New blog post!
☆The good decisions of early Chuck E. Cheese (and why things changed)☆
The first thing you need to understand is that when oldbies wax nostalgic about Chuck E. Cheese, it all boils down to one thing:
PRESENTATION!
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️\o/️
Let's just dive straight in.
The "Theater" in "Pizza Time Theater"
New blog post!
☆The State of A.I. (spring ’25) The Sequel☆
So because this all moves so fast, a bit of an addendum to this Rant.
A small update, but an update nonetheless.
As cool as it gets, and why that sucks
Fortnite is a thing that still exists and by abusing a natural language model, a generative language model, and text to speech, you can now speak almost in real time with Darth Vader,(...) https://blog.bluestarcreations.net/rant-of-the-moment/the-state-of-a-i-spring-25-the-sequel/
New blog post!
☆Why Linux isn’t the solution to the Windows 10 sunset☆
Linux people, I know you mean well. Windows 11 has issues. Microsoft is being a pain. But you are simply not addressing the right issues.
In case it wasn't clear, this will be a call for introspection as delivered as a biting critique. You have been warned.
Leaving an ecosystem is HARD!
You cannot throw a parrot in Antarctica. It dies.(...) https://blog.bluestarcreations.net/rant-of-the-moment/why-linux-isnt-the-solution-to-the-windows-10-sunset/
New blog post!
☆The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, first impressions☆
Warning: this game is rated M for Mature and so I'm not going to hold back on swearing.
It feels like this is the Bethesda game I've been waiting for. And I have to wonder if it wasn't part of those (...) https://blog.bluestarcreations.net/blues-reviews/the-elder-scrolls-iv-oblivion-remastered-first-impressions/
New blog post!
☆Why Final Fantasy XVI Isn’t the Future of the Franchise (and Why Square Enix Might Think It Is)☆
It's important to consider your fandom critically and TBQH, F(...) https://blog.bluestarcreations.net/rant-of-the-moment/why-final-fantasy-xvi-isnt-the-future-of-the-franchise-and-why-square-enix-might-think-it-is/
New blog post!
☆Apparently this blog has made it! Sort of!☆
It's always good to know you're getting traffic and in that interest, I've been using a post counter for a bit now. So imagine my surprise when my Rogue Galaxy review suddenly got 90 hits in a day. Something, somehow, had caused my blog to gain reach outside of Fedi.
Well, today I found out why: The(...) https://blog.bluestarcreations.net/rant-of-the-moment/apparently-this-blog-has-made-it-sort-of/
New blog post!
☆The State of A.I. (spring ’25)☆
The A.I. bubble has gotten to a point where it's managed to tick off just about everyone, from the tech folk of Fedi to their crochet-loving grandmas. Generative slop has poisoned the well for any A.I. at all.
There are actually a LOT of good uses for A.I., just not generative A.I. And I'm here to talk about both.
(...) https://blog.bluestarcreations.net/rant-of-the-moment/the-state-of-a-i-spring-25/
@bluestarultor@mastodon.social And for the people who cannot see m.s:
Classic blog post:
☆Cybiko, Amazon Ring, and Briar☆
What do a short-lived early 2000s teen-centric PDA, a novelty doorbell, and a privacy focused messaging app all have in common? Clearly they're all intended for very different markets.
The answer, of course, must then be universal. And that answer is network redundancy.
Modern H...
https://blog.bluestarcreations.net/rant-of-the-moment/cybiko-amazon-ring-and-briar/
New blog post!
☆The wealth of nations☆
There was a poll on Fedi that just ended asking how a society should be judged. I haven't asked to link it, and normally I wouldn't, but the results were:
by the rich and powerful (1%)
by the average person (5%)
by the poorest and least powerful (94%)
And while I think the final option is noble, it highlights the warp(...) https://blog.bluestarcreations.net/rant-of-the-moment/the-wealth-of-nations/
New blog post!
☆Capes and cloaks☆
While "NO CAPES!" is a very repeatable quote from The Incredibles, unless you're a superhero (or supervillain), I think these items really need to be reconsidered as part of modern fashion. Why? Well, 1) they're highly fashionable, 2) they're actually quite practical, and 3) I know the benefits of having apparel(...) https://blog.bluestarcreations.net/rant-of-the-moment/capes-and-cloaks/
New blog post!
☆Build Me a Train to Everywhere (History of Transportation)☆
I figure it's been a while since my notifications blew up due to some logistical enlightenment, and since you can only have so many pinned posts, I figure my blog is the best way ... https://blog.bluestarcreations.net/rant-of-the-moment/build-me-a-train-to-everywhere-history-of-transportation/
New blog post!
☆Smaller games with worse graphics☆
Since everyone else is commenting on this NYT article, I thought I'd throw in my 2¢. The answer as I've said before is that graphics are a shorthand for system power and have been for so long, we've collectively forgotten that.
To quote my past self from my writing on FF Wiki where I can't... https://blog.bluestarcreations.net/rant-of-the-moment/smaller-games-with-worse-graphics/
New blog post!
☆The Definitive Digimon Game☆
It's not often I respond directly to someone else's thing, but this video makes a very convincing argument that I kind of wanted to address.
Go ahead and give it a watch. I'll wait.
Back? Okay.
What is "definitive?"
It's no secret that I have my own soft spot for Digimon as a franchise. I gr... https://blog.bluestarcreations.net/rant-of-the-moment/the-definitive-digimon-game/
New blog post!
☆Why I am team “Permanent DST” (also VOTE!)☆
To preface this, I am not a sleep expert, nor am I a human behavioral expert, but I am VERY much an expert on not sleeping and living with standard time in the winter. Because of my old job, I am hyper-aware of the changing of seasons and the fading light. It is a supe... https://blog.bluestarcreations.net/rant-of-the-moment/why-i-am-team-permanent-dst-also-vote/
Today is my first workday on standard time and let me just say how frustrated I am.
Rest? It was okay. Woke up sleep drunk yesterday, felt pretty rested today, which is very rare because of my night owl tendencies.
But my office smart lights turned on for their sunset offset at 2:30 and they're sitting on their warm white wind-down color. The one I use to help myself not be quite so awake.
I went out to try to find some metal bits I lost with a magnet on a string at 3:30 because it's miserable out and I knew I was losing light.
I have OPINIONS about standard time vs. DST. And they all boil down to "please for the love of GOD let me see the fucking sun!" Fact of the matter is DST doesn't make people not sleep; that shit became irrelevant with electric lights.
This should probably be a full #RantOfTheMoment, but you get a #MiniRant for now.
Not going to link to the post, but it's about how a news site is letting you pay to not be flooded with cookies for ad purposes.
God, does nobody use an ad blocker?
Do yourself a favor:
Firefox has Enhanced Tracking Protection on by default. This means it essentially doesn't matter if anything serves you cookies; they're blocked cross-domain, so whenever a site requests them, Firefox serves it its own cookies right back. There's even a check mark to tell sites automatically not to sell your data.
All of these are solved problems.
New blog post!
☆A snapshot in a shopping list☆
It's not often I single out a specific post to talk about, but, with permission from Natasha to embed, she's presented a lovely find!
For those who can't see it, or if for whatever reason the post is deleted, the item in question is a brass grocery list either cast or engraved in two columns with what looks ... https://blog.bluestarcreations.net/rant-of-the-moment/a-snapshot-in-a-shopping-list/
New blog post!
☆Why corporate social media is still necessary☆
Fedi has thankfully moved past the point of obsession with Bluesky and seeing as that's where everyone in Brazil is fleeing with the sudden ban of Twitter in the country, it's worth ruminating about why.
The answer is that on some level, ... https://blog.bluestarcreations.net/rant-of-the-moment/why-corporate-social-media-is-still-necessary/
New blog post!
☆Analog Computing: The Next Tech Bubble?☆
This came up on my YouTube rec's and there's a text article to go with it, and of course from there, I got other stuff on the topic, because the algorithm is a merciless thing.
To set this straight, there are reasons this looks like the beginnings of the next bu... https://blog.bluestarcreations.net/rant-of-the-moment/analog-computing-the-next-tech-bubble/
New blog post!
☆Final Fantasy VII Rebirth fall/winter infodump analysis☆
To take my mind off everything else, a bit of me doing fan analysis here.
Okay, to get some gushing out before the rest:
OMG, RED, I CAN'T WAIT!
CAIT SITH AND HIS CUTE LITTLE TEEFS!
KUJATAAAAA!
*DEEP BREATH*
Okay, let's get into this.... https://blog.bluestarcreations.net/rant-of-the-moment/final-fantasy-vii-rebirth-fall-winter-infodump-analysis/
