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Pragmatic Optimism

@pragmaticoptimism

“The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.” – Aristotle

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24.11.2024
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Latest posts by Pragmatic Optimism @pragmaticoptimism

Preview
Satellite proposals threaten the night sky In the United States, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the agency responsible for authorizing satellite launches and operations…

The FCC just opened public comments on SpaceX's plan to launch a million satellites to do AI compute in space. Under the current proposal, an environmental review won't be required. Please consider submitting a public comment to oppose this damaging plan.
darksky.org/news/two-sat...

22.02.2026 19:21 👍 3529 🔁 2713 💬 123 📌 405

Heads up for SFWA members filling out the Nebula nomination form:

It is possible to 'save and continue later' BUT if you do this, be sure to ALSO do the step (on the next page) of emailing yourself the link to your partial ballot.

Otherwise you'll have no way to get back to it!

22.02.2026 21:56 👍 73 🔁 42 💬 2 📌 5

“I got Claude to” BLOCK
“I asked ChaptGPT” BLOCK
“I used Gemini to” BLOCK

22.02.2026 19:40 👍 511 🔁 122 💬 9 📌 13
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Paediatricians’ blood used to make new treatments for RSV and colds Antibodies harvested from the blood of paediatricians are up to 25 times better at protecting against the common respiratory infection RSV than existing antibody therapies, and are now being developed as preventative treatments

Antibodies harvested from the blood of paediatricians are up to 25 times better at protecting against the common respiratory infection RSV than existing antibody therapies, and are now being developed as preventative treatments

20.02.2026 06:55 👍 422 🔁 123 💬 13 📌 66
Preview
The Colorado River Crisis is Here States fail to reach a deal; Lake Powell Deadpool appears imminent

Federal officials now project that Lake Powell will "most probably" drop below power pool level — meaning Glen Canyon Dam will no longer be able to generate hydropower — before the end of this year: www.landdesk.org/p/the-colora... via @landdesk.bsky.social

19.02.2026 01:39 👍 315 🔁 190 💬 16 📌 26
Hugo Award nominations now open.

Hugo Award nominations now open.

Nominations are now open for the 2026 Hugo Awards!

Emails are going out to eligible nominators (those who became a member of LAcon V by January 31, 2026, or were a member of the Seattle Worldcon 2025) about how to set up their LAcon V virtual convention account.

11.02.2026 19:28 👍 145 🔁 95 💬 2 📌 116

RUN. RUN FAR AWAY FROM THIS CONTEST.

04.02.2026 23:47 👍 1220 🔁 586 💬 17 📌 3

In the barren wasteland, hope flickered like a distant flame. People gathered, building dreams atop ruins, nurturing love as scarce flowers pushing through cracked soil.

01.03.2025 12:53 👍 4 🔁 2 💬 1 📌 0

I am so enjoying @marthakelly.bsky.social in #Fallout! She is always fantastic.

29.01.2026 03:53 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Station Eleven is a single season and Counterpart is two.

How about Person of Interest? It’s on Netflix and as a bonus has many episodes in most of its seasons.

25.01.2026 02:56 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

If you haven’t seen Station Eleven yet, that one’s great. On HBO. Counterpart is great too, but I’m not sure where it’s streaming these days (and it was canceled prematurely- though I still think it’s a fun enough watch to be worth it).

25.01.2026 00:21 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

IMHO it is good but not can’t-miss.

24.01.2026 17:01 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
Preview
Anyone Can Vote in the Hugo Awards — And Here's How - Reactor You — yes, you! — can nominate work and vote for the winners of the 2026 Hugo Awards!

Did you know that ANYONE can vote in the Hugo Awards? Read on to find out how:
reactormag.com/anyone-can-v...

08.01.2026 17:17 👍 63 🔁 43 💬 3 📌 7
Carol sits in an office chair in the middle of her abandoned Albuquerque cul-de-sac. She is disheveled, balancing a beer on one knee, encircled by fireworks she is setting off. The caption reads “Happy New Year.” From the Apple TV show Pluribus.

Carol sits in an office chair in the middle of her abandoned Albuquerque cul-de-sac. She is disheveled, balancing a beer on one knee, encircled by fireworks she is setting off. The caption reads “Happy New Year.” From the Apple TV show Pluribus.

01.01.2026 06:21 👍 2 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

You’ve just opened up a Star Trek-themed restaurant.

What are you calling it?

The Lunch Bay

27.12.2025 03:44 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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a man sitting at a desk with his arms crossed Alt: Stanley is seated at his desk with his arms crossed, looking unamused, and the camera zooms in until he fills the frame. From the TV show The Office.

Are those bodies in there? There’d better not be any bodies in there.

27.11.2025 03:12 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Submit a Claim

Hey authors! Check to see if Anthropic stole your book to train their slop generator on. You’re entitled to $1500 per stolen Work.

Look up your work, and if you’re in the database, file a claim
secure.anthropiccopyrightsettlement.com/lookup/

18.11.2025 07:39 👍 3073 🔁 2542 💬 77 📌 135

AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

10.11.2025 04:04 👍 2 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

Okay, the last third of the book has returned to way too many current references…

03.11.2025 16:43 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
03.11.2025 07:19 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Caliban’s War is doing well on former and better on the latter; tone deaf commentary on the bodies of female characters still lingers at times.

03.11.2025 05:52 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

“It’s normal to feel conflict. You were part of something for a long time. You hate it, and it was a terrible thing. But it created you, and you were part of it.”

02.11.2025 04:50 👍 81 🔁 11 💬 0 📌 2

2- The female characters. When they’re given any agency to carry part of the plot, it seems like it’s co-primarily to motivate the male characters.

30.10.2025 18:22 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

1- Too many references to things understood today, understood by too many characters.

30.10.2025 18:19 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

Generally, I’m enjoying it. Two things I’m hoping get better as the series continues:

30.10.2025 18:18 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

Currently reading Leviathan Wakes.

30.10.2025 18:17 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

Have you seen Barbarian?

25.10.2025 18:38 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

Lanternflies only, pls.

18.10.2025 16:14 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
A black and blue poster featuring Michael Kenneth Williams, Kristen Wiig, and Maya Rudolf. The IFC TV series name is Eric Jonrosh’s The Spoils Before Dying.

A black and blue poster featuring Michael Kenneth Williams, Kristen Wiig, and Maya Rudolf. The IFC TV series name is Eric Jonrosh’s The Spoils Before Dying.

13.09.2025 15:42 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0