The forces of chaos are strong this week, especially with our neighbours to the south. Look for what’s good!
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Posts Tagged ‘#365Ways’
Look for What’s Good
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, hope, Thoughts on February 3, 2025| Leave a Comment »
What the Future May Hold
Posted in Holidays, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, silly fun, Thoughts on February 2, 2025| Leave a Comment »
In defense of Groundhog Day — America’s silliest holiday
As a kid growing up in Pennsylvania, there are a few state treasures you come to revere, like Tastykake’s Butterscotch Krimpets, a 64-pack of Crayola crayons with a sharpener on the back of the box, soft pretzels and Hershey’s chocolate. But no locally-produced treat could touch the majesty of the state’s ultimate icon: Punxsutawney Phil.
Happy Groundhog Day! This wacky holiday is good fun, but even our friendly neighborhood rodent doesn’t always know what the future will bring.
Whatever comes, let’s try to face it with a warm heart, constructive goals, and a sense of fun.
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Saturday Night Remixed
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, creativity, family, home, inspiration, music on February 1, 2025| Leave a Comment »
This one’s for my father, who introduced us to Saturday Night Live and to music.
Questlove’s Fantastic Video Mix of 50 Years of SNL Music
Oh this is just delightful: for the opening of his documentary film on the history of music on SNL he co-directed with Oz Rodriguez, Questlove produced what the NY Times calls “a high-speed, six-minute DJ mix of SNL music highlights”. So. Good.
There’s a link to the video in the article. It’s mostly blurred but the audio is still playable (you can watch the full video on Peacock if you have it; I don’t but the audio was still fun).
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Wishing You Happy Endings
Posted in Other, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, ideas, inspiration, Thoughts, Writers, writing on January 31, 2025| Leave a Comment »
A Note on iOS 18.3 & Our New AI Overlords
Posted in Other, tagged "intelligence", #365Ways, #365Ways2025, #fyi, AI, annoying stuff, apple-intelligence, iphone, sneaky stuff, technology on January 30, 2025| Leave a Comment »
This is a brief note for any iPhone (or Mac, see note) users out there.
Apple releases iOS 18.3 with AI-powered Apple Intelligence on by default
Apple has kicked off iOS 18.3, iPadOS 18.3, and MacOS 15.3 with one significant change affecting AI. Since its debut, Apple Intelligence has required the extra step of actually turning it on or opting in. But with the new versions, Apple’s AI feature is enabled by default for eligible devices.
Sigh. I’m not a Luddite but that doesn’t mean I want AI rummaging around in my phone whenever it wants. If you feel that way too, or just want to extend your battery life, you can disable this new annoying “feature.”
Fortunately, it’s easy to do: How to turn off Apple Intelligence now that it’s on by default
Disable Apple Intelligence by navigating to “Settings” > “Apple Intelligence & Siri” and toggle off the button next to “Apple Intelligence.”
Enjoy your (temporary?) escape from the AI powers that be!
Note: The latest Mac OS (15.3 as of this writing) also defaults Apple Intelligence to *on.* Act accordingly, folks!
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To New Beginnings
Posted in Holidays, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, chinese-zodiac, little dragons, New Year on January 29, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Today marks the beginning of the Lunar New Year, a 15-day long celebration of with parties, feasts and red red red.
It’s also the start of the Year of the Snake, so if you have a phobia now might be a good time to look away!
Understanding Lunar New Year: What it is and how it’s celebrated
Snakes are viewed with both fear and reverence in Chinese culture. On the one hand, venomous snakes are associated with darkness. But in Chinese mythology, snakes are also known as “little dragons,” and the skin they shed is known as “the dragon’s coat,” symbolizing good luck, rebirth and regeneration. The snake also symbolizes the pursuit of love and happiness. In Chinese culture, they are grouped with the turtle and crane as a symbol of longevity.
Which Zodiac Animal Are You? — Google Arts & Culture
Google’s Snake-Themed Game Doodle
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Happy Book Birthday, David Hankins!
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, #wotf, #wotf39, book birthday, creativity, Dreamforge, Writers, Writers of the Future, writing on January 28, 2025| 2 Comments »
It’s release day for friend and fellow Writer of the Future David Hankins, who has published the second book in his fun, funny and well-written Grimsworld series. The series started off with the award-winning Death and the Taxman, and keeps rolling with book two, Death and the Dragon. He’s also got a new collection of related stories out called Grimsworld Tales.
Maybe you were part of David’s Kickstarters, in which case you already know what I’m talking about. If not, I highly recommend you pick up these books.
Want to get a taste for David’s writing? Check out sample chapters at your online bookseller of choice or read this free multi-award winning* story at DreamForge.
To Catch a Foo Fighter by David Hankins
To catch a foo fighter, you need three things: tech, speed, and bait. I’m the bait.
Hehe. Recommended!
* David wins lots of awards because he’s just that good. He’s also a great guy, even if he does have a thing for rubber duckies.
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The Power of Story
Posted in Holidays, Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, future of civilization, history, memory, Thoughts on January 27, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Today is Holocaust Memorial Day. I do try to emphasize the brighter side of life in this blog and this is not that, but it’s important. Fewer children are taught this history and too many adults act like it never happened (and could never happen again).
As survivors pass on those of us who remain must remember what and how and why. Not only for those who died, but for ourselves and our futures. This is the power of stories.
It is right that those who committed atrocities be held responsible, but remembrance days like this aren’t primarily about blame for past guilt. They are about the political tides that make these events possible. They are about the ordinary people swept up in such times.
Most of all, they are about avoiding future repetition.
International Holocaust Remembrance Day – United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
The United Nations General Assembly designated January 27—the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau—as International Holocaust Remembrance Day, a time to remember the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust and the millions of other victims of Nazi persecution.
‘New way of bearing witness’: one of biggest Holocaust archives goes online
Announced on Holocaust Memorial Day, the Wiener Holocaust Library’s new online platform includes more than 150,000 items collected over nine decades. Users can view letters, pamphlets and photographs that record the rise of fascism in Britain and Europe.
My grandpa chose not to speak about his Holocaust experiences – but he asked me to tell the world
I’ve been asked why I believe Holocaust education is so important, and I find it hard to verbalise. It seems so obvious to me, as the grandchild of survivors, that these stories must continue to be told – it sounds cliche to quote “those who forget history are doomed to repeat it”, but with every passing year, it’s clear we are continuing to forget the horrors humanity is capable of. Gyuri’s final message was clear: tell the world, so they can learn from it.
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Understanding Others, and Ourselves
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, brain science, brunch, science, society, Thoughts, truth on January 26, 2025| Leave a Comment »
We had brunch today with good friends. They are smart and fun and interesting and love our cat (which, let’s face it, is about the best thing you can say about a person).
We don’t all share the same politics. Why do I mention this? To point out that it doesn’t matter.
We may not be on the same page in terms of voting and algorithms, but we like a lot of the same real-life things, we share a lot of the same fundamental values, and are always curious about the others’ experience and perspectives.
It doesn’t hurt that they like my cooking;)
How to step out of your inner monologue and understand the world better – Big Think
The interesting thing about being a human is that we’re stuck inside our internal model—it’s all we ever see. But with the endeavors of science, literature, and philosophy, we’re able to step outside of ourselves and understand, “Hey, the way I see the world isn’t the only way to see the world. It’s not the only truth.” The more we get good at that, the more we can try to build a better society.
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Today, It’s Baking
Posted in Other, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, artists, creativity on January 25, 2025| Leave a Comment »
I work in whatever medium likes me at the moment.
—Marc Chagall
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