• 6 Posts
  • 38 Comments
Joined 3 months ago
cake
Cake day: November 6th, 2024

help-circle


  • Its possible some wires got crossed behind scenes, some database/software mixup.

    Maybe email proton support if you’re concerned? I’ve had some similar mixup happen with banking and they got it all sorted after I complained (I was getting emails intended for someone else).

    Edit: either way, I think you should let them know in case its phishing or something broken on their end.




  • More context here, this whole situation stems from a government policy issue that most media on this topic will miss.

    Kazuhito Yamashita, a research director at the Canon Institute for Global Studies, speaks in an interview with the Mainichi Shimbun in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward on Aug. 6, 2024. (Mainichi/Megumi Udagawa)

    Q: What is the main factor, then?

    A: The reason there is a shortage of rice is because of the acreage reduction policy which decreases the amount of land devoted to cultivation. Under acreage reduction, rice production is cut to raise market prices, and the government provides subsidies to rice farmers who switch to other crops such as wheat or soybeans. Japan has continued this policy for over 50 years.

    A terrible policy

    Q: It’s said that the decline in rice consumption is serious, but if the amount produced increased and the price went down, people would eat more, wouldn’t they?

    A: Exactly. Rice acreage reduction is an absolutely terrible policy. The government spends over 300 billion yen (about $2.06 billion) in subsidies annually to decrease the amount of rice produced, thus going out of its way to raise the price and increasing the burden on consumers. In the medical field, for example, the government spends money to reduce the financial burden on citizens, but the rice acreage reduction does the opposite – it is using taxpayer money to make consumers suffer.

    https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20240823/p2a/00m/0bu/024000c

    Edit: I wonder if there’s a happy middle ground. Increase production but then the govt purchases the excess to either stockpile or sell off the excess to the rest of the world (so it doesn’t lower domestic prices too much). And by increasing the stockpile the government could also more readily adapt to market shocks like this due to climate change, extreme weather, wars, etc.


  • More context here, this whole situation stems from a government policy issue that most media on this topic will miss.

    Kazuhito Yamashita, a research director at the Canon Institute for Global Studies, speaks in an interview with the Mainichi Shimbun in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward on Aug. 6, 2024. (Mainichi/Megumi Udagawa)

    Q: What is the main factor, then?

    A: The reason there is a shortage of rice is because of the acreage reduction policy which decreases the amount of land devoted to cultivation. Under acreage reduction, rice production is cut to raise market prices, and the government provides subsidies to rice farmers who switch to other crops such as wheat or soybeans. Japan has continued this policy for over 50 years.

    A terrible policy

    Q: It’s said that the decline in rice consumption is serious, but if the amount produced increased and the price went down, people would eat more, wouldn’t they?

    A: Exactly. Rice acreage reduction is an absolutely terrible policy. The government spends over 300 billion yen (about $2.06 billion) in subsidies annually to decrease the amount of rice produced, thus going out of its way to raise the price and increasing the burden on consumers. In the medical field, for example, the government spends money to reduce the financial burden on citizens, but the rice acreage reduction does the opposite – it is using taxpayer money to make consumers suffer.

    https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20240823/p2a/00m/0bu/024000c

    Edit: I wonder if there’s a happy middle ground. Increase production but then the govt purchases the excess to either stockpile or sell off the excess to the rest of the world (so it doesn’t lower domestic prices too much). And by increasing the stockpile the government could also more readily adapt to market shocks like this due to climate change, extreme weather, wars, etc.












  • I’m most excited for the split spacebar and the customizable key layout.

    However they’ve made it really annoying to swap out the keycaps, due to the wonky sizes. MNT calls them “1u” in documentation but the cake is a lie.

    Custom MBK Glows keycaps by FKcaps

    • Circle key - 1.5U
    • Backspace - 1.5U
    • Tab - 1.5U
    • Right CTRL - 1.75u
    • Enter - 1.75u
    • Shift x2 - 1.25u
    • Hyper/Function - 1.25u
    • Super - 1.5u
    • Right ALT - 1.5u
    • Left Space - 1.5u
    • Middle Space - 2u
    • Right Space - 1.5u
    • Right Arrow - 1.5u

    I really wish they stuck to just 2-3 sizes, 1u, 1.5u, and 2u instead of all these inbetween sizes 1.25u, 1.75u. It really makes changing out the keycaps challenging, you pretty much have to get keys custom printed if you want the led backlight to shine through, or just use blank keys or lasered keys if you don’t mind the lack of backlight.

    The good news is it is all open-firmware and hardware, so you could just make your own custom keyboard and stick it in the case.