Posted in Holidays, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, Thoughts, Writers on June 23, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Note: I wrote this post two days ago but for whatever reason it did not go out for the Solstice on the 21st. Apologies to all the Druids out there!
Happy Summer Solstice!
“And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.”
― F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, inspiration, Thoughts, Writers on June 23, 2022| Leave a Comment »
“Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.”
― Henry James
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Posted in Likes, Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, Apple, flowers, Google, learning@lunch, plants, technology, Thoughts on June 22, 2022| Leave a Comment »
I attended the sort of progressive high school that allowed students to create their own classes. I decided to study the practical applications of plants, specifically their uses in food, textiles and medicine.
Basically, I cooked, dyed wool and made diluted poisons. Typical high school stuff.
I learned a lot about my local plants during that semester. What I’m not always great at is identifying new plants. That’s why I downloaded a plant identifier app. I won’t suggest the one I use because it’s just ok, full of tech walls designed to shunt you away from free options and toward a purchase, but I’ve charted a path around those barriers and can get the information I want.
That said, I’ve learned that iOS 15 users* already have a free alternative.
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The feature is called Visual Look Up and once you know it’s there, it’s easy to use. It works for plants but also other subjects like landmarks, art and animals.
Today I learned you can identify plants and flowers using just your iPhone camera
Just open up a photo or screenshot in the Photos app and look for the blue “i” icon underneath. If it has a little sparkly ring around it, then iOS has found something in the photo it can identify using machine learning. Tap the icon, then click “Look Up” and it’ll try and dredge up some useful information.
Is it perfect? Not in my (admittedly limited) experience, but it is surprisingly good. My father-in-law sent me a picture of a mystery flower that had appeared (quite mysteriously!) next to his pond. Despite living in the area for decades he had never seen the plant before. Did I know what it was?
I did, in fact, have a pretty good guess. It looked an awful lot like a native plant Mr Man and I bought when we first moved into the house, the Blue Flag Iris. I ran the image through my app to be sure, and it helpfully appended “Northern” to the name. Points for me, but confirmation is always nice.
After discovering Visual Look Up I tested it on the same photo. It got me to “Iris” but without additional specifics. (To be fair, when I took a quick snapshot of the clearer image below and ran Look Up, it identified the plant as a Blue Flag Iris. Points for it.)
So next time you discover something mysterious that you don’t mind sharing with the tech giant in your pocket, try out this feature.
For a free option covering multiple life and other forms?** Recommended.
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* Those in the US, Australia, Canada, UK, Singapore, Indonesia, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Mexico, for now. Not an iPhone user? I haven’t tried it, but Google Lens has similar functionality and works for both iOS and Android.
** But does it work on aliens?
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Posted in Holidays, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, family, inspiration, Thoughts on June 19, 2022| Leave a Comment »
“I believe that what we become depends on what our fathers teach us at odd moments, when they aren’t trying to teach us. We are formed by little scraps of wisdom.”
― Umberto Eco, Foucault’s Pendulum
Or in my father’s case, not so little. For passing on wisdom, an open heart, sharp editorial eye, love of cooking, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars and so much more, thanks, Dad. Happy Father’s Day!
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Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, creativity, inspiration, Thoughts, Writers, writing on June 17, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Do the things you care about to the best of your ability.
— Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Today that’s work. And cake. Cake and work. Mostly cake.
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Posted in Likes, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, Canada, inspiration, Thoughts on June 15, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Some days you just need a feel-good story. Let’s hear it for Canada and Denmark, whose “war” over a tiny Arctic island consisted largely of good-natured snark and the swapping of favorite beverages. (As a bonus, Canada will now share a border with the EU. How cool is that?)
Denmark-Canada deal on Hans Island ends 49-year-old feud over Arctic isle
A territorial dispute between Denmark and Canada over a barren and uninhabited rock in the Arctic that has led to decades of friendly friction has come to an end, with the two countries agreeing on Tuesday to divide the tiny island between them.
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“It sends a clear signal that it is possible to resolve border disputes … in a pragmatic and peaceful way, where the all parties become winners,” said Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod. He said it was “an important signal now that there is much war and unrest in the world.”
The war in Ukraine is very different, obviously, but generally speaking?
Cheers to that.
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, creativity, Fiction, Thoughts, Writers, writing on June 12, 2022| Leave a Comment »
You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.
— Maya Angelou
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, creativity, Fiction, genre fiction, Thoughts, Writers, writing on June 10, 2022| Leave a Comment »
The title on this post is not quite fair; the actual article I’m sharing with you today is perhaps better categorized as how to think about the future. Still, as a reader and writer of speculative fiction I like the concept.
Will this approach help you to predict the next Stanley Cup winner? Maybe not, but it does seem helpful for building plausible alternate, slipstream and near-future worlds.
Last year, some colleagues and I invited people from around the world to compete in a tournament to predict the future. Over the course of seven months, more than 2,000 participants registered over 20,000 predictions… here are their key principles and practices…
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, creativity, Fiction, Thoughts, Writers, writing on June 8, 2022| Leave a Comment »
George Saunders, celebrated American writer, journalist and teacher, was asked for his thoughts on story endings. Here’s what he had to say:
Ten Ways of Thinking About Endings
I once defined “ending” as “stopping without sucking.” And I’m going to stand by that…
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Posted in Other, Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, birds, Thoughts on June 7, 2022| Leave a Comment »
While I engage in the joy that is Tuesday and also wait for a bit of family news, here’s a window into the happy, hyperactive world of the West Texas hummingbird.
For more live bird cams (including some involving things you shouldn’t do with a squirrel!), visit Cornell Lab Bird Cams.
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