Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.
— Goethe
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Posts Tagged ‘#365Ways’
Today It’s Work & Other Things
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, making stuff, quotes, Thoughts, work on October 27, 2021| Leave a Comment »
A Little Adventure
Posted in Holidays, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, Egypt, Thoughts, travel, Tuesdays on October 26, 2021| Leave a Comment »
Lots of work today, so maybe you can hang out at the pyramids until I’m done?
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Should Have Read the Fine Print
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, #ThisDigitalAge, #yoursoulwasdelicious, rights, Thoughts, tl;dr, TOS, tricksy on October 25, 2021| Leave a Comment »
Installing new software? Want to make sure you aren’t giving away the rights to your immortal soul in the process? You may want to stop by Terms of Service; Didn’t Read.
This free service distills all that obscure fine print into a list of the least favorable terms and a letter grade so that you at least have some idea what you’re signing onto.
Your soul will thank you.
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See More
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, creativity, inspiration, quotes, Thoughts, writing on October 24, 2021| Leave a Comment »
“The question is not what you look at, but what you see.”
― Henry David Thoreau
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Now It’s Getting Real
Posted in Science!, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, climate change, Fiction, imagination, inspiration, superheroes, Thoughts, writing on October 23, 2021| Leave a Comment »
Part of what good fiction does is to create a world and place the reader in it, allowing you to imagine yourself battling the Empire, slaying the dragon, or rescuing the fair prince in distress. But I get it, fiction is also a distancing mechanism.
Satisfying stories open with a problem and close when that problem is resolved, leaving the reader with the sense that they’ve helped and no more needs to be done. I think that can be particularly true when it comes to real challenges like climate change.
Sometimes what’s needed is a picture.
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Meet ThisClimateDoesNotExist, a project by a group of scientists from the Quebec AI Institute in Montreal. They’ve put together a tool that lets you visualize the impact of climate change not on the world in general, or even a region, but on an address.
Take Killian Court at MIT, overlooking the Charles River. What would it look like flooded?* Or the US Capitol Building? Or the Sam’s Club parking lot in West Palm Beach, The Alamo in San Antonio (and I’m pretty sure we can kiss the River Walk goodbye), Pike’s Place Market in Seattle, or (now it’s getting real) the Guinness Brewery in Dublin?
* Not worried about flooding? Try the options for wildfire or smog. Also unpleasant!
Then picture yourself there too. Who better to be the hero of that story?
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Me, to Myself
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, #TheSoundOfOnePhoneTexting, Thoughts, writing on October 22, 2021| Leave a Comment »
Today My Happy Place Is Mars
Posted in Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, inspiration, Thoughts, xkcd on October 21, 2021| Leave a Comment »
This Part’s No Fun
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, #alittlesadtoday, adulting, cats, home, pets, Thoughts on October 20, 2021| Leave a Comment »
Let’s be honest, a lot of adulting is actually pretty ok.
Example:
Mr. Man: “Hey honey, want to have breakfast for dinner tonight followed by ice cream?”
Me: “Yes, yes I do.”
But other parts are not as much fun.
Example:
Dr. Vet: “I’m so sorry, but it looks like your cat has about two months to live.”
oof
Time to make sure those two months are as close to breakfast for dinner as possible.
Because that’s something else adults can do.
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Roughy Respect
Posted in Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, fun facts, inspiration, learning@lunch, ocean, Thoughts on October 19, 2021| 1 Comment »
I found this visualization of ocean denizens and depth fascinating. It looks simple but keep scrolling down (and scrolling, and scrolling) to see what lives where and how.
Elephant seals can dive to 2400 meters deep? That may be why the Headless Chicken Fish (real name) goes 500 meters deeper. Then there’s the Cookiecutter Shark, Flabby Whalefish, Dumbo Octopus, Sea Pig, Faceless Fish (who comes up with these names, they’re awesome) and not-really-related to jellyfish Comb Jelly.
And did you know that Orange Roughy can live up to 200 years? Or that the Patagonian Toothfish is found down to 3900 meters and has antifreeze in its tissue? I didn’t.
Next time there’s a choice of fish for dinner I think I’ll head over to Seafood Watch to find the most sustainable options. And skip the Orange Roughy.
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The Answer
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, cake, creativity, Douglas Adams, Fiction, genre fiction, humor, inspiration, sff, Thoughts, Writers, writing on October 18, 2021| Leave a Comment »
Forty-two years ago this month, we learned the answer to life, the universe and everything. Even if humorous sci-fi isn’t your thing, Douglas Adams’ work has permeated pop culture.
42 years later, how ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’ has endured
The influence of the Hitchhiker’s Guide “is everywhere,” says Marcus O’Dair, author of The Rough Guide to the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
“We can see it in culture, where Adams’ story is rumoured to have inspired everything from the band Level 42 to comedy show The Kumars at No. 42,” he says. “We can see it in tech: in the real-life ‘knife that toasts,’ for instance, or in-ear translation services reminiscent of the Babel fish. The most visible sign of its ubiquity, though, might be the fact that we can celebrate its anniversary not at 40 or 50 years but at 42 — and everyone knows why.”
This book let me know that there was a place for humorous absurdities in writing, and that it really doesn’t pay to take yourself too seriously.
“The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is an indispensable companion to all those who are keen to make sense of life in an infinitely complex and confusing Universe, for though it cannot hope to be useful or informative on all matters, it does at least make the reassuring claim, that where it is inaccurate it is at least definitively inaccurate. In cases of major discrepancy it’s always reality that’s got it wrong.
This was the gist of the notice. It said “The Guide is definitive. Reality is frequently inaccurate.”
― Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
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