Posted in Other, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, supermoon, Thoughts, Writers on July 14, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Tonight, if you have a moment and remember that we are, after all, just passengers on a ship hurtling through space with only one true companion, look up. The Buck Moon will be waiting.
Supermoon / Super Moon – Why and When?
“Don’t tell me the sky’s the limit when there are footprints on the moon.”
― Paul Brandt
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, creativity, poetry, silliness, Thoughts, Wordle, Writers, writing on July 13, 2022| Leave a Comment »
I may have committed a little Wordle poetry with lunch.
Posted in Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, inspiration, NASA, science!, space on July 12, 2022| 2 Comments »
First Images from the James Webb Space Telescope | NASA
The dawn of a new era in astronomy has begun as the world gets its first look at the full capabilities of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope…
NASA has begun to roll out new images from the Webb Telescope. They are (insert understatement here) impressive. This is one example, of the Carina Nebula:
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Would you like to know more?
Posted in Other, Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, #craiyon, computer-aided fun, creativity, design, inspiration, Thoughts on July 11, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Welcome to Monday, brought to you by an AI’s idea of a “cat in the style of Vincent van Gogh.”
Not bad, actually.
Running through different versions using the same root prompt (“cat in the style of”) made the artistic differences (and any deficiencies) clear. A lot of the images produced by the DALL-E mini system are a bit odd, particularly when faces are involved. (The site even has a FAQ on “Why are faces so weird?”)
Even so, it was interesting to see what an AI considers the essential style of an artist or technique, and there were a number of attempts I found fun.
Rather than upload all images I made a slideshow. It’s lower-resolution (I shrunk it down to 16MB instead of 80MB+) but you should still get the picture.
(Did I leave out the truly disturbing results? Yes. I don’t know what this AI has against Vermeer but I want no part of it!)
Thanks, Craiyon!
Posted in Food and..., tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, food, recipes, Thoughts on July 10, 2022| Leave a Comment »
I recently had a request for an update on the baked milk situation so here we go.
Short answer: The first version was pretty good.
Longer answer, one that will surprise no one who knows me: I made a few tweaks.
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Here’s my previous post with the original recipe link: Baked What Now?
I kept the proportions but used 2% milk and kefir because that’s what I had. It worked fine, but:
Over several iterations, I now have a version that addresses these issues and works for me. Between this, biweekly yogurt, and air-quality concerns, we may have used it as an excuse to pick up a portable induction burner (on sale, totally reasonable!).
The new alternative uses whole milk, kefir plus sour cream, and skips the oven in favor of the induction burner. We have a remote thermometer for yogurt so we use that, but keeping it at temperature can be a bit of a hassle. If you have a slow cooker that will maintain a steady ~210F, try that. (I’ll try that next time if I can find my slow cooker.)
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Baked Milk
4L whole milk
7 T. kefir
1 T. sour cream
Is it good? Yes. Keeping the milk around 210F using a burner gave me a better depth of caramelization than 225F in the oven. The process is a bit more of a hassle than I’d like so I’ll continue to look for improvements.
Is it even better when mixed with guava juice and lemonade? Yes, it is.
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, inspiration, Thoughts, writing on July 9, 2022| Leave a Comment »
“There is something in every one of you that waits and listens for the sound of the genuine in yourself. It is the only true guide you will ever have.”
― Howard Thurman
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Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, home, technology, Thoughts on July 9, 2022| Leave a Comment »
(written 07/08/22)
Today I’m dealing with a new kind of challenge.
We have power, which I no longer take for granted. The microwave works, the computers work, the TV and stove and washing machine and lights all work, and for that I’m grateful.
Our components are all functioning. What isn’t working? The network that connects those components, and us, to the wider world.
We woke up, started the laundry and coffee and breakfast and booted up the work computers. Then? Nothing. No signal. I can work in my design program, for example, but I can’t deliver my project. I can’t check my email, log in at work or make calls (sorry Mom!).
Somebody at internet central did something and somehow it all went wrong. (The part of this equation that interests me the most is that apparently no one thought to ask, “What happens if this thing we’re about to do doesn’t work?”).
So today has been business as unusual. On the plus side? Another opportunity to appreciate all the technology, infrastructure, and other amenities that we typically take for granted.
And while I’m not even sure if I’ll be able to post this today (spoiler alert: nope), my target was to write every day. Goal achieved.
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Note from the future: it wasn’t just us, here, it was every Rogers customer, everywhere.
Rogers outage shows need for Plan B when wireless, internet services fail, analysts say | CBC News
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, happiness, inspiration, Thoughts, yay on July 7, 2022| Leave a Comment »
The post I was working on for today is taking too long. I’ll get back to it later but for now, I give you (drum roll please) Chris Evans with puppies!
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Posted in Likes, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, getting wild, inspiration, magic, nature, yay on July 6, 2022| Leave a Comment »
It’s firefly season* again, and I am there for it.
Fireflies as a species are under pressure but there’s a lot we can do to help them. Short version: Turn off the lights and get (your yard) a little wild.
Tonight, dim the lights. Find the darkest patch of green you see. If it has tall grass and lush, moist undergrowth, even better. Wait.
Do you see it? That yellow-green flash of light? Bioluminescence, they say.
Yes.
Also magic.
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* To be fair, June is actually prime time for firefly mating in most areas but given good weather and habitat they can be seen throughout the summer.
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Posted in Likes, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, books, inspiration, learning@lunch, librarians, women, women in history on July 5, 2022| Leave a Comment »
I love a lot of things, including the Works Progress Administration, kick-ass ladies, secret histories, and libraries. This story combines all of the above and more. How cool is it that?
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Kentucky’s Horse-Riding Librarians | The Kid Should See This
Between 1935 and 1943, the initiative employed around 1,000 book women as mobile librarians. Paid less than a dollar a day, they traveled up to 120 miles a week on mule or horseback over rugged mountains and through fast-flowing creeks in all types of weather… In just one year they reached 50,000 families and 155 rural schools. But book women did more than just leave books on people’s porches…
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