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Archive for March, 2024

Four years ago today the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a pandemic and the world shut down.

Today, I’m taking a moment to remember what it was like in March 2020 and the long months after. To be grateful for the medical community, for front-line workers of all stripes, for vaccines and for all the many ways we’ve adapted and kept going.

Is life back to the way it was? Not exactly. (Minor examples: My hair is still too long, we still have masks kicking around for special occasions like doctor’s visits, and the thought of seeing a movie in a theatre still seems like a lot.) Covid is still a thing, not least for those with lingering symptoms. Even so, we have accomplished something that didn’t seem guaranteed four years ago: We’ve built a new normal.

Could it be better? Of course, and that’s what the future is for. Today, though, I’m happy to look back and see how far we’ve come since that day. And I’m glad we’re making that trip together.

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Photo by Delorean Rental on Unsplash

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Whelp, I’ve just used my tremendous powers of logic and persuasion to convince Mr Man to enjoy the rest of the weekend so that he doesn’t burn out in the week ahead. 

It is, after all, the start of Daylight Saving Time, which means we lose an hour of weekend time. And really, it’s not so much the hour, it’s the feeling that there wasn’t enough chill time to begin with and now we’re minus an hour.

Given that, I think I’ll take my own advice.

Happy Sunday!

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Photo by Sarah Dorweiler on Unsplash

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Purrfection

My time continues to be dedicated to the joys of tax filing. If only filing were as easy as paying your fees at this Massachusetts library!

A Purr-fect Program- A Massachusetts Public Library Is Waiving Fines When Shown A Cat Photo

Through the entire month of March, fines will be cleared for anyone who shows up to the library and shows a photo of a cat. The library is already fine-free, so this is aimed to help those struggling with fines for book-related accidents.

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Photo by Tucker Good on Unsplash

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“The one thing that you have that nobody else has is you. Your voice, your mind, your story, your vision. So write and draw and build and play and dance and live as only you can.”

— Neil Gaiman

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Photo by Evgeni Tcherkasski on Unsplash

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I was all excited to work on a story but thought, “No, I shall do some quick adulting in the form of taxes, and then I shall feel worthy of fun times spent in Funlandia!”

You know how this story goes. I am chest-deep in forms, statements, receipts and more, with no end in sight. 

Sorry, Funlandia, just one more mountain to climb.

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Photo by Todd Trapani on Unsplash

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To achieve great things, two things are needed: a plan, and not quite enough time.

— Leonard Bernstein

I found this line at a fun site that serves up quotes based on your mood: APLIFT. And given my lack of time today, it fits.

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Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

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Maybe you are already adept at converting inches (for example) to other units, but in case you are in the market for measurements made up of furlongs (real), or (somewhat less accepted) Mickeys, Beard-seconds, gkBs or Wheatons, well, this is the reference page for you.

List of humorous units of measurement

In related news, I recently received my MIT tape measure, with units listed in centimeters, inches, and Smoots. It is excellent.

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Photo by Diana Polekhina on Unsplash

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The award-winning SFF magazine Clarkesworld recently released their Best Of 2023 list based on reader votes. While I don’t always love every Best Of story out there, I do like using those lists as starting points to explore new and interesting writers. 

If you do too, check out the top 3 short stories and longer-form works.

Editor’s Desk: The Best from 2023

Best Novelette/Novella
3rd Place: “Imagine: Purple-Haired Girl Shooting Down the Moon” by Angela Liu (novelette)
2nd Place: “Light Speed Is Not a Speed” by Andy Dudak (novelette)
2023 Winner: “To Sail Beyond the Botnet” by Suzanne Palmer (novella)

Best Short Story
3rd Place: “Window Boy” by Thomas Ha
2nd Place: “Day Ten Thousand” by Isabel J. Kim
2023 Winner: “Better Living Through Algorithms” by Naomi Kritzer

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Photo by CONNOR BOTTS on Unsplash

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The only way to waste your life is to spend it doing things you don’t value.

— Jessica Stillman

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Photo by Scott Webb on Unsplash

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It’s the weekend and I feel I should be using my time for creative work, but instead I have a long and growing list taking up space in the back of my mind (and on Post-its fluttering from desk to pocket to pile). This list includes both the ignorable (“clean basement, for real this time”) and the not so much (“Taxes!”). 

So I’ll just go take care of that, shall I?

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Photo by Mindspace Studio on Unsplash

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