“For me, I am driven by two main philosophies: know more today about the world than I knew yesterday and lessen the suffering of others. You’d be surprised how far that gets you.”
― Neil deGrasse Tyson
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Archive for the ‘Likes’ Category
Going Far
Posted in Likes, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, inspiration, Thoughts on December 3, 2023| Leave a Comment »
A Good Tuesday
Posted in Likes, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, helping, kittens, Thoughts on November 28, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Today is Giving Tuesday, which is a reminder for me to support groups doing good work on issues I care about. For me, that usually means local animal charities like the one that rescues neighborhood kittens, food banks (for people and animals), and other groups that help people who need it. If you’re able to donate but aren’t quite sure where to start, this article might help:
Giving Tuesday: How to donate with purpose and intention
Cash is always helpful, of course, but donations can also be goods, time, service or support. And while I can’t save every kitten or cure every cataract or buy every child a book or feed every family, I can join others who care about those issues to help the groups who do.
And that’s what I call a good day.
“I’m convinced of this: Good done anywhere is good done everywhere. For a change, start by speaking to people rather than walking by them like they’re stones that don’t matter. As long as you’re breathing, it’s never too late to do some good.”
— Maya Angelou
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Exactly This
Posted in Likes, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, Thoughts on November 25, 2023| Leave a Comment »
My mom sent me this quote and while I haven’t found a reliable attribution, it’s been around for years. So it’s not new, but it does capture my feelings about so much.
I want a simple life. I want to get up late, drink tea, and read old books. I also want a spaceship and a pet dragon.
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True Strength
Posted in Likes, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, art, inspiration, Thoughts on November 17, 2023| Leave a Comment »
“It is good to love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is well done.”
― Vincent Van Gogh
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Caution: Wet Paint
Posted in Likes, Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, @CornellBirds, art, birds, science, Thoughts on November 16, 2023| Leave a Comment »
John Oliver’s recent shenanigans in New Zealand’s Bird of the Century contest has me thinking about birds, and I remembered this site from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
This interactive mural showcases 270 of the interesting birds around us. Zoom in and click to learn more about each species. And if New Zealand’s competition wasn’t enough for you, you can vote for your favorites.
I enjoy a lot of these birds (the Drongo, Lilac-breasted Roller, Hoopoe, puffins!), but the Blue-footed Booby looks like it took a wrong turn and missed the “Caution: Wet Paint” sign. Delightful.
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Path for the People
Posted in Likes, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, inspiration, nature, Thoughts on October 2, 2023| Leave a Comment »
The weather today is beautiful and I wish I could go outside for a walk. Sadly, work, so instead I was happy to see this Google Doodle commemorating one of the world’s great hikes, the Appalachian Trail.
Here’s the Doodle.
For more on the Trail, here’s the National Park Service site to give you a sense of what it’s like… minus the bugs.
Appalachian National Scenic Trail (U.S. National Park Service)
The Appalachian Trail is a 2,190+ mile long public footpath that traverses the scenic, wooded, pastoral, wild, and culturally resonant lands of the Appalachian Mountains. Conceived in 1921, built by private citizens, and completed in 1937, today the trail is managed by the National Park Service, US Forest Service, Appalachian Trail Conservancy, numerous state agencies and thousands of volunteers.
I haven’t hiked the Trail but a lot of my best childhood moments revolved around the woods in the Allegheny Mountains, part of the central section of the Appalachians. My father also recently sent out a collection of his backpacking memories, which were great to read. (Although how he wasn’t eaten by a bear or something is beyond me.)
The beauty of these mountains, however, is something special.
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Here They Do Magick
Posted in Likes, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, creativity, fantasy, genre fiction, inspiration, maps, Writers on September 13, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Yes, the internet can sometimes be a bit of a drag, but then you stumble across the one thing your six-year-old heart most desired: A map of Fairyland.
An anciente mappe of Fairyland – newly discovered and set forth
Found when perusing Texas A&M Libraries’ Maps of Imaginary Places.
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Traveling Today
Posted in Likes, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, Thoughts, travel on September 4, 2023| Leave a Comment »
“Am going to cross Pacific on a wooden raft to support a theory that the South Sea islands were peopled from Peru. Will you come? I guarantee nothing but a free trip to Peru and the South Sea islands and back, but you will find good use for your technical abilities on the voyage. Reply at once.’
Next day the following telegram arrived from Torstein:
COMING. TORSTEIN.”
― Thor Heyerdahl
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Brave Enough
Posted in Likes, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, Thoughts on September 3, 2023| Leave a Comment »
“There is always light, if only we’re brave enough to see it. If only we are brave enough to be it.”
— Amanda Gorman
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Hypnotic Hyperlapse
Posted in Likes, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, creativity, inspiration, Thoughts on August 28, 2023| 1 Comment »
I enjoy stumbling across an interesting new way of looking at or interacting with the world, and realizing that a non-zero number of people are highly invested in a thing I had no idea existed.
Exhibit A: The hyperlapse is a niche art form documenting travel via a time lapse plus camera movement, where both distance and time are compressed into one immersive experience.
Here’s an example video of a walk around Canberra, Australia’s capital city.
Journey Through Seasons: A Hypnotic Hyperlapse of the Canberra Centenary Trail
A year in the making, it follows a 145km walking track that circumnavigates Canberra, the capital of Australia.
This article from The Guardian discusses this particular project in more depth.
Canberra hyperlapse: a year walking 145km around Australia’s capital – squeezed into seven minutes
What a world.
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