#Microblog Monday 481: One More Game
Not sure what #MicroblogMondays is? Read the inaugural post which explains the idea and how you can participate too.
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I could lie and say I don’t construct my day around a series of games, but it’s a lie and you know it’s a lie, so let’s move forward.
I love the new game from the New York Times, Strands. Each day, you have to find a series of words that are part of a theme. So once you figure out the theme, you know what you’re looking for. And it has hints if you find three words that are not part of the theme (that is a brilliant addition), and you know that one word will stretch from one end of the puzzle to the other. It’s now part of my morning routine, which grows and shrinks as I find new games but currently totaling nine games I play over coffee.
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Are you also doing #MicroblogMondays? Add your link below. The list will be open until Tuesday morning. Link to the post itself, not your blog URL. (Don’t know what that means? Please read the three rules on this post to understand the difference between a permalink to a post and a blog’s main URL.) Only personal blogs can be added to the list. I will remove any posts connected to businesses or sponsored posts.
March 18, 2024 2 Comments
Weekend Thought
I didn’t watch the video Kottke posted, but this line about what you would encounter while traveling through the universe blew my mind:
But after a long time, you might find the most special thing in the universe: Yourself. An exact copy of you watching this video right now. How can that be? Well, everything in existence is made of a finite amount of different particles. And a finite number of different particles can only be combined in a finite number of ways.
So it’s like LEGO houses; if I gave everyone 1000 blocks, at some point, two people would make identical houses. And if I continued indefinitely, at some point, every option would repeat because there are a finite number of blocks even though there are infinite block structures.
Putting this into your brain today.
March 17, 2024 No Comments
978th Friday Blog Roundup
I scrolled past the original image from @princeandprincessofwales on Instagram without thinking much more than, “Oh, nice photo.” That night, I saw the news stories about how someone altered the image, and I went back to the photo and zoomed in. I could see what they were referencing, but it didn’t seem like a big deal, especially because the photo was so small on my phone. Who bothered to enlarge a family portrait to see that?
And you know how the rest goes. I don’t care that she pulled together images to create a good one for her Instagram feed. It’s not like she edited herself into a place she wasn’t or edited herself out of a place she was. If I knew how to edit photos, I would love to pull the best version of person X from photo A and the best version of person Y from photo B and bring them into photo C, which has the best version of person Z. Again, an image capturing an event of world importance — I’d probably rather see all of the outtakes. An image capturing an everyday family portrait… I’d probably rather see one version where they all look at the camera.
But what struck me was what a terrible existence. She did everything right: Announced her absence, gave a reason, and stated when she’d return. And people (not her boss; just the general public) couldn’t stop asking where she was a month before she was set to return — not just asking but hounding and critiquing.
Would William get the same commentary, questioning, and scrutiny if the roles were reversed and he was stepping back to take care of his health? I sense not.
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Stop procrastinating. Go make your backups. Don’t have regrets.
Seriously. Stop what you’re doing for a moment. It will take you fifteen minutes, tops. But you will have peace of mind for days and days. It’s the gift to yourself that keeps on giving.
As always, add any new thoughts to the Friday Backup post and peruse new comments to find out about methods, plug-ins, and devices that help you quickly back up your data and accounts.
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And now the blogs…
But first, second, helpings of the posts that appeared in the open comment thread last week. To read the description before clicking over, please return to the open thread:
- “No Kidding Voice Count” (No Kidding in NZ)
Okay, now my choices this week.
Finding a Different Path has a post about IVF terminology in the media. This is my pet peeve, and I once wrote the NYT’s about it in 2009. (The opening of my note: “This isn’t the first time I’ve read this in the New York Times but I truly felt compelled to write this time. Doctors can transfer embryos. They cannot implant embryos. If they could, IVF would have a much higher success rate.” Their response: “I hear you, but knowing this beforehand we made the conscious decision to use the word implant. The average reader doesn’t understand what a ‘transfer’ is.” Grrr…) This part in Jess’s post blew my mind: “Bryce just said that if the phrasing is that the embryo is ‘implanted’ in the uterus, then the failure falls on the woman when it doesn’t continue. Which I never thought of before, and adds to the insidiousness of the self-blame I felt (and I’m sure others did too) when cycles failed.” So true and so frustrating that I was writing the NYT in 2009 about this, and it’s now 2024, and nothing has changed.
Apron Strings for Emily is back with a discussion about reproductive rights in the US. There was anger after the Roe v Wade reversal, but she writes: “But this time … this IVF issue really hit too close to home. Which is why I finally picked up the pen – err, dusted off my keyboard – and decided to write again.”
Lastly, Scientist on the Roof has a post about visiting D.C. I love hearing what people do when they visit here, and I’m glad they got to the Portrait Gallery because it has the best atrium in the world. But I also thought it was sweet to read about the time together with her child.
The roundup to the Roundup: I would not want to be Princess Catherine. Your weekly backup nudge. And lots of great posts to read. So what did you find this week? Please use a permalink to the blog post (written between March 8 – 15) and not the blog’s main URL. Not understanding why I’m asking you what you found this week. Read the original open thread post here.
March 15, 2024 2 Comments
Best Books of February
As I say every month, I’m shamelessly stealing this idea from Jessica Lahey. She has a recurring monthly date where she reviews all the books she reads that month. Book reviews are important for authors, and I want to get better at doing this.
So. I’m going to review them here and also online, but I’m going to do it a little differently. I’m only going to review the stuff I really liked. I don’t see a reason to spend my time writing about something I didn’t love; it’s just using up more of my energy. So only positive reviews.
These are the books I liked (or mostly liked) from February.
Spaceman of Bohemia (Jaroslav Kalfar): This is a gorgeous book. It is a story that will stay with you when you’re away from the book. It was beautiful, aching, hopeful, sad, clever, surprising. It will definitely be among the best books I read this year.
Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect (Benjamin Stevenson): I enjoyed this book so much that I dug out all of my old Australian pop music from the 80s. (Paul Kelly for the win! And if you read this book, I imagined the song “Dumb Things” when they chase the train.) It’s the follow up of Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone. Both books are 5 stars for fun. I loved that this was a real train, and it was a great set up.
Anna O (Matthew Blake): I am pretty sure that this book wins for most unethical and unrealistic therapy situation, an award long held by The Silent Patient, which is a very similar book. If you liked The Silent Patient, this is like that. Mind candy but ultimately not realistic. Still, great pacing makes for a good beach book.
What did you read last month?
March 13, 2024 4 Comments
Read Over Zoom
Putting this out there if you are like me and did not know this was an option. I recently learned about a cool kids’ book coming out that I wanted to read to my nephews. But holding a book open, facing the computer camera, and trying to read a book at the same time is neck-crick inducing.
But I googled whether reading a Libby book on a computer was possible, and IT IS. You go to the web version of Libby, enter your card number, and check out the book. Then, you can share your screen via FaceTime or Zoom and read the picture book by looking at the page on your screen instead of peering around a physical book’s page. So they can see the book and you, and you can see the book head-on and the person you’re reading to.
It works for every book if you want to treat someone to a read-aloud over Zoom.
March 12, 2024 1 Comment