All good advice, and the world needs more inventors because the world needs more solutions. But if you’re not into soldering or whatever and still want to create, remember kids, writing fiction is always an option!
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Archive for the ‘Science!’ Category
Good Advice
Posted in Science!, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, creativity, STEM stuff, Thoughts, writing on August 1, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Important Information for a Sunday
Posted in Likes, Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, cool stuff, creativity, fun, Thoughts on July 23, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Dear Readers,
Attached please find important information for your enjoyment and edification. It may be particularly appropriate for a quiet Sunday afternoon.
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Word of the Day: Noctilucent
Posted in Science!, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, fun with words and other things, science, sky, Thoughts, Writers on July 19, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Today’s Word of the Day (in my world, at least) is “noctilucent.”
The term is typically applied to a specific type of cloud, “a luminous thin usually colored cloud seen especially at twilight at a height of about 50 miles (80 kilometers).” It’s the luminous aspect that makes these clouds particularly dramatic.
Noctilucent clouds: What are they and how can you see them? | Space
The name noctilucent is derived from the Latin words “nocto” and “lucent” which translates to “night” and “shining” respectively, according to Merriam Webster.
These clouds are seasonal, and in the Northern hemisphere that season is now.
Noctilucent clouds: The season starts now!
The season for noctilucent clouds at northerly latitudes is now. People at high latitudes report seeing noctilucent clouds. This happens every year, from about May through August in the Northern Hemisphere, and from November through February in the Southern Hemisphere.
I chose this word because its Latin origins are interesting to unpack, it refers to a beautiful and intriguing phenomenon, and it’s fun to say.
The world is a marvelous, mysterious and magical place. Science (and science fiction!) just makes it that much better.
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Children of Summer
Posted in Likes, Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, climate change, summer, Thoughts on July 15, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Mr Man and I went for a walk today, a hot, sticky endeavor that reminded me of childhood summers. Humidity, thunderstorms, and lightning bugs.
We have fireflies in the yard now, enjoying our long grass and pine litter and bird bath. They appeared outside a could of weeks ago, and now we turn off as many lights as we can to help them find love.
Turn Off Your Lights and Welcome Fireflies
Many of my best summer memories involve fireflies, so now I’m doing what I can to help future generations have such memories too.
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Spiral Into Summer
Posted in Holidays, Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, astronomy, science on June 21, 2023| 1 Comment »
Happy summer solstice, everyone! (Fine, it’s called the June Solstice, but we all know what that means here in the Northern Hemisphere, don’t we? Summer!)
What is it?
Do You Really Know Why Earth Has A Solstice? – 13.7- Cosmos And Culture – NPR
Remarkably, Earth has seasons for the same reason that a good quarterback can throw a tight spiral.
Even more explanations:
June Solstice 2023: Shortest & Longest Day of the Year
Why is it a thing?
Because it’s cool. And also because our ancestors knew a lot about practical astronomy. Seasons mattered.
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Behavioral Science for Creatives
Posted in Favorites, Science!, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, behavioral science, creativity, inspiration, Thoughts, Writers, writing on June 4, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Some days it feels as though all the ideas have been done. We went for a walk today and passed a posse of girls in the park. I did a double take, because it was as if I’d been pulled back in time to the 1980s, at least as far as their outfits went. Are those high-waisted (deeply uncomfortable) stiff denim jeans I see? Check. What’s that, a Madonna-esque bustier? Check. Could that be a pair of Converse sneakers and a fluffy scrunchie? Check and check.
That got me thinking about Ötzi the Ice Man, a Neolithic-era man whose body (with clothing) was discovered in the South Tyrol Alps between Austria and Italy more than 5,000 years after his death.
Ötzi’s equipment is the oldest and best preserved in the world. His Copper Age clothing and weapons were frozen in the ice with him and therefore remained well preserved to this day.
— Ötzi’s New Clothes
If you follow that link, you’ll see that his clothes are surprisingly stylish.
I have no idea exactly why someone murdered Ötzi (not for his excellent goatskin coat, apparently), but it was probably for a reason we would at least recognize, if not condone: love, hate, anger, fear, revenge, greed, justice or security, just to name a few. Human needs, human abilities, human issues haven’t changed all that much in millennia. Even so, it would still be fascinating to know the specifics of Ötzi’s story.
In some ways, it can be the same with story ideas. The ingredients are the same, it’s how you mix them up that matters.
On the Quest for Originality, Recombine the Familiar – By Adam Alter – Behavioral Scientist
Often, the best way to get unstuck on the quest for originality is to combine two old ideas to form a new one, rather than searching for a single, novel creative nugget…. Trying to do something completely new is a recipe for paralysis.
If you’re stuck on a project and looking for a way forward that doesn’t feel like a 5,000 year old retread of the same old same old, this approach might help.
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Firefly or Lightning Bug?
Posted in Science!, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, characters, linguistics, maps, regions, Writers, writing on June 2, 2023| 1 Comment »
I’m knee-deep in appliance shopping (yes, 1, 2, 3, 4 again), but I ran across a fun dialect survey and thought you, gentle readers, might find it amusing. There are fireflies (or are they lightning bugs?). There are drive-through liquor stores (or not). There are maps!
Word choice is also a useful dimension to consider when developing a character.
Here’s the source that tipped me off:
The Decade-Old Dialect Quiz You Should Take – Now I Know
And here’s a link to the survey:
And here’s a more in-depth look at firefly vs. lightning bug:
Why Some Americans Say ‘Firefly’ and Others Say ‘Lightning Bug’
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It’s Coming from Inside the House
Posted in Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, aliens, creativity, inspiration, puzzles, science on May 30, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Here’s an interesting puzzle for the science-minded:
A message just arrived from outer space (but not aliens). Decode it!
After decades of searching for extraterrestrial intelligence, humanity finally picked up a message from outer space today. Three of Earth’s top radio astronomy observatories detected the signal coming from somewhere near Mars. Its content has yet to be decoded.
Okay, okay, the message is not actually from aliens. Humans arranged for it to be transmitted to simulate receiving a signal from extraterrestrials. Consider it a dress rehearsal — a chance for us all to see how we’d respond if aliens really did transmit a message to Earth.
For more background on the project and the coded message, head to A Sign in Space.
Also, who knew that SETI has an artist in residence (and are we sure she isn’t an alien?)
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Into The Modern Era
Posted in Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, communication, innovation, science, technology, Thoughts on May 24, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Today’s post is brought to you by fiber optic cable, the innovation currently being inserted into my lawn.
In a discussion about grass vs. clover lawns today, I mentioned that our neighborhood is being wired for fiber internet. For weeks, we’ve had orange-vested dudes (and they’re all dudes) roaming in packs, hauling giant spools of multi-colored cables, digging up driveways and yards (and reseeding with industrial-strength grass seed), and generally doing their best to drag our 1990s development into the modern era.
Now we’ve got cable ends sticking up everywhere, a new panel in the grass looking like a secret bunker entrance, and neighbors wondering whether all this fuss is worth it.
It also led to the question, how do fiber optics work, exactly?
Answer: I have a layman’s understanding of the technology (data becomes light and zoom zooms down a shiny glass tube) but yeah, better look that up:)
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Here’s a quick backgrounder about fiber optics from the folks who invented it.
Educational Resources | Optical Fiber | Optical Communications | Corning
Corning scientists Dr. Robert Maurer, Dr. Peter Schultz, and Dr. Donald Keck invented the first low-loss optical fiber in 1970. Inspired by their belief that information could be transmitted through light, Drs. Maurer, Schultz, and Keck spent four years experimenting with different properties of glass until they succeeded, creating the first low-loss optical fiber for telecommunications use.
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How does it work?
Encoded into a pattern of light waves, information travels through each optical fiber by a process of internal reflection. The waves move through the fiber from a given source to a destination such as a cable box where it is then decoded.
(So is it a little like a super sophisticated version of an Aldis signal lamp? I guess that’s one way to think about it.)
For more (and more scientific) details, check out this excellent video:
And just for fun, how do they connect North America to Africa to Asia, and everywhere else?
- Submarine Cable FAQs
- Interactive Submarine Cable Map
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How (Not) To
Posted in Science!, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, writing on May 5, 2023| Leave a Comment »
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