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Posts Tagged ‘#365Ways’

Day of Happiness

Posted in Holidays, Other, tagged , , , , on March 20, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Is the world on fire? Yes, often literally, but that’s not all it is. The world is also astonishingly, incredibly, heart-achingly beautiful. 

Today is the UN’s International Day of Happiness, and I’m going to celebrate by remembering that there is so much to see, to love, and to support. 

Then I’m going to go do just that. 

While we’re at it, here’s the new World Happiness Report and its ranking of countries by happiness.

A key finding: “…people are much too pessimistic about the benevolence of others. For example, when wallets were dropped in the street by researchers, the proportion of returned wallets was far higher than people expected. This is hugely encouraging.”

Well, that makes me happy!

“We don’t have to engage in grand, heroic actions to participate in the process of change. Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world.”

— Howard Zinn

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Photo by Federico Burgalassi on Unsplash

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Thank Canada

Posted in Other, tagged , , , , , , on March 19, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Hey, all you sports fans out there! Enjoying March Madness? Thank this Canadian from Almonte, Ontario.

How a Gym Teacher Invented Basketball

He thought hard, going over the philosophy of sports, considering what made games popular, grasping for how he could invent a new principle that wasn’t already steeped in tradition. And finally, he had a lightbulb moment.

“I can still recall how I snapped my fingers and shouted, ‘I’ve got it!’”

For more on Dr. James Naismith and his game, bounce on over to the Naismith Basketball Foundation.

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Photo by Kylie Osullivan on Unsplash

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(Drumroll Please) The Nebula Award Finalists

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , on March 18, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Recently announced, here are the finalists for this year’s Nebula Awards! I don’t know about you, but I could use some alternate worlds to explore.

From MetaFilter, links for most stories in the short story and novelette categories:

Nebula Award for Novelette

Nebula Award for Short Story

See the complete list here: SFWA Announces the 60th Annual Nebula Awards® Finalists!

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Photo by Nick Chung on Unsplash

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When Irish Pirates Changed History

Posted in Holidays, tagged , , , on March 17, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all! One great thing about this holiday is that you don’t need to be Irish to enjoy it. Find a green shirt in your closet, break out the food coloring and drink green drinks and eat green foods, and have a fun day.

But hang on, what’s this? The day hasn’t always been about having fun or the color green? 

The Color of St. Patrick’s Day – Atlas Obscura

St. Patrick’s Day usually conjures images of partying, Catholicism, Irish nationalism and, perhaps most famously, the color green: green clothes, green shamrocks, green beer, and green rivers.

So my students are often surprised when I tell them that St. Patrick’s Day was once a solemn feast day when you’d be far more likely to see the color blue. In fact, there’s even a color known as St. Patrick’s blue.

Have to say, I prefer our modern version.

I was also surprised to learn that St. Patrick wasn’t Irish, or named Patrick.

He wasn’t Irish; rather he was born in Wales, the son of a Roman-British official. He was, however, captured by Irish pirates and enslaved in Ireland. After six years he went back to Britain but returned to Ireland as one of the missionaries to convert Irish pagans to Christianity. At some point he adopted the Latin name Patricius.

And so, after a bit of piracy, a name change, and the appropriation of a solemn holiday for patriotic and community-building purposes, here we are.

To the long tail of unintended consequences. Enjoy!

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Photo by Autumn Martin on Unsplash

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Taxes, Again and Still

Posted in Other, tagged , , on March 16, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Title says it all. I like the idea of taxes because I like what they buy me (civilization, basically), but the paperwork is a drag. 

Here’s hoping your tax season is going faster than mine!

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Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

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It Will All Make Sense

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , on March 15, 2025| Leave a Comment »

“Don’t throw any of yourself away. Don’t worry about a grand scheme or unified vision for your work. Don’t worry about unity — what unifies your work is the fact that you made it. One day, you’ll look back and it will all make sense.”

— Austin Kleon

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Photo by Katie Rainbow 🏳️‍🌈 on Unsplash

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A Simple Act

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , on March 14, 2025| 2 Comments »

If you’re stuck on a problem, don’t sit there and think about it; just start working on it. Even if you don’t know what you’re doing, the simple act of working on it will eventually cause the right ideas to show up in your head.

— Mark Manson

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Photo by Steve Johnson on Unsplash

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Red Moon Rising

Posted in Other, Science!, tagged , , , , , , on March 13, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Tonight, a little astronomy-related drama!

North America will have a blood worm moon this week. Here’s how you can see it

Late Thursday night or Friday early morning, North Americans with clear skies can look up to see a full moon with a beautiful reddish hue. 

What to know about March’s full “Blood Worm Moon,” a total lunar eclipse

March’s full moon, known as the Worm Moon, will pass into Earth’s shadow on the night of March 13, or early on March 14, depending on the time zone, according to NASA. This eclipse will be visible from Earth’s Western Hemisphere.

While the peak of the eclipse will happen in the middle of the night (my time, at least), we should be able to see the event begin as the red(dish) moon rises around 7pm. 

Why red? The color can vary based on the Moon’s path and the Earth’s atmosphere. The shade is measured on the Danjon Scale, which is a thing I hadn’t heard of but absolutely needed to know!

Danjon Scale of Lunar Eclipse Brightness

Earth’s atmosphere contains varying amounts of water (clouds, mist, precipitation) and solid particles (dust, organic debris, volcanic ash). This material filters and attenuates the sunlight before it’s refracted into the umbra. For instance, large or frequent volcanic eruptions dumping huge quantities of ash into the atmosphere are often followed by very dark, red eclipses for several years. Extensive cloud cover along Earth’s limb also tends to darken the eclipse by blocking sunlight. 

And for fun: Capri Sun Releases a Glow-in-the-Dark Moon Punch

Not fun but interesting: This week’s ‘blood moon’ eclipse mirrors one Christopher Columbus used to scare indigenous people in 1504

Enjoy. I’m hoping for an L3 on the Danjon scale!

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Photo by Benjamin Voros on Unsplash

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What One Can

Posted in Other, Writing, tagged , , , on March 12, 2025| 2 Comments »

A great warhorse comes upon a tiny sparrow lying on its back with its feet in the air, eyes squinched tightly shut. The horse asks what it’s doing.

“I’m trying to help hold back the darkness,” replied the sparrow.

The horse roars with laughter. “That’s pathetic. What do you weigh, about an ounce?”

And the sparrow replies, “Well, one does what one can.”

— fable, recounted by Anne Lamott

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Photo by Patrice Bouchard on Unsplash

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What Grandma Knows

Posted in Other, Science!, tagged , , , , , , on March 11, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Measles Is One Of The Most Contagious Diseases On Earth

Measles infection can result in severe and sometimes permanent complications including pneumonia, lung damage, brain damage, and death.

But unlike some infectious diseases, measles has a safe, effective vaccine that can protect us from infection.

We, the general public, can control measles outbreaks.

… [this bit’s for the grandparental units out there; stay healthy, folks!]

The first live measles virus vaccines—which are more effective—were available in 1969.

So anyone born between 1957–1968 may not have sufficient antibodies to avoid infection. Consult your doctor about immunization.

Many of our parents, grandparents, and other waybacks lived through a lot of difficult things: two world wars, the Great Depression, Spanish Influenza, polio, smallpox, or life before basic standards of health and safety, for example. (Coincidentally, today is also the anniversary of the declaration of the Covid pandemic. Because history may not repeat itself, but it does rhyme.)

If you’re fortunate enough to still have relatives who lived through those times, consider asking them what it was like, and who they lost.

You might hear some interesting stories.

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Photo by Ekaterina Shakharova on Unsplash

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