I do like to be asked and again, credited with a link back to my DA page.

Commercial use : You DO require my permission, but I'm generally very accomodating

To all users : You may share them, but you must include the READ ME along with the the brushes. You may NOT alter them, package them with other brushes and/or redistribute them as your own.

My stock :