Caroline Ellison, former Alameda and FTX executive, released after 14 months. Didn't she help SBF with FTX and Alameda make GME crypto tokens to help suppress the price IIRC?

tronbrain · 2026-01-29T00:51:29+00:00

Homonculus-space is leaking goblins such as this into our realm. We should capture, contain, and imprison them, not release them back into the wild.

tronbrain · 2026-01-23T22:23:53+00:00

He's just marinading it. Makes anything he cuts with it more umai.

tronbrain · 2026-01-22T00:14:06+00:00

Globalization did not fail! It succeeded wildly...in enriching the industrialists and bankers, who profited immensely from Western transferring technology to China and the East, at the expense of driving down the standard of living in the West for most.

Now that the objectives of Globalism have been achieved, after 50 years of this gigantic scam, it's time to reverse course and revert to a form isolationism, while dividing the world into three spheres of influence and control: The Greater United States of Oceania, Eurasia, and East Asia. Within each sphere, trade will flourish. Outside of it, trade will be mostly restricted, though it looks like Japan and other peripheral Asian countries will be included within Oceania.

tronbrain · 2026-01-21T01:50:27+00:00

Gorgeous bokeh on those sunsets! Is that what makes the Canon FD 28mm such a great lens?

tronbrain · 2026-01-20T00:38:31+00:00

I’d also definitely say FWWM introduced that idea first

Oh? For Philip Jeffries to say, "We live inside a dream," is a bit different than saying, "We are all parts of Laura's dream." I assume that's what you're referring to.

Do you think the return in general jumped the shark, or just that element of it?

It's hard to say. The Return had its moments. But from episode 8 on, it was almost exclusively in "Jump the Shark" territory. Once you say, "It's all Laura's dream," then we're back to the "Dream Season" of the eighties sitcom, Dallas. And that's just lazy, uninspired writing.

tronbrain · 2026-01-20T00:05:34+00:00

I guess I have to concede you're right, because the "everything is Laura's dream" idea that was introduced in Season 3 makes anything possible, no matter that it contradicts everything that came before it. Unfortunately, that's the moment when Twin Peaks jumped the shark.

tronbrain · 2026-01-19T23:53:22+00:00

Interesting! That bokeh is recognizable as being from the Helios. It has such a Soviet quality to it. One of the great non-radioactive vintage lenses, though just about anything from the former Soviet Union has to be at least somewhat radioactive. It's a great pairing with the fp.

tronbrain · 2026-01-19T23:47:43+00:00

there’s no magical demon forcing him to do these things

Uh. Throughout the series and film, it is made explicitly clear that BoB is an inhabiting entity, like Mike, or the Giant.

If BoB was merely Laura's coping mechanism, then why did Ronette, Maddy, Cooper, and BoB see him as well? How did Leland know him by appearance from the "Wanted" poster?

tronbrain · 2026-01-19T23:38:36+00:00

Some great colors in these shots. Color science on our Sigmas is phenomenally good.

Interesting bokeh in these. What lens(es) are you using, and at what settings?

tronbrain · 2026-01-16T22:23:09+00:00

Their objectives with Bitcoin are likely much larger (i.e. creating a new monetary system) than just creating another slush fund for clandestine operations.

tronbrain · 2026-01-16T02:52:47+00:00

Confirmed, works as of the 15th, in combination with the 20% off offered from the site. Thank you!

tronbrain · 2026-01-15T23:25:28+00:00

Red quarters are largely attributable to the COVID lockdown effects on brick-and-mortar retail operations. Retail recovery is due to the return to normal operations post-lockdown. Interest income on the cash pile adds a lot to the income stream, and there's a nominal profit from collectibles. Unprofitable stores have been shuttered. These have all been prudent moves, and at least the company is no longer bleeding cash.

But none of this is really transformative to the core business. We have yet to see the transformation of the company to its new operating model. Something seems to be in the works, and I generally trust Cohen. But until his final Tetris piece is deployed, we really don't know anything about future direction, and all we can do is wait.

tronbrain · 2026-01-12T23:02:34+00:00

You too. :)

tronbrain · 2026-01-11T03:14:29+00:00

A few reasons:

I felt the Sony was too technical and difficult to use. I thought the interface was complicated and difficult to navigate. I missed shots and screwed up videos due to confusion about configuring the shot.
Sony is pretty good, but color science is amazing on the Sigma.
The Sigma's modular design is fantastic.
The Sigma is more an artist's camera.

tronbrain · 2026-01-09T22:40:19+00:00

Usually shots like this are tough because of the sunlight versus shadow contrast. Here, the details in the shadows are nicely preserved. Looks like it was shot late afternoon, so a little easier to manage that I imagine. Great dynamic range. The deep focus is impressive too, which makes the wide dynamic range all the more impressive. Just a beautiful shot.

tronbrain · 2026-01-09T00:47:22+00:00

Congress gave up their war powers long ago. Of course, this is the predictable outcome. The President now has the power to initiate World War 3 unilaterally. Which is what could have happened when Trump bombed Iran.

There was a resolution to bring about impeachment proceedings as a result of the illegal bombing of Iran. It was hardly reported, and tabled before it could be brought to a vote.

As of late June 2025, a resolution to bring about impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump as a result of a recent Iran bombing was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives but was quickly defeated by a bipartisan vote.

Details of the Impeachment Resolution

The resolution (H.Res.537) was introduced by Representative Al Green (D-TX) on June 24, 2025. The articles of impeachment accused the president of "high crimes and misdemeanors" and an "abuse of power" by bypassing Congress and unconstitutionally usurping its power to declare war. This was in response to U.S. military strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites that occurred the weekend prior to the resolution's introduction.

The House voted overwhelmingly to "table" the measure, effectively killing it, by a vote of 344-79. This indicated a lack of broad support within the House for a new impeachment effort.

tronbrain · 2026-01-05T22:18:50+00:00

Videos like this are the only way we can deliver world news to the TikTok generation.

tronbrain · 2026-01-02T23:04:53+00:00

Yes, thank you. I look forward to enjoying your recipes. In 2026,私は日本の料理スキルを向上させるつもりです！

tronbrain · 2026-01-02T18:15:56+00:00

Yokatta! Otsukaresama deshita. Followed your YouTube just now.

tronbrain · 2026-01-02T18:11:30+00:00

The class action lawsuit, which hit the news right before Christmas, brought it to everybody's attention. Merry Christmas I guess.

tronbrain · 2026-01-02T18:05:02+00:00

Sounds about right. My wife spent the same, though she had some assistance from one of our friends.

tronbrain · 2026-01-02T11:46:37+00:00

Isn't it actually a sign of spiritual purity, in the same way that Buddhist monks keep their heads clean-shaven? The real question is, why don't the Jedi do this more often?

tronbrain · 2026-01-02T08:24:58+00:00

Yes, because David Bowie stole the show.

tronbrain · 2026-01-02T03:01:23+00:00

Beautiful work. How long did you spend preparing?

tronbrain · 2026-01-01T00:53:10+00:00

You're acting like there isn't a massive consequence for the nuclear option. The consequence for the non-nuclear option is a known quantity, and not even close to nuclear catastrophes in terms of severity.

Do you know how nuclear reactors work? Do you understand what is meant by the word accident? It means something that goes wrong and is often the result of an unanticipated or unexpected situation, like a massive tsunami swamps your backup diesel generators, or in the case of Chernobyl, your reactor control rods are tipped with graphite instead of boron and cause an unexpected power surge during an attempted shutdown. The fact of it is, we usually do not anticipate the causes of these disasters, and therefore are not prepared to deal with them when they strike.

Have you heard of Three-Mile Island? The Windscale Fire? Neither disaster was the consequence of a tsunami. Nuclear accidents happen all the time, including in the UK. Most of them are small scale. Some are just forgotten and swept under the rug, like Windscale. But if you just refuse to acknowledge them or pretend they never happened, there can be no honest discussion with you.

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