brenty
abrenty.bsky.social
brenty
@abrenty.bsky.social
Lifelong infojunkie. I Aspi(r)e to be home.
日本語が大好きだけど、上手じゃない Vegetarian + cheese & vegan food.
ベジタリアン+チーズとビーガンフード。
Lotta continua.
I asked Grok on Twitter, and the answer really impressed me:

‘Hey, @grok, based on Donald Trump’s claims[…], how would you rate his intelligence on a scale of “incompetent blowhard”(1) to “stable genius”(5)?’

Definitely worth reading!

twitter.com/abrenty/stat...
May 3, 2025 at 4:30 AM
I saw someone trying to get a foreign SUV out of a parking lot here in Kansai last weekend. It was pretty entertaining. No idea how they even got in there in the first place. 😆

www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2...
The Japan tariff myth that just won’t die
The belief that unfair trade practices are at fault isn’t only false, but also one of those enduring myths that refuses to die.
www.japantimes.co.jp
April 8, 2025 at 6:27 PM
People who voted for Trump thinking he wouldn’t actually do the things he was promising, including deportations and tariffs, in a best case scenario still would have been knowingly voting for a liar. He seems to keep his word only when it comes to doing harm. Should have listened
April 6, 2025 at 2:53 AM
Premier Cho Jung-tai told reporters Tuesday that "freedom of speech has its limits[…] You can’t defame the country while asking the country to protect you.”

When did invasion become “cool”? It never was when Germany or the US did it, and it still isn’t.

www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/03...
Chinese influencer forced to leave Taiwan for supporting invasion
Taiwan authorities ordered Liu Zhenya to leave because she posted videos supporting the idea of a Chinese military takeover.
www.japantimes.co.jp
March 26, 2025 at 11:13 AM
“Trump keeps saying that all he wants to do is end "the killing” in Ukraine. […] But the easiest and quickest way to end the killing would be for the side that started the killing […] to get out of Ukraine.” www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2...
I don’t believe a single word Trump and Putin say about Ukraine
One of Putin’s key conditions for ending the conflict: Cut all foreign aid and leave Ukraine defenseless.
www.japantimes.co.jp
March 24, 2025 at 8:29 AM
@leolaporte.me: The Trump administration is concerned about the UK having a backdoor because they’re getting smarter and realizing that they should be worried about their own communications being vulnerable to future prosecution. 😒
March 4, 2025 at 9:38 AM
@gruber.foo: I can’t and won’t try to defend Humane, the AI pin thing, or Choudri, except to say that I do appreciate the old school Aphex Twin reference he makes with his website. 🧑‍🍳

cf. music.apple.com/us/album/sel...
Selected Ambient Works 85-92 by Aphex Twin on Apple Music
Album · 1992 · 13 Songs
music.apple.com
February 21, 2025 at 11:58 AM
“The ‘Gulf of America’ Is an Admission of Defeat: Trump’s renaming of the Gulf of Mexico is not triumphant but pathetic.”

Apple News: apple.news/ATFvvl4muSHi...

The Atlantic: www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
The ‘Gulf of America’ Is an Admission of Defeat — The Atlantic
Ideas Trump’s renaming of the Gulf of Mexico is not triumphant but pathetic. February 13, 2025 A baffling problem in the Trump era is separating its sinister aspects from its pathetic self-embarrassme...
apple.news
February 14, 2025 at 4:49 PM
@shellen.com: Hey! I’m curious if anything happened with the issue where your Instagram photos were missing: x.com/shellen/stat...
x.com
x.com
January 18, 2025 at 3:55 PM
Fantastic, well-researched write up from @benlovejoy.bsky.social on 9to5Mac about anti-DEI pressure against Apple:

9to5mac.com/2025/01/13/h...
Here's why Apple is right to hold firm on its DEI policies - 9to5Mac
The upcoming change in the presidency has seen a number of companies make changes to long-standing policies, in fields spanning...
9to5mac.com
January 15, 2025 at 5:08 AM
The Dunning-Kruger effect, I think, applies generally to people for whom a lack of competence leads them to underestimate their incompetence. But there must be something similar that applies more specifically to someone who is an expert in one area assuming expertise in others…
January 10, 2025 at 8:45 AM
Poverty-promoting policies like tax cuts for the rich, opposition to reducing healthcare and the education costs, lax gun laws, and a lack of support for working parents and their families are, arguably, a kind of state-sponsored post-birth abortion in slow motion, killing people
July 25, 2024 at 6:20 AM
Fascinating. I think this is mostly correct, but also a UX failure in a lot of ways since it’s literally failing users: so many people I know who grew up here fall back to phone or in-person visits anyway to get help, or just give up completely…

youtu.be/vi8pyS076a8?...
Japanese web design: weird, but it works. Here's why
Japanese website design looks weird. But, they work just as well as other websites around the world. Why is that? I mean, they're information dense, cluttere...
youtu.be
July 24, 2024 at 6:40 AM
“Gays are not interested in making other people gay, but homophobic people are interested in making others homophobic.” I often get hit on by gay men, but when I say I’m straight they never try to “convert” me; by contrast, straight men try to get me on their homophobic bandwagon
July 17, 2024 at 4:07 AM
It’s important to remember that when seeing advertising, social media, and the internet in general, what seems overwhelmingly popular and ubiquitous usually isn’t. From the “latest fashion trends” and “must have items” to fringe beliefs, opinions, and attitudes…
July 15, 2024 at 5:00 AM
I can’t definitely understand the impulse to be annoyed by glorification of random “Japanese culture” stuff, but how is it better not to appreciate things? 🤷
July 13, 2024 at 5:42 AM
Fun fact: If you have less than 1000 when getting robbed while sleeping in Vector, it will say that 1000 was stolen but nothing at all will actually have been taken. 😄
July 10, 2024 at 5:00 AM
I know this may seem silly to most since in “civilization” we’re indoctrinated early on with all this normalized, but…anyone having to think, say, or otherwise experience “I can’t eat today because someone else didn’t deign to ‘allow’ me to work for a livable wage” is bullshit…
July 7, 2024 at 9:22 AM
People who complain about immigrants coming to take and/or ruin everything show their ignorance by missing one simple fact: moving is a pain in the ass. Even privileged people who are offered jobs with PAID relocation often refuse. Imagine fleeing your home/country under duress…
July 5, 2024 at 4:33 AM
“Free speech” without accountability is just cowardice.
June 13, 2024 at 12:18 PM
Random access memory:

Back in the day (late 90s?) I had USB ports on my computers for years without using them at all. Even just having the drivers installed and active resulted in crashes and other problems. I think it was something to do with Win9x shipping without USB support
June 12, 2024 at 4:47 AM
The kind of bizarre anti-immigrant, borderline-racist, gate-keeping, reverse-jingoism that a lot of white foreigners in Japan direct toward other white foreigners in Japan is deeply confusing and also fascinating to me. Maybe due to a lack of other minorities to look down on… 🤔
May 14, 2024 at 8:46 AM
“I want…” and “I want to be responsible for…” are two very, very different things.
May 6, 2024 at 11:07 AM
54% of men polled think that Trump respects women. That makes sense to me: about the percentage of misogynists that also believe they themselves respect women. And if you can convince yourself that Trump isn’t a misogynist, then the bar for you and your bros is much lower. Yikes.
May 1, 2024 at 5:34 AM
@nopeitslily.bsky.social: Hey, are you on Twitter? 🤔
May 1, 2024 at 3:59 AM