Posted in Other, Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, heroes, inspiration, social science, Thoughts on December 4, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Why do we need heroes? To be better versions of ourselves.
Scientists Discover That People Act Way Better When Batman Is Present
After making a guy dressed as Batman stand around in a subway car, a team of researchers found that the behavior of people around him suddenly improved the moment he showed up.
I call this the “see better, be better” school of human behavior. And I like it!
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Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, creativity, inspiration, persistence on December 3, 2025| Leave a Comment »
I taught an octopus piano (It took 6 months)
This video is refusing to embed for some reason, but if you are impressed by clever and creative displays of persistence (by humans and others!), it’s worth checking out. Start at the 3:00 minute mark if you want to go straight to the training process, or at 15:00 if you want to skip to the piano performance.
Note: this video contains a lot of swearing. Which, as someone who has trained their cat to sit and jump (but definitely not play an instrument), I completely understand!
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Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, charity, donations, inspiration, kindness on December 2, 2025| Leave a Comment »
“There is no exercise better for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up.”
― John Holmes
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Posted in Other, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, hope, inspiration, Thoughts, Writers on December 1, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Now this is exactly what I need on a Monday.
How John Green Fights Despair Every Day | The Interview – YouTube
I mean the problem with hope is that it feels like a very easy word. You know, it feels like very convenient and sort of kumbaya. But I’m interested in the kind of hope that holds up to scrutiny. The kind of hope that does hold up to the worst things that happen to us, that holds up to our worst days. That’s the kind of hope that I’m interested in.
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, creativity, inspiration, Thoughts, writing on November 29, 2025| Leave a Comment »
“Young people will have the seeds you bury in their minds, and when they grow up they will change the world.”
— Jack Ma
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Posted in Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, astronomy, inspiration, meteor shower, space on November 16, 2025| Leave a Comment »
We Earthlings are in the middle of the Leonid meteor shower. It takes place this year from November 6th through the 30th, but will peak overnight tonight. Even better, the moon is only 9% full, so the only competition will be from human light sources.
Leonid meteor shower: All you need to know in 2025
The Leonid meteor shower is back! Leonid meteors are already flying. The peak is on the morning of November 17.
Love this animation!
Meteor Showers 2025 – 2026 – American Meteor Society
So tonight, if you find yourself in a place with clear skies, look up.
The Universe is saying hello.
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Posted in Holidays, Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, inspiration, kindness, Thoughts on November 13, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Happy Kindness Day! Not that you should limit kindness to just one day, but a little reminder can be useful. And knowing that people around you are more predisposed to be kind today?
That’s a good thing, and it’s catching!
If you’re going to be kind to another human, today is the day to do it!
Some hardhearted souls may even question whether small acts of kindness really matter. Spoiler alert: They do!
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“And here’s the beautiful part: When someone receives kindness, they don’t just feel better, they become better.”
The bonus is that a little kindness is good for both the recipient and the giver. Win win!
How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a naughty world.
— William Shakespeare, Merchant of Venice
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Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, inspiration, live well, Thoughts on November 11, 2025| Leave a Comment »
We held two memorials this weekend, both opportunities to come together around happy memories and shared stories. It also got me thinking (in a positive way!) about what comes after—not in terms of heaven (or that other place) but how to live and the world you leave behind.
Today is also Veterans Day in the US and Remembrance Day in Canada, an ideal time to think about those who came before and what they did for their world, and ours.
Given that, this quote seemed like a good fit for today.
Decide what you would like your obituary to say and live the life to deserve it.
— Warren Buffett
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Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, inspiration, Thoughts on November 6, 2025| Leave a Comment »
“The closest thing we can get to a crystal ball is history.”
— Jennifer Lawrence
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Posted in Other, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, #WhereDoIdeasComeFrom, creativity, inspiration, Thoughts on November 2, 2025| Leave a Comment »
My office is filled with random yet interesting items. Maybe a color caught my eye, or a puzzle, or a map (or a bit of pottery, a magic wand, a decoder ring, a set of travel watercolors, or or or). All things that spark my creativity or capture an experience I want to remember.
For example: Mr Man and I had a special dinner a while back.
Appetizer: mussels steamed with a great deal of garlic and a perfectly reasonable amount of white wine.
Flavor: excellent.
Bonus: an unexpected gift, the tiniest pearl I have ever seen.
Taking a picture of it was a challenge, it’s that small.
I keep it in memory of that night. It’s worth nothing, and everything.
“But the pearls were accidents, and the finding of one was luck, a little pat on the back by God or the gods both.”
– John Steinbeck
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