If you'd asked me back in October about this one, I would've said one of the best written Sunset Shimmer meets Twilight stories, but still just another one of those stories, but its really hit its stride. Not only is Sunset much better written than canon, not just the arrogant student of Princess Celestia who dove through a mirror into another dimension when she didn't get what she wanted, this one is a teenager with what that brings, angry about the Princess not being her real mom, and as we see about when this really starts getting good, an inferiority complex. Yes, this Sunset is a real person, one that runs into Twilight, and realizes that the system is failing her. When she asks a Professor for help getting Twilight into Celestia's school, its pass admission day, and Twilight is too young, the Professor puts a price on his sponsoring her, Sunset will have to be her official mentor. She's been teaching Twilight and Moondancer, but make that official? She does decide to do it, but struggles with the choice. Things really got good in the last chapter, canon Twilight hatches a dragon egg, something the fandom has generally assumed was an impossible task to see how the student handles failure, here that's unquestionably the case as Twilight examines the egg and realizes its a rock. When she points this out, she's told she wasn't brought here to identify it, but to hatch it, that's the test. Could you be more blatant? And umm,
Click to open/closeshe hatches it and gets her cutie mark, one slightly different from the show.
Yeah, this one is looking real interesting, assuming the author keeps this quality up, I have to wonder where they're going, will this just go on for the entire show, stop at some point only for there to be another story, or...? Seriously, if you like Sunset or young Twilight, you really need to read this one.
While I'm here, let me point out another good one, Twilight's Me Time. Originally a one off, the fans demanded it continue, so it has. Nothing real deep here, SciTwi (EQG) decides since she's board, she'll spend summer break with Princess Twilight in Equestria. Two nerds that have a habit of experimenting first and thinking second, what could possibly go wrong? Yeah, this is just a silly thing, easy reading, but definitely a fun read.
@Andrew Pam Yeah, up until she decided to help Twilight get into school, it was a good Sunset meets Twilight story that I'd read and forget about when it was done, but after that its pretty much guaranteed a slot as long as the author doesn't fall flat on their face.
And thanks for letting me know Twilight's Me Time was continued - I read the first chapter but hadn't noticed the continuation, so now it's on my tracking list.
@Andrew Pam Yeah, I stumbled on it on the front page a week or two after the second chapter was posted, and clicked because it made no sense that it was being featured again, and imagine my surprise to see it continuing.
I mean, if weโre going to get literal about it. Sausage derives from the Latin salsicus, which means โseasoned with saltโeverything and nothing, a Borgesian meta-concept that retreats as you approach it.
But to the legislators of the EU, a sausage can now have only one meaning: a cylindrical object containing meat
Never mind that cylindrical objects containing no meat have been marketed under names such as #Glamorgan sausage (selsig Morgannwg) for at least 150 years
Never mind that even Germans once felt the need to call animal sausages #mettwurst, to distinguish them from other kinds
Never mind that almost everyone knows what โveggie sausageโ, โvegan sausageโ or โplant-based sausageโ mean
A recent survey of 20,000 Dutch people found that 96% are not confused by such terms, which is probably a higher percentage than those who can readily distinguish left from right. The #consumer must at all costs be protected from an imaginary threat.
European legislators may ban plant-based products from using the name to prevent โconfusionโ. Just donโt mention beef tomatoes or buffalo wings, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot
We are looking for an experienced Android UI developer for github.com/deltachat/deltachatโฆ. Native Java, close to the system, with minimal deps and fluff.
Networking/encryption/persistence is not part of the job as it happens in github.com/chatmail/core
Remote collab is fine and the default. We meet in person every few months in the black forest or other occasions/places. We can do 20-30 hours per week contracts with 4-5K EUR pay per month.
Hi @delta One of my friends is a senior Android UI developer and actively looking for a job new year. Could you please share the job link or details on how to apply?
Medmastodon (instance for doctors and healthcare professionals) stopped working at the end of 2025 without a warning. Users lost access to their accounts. In this Lemmy post there are some ideas for users on how to manually rebuild the list of follows and other sources of help.
The speed with which it happened prevented users from accessing their data, highlighting the risks of decentralized social media without backups. Its administrator ceased operations, causing confusion and data loss for many healthcare professionals who had signed up as an alternative to Twitter.
This event serves as a reminder: Wherever you are on Mastodon, back up your data!
WARNING: To help Med-mastodon users who have returned to the Fediverse, the Poliverso staff has created the Friendica group @MedMastodon
If you follow this group, you can:
1. Follow it and mention it in your messages, and it will reshare all your public posts addressed to it (this only applies to an initial message, not a reply to another message). 2. Follow it only to read all the messages from fellow doctors who send messages through it.
For our friends in the #USA from the #FCC: Comments Due: February 2, 2026 Reply Comments Due: March 3, 2026
On November 20, 2025, the FCC adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), which would seek comment on a plan to modernize Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS) to align TRS with todayโs communications landscape and ensure that relay services remain effective, accessible, and sustainable for individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, deafblind, or have speech disabilities. The FCC released the document on November 21, 2025, and established the comment period on January 2, 2026.
In the Notice, the FCC proposes and seeks comment on:
โข Phasing out the mandatory status of TTY-based relay service for state-based TRS programs; โข Facilitating usersโ transitions from analog TRS to Internet-based forms of TRS; โข Recognizing IP STS as a compensable form of TRS; โข Exploring a national analog relay provider; โข Improving compatibility with real-time text (RTT); โข Streamlining TRS provider certification and data collection processes, โข Updating or eliminating obsolete rules, and โข Closing an outdated docket.
Interested parties may file comments by accessing the FCCโs Electronic Comment Filing System at fcc.gov/ecfs/filings. All filings must reference CG Docket Nos. 03-123 and 08-15. People with disabilities who need assistance to file comments online may request assistance by email to FCC504@fcc.gov.
For general questions about TRS, visit www.fcc.gov/trs. For further information about this item, please contact Joshua Mendelsohn, Disability Rights Office, Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, at (202) 559-7304 (voice and videophone) or Joshua.Mendelsohn@fcc.gov.
Whats Your silly Duck Name (three ducks shown) First name: Your credit card number Middle name: name: The expiration month/year Last name: The three wacky numbers on the back
Exactly, so make those numbers up or, better still, declare your own Silly Duck Name without any numbers at all. But I have to question why anyone has to have a Silly Duck Name in the first place. For social media purposes, I'm claiming "Ducky Quackster".
Neat paper I missed in 2024 - these guys took an ultrasonic wedge wire bonder - the kind that's used to attach wires to chips - scaled it up by 15x, and used it to 3D print aluminium! Pretty cheap to implement, not much to it. Pretty cool. Open access, DOI: 10.3390/ma17102188
A fire broke out at Russia's #Energia defense plant in #Yelets, #Lipetsk Oblast, during a Ukrainian drone attack the evening of Jan. 4, according to reports and #video footage from local residents.
The Energia factory in Lipetsk Oblast produces components for Russian missiles and drones, including batteries for the Iskander ballistic missile system and cruise missiles.
Many people think it can be substituted by speech synthesis, by audiobooks, by other things. It can't.
Voice is serial, it unfolds in time. It requires working memory. Braille is static. It unfolds in space, remains stable in time. It backs working memory, does not consume it. For things that require pinning down relationships (mathematics, music, programming) braile has clear advantages.
This is not to say people can't manage without it. I don't always use a braille display. But it makes things better: learning, accuracy, performance, speed.
Witholding braille from blind people is withholding literacy, it's denying capacity.
Thank you so much for your toots and the sharing of that article, that was so interesting !! I knew about the decrease in litteracy among blind and low vision people, mainly due to the digitalization of medias and the development of text to speech, but I did not know (even if I could have guessed) about all the barriers in learning and teaching Braille.
In the article you shared, I was surprised (though I should not have been, in retrospect) that the arguments "you would not make him blind" to not teach someone mobility skills, are precisely the same used for mobility impaired people, and all the "arguments" against using canes or wheelchairs. As if those tools were "giving up on disability", when they actually allow you to not give up on your participation in society. Not using them, is giving up !
Wow, I should have guessed that wasn't a unique blind thing; but of course it makes sense that to able society, an accommodation, especially if it's visible, if it sets you apart, is an unbearable reminder; when for us, it's how we get things done.
I LOVE how your toot made us both realize how similar it was for other parts of the disability community โบ๏ธ. The case of "wheelchairs (and other mobility devices) will make you lazy or is bad for your walking capacity" is sadly very strong among medical professionals and general public.
Whereas, as you word it very accurately, it should not be "one or the other" but "one and the other" and give the place for everyone to chose the most effective tools in any situation.
Fully agreed. I hardly ever use braille now that I'm done with public school, the efficiency gap is real. My top braille reading speed was 180 WPM, my screen reader reads at 910 WPM. That said, when I code, I see the code in my head in braille. It helps so much.
'According to a recent investigation by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Draft One โseems deliberately designed to avoid audits that could provide any accountability to the public.โ'
"That's when we learned the importance of correcting these AI-generated reports"
What???? Only then?! Something this obvious didn't came to their mind before that?! This is not some BS startup using AI for their meeting minutes. This is the effing police. Aren't those people aware of the fact that police reports require to be accurate?! Don't they know what a halfway descent defence attorney will do with their stupid report in court?!
"That's when we learned the importance of correcting these AI-generated reports."
That is outrageous. Absolutely outrageous. That should have been the plan from the very start, right? Rather than reacting when their AI turns out to be as stupid as EVERYONE has been saying all along? It's not a secret after all.
How many people has this department damaged with bogus AI reports?
I don't think this needs fixing. I think putting those reports in front of a judge with the mistakes indicating that officers turned into frogs is absolutely the most hilarious thing ever, and any police department that allows those reports to stand deserves the laughter it's going to get.(and the censure from the judge.)
Only after the software malfunctioned did they consider checking it ๐คฆIt's so tragic actual supposed professionals are checking their common sense in at the door when it comes to software.
Hey Guys, gals, people and pets, Satya Nadella is getting tired of people calling AI Slop output AI Slop. If everyone can stop that's be great as it is upsetting Microslops share holders.
Don't start calling Microslop Microslop or use the #microslop tag as it might burst the AI bubble and then Microslop might have to take SlopPilot out of Windows. As you know, that would be terrible.
We should do as Microsoft's CEO wants and stop calling AI garbage Slop. Instead we should call it Nadella, to show him our appreciation of all he's done for us!
Compassionate Crab
in reply to ๐ด Seph ๐ญ ๐พ • • •We even call ours the Easybake oven.
๐ด Seph ๐ญ ๐พ likes this.