My day so far:
The good news is that it’s Friday and things are looking up!
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Most mornings I stop by the MIT homepage to see what new projects are in the works. Today I was particularly struck by the sense that these folks are freaking rockstars.
Designing a flexible graphene supercapacitor for solar energy storage?
Rockstars.
Researching cell-based treatment for Type 1 diabetes?
Rockstar.
Advising the White House on space policy?
Rockstar.
Reducing concrete emissions, making affordable air quality sensors, supporting collaborative action, and addressing disparities in health care?
Rockstars all.
As someone who imagines the future, I love to see it being built.
And it’s not just MIT, of course. The world is full of creative innovators at all levels, from cutting-edge research to finding solutions to everyday issues. Scientists or not, that’s kind of humanity’s thing.
Take a moment to remember a time when you identified a problem and worked to fix it. Have you ever soaped a sticky drawer, had a stoplight installed at a dangerous intersection, added pollinator-friendly plants to your garden, or tackled any of the many (many) problems we face every day?
Then you’re a rockstar too.
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Posted in Likes, Science! | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, creativity, innovation, inspiration, problem solving, Thoughts | Leave a Comment »
For Monty Python’s Eric Idle, and anyone else who may have a birthday today (hello!), here’s a little singalong.
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Posted in Likes, Writing | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, Thoughts, Writers | Leave a Comment »
For the next couple of nights we may be able to see not one not two not three not four but (that’s right, folks) five planets in the skies above us!
When, where and how to view five planets lining up in the sky this week
…Jupiter, Mercury, Venus, Uranus, and Mars will dazzle us earthlings this week.
Unfortunately, our night skies tend to be washed out but I’m hoping to see at least part of this planetary parade. If you do too, try heading out after sunset.
Wait until the sun has set and then go out and look low in that bright part of the sky where the sun has just set with binoculars, and you should see brighter Jupiter next to fainter Mercury.
Good luck!
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Posted in Science! | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, astronomy, science, yay | Leave a Comment »
Oh hey, I forgot to give you a heads up about the “asteroid big enough to wipe out a city” that flew past us over past weekend.
‘City killer’ asteroid to pass harmlessly between Earth and moon
The good news is that we’re all still here. Hooray!
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Posted in Science! | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, extraterrestrials, science, space, Thoughts | Leave a Comment »
My nephew has expressed an interest in learning how to cook. This makes me happy. In my experience, a person who can cook well and with an open heart is welcome anywhere.
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Posted in Food and... | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, Thoughts, yay | Leave a Comment »
“If you’re always aiming for perfection, you won’t make anything at all.”
― Gabrielle Zevin, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow
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Posted in Writing | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, creativity, Fiction, perfectionism, Thoughts, Writers, writing | Leave a Comment »
Another storm is headed our way, complete with non-negligible amounts of snow. I like winter but the thought of going for a walk without a big coat and opening a window to the scent of flowers is… nice.
Winter lingered so long in the lap of Spring that it occasioned a great deal of talk.
— Bill Nye
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It’s that time again, when Grist rolls out its annual climate fiction short story contest! Have something to say about the future, and how we might win it? This could be the contest for you!
Imagine 2200 climate fiction contest 2023: Submit your story
We’re looking for stories of 3,000 to 5,000 words that envision the next 180 years of climate progress – roughly seven generations – imagining intersectional worlds of abundance, adaptation, reform, and hope.
Hopeful doesn’t mean “fatuous” or “unrealistic” or even “easy.” It does mean light at the end of this particular tunnel. If you’re wondering what a winning entry looks like, here are stories from previous iterations of the contest:
- Imagine 2200 Editors’ Picks
- Imagine 2200: The 2022 climate fiction collection
- Imagine 2200: Climate Fiction for Future Ancestors
Here’s the listing on The Submissions Grinder (best submission tracking platform out there and did I mention it’s free?).
All genres welcome, no cost to enter, submissions close June 13, 2023. Head to the link for more details and the submissions portal.
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Posted in Writing | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, cli-fi, climate change, creativity, Fiction, genre fiction, inspiration, sff, Writers, writing, writing contest, yay | Leave a Comment »
The weather is cold here, there’s still snow everywhere, and I’ve developed a weird eye twitch from all the computing. Time to head over to D.C. and see the cherry blossoms, I think. Feel free to join me!
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Posted in Other | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, #somedaysyoujustneedalittlebreak, Spring, Thoughts | Leave a Comment »
J.R. Johnson 
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