We bought the cat a little toy chicken with a fluffy feathered tail. Here’s what it looked like this morning:
I guess he liked it.
Archive for the ‘Other’ Category
Crime Scene: Sunday Edition
Posted in Other, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, home, Thoughts on November 27, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Untapped Opportunities
Posted in Other, Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, healthcare, innovation, science, srslytho, Thoughts on November 17, 2022| Leave a Comment »
This article from 2016 highlights the terahertz spectrometer, which is a technology that can read books without opening them.
This new machine can read book pages without cracking the cover | PBS NewsHour
The machine uses beams of radiation to creep in between pages and scan individual letters. This new tool wasn’t made to create disdain among classic readers or for those too lazy to lift a cover. Rather it may unlock the secrets of old books or ancient texts too fragile to be disturbed by human touch.
Scanning an object layer by layer and deriving meaning from the images? Cool, nifty, amazing, a breakthrough for archaeologists and antiquarians everywhere!
Also, remind me again why mammograms still require what is, in effect, a highly sophisticated panini press?*
And yes, it is exactly as uncomfortable as it sounds.
* I know, I know, living tissue is not the same thing as parchment or an Italian sandwich. Still, it’s hard not to think that the gap between the current and ideal mammogram experience represents an untapped opportunity for innovation. Ladies, can I get an amen?
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First Snow of the Season
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, first snow, inspiration, Thoughts, Writers on November 13, 2022| Leave a Comment »
“It’s snowing still,” said Eeyore gloomily.
― A.A. Milne
“So it is.”
“And freezing.”
“Is it?”
“Yes,” said Eeyore. “However,” he said, brightening up a little, “we haven’t had an earthquake lately.”
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A Better Way
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, coding, creativity, problem solving, Thoughts, yay on November 10, 2022| Leave a Comment »
There is one part of my day job that is repetitive and annoying. It’s the kind of task that would be much easier if automated, and for a while now every time I have had to do this thing I think, “There has to be a better way.”
Well, this week I found it.
It was a small thing, fixed with a hacky bit of code (my speciality), but figuring it out feels pretty great. Now every time I do the thing that used to annoy me so much, I instead feel a minor but deep-seated sense of satisfaction.
Perhaps you know the feeling? Something was broken and now it is fixed.
When I’m up against a problem like this I always think that there has to be a better way. While I’m not always right I like that approach much better than rolling over and giving up.
So whatever it is you’re working on, keep pushing. If there’s a way to make it better, eventually you’ll find it.
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Voting Day!
Posted in Likes, Other, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, democracy, future, history, inspiration, past, Thoughts, vote!, yay on November 8, 2022| Leave a Comment »
One realization I had after studying a bit of history is how little say most people have in it. Traditionally, a limited number of people have been in charge of most things, usually to the detriment of the rest. (We remember the pyramids, for example, but what about those conscripted to build them?)
There’s a reason democracies attract people.
“Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others.”
― Winston S. Churchill (often quoted, still true)
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Today is voting day in the United States. Not sure where you need to go or what to bring with you? These sites can help.
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Yes, there are a lot of forces trying to pull us apart, and there are many aspects of our economic and social lives that could be improved.
There are also many elements we agree on. Consider health, safety, education, holding doors for the elderly, giving up a seat for the pregnant, and of course, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
The devil’s in the details, of course, and as anyone with even a passing acquaintance with the news or social media can tell you, we are flooded with examples of what’s broken on a daily basis. But that’s not all that’s happening, or all that is possible.*
There are a lot of ways to live and I happen to think that democracy is one of the best. (Just ask those pyramid builders.) That doesn’t mean the system can’t improve.
How can we make our voices heard? Vote.
How do we build a world that works? Together.
* For a break from doom and gloom, I recommend a visit to David Byrne’s Reasons to be Cheerful.
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That Someone Is Us
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, adultitude, community, responsibility, Thoughts on November 6, 2022| Leave a Comment »
I went for a walk yesterday with Mr Man. The weather is beautiful, and while unseasonable warmth is disturbing in an “oh crap, climate change” kind of way, it was really nice out. We headed west, basking in the warm sun, gazing up at the blue sky, enjoying the birds and the breeze and the… Ouch, what was that?
A giant hole in the pavement, that’s what. All that looking up at the sky made me trip over what was right in front of me, a foot-sized hole in the tarmac next to a storm drain. Cracks radiated out from the hole. Retreating and reassessing, I peered into the darkness and realized that the hole was more than a trip hazard, it was a portal to the underworld.
Runoff had eaten its way through the pavement, then undermined the street around the drain cover.
That looks dangerous, we said. Someone should do something about that, we said.
In my mind, one important measure of adulthood is the acceptance of responsibility, for self, family, community, country and planet.
We took a photo of the hole and sent it to the city with a location and a repair request.
Because that “someone” was us.
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Morning Sun
Posted in Likes, Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, abstract, creativity, inspiration, visual art on November 5, 2022| Leave a Comment »
I woke to light dancing through the curtains. This is my attempt to replicate that feeling.
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Mists of Memory
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, Egypt, history, inspiration, Thoughts, wonders of the world on October 28, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Years ago, I was fortunate enough to visit the Pyramids in Egypt. What I remember most is the sense of age, and of awe. Heat and dust, crumbling stone and the awareness that I was just the latest in a long, long line of visitors.
What I don’t clearly remember are the pyramids themselves.
That’s fine, because we live in the future. Interested in seeing the interior of the Great Pyramid of Giza? Now you can see the full (known) extent of this world wonder. (And thanks to SFCanada’s Geoff Hart for finding this link.)
Inside the Great Pyramid | Giza Project
Have fun exploring!
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‘Tis I.
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, science fiction, Thoughts on October 26, 2022| Leave a Comment »
How many writing samples does one need to build an AI of a person? And could it take meetings?
Asking for a friend.
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Work. That Is All.
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, mostly work, Thoughts on October 25, 2022| Leave a Comment »
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