Long week, crazy world. Have some fun:)
Adventurous Cat Carries Plastic Tub Up the Stairs, Then Rides It Back Down
Is it safe? Maybe not (although cats are great at landing on their feet!). But it is excellent.
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Posts Tagged ‘#365Ways2026’
Adventure Kitty!
Posted in Funny, Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, a bit of fun, inspiration on January 22, 2026| Leave a Comment »
For Muscles and Minds
Posted in Other, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, Motivation, Thoughts, Writers, writing on January 21, 2026| Leave a Comment »
Useful Tools
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, advice, blocks, creativity, Thoughts, Writers, writing on January 20, 2026| Leave a Comment »
The world is a distracting place. If you’ve been having trouble finding the time and energy to focus on your writing, this free class from award-winning author Mary Robinette Kowal might be useful.
Free Class: Barriers to Writing
Hey there… have you been having a hard time writing? Yeah. There’s a lot of that going around right now.
This class looks at what keeps people from writing. It’s less about problems with the story and more about all the external things. It covers environmental factors, mental health, and tricks for compensating for all of this to write.
Thanks, Mary!
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This Moment in Time
Posted in Holidays, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, #MLKDay, inspiration, Thoughts, Writers, writing on January 19, 2026| Leave a Comment »
The power of science fiction, fantasy, and related genres including “the speculative” lies in its ability to create new ways to talk about old and ongoing problems in our societies. We are surrounded by people who wonder what they are going to do with the moment in time they inhabit—time-travelers fixed to this one instant in a long continuum of human struggle—and we are crafting new vocabularies of comfort, courage, and creative energy for them and for ourselves.
— The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association, on Martin Luther King Jr. Day and the power of building new worlds
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What She Said
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, creativity, inspiration, Thoughts, Writers, writing on January 18, 2026| Leave a Comment »
“We’re only here for a short time. So why not go for it?”
— Belle Burden
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Here, Now, Between Us
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, Thoughts on January 17, 2026| Leave a Comment »
We live in an often discouraging time, but when I take a step back from “the world” writ large, it can be endlessly encouraging too.
Today I’m baking as a way to say thank you to the neighbors. They helped us out when we were in a bit of a crunch, and it was a great reminder that day-to-day life is not only what we see in the headlines.
It’s also what we make here, now, between us.
I hope the neighbors enjoy today’s kitchen adventures (magic posset, only this time with real key lime juice), but I’m mostly thankful to have a way to share a bit of good in the world.
Whatever your way is, I hope that this weekend you have something to do, and someone to do it for.
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Because It’s Cold!
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, #BirdsAreReal, nature, Thoughts on January 16, 2026| Leave a Comment »
It’s cold here today, the temperature almost 20C/35F lower than it was before a storm came through and left a thick coating of lovely but frigid snow.
Which got me thinking, and not for the first time: How do birds stay warm?
Here’s a short explainer article with a helpful video of chickadees, cardinals, jays and other birds (some in dramatic slo-mo!):
How Birds Stay Warm in the Winter Snow: Backyard Birds Revealed | All About Birds
Some of the survival tricks captured in this episode include: “drinking” snow on icy days; an ingenious solution to the problem of cold feet; and the incredible warmth of a fluffy coat of feathers.
Now I’m off to refill my bird feeder and top up the bird bath. Because it’s cold!
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Got Books?
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, books, creativity, invention, Thoughts on January 15, 2026| Leave a Comment »
Today, a little update related to a post I made in (checks notes) 2012: Today in Spectacular Bookseller Practices: A Random Used-Book Vending Machine.
The image for that post is broken and there wasn’t a lot of information about the actual book vending machine, but I’m here to rectify that oversight!
What am I on about? The BIBLIO-MAT, a.k.a the book vending machine.
The BIBLIO-MAT is a random book vending machine designed and built by Craig Small for The Monkey’s Paw, an idiosyncratic antiquarian bookshop in Toronto.
It’s awesome and handmade and should be something you can get in multiple sizes and formats for next-day delivery because it is just that cool. (Seriously, what would a suitcase sized or food truck style or e-book version of this look like?)
Check out the link for how-it-works videos and enough interior sketches to inspire your own if you are mechanically inclined (and have a significant pile of maybe-never-to-be-read books).
Because as Dame Margaret Atwood says, “THIS! IS! BRILLIANT!”
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On the occasion of a cold front coming to do away with our weird January rain…
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, quotes, Thoughts, wintre on January 14, 2026| Leave a Comment »
“Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home.”
— Edith Sitwell
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Was It the H?
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, nature, Thoughts on January 13, 2026| Leave a Comment »
Well, it looks like Big Thom the Turkey has winged his way off to other climes. Did he get bored in the back yard? Run out of food? Or was it the H?
As I mentioned yesterday, adding that olde thyme H just seemed right, especially as I gave a shoutout to his dinosaur ancestors. Maybe he didn’t like that. Maybe he’s a modern turkey who wants nothing more than to shrug off the expectations of Uncle Rex and Auntie Stega and move to the big city to find his true calling, like being a graphic designer or a skydiving instructor or maybe even an artist who DJs on the side.
I hear you, big guy, we all need to find our purpose, and use it to bring good into the world.
Nice knowing you, Thom!
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