“We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.”
― Martin Luther King Jr.
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Posts Tagged ‘#365Ways’
Infinite Hope
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, inspiration, Thoughts on March 25, 2025| Leave a Comment »
When the Vroom Vroom Fails Me
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, #becauseMonday, inspiration, Thoughts on March 24, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Mondays, man. I don’t even have the energy to write an interesting intro, so it’s time for some…
/checks roster of funny items set aside to use on days when the vroom vroom fails me
Because they send an adorable and also hopeful message: if we try hard, we can fix what’s broken.
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Don’t Be Satisfied
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, creativity, Thoughts on March 23, 2025| Leave a Comment »
“Don’t be satisfied with stories, how things have gone with others. Unfold your own myth.”
― Rumi
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An Altered Perspective
Posted in Other, Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, #BetTheyWishTheyWereStillInSpace, astronauts, space on March 22, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Now that Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore are back on the planet after an unexpectedly long stint at the office (in space! because they’re astronauts!), we’re left with some important questions.
Like, what changes when you’re in space, physically speaking? How challenging is it when you come back to earth? How long does it take to adjust? And what exactly happens in their “comprehensive reconditioning process”?
For the answers to all this and more, check out How astronauts like Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore adjust when back on Earth.
“I was like, laying in bed. I had to go to the bathroom and I just started pushing off my back thinking, ‘I’m going to float to the bathroom.’ And the light was out and I’m pushing up and I roll out of bed,” he says.
Hehe:)
Here’s another take on the process, from former NASA astronaut Jack Fischer: Astronaut explains what a long space mission did to his body. He answers critical questions like “Can you have a beer right away if you wanted to?”
Inquiring minds want to know! (Short answer? Yes!)
There are certain upsides, physical…
The impacts of being in space, especially for long periods of time, on the body are still being studied. During a study conducted on astronaut twins Mark and Scott Kelly, researchers found that while Scott was on the ISS, he temporarily became two inches taller.
— NPR
…and mental…
“I went around the planet every 90 minutes. I saw everyone that was, is and will be on planet Earth.”
— Leland Melvin, Astronaut, NFL Player, Children’s Book Author
Here’s to perspective!
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Spring is Springing!
Posted in Holidays, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, Spring, spring equinox, Thoughts on March 21, 2025| Leave a Comment »
How do I know when it is Spring? There’s the calendar, of course, and yesterday was the March Equinox, yay. But that’s not as reliable as some other indicators. Like what, you may ask?
It’s still too early for cherry blossoms or daffodils here, but there are other signs of spring.
For example:
- Canada geese flying overhead? check
- the season’s first roar of a motorcycle? check
- melting snow in my yard? check
- the Fish Doorbell up and running in the Netherlands? check! I haven’t seen any fish yet but it’s still fun. The migration has begun, so the lack of sightings are probably because I’m watching during work hours my time, which are snoozing hours for Dutch fish (do fish have nationalities? unique patterns of DNA by country? accents? so many questions!)
Happy Spring!
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Day of Happiness
Posted in Holidays, Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, #InternationalDayOfHappiness, kindness, Thoughts 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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Thank Canada
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, #ThankACanadian, Canada, sports, the benefits of friendship, Thoughts 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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(Drumroll Please) The Nebula Award Finalists
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, Nebula Awards, Writers, writing 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
- “The Brotherhood of Montague St. Video,” Thomas Ha (Clarkesworld)
- “Katya Vasilievna and the Second Drowning of Baba Rechka,” Christine Hanolsy (Beneath Ceaseless Skies)
- “Another Girl Under the Iron Bell,” Angela Liu (Uncanny)
- “What Any Dead Thing Wants,” Aimee Ogden (Psychopomp)
- “Negative Scholarship on the Fifth State of Being,” A. W. Prihandita (Clarkesworld)
- “Joanna’s Bodies,” Eugenia Triantafyllou (Psychopomp)
- “Loneliness Universe,” Eugenia Triantafyllou (Uncanny)
Nebula Award for Short Story
- “The Witch Trap,” Jennifer Hudak (Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet)
- “Five Views of the Planet Tartarus,” Rachael K. Jones (Lightspeed Magazine)
- “Why Don’t We Just Kill the Kid in the Omelas Hole,” Isabel J. Kim (Clarkesworld)
- “Evan: A Remainder,” Jordan Kurella (Reactor)
- “The V*mpire,” by PH Lee (Reactor)
- “We Will Teach You How to Read | We Will Teach You How to Read,” Caroline M. Yoachim (Lightspeed Magazine)
See the complete list here: SFWA Announces the 60th Annual Nebula Awards® Finalists!
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When Irish Pirates Changed History
Posted in Holidays, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, Thoughts, unintended consequences 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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Taxes, Again and Still
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, adulting 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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