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Posts Tagged ‘#365Ways2025’

How to Make More Time

Posted in Other, Writing, tagged , , , , on August 13, 2025| Leave a Comment »

We all know we should be exercising more, especially those of us whose work requires a lot of computer time. (Hello, fellow writers!)

This is a pretty fun way of thinking about it, though.

How exercise may be the ‘most potent medical intervention ever known’ | PBS News

One of the things I regularly tell my patients — I’m a cardiologist — is that one minute of exercise buys you five minutes of extra life, which means you definitely have time to exercise, because, even if you exercise even a little bit higher intensity, you get seven or eight minutes of extra life.

So you definitely have time to make in your day to exercise. — Euan Ashley, professor of cardiovascular medicine and genetics at Stanford University

It’s like compound interest but for health. Invest a little, get a lot.

I’ll remind myself of this the next time I’m tempted to sleep in instead of work out:)

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Photo by Maithilee Shetty on Unsplash

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Not A Bad Thing!

Posted in Other, tagged , , , , on August 12, 2025| Leave a Comment »

As far as quotes go, I’ve been on a kindness kick lately. That’s not a bad thing!

“You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.”

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Photo by Zoe Richardson on Unsplash

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To the Explorers

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

Astronaut James Lovell, Apollo 13 commander, dies at 97

“James Lovell, the commander of Apollo 13 who helped turn a failed moon mission into a triumph of on-the-fly can-do engineering, has died. He was 97.”

(If you’re curious, here’s a quick refresher on the Apollo program.)

And because so many of us know of Lovell from the excellent movie version of his most famous mission, here’s Tom Hanks’ appreciation:

Tom Hanks pays tribute to Apollo 13 commander Jim Lovell

“There are people who dare, who dream, and who lead others to the places we would not go on our own. Jim Lovell, who for a long while had gone farther into space and for longer than any other person of our planet, was that kind of guy.” 

Here’s to the brave, to the can-do, to the explorers among us. Humanity is the better for you.

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Photo by Ken Cheung on Unsplash

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A Good Place to Be

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , on August 10, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Like many of you, we’re currently sitting in the middle of a days-long heat wave, and its effects are being felt. Not only is the air quality too soupy for much in the way of outdoor exercise, but everything is dry. Our issues are minor compared to the ones playing out in farmers’ fields all around us, and normally I wouldn’t worry about watering our lawn. I have little love for perfect lawns and mowing and all the other inputs the American lawn requires, including water. Lots and lots of water. 

But it’s not just a lawn. Because we don’t work at having a perfect suburban lawn, because we don’t worry about volunteer flowers and the odd weed, our lawn is actually pretty popular with the local wildlife.

The roster includes birds, squirrels (grey, black and red), more birds, bees, butterflies, an occasional skunk (which I don’t love but what am I going to do, go out and shoo him away? no thanks!), chipmunks, groundhogs and rabbits.

It’s that last critter that’s on my mind today. An adorable little rabbit has moved in under a bush. I see the faint trail she leaves moving between the bush and the cedar hedges. I see the little circle of matted grass inside a fountain of daisies. And I see her out in the early mornings looking for breakfast, which she finds at the edge of the bush in our yard, or in the pocket of native plants we have in the planter bed. And so I’m watering, at least a little.

I’m not worried about the lawn. I’m thinking about the food sources that keep Ms Bun and the rest of our animal neighbors happy and healthy. And so I was out early this morning watering her front doorstep, helping to make our corner of the world a good place to be.

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Photo by Nora Jane Long on Unsplash

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Be Kind, Have Fun

Posted in Other, tagged , , , , , on August 9, 2025| Leave a Comment »

I believe in kindness. Also in mischief.

— Mary Oliver

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Elf doll in a red and white outfit grinning and looking to the side.
Photo by Misty Ladd on Unsplash

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Andromeda Revealed!

Posted in Science!, tagged , , , , , , on August 8, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Sometimes a picture is worth much more than a thousand words:

Andromeda Galaxy Panorama Features Over 200 Million Stars

Stitching together more than 600 overlapping snapshots, the panorama serves as the largest photomosaic ever assembled from Hubble Space Telescope observations. Across its 2.5 billion pixels are a vast and vibrant assortment of 200 million stars, a mere fraction of Andromeda’s entire population. Taken in its entirety, the panorama is not only a technological or photographic achievement, it’s also a critical glimpse into the Andromeda galaxy itself.

And here’s the video version. 

Andromeda revealed!

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Photo by Kyle Goetsch on Unsplash

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Fun Free Fiction

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , on August 7, 2025| 1 Comment »

Howdy Readers! Today I’m happy to share a bit of fun free fiction from that master of humorous sci-fi David Hankins!

The Devil’s Footlocker by David Hankins – FREE STORY – Amazing Stories

Phil could sell anything to anyone. New Milwaukee, like most habitats orbiting Earth, was a moldering dump that smelled like rancid grease wrapped in locker room funk, but that was precisely why Phil had come. Suckers living in squalor made easy marks. The locals couldn’t get enough of his micro-transmat-powered Dust Zappers.

Enjoy!

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Photo by Cheng Shi Song on Unsplash

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From Small to Big

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , on August 6, 2025| Leave a Comment »

“People overestimate what they can accomplish in a year but dramatically underestimate what they can do in a decade.”

— Maya Andrews, Olympic gold medalist

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Photo by anna Hu on Unsplash

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For Your Inner Child

Posted in Other, tagged , , , , , , on August 5, 2025| 1 Comment »

Have a few minutes to let your inner child run free? 

Perhaps you have fond memories of staring up at the sky during summer break, letting clouds drift across your subconscious until “Look! An elephant! An pterodactyl! Jabba the Hutt!”

If so, this site might be just the thing for you:

Cloud Drawing Gallery – Create & Share Cloud Art

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Photo by Jeffrey Eisen on Unsplash

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Real Life Dune

Posted in Science!, tagged , , , , , , , , , on August 4, 2025| Leave a Comment »

I have a folder of interesting articles, quotes, and ideas. When the cicadas are buzzing and the temperature is too hot to think of anything particularly timely, I search that folder for stories that might interest you.

Today, this treasure trove of ideas wants you to know about a critical space station issue: water.

Water recycling is paramount for space stations and long-duration missions − an environmental engineer explains how the ISS does it

When you’re on a camping trip, you might have to pack your own food and maybe something to filter or treat water that you find. But imagine your campsite is in space, where there’s no water, and packing jugs of water would take up room when every inch of cargo space counts. That’s a key challenge engineers faced when designing the International Space Station.

Real life Dune! Ok, not really, but kind of! And this is exactly the sort of technology that can benefit the Earth-bound among us too.

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Photo by Jônatas Tinoco on Unsplash

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