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Archive for the ‘Other’ Category

Day of Happiness

Posted in Holidays, Other, tagged , , , , on March 20, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Is the world on fire? Yes, often literally, but that’s not all it is. The world is also astonishingly, incredibly, heart-achingly beautiful. 

Today is the UN’s International Day of Happiness, and I’m going to celebrate by remembering that there is so much to see, to love, and to support. 

Then I’m going to go do just that. 

While we’re at it, here’s the new World Happiness Report and its ranking of countries by happiness.

A key finding: “…people are much too pessimistic about the benevolence of others. For example, when wallets were dropped in the street by researchers, the proportion of returned wallets was far higher than people expected. This is hugely encouraging.”

Well, that makes me happy!

“We don’t have to engage in grand, heroic actions to participate in the process of change. Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world.”

— Howard Zinn

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Photo by Federico Burgalassi on Unsplash

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Thank Canada

Posted in Other, tagged , , , , , , on March 19, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Hey, all you sports fans out there! Enjoying March Madness? Thank this Canadian from Almonte, Ontario.

How a Gym Teacher Invented Basketball

He thought hard, going over the philosophy of sports, considering what made games popular, grasping for how he could invent a new principle that wasn’t already steeped in tradition. And finally, he had a lightbulb moment.

“I can still recall how I snapped my fingers and shouted, ‘I’ve got it!’”

For more on Dr. James Naismith and his game, bounce on over to the Naismith Basketball Foundation.

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Photo by Kylie Osullivan on Unsplash

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Taxes, Again and Still

Posted in Other, tagged , , on March 16, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Title says it all. I like the idea of taxes because I like what they buy me (civilization, basically), but the paperwork is a drag. 

Here’s hoping your tax season is going faster than mine!

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Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

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Red Moon Rising

Posted in Other, Science!, tagged , , , , , , on March 13, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Tonight, a little astronomy-related drama!

North America will have a blood worm moon this week. Here’s how you can see it

Late Thursday night or Friday early morning, North Americans with clear skies can look up to see a full moon with a beautiful reddish hue. 

What to know about March’s full “Blood Worm Moon,” a total lunar eclipse

March’s full moon, known as the Worm Moon, will pass into Earth’s shadow on the night of March 13, or early on March 14, depending on the time zone, according to NASA. This eclipse will be visible from Earth’s Western Hemisphere.

While the peak of the eclipse will happen in the middle of the night (my time, at least), we should be able to see the event begin as the red(dish) moon rises around 7pm. 

Why red? The color can vary based on the Moon’s path and the Earth’s atmosphere. The shade is measured on the Danjon Scale, which is a thing I hadn’t heard of but absolutely needed to know!

Danjon Scale of Lunar Eclipse Brightness

Earth’s atmosphere contains varying amounts of water (clouds, mist, precipitation) and solid particles (dust, organic debris, volcanic ash). This material filters and attenuates the sunlight before it’s refracted into the umbra. For instance, large or frequent volcanic eruptions dumping huge quantities of ash into the atmosphere are often followed by very dark, red eclipses for several years. Extensive cloud cover along Earth’s limb also tends to darken the eclipse by blocking sunlight. 

And for fun: Capri Sun Releases a Glow-in-the-Dark Moon Punch

Not fun but interesting: This week’s ‘blood moon’ eclipse mirrors one Christopher Columbus used to scare indigenous people in 1504

Enjoy. I’m hoping for an L3 on the Danjon scale!

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Photo by Benjamin Voros on Unsplash

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What One Can

Posted in Other, Writing, tagged , , , on March 12, 2025| 2 Comments »

A great warhorse comes upon a tiny sparrow lying on its back with its feet in the air, eyes squinched tightly shut. The horse asks what it’s doing.

“I’m trying to help hold back the darkness,” replied the sparrow.

The horse roars with laughter. “That’s pathetic. What do you weigh, about an ounce?”

And the sparrow replies, “Well, one does what one can.”

— fable, recounted by Anne Lamott

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Photo by Patrice Bouchard on Unsplash

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What Grandma Knows

Posted in Other, Science!, tagged , , , , , , on March 11, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Measles Is One Of The Most Contagious Diseases On Earth

Measles infection can result in severe and sometimes permanent complications including pneumonia, lung damage, brain damage, and death.

But unlike some infectious diseases, measles has a safe, effective vaccine that can protect us from infection.

We, the general public, can control measles outbreaks.

… [this bit’s for the grandparental units out there; stay healthy, folks!]

The first live measles virus vaccines—which are more effective—were available in 1969.

So anyone born between 1957–1968 may not have sufficient antibodies to avoid infection. Consult your doctor about immunization.

Many of our parents, grandparents, and other waybacks lived through a lot of difficult things: two world wars, the Great Depression, Spanish Influenza, polio, smallpox, or life before basic standards of health and safety, for example. (Coincidentally, today is also the anniversary of the declaration of the Covid pandemic. Because history may not repeat itself, but it does rhyme.)

If you’re fortunate enough to still have relatives who lived through those times, consider asking them what it was like, and who they lost.

You might hear some interesting stories.

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Photo by Ekaterina Shakharova on Unsplash

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What AI Needs, Part 2

Posted in Other, Writing, tagged , , , , , on March 10, 2025| Leave a Comment »

One thing that often happens when writers talk about writing is a discussion of the creative voice. Separate from the critical voice, the creative voice has been described as “a two-year old who just wants to play.”* It is key to writing.

Problems occur when that urge to play is shut down by the critical voice. That is the side of your mind that is trying to keep your child self from running out into the street without looking both ways, from getting baked** in public, from forgetting your homework, or otherwise making mistakes.

The critical voice is very little help when it comes to getting words on the page. It is pretty good, however, at keeping you from being run over and/or caught making up cases in legal filings. Just, you know, for example.

Bad ChatGPT, bad!

It occurs to me that in some ways, AI is that two-year old running around, trying to give you answers without thinking too hard about whether or not they are the right answers.

It needs a parental figure.

Am I thinking of a caretaker program that follows the AI around like a nanny, keeping it from sticking its finger in a light socket and cleaning up after it?

Yes, yes I am. (Fun story idea idea, too, my inner two-year old must be on the job.)

And hey, we’re already teaching AI mindfulness, why not this?

* I’m sure lots of people have said some version of this but I’m thinking specifically of Dean Wesley Smith.

** I meant to type “naked” but this works too.

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Photo by Avi Waxman on Unsplash

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Free Fiction for You

Posted in Other, Writing, tagged , , , , on March 7, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Oh hey, I think I missed sharing this collection of free stories from Reactor Magazine. I haven’t read all of these but Reactor tends to have very high-quality fiction, and all for free free free! Check it out, browse, and enjoy. 

Some of the Best from Reactor: 2024 Edition!

The 2024 edition of Some of the Best From Reactor is out today! This bundle features just some of our favorites from the thirty-five original stories published on Reactor in the past year.

Of course, you can always read the selected stories—and all other Reactor stories—for free whenever you’d like! To make it even easier to catch up, we’ve gathered all our stories from 2024 in one convenient post.

Because life’s too short to read bad stories.

“After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world.”

― Philip Pullman

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Photo by tabitha turner on Unsplash

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Crazy Days

Posted in Other, tagged , , , , on March 6, 2025| Leave a Comment »

This week has been a little nuts, work wise, and I’m missing the time and energy to write. I was working on a draft for today’s post but it’s not ready, so here’s a helping of fun animal news:

“I have seen what a laugh can do. It can transform almost unbearable tears into something bearable, even hopeful.”

— Bob Hope

Hope the week is treating you well!

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Photo by Elvir K on Unsplash

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Aim High!

Posted in Other, Writing, tagged , , , , , , on March 5, 2025| Leave a Comment »

“The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.”

— Michelangelo

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Photo by Artur Matosyan on Unsplash

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