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Rec-Cember Day 4-6: 3 Babylon 5 recs [2 fic, 1 fanart] + a commenting success story

I figured that I'd group these together as they're by the same author. I wanted to talk about this anyway, because this is one of the more gratifying experiences I've had with leaving comments on older fic. Basically, I commented on a long WIP that hadn't been updated in several years, and the author not only wrote the rest of it but ALSO, to my delighted amazement, posted another long fic in the same universe, and started posting some new fanart too. It was wonderful. ♥ Never be afraid to comment even years later; sometimes you not only make someone's day but get lovely fanworks in return.

( 3 Londo/G'Kar Babylon 5 recs (by the same creator) cut for spoilers )

Apollo 17 at Shorty Crater

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap251206.html

Apollo 17 at Shorty Crater

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap251206.html

まるさんの思い出２。-Memories of Maru 2.-（動画）

Posted by mugumogu

https://sisinmaru.com/2025/12/07/%e3%81%be%e3%82%8b%e3%81%95%e3%82%93%e3%81%ae%e6%80%9d%e3%81%84%e5%87%ba%ef%bc%92%e3%80%82-memories-of-maru-2-%ef%bc%88%e5%8b%95%e7%94%bb%ef%bc%89/

https://sisinmaru.com/?p=33273

2008年のまるさんです！　たくさん遊んだ思い出。 Maru in 2008! Memories of playing with Maru a lot.

https://sisinmaru.com/2025/12/07/%e3%81%be%e3%82%8b%e3%81%95%e3%82%93%e3%81%ae%e6%80%9d%e3%81%84%e5%87%ba%ef%bc%92%e3%80%82-memories-of-maru-2-%ef%bc%88%e5%8b%95%e7%94%bb%ef%bc%89/

https://sisinmaru.com/?p=33273

Video of V3cam being destroyed by lava fountain

Posted by ShooBoo

https://www.metafilter.com/211341/Video-of-V3cam-being-destroyed-by-lava-fountain

(With 2:00 video) The V3 camera was located on the south rim of Halema'uma'u crater at the summit of Kīlauea volcano on the Island of Hawai'i. The camera, located in a hazardous closed area of Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, was buried by tephra from an inclined lava fountain between 9:55 and 9:57 am HST on December 6. The story on Big Island Video News

https://www.metafilter.com/211341/Video-of-V3cam-being-destroyed-by-lava-fountain

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2562 / Fic - The Old Guard

As If From the Sea
The Old Guard | Andy/Quỳnh | ~1000 words

(Also on AO3)

( Andy, Quỳnh, and a moment in a temple courtyard. )

Current Mood: amused

a comedic interlude

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has marked as possibly inappropriate for anyone under the age of 18. )

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FIC: The View from T'Khut (Complete).

The View from T'Khut (50669 words) by Laura JV
Chapters: 9/9
Fandom: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Spock/Nyota Uhura, James T. Kirk/Spock, Sarek & Spock (Star Trek), Spock & Spock Prime, James T. Kirk & Spock
Characters: Spock (Star Trek), Spock Prime, James T. Kirk, Nyota Uhura, T'Pau (Star Trek), Sarek (Star Trek), Vulcan Characters (Star Trek), Crew of the Starship Enterprise
Additional Tags: Vulcan Culture (Star Trek), Vulcan Mind Melds (Star Trek), Vulcan Language (Star Trek), jj abrams should be ashamed of himself, Vulcan history, Vulcan mythology, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, symbiotic red algae
Series: Part 1 of The View from T'Khut
Summary:

Part I: The Absent World. The planet vanishes, but her people go on.

Part II: An Archaeology of Loss. The world-death left a scar in spacetime, and a void in the heart of the Federation.

Part III: Time and Darkness. In which Ambassador Spock fires unexpected shots.

"President Trump uses unconventional diplomacy"

Posted by doctornemo

https://www.metafilter.com/211340/President-Trump-uses-unconventional-diplomacy

"The days of the United States propping up the entire world order like Atlas are over." Since 1986 American presidents have published national security strategy statements. With the recently posted "National Security Strategy of the United States of America" the Trump administration now proclaims its views and plans for its foreign policy and the world.

There's a lot in the document, including a Trump Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, continuing a cold war with China, "cultivating resistance to Europe's current trajectory within European nations," and "want[ing] the restoration and reinvigoration of American spiritual and cultural health."

Commentary from War on the Rocks, The Economist ("bleak, incoherent"; ungated), Al Jazeera, New York Times, Le Monde ("targets Europe and spares adversaries"), Carl Bildt ("new security strategy places itself to the right of the extreme right in Europe"), former ambassador of France to the United States Gérard Araud ("reads like a far-right pamphlet"), Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), the Atlantic Council, DW News, the Washington Post editorial board ("less a strategy than a mood board"), and The Atlantic ("Like the babble of a thrashing sleeper who alternates between fantasy-laden dreams and cold-sweat nightmares").

https://www.metafilter.com/211340/President-Trump-uses-unconventional-diplomacy

Beware of boys in tight pants

Posted by chavenet

https://www.metafilter.com/211339/Beware-of-boys-in-tight-pants

People of the World: Relax!

"People of the World: Relax!" is excerpted from "The Complete C Comics," a collection of Joe Brainard's innovative work Joe Brainard, previously

https://www.metafilter.com/211339/Beware-of-boys-in-tight-pants

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writing: published

New story in anthology -- out now!

I have various longer posts to make (job transition news, a write-up of a truly hilarious theater experience, etc), but in the meantime, a quick post to let you know that the Murderfish anthology, which I have a story in, is now officially out and available for purchase!

Murderfish is, as it says on the tin, an anthology of stories about murderous fish. (Its predecessors were Murderbirds and Murderbugs, which cracks me up every time I think about it.) Each story features a different kind of sea life, as well as very cool art of them all! I haven't read all the rest yet, but I'm excited to, and it looks like there are a whole lot of genres involved. My story, "In Sheets of Seaweed," is about a woman in the simultaneously privileged and precarious position of being a prince's mistress, who dreams increasingly of sharks calling to her; I called it my "shark selkie" story for a long time before I thought of a title, and in fact after. I'm very fond of this story, and I'm delighted it's found a home at last.

The ebook is available here and the paperback here. The audiobook is coming soon, but hasn't been unveiled quite yet.

Those are both Amazon links, though not affiliate ones. If you're like me and prefer to avoid buying things through Amazon, full support, but for the moment that's all I have. I've asked if it'll be available on other sites as well, and I'll update when I get an answer.

Gosh! names it's best graphic novels of 2025

Posted by Paul Slade

https://www.metafilter.com/211338/Gosh-names-its-best-graphic-novels-of-2025

You know, for kids. Gosh! is the best comics shop in London - and possibly in the whole UK. They also have a best of 2025 list for adults. There's no ranking here to fight about, just alphabetical lists.

The only book I've read on either list is Craig Thompson's Ginseng Roots, which I heartily recommend.

https://www.metafilter.com/211338/Gosh-names-its-best-graphic-novels-of-2025

Producing alternative proteins for vegans is not as easy as you think

Posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries

https://www.metafilter.com/211337/Producing-alternative-proteins-for-vegans-is-not-as-easy-as-you-think

Producing alternative proteins for vegans is not as easy as you think. The world is facing a crisis in food production and alternative sources of protein can be part of the solution, but the fledgling Australian sector is struggling.

https://www.metafilter.com/211337/Producing-alternative-proteins-for-vegans-is-not-as-easy-as-you-think

A specialized use of Claude code tool.

Posted by aleph

https://www.metafilter.com/211336/A-specialized-use-of-Claude-code-tool

It seems to be very useful for de-compiling other code. HN talking about: "The unexpected effectiveness of one-shot decompilation with Claude (blog.chrislewis.au)"

The author's previous post on de-compiling an N64 game. https://blog.chrislewis.au/using-coding-agents-to-decompile-nintendo-64-games/ But it's not a magic button for people who don't know what they're doing. As a couple of HN comments describe: [snip] saagarjha 3 hours ago | prev | next [–] It's worth noting here that the author came up with a handful of good heuristics to guide Claude and a very specific goal, and the LLM did a good job given those constraints. Most seasoned reverse engineers I know have found similar wins with those in place. What LLMs are (still?) not good at is one-shot reverse engineering for understanding by a non-expert. If that's your goal, don't blindly use an LLM. People already know that you getting an LLM to write prose or code is bad, but it's worth remembering that doing this for decompilation is even harder :) zdware 1 hour ago | parent | next [–] Agree with this. I'm a software engineer that has mostly not had to manage memory for most of my career. I asked Opus how hard it would be to port the script extender for Baldurs Gate 3 from Windows to the native Linux Build. It outlined that it would be very difficult for someone without reverse engineering experience, and correctly pointed out they are using different compilers, so it's not a simple mapping exercise. It's recommendation was not to try unless I was a Ghrida master and had lots of time in my hands.

https://www.metafilter.com/211336/A-specialized-use-of-Claude-code-tool

Cards!

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

A Story About Some Expensive Shit

Posted by NoxAeternum

https://www.metafilter.com/211335/A-Story-About-Some-Expensive-Shit

Police in New Zealand recover a James Bond inspired Fabergé egg pendant six days after the would be thief tried to smuggle the $19K pendant out of the store by swallowing it.

The pendant was retrieved naturally, with no medical intervention, according to NZ police.

https://www.metafilter.com/211335/A-Story-About-Some-Expensive-Shit

Current Mood: angry

Back in August a video of church leaders who want the 19th Amendment repealed went viral after being retweeted by US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. They were from the Congregation of Reformed Evangelical Churches [what?] led by Doug Wilson [who?]. What is Doug Wilson on about and why should we care? Fundie Fridays will tell you all about him [youtube | 2h27m]

https://www.metafilter.com/211334/Who-tf-is-Doug-Wilson

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Speak Up Saturday

Assortment of black and white speech bubbles

Welcome to the weekly roundup post! What are you watching this week? What are you excited about?

Rec-Cember Day 4-6: 3 Babylon 5 recs [2 fic, 1 fanart] + a commenting success story

Apollo 17 at Shorty Crater

まるさんの思い出２。-Memories of Maru 2.-（動画）

Video of V3cam being destroyed by lava fountain

2562 / Fic - The Old Guard

a comedic interlude

FIC: The View from T'Khut (Complete).

"President Trump uses unconventional diplomacy"

Beware of boys in tight pants

New story in anthology -- out now!

Gosh! names it's best graphic novels of 2025

Producing alternative proteins for vegans is not as easy as you think

A specialized use of Claude code tool.

Cards!

A Story About Some Expensive Shit

a political interlude

2561 / Fic - The Pitt

Who tf is Doug Wilson?

Speak Up Saturday

Gen Prompt Bingo Round 29