Thoughts | J.R. Johnson

Posts Tagged ‘Thoughts’

Real Life Dune

Posted in Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, inspiration, ISS, NASA, science, space, technology, Thoughts, Writers on August 4, 2025| Leave a Comment »

I have a folder of interesting articles, quotes, and ideas. When the cicadas are buzzing and the temperature is too hot to think of anything particularly timely, I search that folder for stories that might interest you.

Today, this treasure trove of ideas wants you to know about a critical space station issue: water.

Water recycling is paramount for space stations and long-duration missions − an environmental engineer explains how the ISS does it

When you’re on a camping trip, you might have to pack your own food and maybe something to filter or treat water that you find. But imagine your campsite is in space, where there’s no water, and packing jugs of water would take up room when every inch of cargo space counts. That’s a key challenge engineers faced when designing the International Space Station.

Real life Dune! Ok, not really, but kind of! And this is exactly the sort of technology that can benefit the Earth-bound among us too.

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Nothing So High

Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, art, crafts, creativity, Thoughts, Writers, writing on August 3, 2025| Leave a Comment »

“You shall, I question not, find a way to the top if you diligently seek for it; for nature hath placed nothing so high that it is out of the reach of industry and valor.”

— Alexander the Great

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Magical Things

Posted in Entertainment, Other, Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, cool facts, creativity, Indiana Jones, inspiration, NASA, Thoughts on August 2, 2025| Leave a Comment »

I enjoy the fact that there is always something new to learn. Some things are big, like the latest on asteroid deflection from NASA’s DART program, and some are small, like the fact that Dan Aykroyd had a cameo in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. (Did you know that? I didn’t, until last night when I did a double take and said, “Wait, the guy with the mustache and the British accent. Was that Dan Aykroyd?” It was!)

Of global importance or not, these facts are all interesting reminders that there is always something new around the corner, if you keep looking.

And that, I think, is magic.

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To the Stars? To the Stars!

Posted in Other, Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, innovation, inspiration, science, science fiction, Thoughts on August 1, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Here’s a fun and productive use of the internet that answers a very important question: How close are we to living in the Star Trek universe?

Check it out and see!

Are We Trek Yet?

This guide is intended to be a comprehensive look at the tech that Star Trek suggested to drive humanity forward ad astra per aspera. The emphasis is on innovations that don’t violate physics according to present consensus understanding. Go ahead and explore boldly… Just don’t waste too much time on idle speculation: there’s a whole lot to do if we’re going to get to Trek, and it’s going to take all of us.

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Creativity: A Tip

Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, creativity, Thoughts, Writers, writing on July 29, 2025| Leave a Comment »

“Instead of looking at things, look between things.”

— John Baldessari

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At the Top of the List

Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, fun, Thoughts, Writers, writing on July 27, 2025| Leave a Comment »

I had the interesting experience of trying to explain my latest writing project to someone at a party last night. In French.

Do I speak French? I do not!

It was a hilarious experience (what exactly is “ethical thief” in French?) and I learned a lot. The best part was just diving in and figuring it out.

Did I get everything right? 100% no.

Did I get enough right to make it work? Yes.

And that’s what mattered. It also helped me think through what was important about the story and what could fall by the wayside.

So if anyone out there is aiming for perfection ? (And I include myself in this.) Maybe just don’t. Instead, focus on the important bits.

And having a good time is right at the top of that list.

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For the Better

Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, #notestoself, Motivation, Thoughts on July 26, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Celebrations are fun, and we have another cluster of birthdays around now. That has me thinking about the passage of time, and how change happens even when you don’t notice it. Am I the same person I was twenty years ago? I am not.

Hopefully that’s a good thing!

“Aging is an extraordinary process whereby you become the person you always should have been.”

— David Bowie

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What to Say?

Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, authors, quotes, Thoughts on July 25, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Blessed is the man, who having nothing to say, abstains from giving wordy evidence of the fact.

— George Eliot

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Pallas Athene

Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, controversy, history, mythology, technology, the old gods, Thoughts on July 24, 2025| Leave a Comment »

We’ve been watching a fun and insightful series called Stuff the British Stole (there’s a podcast too if that’s your thing). One episode focused on the Elgin Marbles, a collection of sculptures that were removed from the Parthenon in the early nineteenth century and are now famously (and controversially) housed in the British Museum.

Beautiful as they are, those sculptures provide only hints of the temple’s original magnificence. And having been fortunate enough to have visited both the Marbles and their original resting place, I found this article interesting:

A 3D Model Reveals What the Parthenon and Its Interior Looked Like 2,500 Years Ago | Open Culture

Standing atop the Acropolis in Athens as it has for nearly 2,500 years now, the Parthenon remains an impressive sight indeed…. One enthusiast in particular, an Oxford archaeology professor named Juan de Lara, has spent four years using 3D modeling tools to create a 3D digital reconstruction of the Parthenon at the height of its glory…

Check out the video:

The Parthenon 3D

Here’s to Athena, goddess of wisdom!

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