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Posts Tagged ‘inspiration’

How are stars made? You know, those celestial bodies illuminating the sky, happily burning until they get tired of that and become star dust, the components of which we are made.

“The cosmos is also within us. We’re made of star stuff.”

— Carl Sagan

Check out this simulation of a star forge.

If this is the forge, is dark matter the anvil?

How do stars form? Most form in giant molecular clouds located in the central disk of a galaxy. The process is started, influenced, and limited by the stellar winds, jets, high energy starlight, and supernova explosions of previously existing stars. The featured video shows these complex interactions as computed by the STARFORGE simulation of a gas cloud 20,000 times the mass of our Sun.

— APOD: 2021 June 23 – STARFORGE

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I’m also making today, although nothing as dramatic as stars. More like yogurt, a project that required the sewing machine, and a hack for our leaky dishwasher (yes, another appliance is on the road to obsolescence; they really don’t make them like they used to).

I’m also heading into the workshop to make things out of wood. Well, to remember how to make things. And find my tools. And my respirator. And my wood turning clothes. It’s been a while (thanks, Covid)!

My projects won’t be as dynamic or lovely as a star (or Chopin’s music, for that matter).

I’ll still try.

After all, I want to do my ancestors proud.

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Today, work work work. 

Did I wake up tired? Did I procrastinate a little too much? Does everything I say or do today seem not quite right? 

Yes.

No matter.

It’s time to work. It may not be the fun kind, but it is the kind worth doing. 

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“You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.”

— Jack London

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Photo by Oxana Melis on Unsplash

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I’m still thinking about history, and how even when it’s gone it really isn’t.

I came across a series of reconstructions (by a travel insurance company, who knew insurance could be this interesting?), showing a selection of UNESCO heritage sites as they are, and as they were.

Once upon a time.

Reconstructions of UNESCO World Heritage Sites

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Palmyra. Budget Direct Travel Insurance via World History Encyclopedia

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I’m feeling Olden Timey today, so let’s take a trip down memory lane, to 1906 San Francisco. Sure, this video has been posted all over the internet, but this definitive version includes narration and historical details, with a new digital transfer to include the full video, sprockety edges and all.

Plus it’s just cool.

Funny how a simple video conversion can suddenly make the past feel quite present. And really, they were us, and someday we will be them. Let’s do history proud!

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Photo by Debby Hudson on Unsplash

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This is one of the coolest projects I’ve seen in some time:

The cities of Vilnius, Lithuania and Lublin, Poland—which are 376 miles (606 kilometers) away from each other—unveiled their futuristic portals this week… allowing a real-time feed of whoever is in front of the portal to be transmitted between the two cities via the internet.

— Vilnius and Lublin Unveil a Futuristic “Bridge” Between Cities

It’s not quite Stargate, but “it’s a bridge that unifies and an invitation to rise above prejudices and disagreements that belong to the past.” (Benediktas Gylys)

So cool. Here’s the project home: PORTAL

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I may have a new favorite mug.

For no reason whatsoever, I decided that I would be much more productive if I had a new mug. When one is writing or slogging through the data mines or sailing with a letter of marque on the Great Internet Seas, a mug is a friendly, forthright, supportive companion. Choose right, and it’s a burst of good cheer on a cloudy day.

Sure, it’s a weird fixation, but it’s cheaper than drugs. And it works.

I got these mugs from Roy Kirkham in Staffordshire, England. The good: the colors are rich, the designs pretty, and the china delicate. The bad? Shipping. And duties. That said, I really like these. 

The one in the middle with the robin is my new favorite.

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The ideas are bubbling up already!

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Always.

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I’d like to say something inspirational, something supportive, something that will help you navigate the challenges we’re all facing these days. At the moment, though, I’m coming up a little short.

Instead, here’s an image that reminds me that even in the darkest times, our persistence, our knowledge, and our shared humanity will help us find a way forward.

 

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Determine that the thing can and shall be done, and then we shall find the way.
— Abraham Lincoln

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