ButteredToast's recent activity
-
Comment on After 42 years, Gainax officially closes in ~anime
-
Comment on After 42 years, Gainax officially closes in ~anime
ButteredToast (edited )LinkI know that the rights for GAINAX works went to the original creators, but I wonder where the DAICON IV short ended up landing. The chances are low given its age and copyright-nightmare nature,...I know that the rights for GAINAX works went to the original creators, but I wonder where the DAICON IV short ended up landing. The chances are low given its age and copyright-nightmare nature, but I hope that the original cels and/or film are still safely tucked away in a warehouse somewhere and eventually find their way into a modern remaster and properly archived, as is deserving of a piece that kicked off a legendary studio.
-
Comment on Does anyone use Ground News? in ~talk
ButteredToast LinkIt's interesting to me primarily as a way to make headlines less clickbaity and hyperbolized, which I'm finding unfortunately necessary with almost no regard to sources in the modern...It's interesting to me primarily as a way to make headlines less clickbaity and hyperbolized, which I'm finding unfortunately necessary with almost no regard to sources in the modern engagement-driven media landscape. While I appreciate it when news articles provide potential implications and long-tail effects of an event, that needs to follow a brief, non-editorialized opening about what happened and have minimal impact on the headline.
It sometimes does a poor job of summarizing, however, and I find the quality of the app lackluster. I'll be evaluating News Minimalist and Kagi News as alternatives.
-
Comment on A new Jolla phone has reached the required pre-order crowd-funding amount in ~tech
ButteredToast Link ParentNever had a Lumia though I do see the resemblance. I use my phone without a case most of the time (only exception is during travel) so I see the color/design of the phone pretty often. Agreed on...Never had a Lumia though I do see the resemblance.
I use my phone without a case most of the time (only exception is during travel) so I see the color/design of the phone pretty often.
Agreed on color. Similarly I really like the recently released bright orange iPhones Pro. If I hadn’t already upgraded last gen I would’ve ordered one immediately.
-
Comment on A new Jolla phone has reached the required pre-order crowd-funding amount in ~tech
ButteredToast (edited )LinkJolla/Sailfish has been on my radar for a long time, but their devices aren't sold in the North America which I think is a massive missed opportunity. There's a huge base of developers here who...Jolla/Sailfish has been on my radar for a long time, but their devices aren't sold in the North America which I think is a massive missed opportunity. There's a huge base of developers here who could serve as much-needed contributors to the ecosystem.
On a more positive note, I really like the design of this. The vivid orange anodized aluminum with rounded edges reminds me of the old iPods Mini and Nano (which is a good thing) and the black accent gives it a more "grown up" air than the iPods had.
-
Comment on Dr. Glen Jeffery: Using red light to improve your health and the harmful effects of LEDs [Huberman Lab] in ~health
ButteredToast (edited )Link ParentThanks for writing this up. Would you happen to know where high CRI LED bulbs stand relative to halogen counterparts? I’ve had a nice high CRI LED bulb in my desk lamp and reasonable-CRI bulbs...Thanks for writing this up.
Would you happen to know where high CRI LED bulbs stand relative to halogen counterparts? I’ve had a nice high CRI LED bulb in my desk lamp and reasonable-CRI bulbs (Philips Hue) elsewhere, all soft/warm white, and am wondering if I should swap any out. As I suspect is the case for many of us here, I spend the vast majority of my time indoors so I’ve become increasingly conscious about this sort of thing.
I’m also curious where red and full spectrum light and bright light intersect. I’ve read a fair bit about how high brightness (several times that of typical household bulbs) lights indoors during the day can have a dramatic positive effect on wakefulness, energy, and sense of wellbeing. I guess the ideal for this kind of lighting would both bright and full spectrum which is likely served by a very narrow band of products.
-
Comment on Netflix wins bidding war, starts talks with Warner Bros. Discovery in ~movies
ButteredToast (edited )LinkNot in favor of more conglomeration, but I hope this means that the whole WB media catalogue will be permanently available on Netflix soon. Unlike WB, Netflix doesn’t usually pull their own stuff...Not in favor of more conglomeration, but I hope this means that the whole WB media catalogue will be permanently available on Netflix soon. Unlike WB, Netflix doesn’t usually pull their own stuff off for no reason.
Maybe they’ll direct WB to actually use their treasure chest of IP instead of squandering it, too. That’d be nice.
-
Comment on The turf war for Seattle in ~transport
ButteredToast Link ParentMy feelings are similar. Alaska isn’t bad, but Delta is generally better, with Delta having a considerable edge when it comes to lounges. As far as I’m aware, Alaska also only kinda has a lie-flat...My feelings are similar. Alaska isn’t bad, but Delta is generally better, with Delta having a considerable edge when it comes to lounges. As far as I’m aware, Alaska also only kinda has a lie-flat long haul business class product via the Hawaiian merger, which puts them at a disadvantage.
-
Comment on Frame of preference: a history of Mac settings, 1984–2004 in ~tech
ButteredToast Link ParentThe latest redesign of System Pre… err, Settings was really not necessary at all in my opinion. The old design didn’t feel outdated and was more clear and had great visual cues to hook onto for...The latest redesign of System Pre… err, Settings was really not necessary at all in my opinion. The old design didn’t feel outdated and was more clear and had great visual cues to hook onto for quick navigation.
There’s a supposed benefit of being more familiar to iPhone/iPad users coming over, except that the iOS settings model doesn’t map cleanly to Mac settings, so the hierarchy has to be different, rendering that moot.
-
Comment on California Forever clears first hurdle in Suisun City annexation in ~society
ButteredToast Link ParentRight. Their plans may have changed, but the impression got when I was reading about them before is that they want to build something resembling the mixed-used residential communities encircling...Right. Their plans may have changed, but the impression got when I was reading about them before is that they want to build something resembling the mixed-used residential communities encircling Tokyo. Highly walkable and bike-friendly with essentials within arm’s reach and reasonable cost of living.
A lot of people in the US would love to live in a place like that, including many remote workers who’d be enough to bootstrap the local economy. From there, it’s not as difficult to get companies to commit to building offices and factories and boom you’ve got the virtuous cycle needed for self sustainability.
-
Comment on Some people can't see mental images. The consequences are profound. in ~health.mental
ButteredToast Link ParentFor me, the image that sprung to mind was an old small, square wooden table that'd been painted with white enamel several times over the course of its life, sitting next to the window of a...For me, the image that sprung to mind was an old small, square wooden table that'd been painted with white enamel several times over the course of its life, sitting next to the window of a farmhouse with gentle, indirect mid-day light spilling in through the curtains.
That's a lot of imagery that wasn't described at all in the text, and I think it was mostly inspired by the addition of the apple. Had it been some other object the surrounding imagery would probably be different.
-
Comment on Moana (2026) | Official teaser in ~movies
ButteredToast Link ParentCynically, my hunch is that it’s an “easy”, templated way to juice old IP. Just repeat the same formula over and over until you run out of animation to remake into live action. Financially it’s...Cynically, my hunch is that it’s an “easy”, templated way to juice old IP. Just repeat the same formula over and over until you run out of animation to remake into live action.
Financially it’s probably more consistent and less risky than trying to produce new timeless classics.
-
Comment on How a flawed idea is teaching millions of kids to be poor readers in ~science
ButteredToast (edited )Link ParentThe thing that crosses my mind is that for English at least, learning phonics better equips an individual for becoming a good reader unassisted later on even if for some reason a high level isn’t...The thing that crosses my mind is that for English at least, learning phonics better equips an individual for becoming a good reader unassisted later on even if for some reason a high level isn’t achieved earlier.
Once you know how to sound out words, even with the wildcards thrown in by English’s notorious word-pilfering, learning to recognize them quickly is simply a matter of frequency and volume; the reader simply needs to make a concerted effort to read more and improvement will come along naturally. You’ll probably get the pronunciations of a lot of words wrong until someone corrects you in spoken conversation, but that’s a much stronger position to be in than misreading or being entirely unable to read some large percentage of encountered material.
I don’t know if that’s borne out in reality, but that’s what makes sense in my head.
As an aside, I’ve been working on learning Japanese and the frequent (though not as often as in Cantonese w/hanzi) disconnection between kanji and their sounds has made learning interesting as someone who was taught English as a first language via phonics. What I’ve found to be most effective is to learn whole words rather than individual characters or radicals, since that’s how they’re always spoken, heard, and read.
-
Comment on Zen browser / chrome alternatives in ~tech
ButteredToast Link ParentThe Zen team also seems better at attention to detail in UI/UX and fixing up rough edges that mainline hasn't touched in ages. I tried bending vanilla Firefox to my will, primarily through...The Zen team also seems better at attention to detail in UI/UX and fixing up rough edges that mainline hasn't touched in ages.
I tried bending vanilla Firefox to my will, primarily through userChrome mods, but I got sick of them never working 100% correctly and breaking frequently thanks to Mozilla's penchant for frequently rearranging the same handful of figurative deck chairs.
I really, really wish Mozilla would start taking deep user customization seriously again.
-
Comment on Zen browser / chrome alternatives in ~tech
ButteredToast LinkZen is my secondary browser. I had a stint of using Arc as my main browser, so Zen feels pretty good to me. Though mainline Firefox now has vertical tabs, I like Zen's implementation better. If...Zen is my secondary browser. I had a stint of using Arc as my main browser, so Zen feels pretty good to me. Though mainline Firefox now has vertical tabs, I like Zen's implementation better.
If they can get its performance issues figured out I might make it my primary browser.
-
Comment on Valve announces new hardware: Steam Frame, Steam Controller, and Steam Machine in ~games
ButteredToast Link ParentA few major advantages that a PC console has over a traditional one: PC games get cheap much more quickly than their console counterparts Seasonal Steam sales greatly deepen this effect Third...A few major advantages that a PC console has over a traditional one:
- PC games get cheap much more quickly than their console counterparts
- Seasonal Steam sales greatly deepen this effect
- Third party game marketplaces can be installed, opening the user up to sales and freebies from GoG, Epic, etc
Those three alone would quickly save the buyer a lot of money and will only become more relevant as Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft push to eliminate physical game media (and thus, eliminating cheap used game discs/carts).
A PC console is also capable of emulating practically everything that can be emulated, opening up access to a vast library of old games without a monthly fee or restrictions to the titles Sony, etc have chosen to offer on their retro game service.
So in theory, there’s a lot potential buyer might find attractive. Historically attempts at PC consoles have flopped due to a combo of poor specs, poor big screen UI, and not fully plug and play experience, but the Steam Machine fixes all those issues.
-
Comment on Valve announces new hardware: Steam Frame, Steam Controller, and Steam Machine in ~games
ButteredToast Link ParentI have a TV PC, and while I found a workable setup (enabled mainly by a ThinkPad keyboard, which allows cursor control with its trackpoint without making the keyboard huge with attached trackpad),...I have a TV PC, and while I found a workable setup (enabled mainly by a ThinkPad keyboard, which allows cursor control with its trackpoint without making the keyboard huge with attached trackpad), it's not nearly as polished of an experience as a Steam Machine would be.
Updates breaking things, having to fight Windows when it refuses to pair my controller for some bizarre reason, etc. Linux might improve the situation, but it's still not going to be as smooth as a Steam Machine since it doesn't have a corporation pouring resources into tailoring a Linux distro to my machine. Its main saving grace is its sheer power… if it weren't for that I'd buy a Steam Machine, no question.
-
Comment on New ‘Star Trek’ movie in works at Paramount from Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley (Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves) in ~movies
ButteredToast Link ParentThe pre-JJ movies usually had some of the defining elements of Star Trek though, even if it were just the characters being themselves or how they earnestly embraced campiness like time traveling...The pre-JJ movies usually had some of the defining elements of Star Trek though, even if it were just the characters being themselves or how they earnestly embraced campiness like time traveling to 1980s San Francisco to get humpback whales.
So I would say it's fine if a Trek movie isn't as smart as the series can be as long as it maintains those elements and isn't just e.g. a generic sci-fi action flick with Starfleet insignia bedsheets loosely draped over it.
-
Comment on New ‘Star Trek’ movie in works at Paramount from Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley (Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves) in ~movies
ButteredToast LinkIf it turns out to be good, great, but until we get a sense for how much the production respects Trek I’m keeping expectations low. I’m not part of the crowd that feels that Trek needs to be...If it turns out to be good, great, but until we get a sense for how much the production respects Trek I’m keeping expectations low.
I’m not part of the crowd that feels that Trek needs to be centered around an existing crew or perfectly patterned after the old shows and movies in order to be good (though if I’m being honest, I could probably happily watch an infinite stream of TNG/DS9/VOY era shows and movies), but I do believe that certain bits of DNA are required for a show or movie to qualify as Trek. If it’s a mindless Hollywood popcorn flick in the vein of Marvel movies for example, I’m going to be disappointed.
-
Comment on Blue Origin sticks first New Glenn rocket landing and launches NASA spacecraft in ~space
ButteredToast LinkNice to see that the self-landing rocket club has finally grown. Probably the first of many to join in the near future (China among others are building their own too). Seems to work pretty well...Nice to see that the self-landing rocket club has finally grown. Probably the first of many to join in the near future (China among others are building their own too).
Seems to work pretty well for any idea that not too long ago was universally dismissed among the old guard rocket companies!
Khara has partnered with other studios for things outside of Eva, most recently with Production I.G. for Kaiju #8 (which funnily enough, many find draws strong parallels to Eva) and with Sunrise for Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX. There's also apparently an upcoming Space Battleship Yamato movie they're working on, as per their Wikipedia page. So it seems like they're starting to expand, albeit somewhat conservatively.
I think I'm more of a Trigger/Imaishi person, but it's difficult to confidently say that given the difference in the number of productions the two studios have worked on.