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Posts Tagged ‘#365Ways’

Are you a writer in the “1,000 words or less” space? Do you care about the future of humanity? Harbor a secret desire to be named the new Ambassador of the Human Race? 

This no-fee super fun writing contest may be for you!

Dear Aliens

The aliens are coming. Or at least they told us they were.

They asked us for just one item: a written document from humanity.

This is the only thing they are going to read before they arrive.

We have no idea what the document should be, so we’re asking you.

We’re giving $2,000 USD to the best submission. Second and third place get $250 each.

We’re going old school here. You’ll have to physically mail in your writing, and it needs to reach us before May 15, 2026.

(I bolded that last bit because prizes are nice, but also it’s been a while since most submissions had to use the mail, and while I love the whole concept of the postal service, it does not travel at the speed of the electron.)

We’d better get writing. And I for one am going to work on cultivating a slightly more positive outlook than I may have in the past (an example I still like, but would be a poor choice in this case! We Are Mirrors).

The fate of humanity may depend on it!

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A brief short on what I call The Balance, used for good:

He was nervous when he left. Big day, a presentation that would be the culmination of months of work, weeks of overtime, uncounted hours of stress. It all came down to one day, and this meeting.

His grin slipped a little as he said goodbye. “Here’s hoping things work out.”

I reached out and touched his right hand, just above the silver circle I’d given him. He laughingly referred to as his magic ring. I felt a spark.

“You’ll be fine,” I said. 

I could tell he wasn’t convinced, but I meant it.

My own day was a maelstrom of mishaps. I sloshed hot water on the stairs and watched helplessly as a raw egg slipped from my fingers to break over the fridge drawer, the freezer seals, and the floor. Emptying the dishwasher was a humbling lesson in the fragile properties of glass and ceramic.

That’s okay, I thought. Worth it.

He came home exhausted but happy. Everything that could go wrong, didn’t. 

“Somehow,” he said.

I smiled.

“Just lucky, I guess.”

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Happy Spring Equinox, everyone! (I say with some amusement, as a plow removes the latest storm’s worth of snow out front!)

This is a great image of the celestial equator, from NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day. (And just for fun, here it is as an online jigsaw puzzle🙂

And here’s a quick article and video with the essentials on the vernal equinox: March equinox 2026: Here’s all you need to know

The March equinox – aka the vernal equinox – marks the sun’s crossing above Earth’s equator, moving from south to north. Earth’s tilt on its axis is what causes this northward shift of the sun’s path across our sky at this time of year. Earth’s tilt is now bringing spring and summer to the Northern Hemisphere. At the same time, the March equinox marks the beginning of autumn – and a shift toward winter – in the Southern Hemisphere.

I did spot a lovely V of Canada Geese a couple of days ago, and hopefully we’ll see more signs of spring soon!

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The Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association has released its list of finalists for the new Nebula Awards. These are some of the best stories, movies, games and more from 2025, and a great way to boost your to be read list. If you’re an SFWA member you have until April 15th to vote on your favorites.

The list is available in lots of places but I’ll link to Andrew Liptak’s site because he has already done the work of finding links for the stories that are available online. Thanks, Andrew!

I’ll copy the short stories here, but click through to Andrew’s site for links to the novelettes and more. And do I love that many of the top short story markets are open access? I do!

Here are the finalists for the 2026 Nebula Awards

Best Short Story 

I’ve only read a couple of these stories so this promises to be a treat. Happy reading everyone!

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There are a number of reasons why AI can be problematic, but lawsuits over stolen copyrights and the like don’t touch on one of the more interesting and important reasons why AI should be used judiciously in creative work.

It can undermine your skills. And who among us wants to fall victim to that most dreadful of problems, creative atrophy?

This essay by Storm Humbert goes deeper into the perils of cognitive offloading, skill atrophy, and more.

Not a Scab, But a Wound – Apex Book Company

Don’t be drawn in by the allure of never having to go through the “being-bad-at-it” phase of learning a craft. We must allow ourselves to be bad—to downright suck—for a little while. Outsourcing our infinite potential to limited tools is how we become limited ourselves. Instead, pick up a pencil. Sit at a keyboard. Contend with the blank page and the empty canvas—the unsullied slab of granite. It’s the only path to greatness.

Like any tool, AI can be good at some things and not great at others. Knowing the why and when and how is critical to making good use of such tools, and those decisions require thought and good judgement. And what’s the best tool for building people who are good at thinking?

Why, a library card! AI Literacy Starts With Reading Books, Not Prompts

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Happy St. Patrick’s Day, everyone! Here’s wishing you a little luck and a lot of fun:)

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Today is a good day. Why, you might ask, and perhaps you have forgotten that today is Monday?

I stand by my statement, because I got this in the mail:

Three (quiet) cheers for libraries!

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My list of things to do today is extensive, but there’s only one thing I really have to do: taxes. Ok, fine, I baked some chocolate chip cookie bars. But also taxes! Time to put ye olde nose to the grindstone and get this done.

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Happy Pi Day, Everyone!

Today is March 14th, or 3.14, and as I’ve mentioned here before that means it is Pi Day!

This is a pretty perfect holiday for someone like myself who is very much a person who enjoys both science and food.

Guide to Celebrating Pi (π) Day | Exploratorium

What is pi, anyway? Divide any circle’s circumference by its diameter; the answer (whether for a pie plate or a planet) is always approximately 3.14, a number we represent with the Greek letter π. Keep calculating pi’s digits with more and more accuracy—as mathematicians have been doing for 4,000 years—and you’ll discover they go on literally forever…

Infinite, like my love for pie. I might go savory this year, actually. 

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/checks calendar, does a double, then triple take

If you are a friggatriskaidekaphobe, or someone who fears Friday the 13th, I’m afraid I have some bad news: not only is today not your day, but 2026 has not one not two but three Friday the 13ths!

I also have some good news: We had one last month and it went pretty okay. Here’s hoping the rest are as manageable!

If you’d like to know more, or aim to defang your phobia through knowledge, here’s an article that goes in-depth on this scariest of dates:

Bad News for Friggatriskaidekaphobes: 2026 Has Three Fridays the 13th

This is a tough year for people with friggatriskaidekaphobia, which is, yes, a fear of Friday the 13th. (Apologies if you have hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia, or a fear of long words.)

Maybe this is a good year to try to kick your fear through exposure therapy? Or you can just count down the hours until it’s over. In that case, happy 14th!

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