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Posts Tagged ‘Thoughts’

A Tale of Lunar Night

Posted in Other, tagged , , , , , on June 5, 2025| 1 Comment »

Any plans for this afternoon? Nothing special? Then you might be interested in checking out a moon landing.

Japanese company ispace will attempt historic moon landing on June 5 | Space

The Resilience lander is currently orbiting the moon as it prepares to land within Mare Frigoris (“Sea of Cold”) in the northern hemisphere. The landing is scheduled for Thursday at 3:17 p.m. EDT (1917 GMT; or 4:17 a.m. Japan Standard Time on Friday, June 6)… If Resilience lands successfully, it is expected to operate for up to two weeks (one lunar day) on the moon’s surface before succumbing to the deep cold of lunar night.

That’s right, a private company is attempting a moon landing today. Is the privatization of space a good thing? A bad thing? It’s certainly an interesting progression of humanity’s extra-planetary exploration, always fascinating material for science fiction writers.

And we can watch!

(“the deep cold of lunar night”: is that a great phrase or what?)

Quick update: the landing time changed a bit due to orbital mechanics or something fancy like that, but more importantly, controllers are waiting to find out if it landed safely and can establish contact. Updates via CNN…

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Photo by Beres Ioan on Unsplash

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Be Unstoppable

Posted in Other, Writing, tagged , , , on June 4, 2025| Leave a Comment »

From the good folks at xkcd, a lesson for anyone with a seemingly impossible project or an unwieldy to do list.

Unstoppable force-carrying particles can’t interact with immovable matter by definition. https://xkcd.com/3084

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I know, technically, the kitty should be running past the rock, but I couldn’t find one of those pics. Still looks fast:) Photo by Geranimo on Unsplash

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The Lost City in the Basement

Posted in Other, tagged , , , , , on June 3, 2025| Leave a Comment »

I could go into a whole thing about history and how it’s cool, or ancient civilizations and how they are cool, or uncovering architectural ruins that were foundations for lives lived once upon a time (and how that’s cool), but as I’m on deadline at the day job I’ll just leave you with this:

How Civilizations Built on Top of Each Other: Discover What Lies Beneath Rome, Troy & Other Cities

The idea of discovering a lost ancient city underground has long captured the human imagination. But why are the abandoned built environments of those fantasies always buried? The answer, in large part, is that such places do indeed exist under our feet, at least in certain parts of the world.

And it’s not just places like Rome or London. Cities like New York and Paris also have underground layers, and some cities were built in or under the earth.

I also enjoy this image of a cross-section of the A303 in England, which runs from Hampshire to Devon via Stonehenge (or so Wikipedia tells me, I haven’t been!).

In case you, too, have always wondered about the history beneath your feet!

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Photo by Maksym Harbar on Unsplash

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No Better Day

Posted in Other, Writing, tagged , , , on June 2, 2025| Leave a Comment »

It’s Monday and I’m working working working. I’m also long on creative ideas but short on finished drafts, so let’s enjoy another quote from Hank Green and get back to it!

“There’s no better use of a day than learning something new.”

— Hank Green

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Photo by Hadija on Unsplash

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Rejoice!

Posted in Other, tagged , , , on June 1, 2025| Leave a Comment »

I recently asked my father to check my “in case of emergency” documents to see if he thought anything was missing. What can I say, I like to plan ahead. I’ve seen enough aftermath by now to realize that one of the best things you can do for your loved ones is to be prepared. I’m also sure I’m still missing some things, which is why I wanted an experienced set of eyes on the situation. (And by that I mean lawyer-level prepared, not “I bought this kit/took random advice off the internet and am sure it will all be fine” prepared.)

Opener to my text:

At some point I’d appreciate it if you would check the ICE folder and pretend we’re dead 🙁

Very sad. But the good news is that we’re not dead yet! My text closing:

/ok, not dead anymore. rejoice! 

And I will.

There’s a certain joy to actively realizing that despite the sprawling expanse of history and the billions of people who have lived and died before me (and will come after), I, right now, in this moment, am alive. And so are you.

Hooray!

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Photo by Dylan Alcock on Unsplash

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Uniquely Human

Posted in Other, tagged , , , , , on May 31, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Super productive morning, semi-lazy afternoon. With books!

The Science of Storytelling: How can reading books change our brains?

What happens inside our brains when we read? How does the science of storytelling explain the power of narratives to shape our minds? In what ways do stories make us uniquely human?

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Photo by Gaelle Marcel on Unsplash

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It’s You!

Posted in Other, Writing, tagged , , , , on May 30, 2025| 1 Comment »

“Do. Not. Forget. how special and bizarre it is to get to live a human life. It took 3 billion years for the Earth to go from single-celled life forms to you. That’s more than a quarter of the life of the entire universe. Something very special and strange is happening on this planet and it is you.”

— Hank Green, 2025 Commencement address, MIT

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Photo by Ken Cheung on Unsplash

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Make Them Bloom

Posted in Other, tagged , , , , on May 28, 2025| Leave a Comment »

“People deal too much with the negative, with what is wrong. Why not try and see positive things, to just touch those things and make them bloom?”

— Thích Nhất Hạnh

I’m not arguing that we should ignore the many bad things currently happening in the world, especially not when we have the power to change them. But balancing the bad with the recognition of what’s good?

I’m in.

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Photo by Christos Gavriel on Unsplash

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Don’t Stop Believing

Posted in Other, Science!, Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on May 27, 2025| Leave a Comment »

A couple of years ago I wrote about NASA’s excellent graphic novel encouraging folks to imagine themselves on the moon: First Woman: Dream to Reality.

There was a second issue, too, called First Woman: Expanding Our Universe. Both were free and available to the public on NASA’s site. (Which makes sense, because NASA is paid for by US tax dollars, including mine.) Sadly, both have now been removed.

But good news, aspiring explorers! As highlighted over at Space.com, both issues are still available via that bastion of awesome, The Wayback Machine:

Calliefirst – NASA

Issue #1: Dream to Reality follows Callie’s trailblazing path as the first woman on the Moon. Callie and her robot sidekick, RT, overcome setbacks, disappointment, and tragedy along the way. From her childhood dreams of space travel to being selected as an astronaut candidate, Callie takes us on her journey to the Moon.

I don’t always take the time to update older links, but I thought this one was important.

Because if humanity stops inspiring the next generation, humanity stops.

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NASA, via The Wayback Machine

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The Good That Remains

Posted in Holidays, tagged , , on May 26, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Today is Memorial Day in the US, and I’m thinking of those who served and died. I’m thinking of Boalsburg, one of the first homes of Memorial Day celebrations. And I’m thinking of the ways in which we remember those we’ve lost, as sorrow highlights the good that remains. 

Memorial Day by Amos Russel Wells

The Day of Memories!—Remembering what?

The cannon’s roar, the hissing of the shot?

The weary hospital, the prison pen?

The widow’s tears, the groans of stalwart men?

The bitterness of fratricidal strife?

The pangs of death, the sharper pangs of life?

Nay, let us quite forget the whole of these

Upon our sacred Day of Memories.

The Day of Memories!—Remembering what?

The honored dust in every hallowed spot;

The honored names of all our heroes dead;

The glorious land for which they fought and bled;

Our nation’s hopes; the kindly, common good;

The universal bond of brotherhood;

These we remember gladly, all of these,

Upon our sacred Day of Memories.

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Photo by benjamin lehman on Unsplash

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