Category — Microblog Mondays

Not sure what #MicroblogMondays is? Read the inaugural post which explains the idea and how you can participate too.

*******

Mental Floss had a list of the least popular names — number 1000 on the SSA list — from 1880 to 1932. And while I think “Lockie” is ready to hit the top 100 list, it made me think about what it means to have a least popular name. Most of us are near the middle, and my name was #7 the year I was born. But Marlena was 989. And the most Marlenas there have ever been was in 1978 when it was #429. It’s a world of few Marlenas. What does it mean to move through the world as a Marlena? Not an unusual name for the place you live but an unusual name anywhere in the world?

You can put your name into the SSA site and see its popularity over time.

*******

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.

Not sure what #MicroblogMondays is? Read the inaugural post which explains the idea and how you can participate too.

*******

I found out about the fish doorbell too late to participate this year, but this is the Internet at its best. Migrating fish get caught at a lock, a problem solved if the lock operator opens the gates. But one human can’t sit day in and day out, watching for fish who may need to move through. Instead, the city has hooked up an underwater camera, and anyone anywhere in the world can watch the camera. When you see a fish, you push a button, and it signals to the lock operator that they should check the camera, too, and open the lock.

I love the idea of a fish doorbell.

*******

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.

Not sure what #MicroblogMondays is? Read the inaugural post which explains the idea and how you can participate too.

*******

A Strong Sense of Place linked to a piece on ocean-fed pools. I love these! I’m sure they exist in the US, but I’ve only seen them in Europe.

It’s the joy of being in the ocean without the fears of being in the ocean. A barrier allows water to flow into the enclosed swimming area, but people can’t get dragged out to sea by an undertow. The first place we ever saw one was in North Berwick, Scotland. I didn’t realize it was a thing in many places until we saw one the following year in St. Malo, France.

New vacation goals. Aim for ocean pools.

*******

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.

Not sure what #MicroblogMondays is? Read the inaugural post which explains the idea and how you can participate too.

*******

Sometimes when the ChickieNob and I are doing one of our virtual walks, we’ll “pass” a person on a bench, and I’ll say, “I hope we see him the next time we’re in [insert city here].” As if once on a bench means always on a bench.

I was thinking about this because we’ll be near a city beach and planned to sit outside and read for a few hours. It occurred to me that we’d either have to bring a beach blanket or… get sandy? I went on Google street view, and THEY HAVE BENCHES! Thank you, city planners, who thought about how people would want to sit down and look at the water.

*******

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.

Not sure what #MicroblogMondays is? Read the inaugural post which explains the idea and how you can participate too.

*******

I just finished reading Bad Summer People, which is a little like White Lotus set on Fire Island. You know someone will die because the book begins with a dead body. But you mostly forget something will happen because the people are so terrifically awful that you’re sucked into their drama even though you’re not really rooting for anyone to win.

I felt guilty enjoying it so much because the residents of the very real Saltaire (the town fictionalized as Salcombe in the book) were upset by early versions of the book satirizing Fire Island life. I’m unsure if any characters or situations were based on real people or events, though I’m assuming from reactions that the answer is yes.

*******

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.