Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, Spring, Thoughts on March 4, 2026| Leave a Comment »
Today I’m happy to report that I spotted the first sign of spring.
Yes, we still have a couple feet of snow on our lawn and predictions call for another wave of cold soon, but I also saw my first outdoor insect of the year. It wasn’t anything fun or even remotely photogenic, just a fly, dull except for the fact that it arrived on a breath of spring.
And that is good news!
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Posted in Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, citizen scientists, helping, inspiration, nature on March 3, 2026| 3 Comments »
Yes, the world is a dangerous mess right now but not everything is terrible. Exhibit A: The Fish Doorbell is back!
The Fish Doorbell — The Fish Doorbell
Every spring, thousands of fish swim through the Oudegracht in Utrecht, searching for a place upstream to lay their eggs. But the Weerdsluis is often closed. You can help the fish continue their journey! If you see a fish, press the doorbell. This alerts the lock operator to open the lock.
Love this!
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Posted in Science!, tagged astronomy, lunar eclipse, #365Ways, #365Ways2026 on March 2, 2026| Leave a Comment »
Tomorrow morning very early, the last full moon of the winter season will coincide with a total lunar eclipse. When? Check the links below for precise times, but as an example, maximum eclipse in Ottawa will be at 6:33am ET.
The result? A blood moon.
We’ve talked about this phenomenon before, but this will be the last one for a couple of years.
Check here for timing and more info on the eclipse and how to view it: Total Lunar Eclipse on March 2–3, 2026 – Where and When to See
Visible from Asia, Australia, and North America, this is the last total lunar eclipse until the December 31, 2028–January 1, 2029 New Year’s Blood Moon Eclipse.
If your view is obstructed you can watch this livestream from the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles.
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Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, procrastination, taxes, Thoughts on March 1, 2026| 2 Comments »
“Buttercup’s mother whirled on him. ‘Did you forget to pay your taxes?’ (This was after taxes. But everything is after taxes. Taxes were here even before stew.)” ― William Goldman, The Princess Bride
I’d better get to it!
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, English, history, inspiration, language, Thoughts, time travel, what to pack when going back, Writers, writing on February 28, 2026| 4 Comments »
This is fascinating, educational and fun. One of the things they may not tell you when they give you the keys to the time travel machine is that language is a living thing, and English is now very old.
Linguist and teacher Colin Gorrie decided to illustrate how the English language has changed over the last 1000 years by writing a post that slowly transitions from the modern day, in hundred year increments. How far back can you understand?
How far back in time can you understand English?
He arrives, he checks in. He walks to the cute B&B he’d picked out online. And he writes it all up like any good travel blogger would: in that breezy LiveJournal style from 25 years ago, perhaps, in his case, trying a little too hard.
But as his post goes on, his language gets older. A hundred years older with each jump. The spelling changes. The grammar changes. Words you know are replaced by unfamiliar words, and his attitude gets older too, as the blogger’s voice is replaced by that of a Georgian diarist, an Elizabethan pamphleteer, a medieval chronicler.
By the middle of his post, he’s writing in what might as well be a foreign language.
The last 300 years aren’t so bad, but then things start to get squiffy enough that I hope you’re planning to pack a fairly comprehensive dictionary. The success of your time travel adventures may depend on it!
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, health, Thoughts, Writers, writing on February 27, 2026| 7 Comments »
Like so many of you, I spend a lot of my life looking at screens. I try to keep my eyes healthy but you know how it is, you start the day at the writing computer and then move to the work computer, and then you’re just about to take a break when an email comes in about an important work project, or family thing, or taxes. And when I do get time to take a break? I read a book.
By the end of the day, my eyes are frazzled. Just me? I’m betting the answer is no, which is why I’m sharing this happy little comic about taking care of your eyes.
How to prevent digital eye strain: An illustrated guide
Ophthalmologist Dr. Rupa Wong and optometrist Dr. Valerie Lam explain how to avert those symptoms with 5 eye care tips.
(Have I shared this before? I don’t think so and I couldn’t find it on my site, but it’s possible my eyes just too tired!)
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Posted in Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, astronomy, NASA, science, space on February 26, 2026| Leave a Comment »
Sadly, the Artemis II moon mission has been pushed back again, and the new launch window now won’t happen until April at the earliest. Pesky helium flow issues!
Happily, this week we can entertain ourselves with a planetary conjunction!
APOD: 2026 February 24 – Planet Parade over Sydney Opera House
Look up this week and see a whole bunch of planets. Just after sunset, looking west (mostly), planets Mercury, Venus, Saturn, and Jupiter will all be visible to the unaided eye simultaneously.
Mercury Completes the Planetary Parade at Dusk
Seeing all the naked eye planets at once is set to become a rarity in coming years.
Here’s hoping the skies are clear where you are!
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, art, creativity, inspiration, productivity, Thoughts, Writers, writing on February 25, 2026| 3 Comments »
Creativity is infinite. Creativity is infinite. — Reese Witherspoon
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Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, #Ukraine, poetry, Thoughts on February 24, 2026|
That’s four years too long.
Our thought, our song
Will not die, will not perish…
Oh there, people, is our glory,
Glory of Ukraine!
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Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, fun, snow, winter on February 23, 2026| Leave a Comment »
As much of the Northeastern US hunkers down under many, many inches of snow, here’s a short condensation of winter-related happiness to get you through your day.
Simon Beck’s Snow Art – Banff National Park
The maple leaf is a particular favorite:)
If you’re in the path of the storm, stay warm, stay safe!
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J.R. Johnson 
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