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Posts Tagged ‘#365Ways2023’

Turning to Fall

Posted in Holidays, Science!, tagged , , , , , , on September 23, 2023| Leave a Comment »

It’s that time again. If you are in the northern hemisphere on planet Earth, today is the Fall Equinox.

Autumnal Equinox 2023: First Day of Fall | Facts, Folklore & More | The Old Farmer’s Almanac

After the autumnal equinox, days become shorter than nights as the Sun continues to rise later and nightfall arrives earlier. This ends with the winter solstice, after which days start to grow longer once again. 

The word “equinox” comes from Latin aequus, meaning “equal,” and nox, ”night.” On the equinox, day and night are roughly equal in length.

Why just “roughly” equal in length?

Why day and night aren’t equal length on an equinox

Firstly, the sun has a size—it’s not just a point in the sky.… Secondly, the Earth’s atmosphere refracts (bends) sunlight.

What does the ebb and flow of axial luminescence look like from space?

NASA: Seeing Equinoxes and Solstices from Space

For more on the “why” of seasons, check out this explainer:

What Causes the Seasons? | NASA Space Place

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Photo by Alicia Petresc on Unsplash

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Irresponsible Speculations in Art History, or, Lady Giselle’s Night Watch

Posted in Other, tagged , , , , , , , , , on September 22, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Let me preface this musing with the statement that I know very little about art, art history, Rembrandt, Dutch social history of the 17th century, or most related issues.

I do, however, know that dead chickens and fashion don’t usually mix. 

Two of my parental units visited the Rijksmuseum this summer and saw The Night Watch, which inspired a recent discussion about the painting’s history, size and purpose. I pulled up the digital version on the museum’s website so that we could examine the details. The page was still up on my phone when I opened my browser today, and I decided to zoom in on the strangest element in the picture: a well-dressed woman in the midst of a group of heavily armed and armored men, her figure, clothing and purse, all glowing as if under a spotlight.

I take that back. She wasn’t the strangest thing about this picture. The strangest thing was that the aforementioned well-dressed woman was wearing… a chicken?

One thing I love about the move to digitize many museum holdings is that you can see details not usually visible, unless you are viewing the art in person. Using the Rijksmuseum’s Rijksstudio, I was able to zoom in on the subject in question and inspect her unusual accessory. Here it is:

Detail from The Night Watch, Rembrandt van Rijn, 1642, via the Rijksmuseum’s Rijksstudio

That inspired this exchange with my father:

Again, I know very little about art history and am probably wrong about every single bit of this. I am having fun speculating on the importance of that well-dressed woman, her prominently featured silk purse, and of course, her chicken.

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Photo by Arib Neko on Unsplash

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Worlds of Their Own

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , on September 21, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Other people are some of the best, most interesting sources for story ideas, if you can find your way behind their facades.

Most of us would prefer to avoid awkward conversations with strangers, however.

PostSecret is one way to get a glimpse of the former without the latter.

You are invited to anonymously contribute a secret to a group art project. Your secret can be a regret, fear, betrayal, desire, confession or childhood humiliation. Reveal anything – as long
as it is true and you have never shared it with anyone before.

Some secrets are funny, some poignant, and all are reminders that every person you meet is a complex, ever-changing world of their own.

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Photo by Etienne Girardet on Unsplash

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Viscoelastic Mysteries

Posted in Food and..., tagged , , , , on September 20, 2023| Leave a Comment »

It’s starting to feel like fall here now, but still early enough that it feels right to cast my eyes back to a childhood summer treat: saltwater taffy.

Ever wondered what makes taffy both so sticky and so slippery?

The sweet physics of saltwater taffy | ScienceDaily

When measuring how the taffy responded to applied forces, Chan and their colleagues found taffy occupies the intriguing middle ground between solid and liquid material.

Ever wondered “how the ingredients and confectioning process contribute to the rheology of saltwater taffy”? Read on!

“In some sense, oil droplets and air bubbles are like rubber balls. When deformed in the taffy, they tend to return to their original, spherical shape because of surface tension. In other words, emulsification and aeration make taffy more elastic, hence, chewier.”

Also and alas, no saltwater is used in the making of saltwater taffy. 

Why is it Called Salt Water Taffy? | Mental Floss

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Photo by Sitraka on Unsplash

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The Secret of Creativity

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , on September 19, 2023| Leave a Comment »

According to Ray Bradbury (who ought to know), this is the secret to creativity:

As soon as things get difficult, I walk away. That’s the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you. If you try to approach a cat and pick it up, hell, it won’t let you do it. You’ve got to say, “Well, to hell with you.” And the cat says, “Wait a minute. He’s not behaving the way most humans do.” Then the cat follows you out of curiosity: “Well, what’s wrong with you that you don’t love me?” Well, that’s what an idea is. See? You just say, “Well, hell, I don’t need depression. I don’t need worry. I don’t need to push.” The ideas will follow me. When they’re off-guard, and ready to be born, I’ll turn around and grab them.

― Ray Bradbury, Zen in The Art of Writing

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Photo by DNK.PHOTO on Unsplash

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You Are Awesome

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , on September 18, 2023| Leave a Comment »

It seems as though every step I take I trip over yet another project to do. I have made it to the end of my workday having done many, many things, but not the items that were actually on my list.

So congratulations, all those who like quotes and pretty pictures, today is (once again) your day!

“Don’t worry about looking cool. Do you because you are awesome.”

— Hank Green

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Photo by Brantley Neal on Unsplash

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Something Old and True

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , on September 17, 2023| 1 Comment »

We read fantasy to find the colors again, I think. To taste strong spices and hear the songs the sirens sang. There is something old and true in fantasy that speaks to something deep within us, to the child who dreamt that one day he would hunt the forests of the night, and feast beneath the hollow hills, and find a love to last forever somewhere south of Oz and north of Shangri-La.

― George R.R. Martin

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Photo by Nick Dunn on Unsplash

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Or Any Age, Really

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , on September 16, 2023| 2 Comments »

“There’s a point, around the age of twenty, when you have to choose whether to be like everybody else the rest of your life, or to make a virtue of your peculiarities.”

— Ursula K. Le Guin

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Photo by Jonas Jacobsson on Unsplash

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Great Deal on Sci-Fi

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on September 15, 2023| 1 Comment »

Storybundle, home of the “pay what you want and if it’s more than $20 we give you a whole bunch of extra books” e-book bundles, has a new bundle out: 

https://storybundle.com/scifiTo the Stars Adventure SF StoryBundle

The site has a rolling roster of interesting bundles, so why do I mention this bundle in particular? Because it happens to include a certain story collection with a certain author in it (a.k.a. me, in case you’re wondering).

That’s right, Writers of the Future: Volume 39 is available as a bonus book. So if you pay more than $20 for the bundle, you’ll get e-books by the baker’s dozen, including v39.

Am I biased? Sure, I happen to think our collection is great. But the bundle is curated by Kevin J. Anderson and also includes books by other names sci-fi/fantasy fans may have heard of, like Todd McCaffrey and Nancy Kress, as well as others I look forward to discovering.

Like all bundles, this one is a limited-time offer, expiring in 20 days. So if you are in the market for e-books and sci-fi, this may be the deal for you.

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Photo by Alex Shuper on Unsplash

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Maybe Next Time?

Posted in Science!, tagged , , , , , , on September 14, 2023| Leave a Comment »

NASA just released a report on the current status of research on unidentified anomalous phenomena, more commonly referred to by Area 51 enthusiasts as UFOs.

Here’s the full report:

UNIDENTIFIED ANOMALOUS PHENOMENA: Independent Study Team Report

Don’t have time for the full document? Here’s a summary article:

NASA UFO report finds no evidence of ‘extraterrestrial origin’ for UAP sightings | Space

NASA’s UFO study team released its long-awaited first report today, and while its experts found no signs of extraterrestrial origins for reported sightings, the space agency is appointing a new chief to study the phenomenon.

The takeaway? Sorry, folks, it’s not aliens.

But.

When it comes to mysteries like these, we still have a lot more to learn. 

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Photo by Gene Brutty on Unsplash

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