You know the scene in Avatar: The Last Airbender when Azula goes to recruit Tai Lee the acrobat for her elite team of fighters by having the ringmaster release all the animals and setting the net on fire?
I think that’s what a 401k is?
The Judgmental Advice Column: Friends and Movie References
If someone hasn’t seen a movie that you like, it says everything about them as a person. The Judgmental Advice Column tackles friends who don’t get movie and TV references.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRUUwhrAutY
Another great Tegan and Sara song. They came out with a new album a few days ago, and I’ve been binging on their older songs in anticipation all month. Also because my toddler took a liking to them, and always asks for “Sara” now.
The instrumentals of “Shock to my System” remind me of Depeche Mode.
As per Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics, I tried imagining the breath as a wave moving in and out.
The wave crashed into my lungs, and I couldn’t imagine it out again. It choked me.
Looks like I’ll be sticking with the sound-based meditation that’s already been working for me.
“The dreaded clear-your-head myth is responsible for untold numbers of aborted meditation careers.”
–Dan Harris, Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics
That includes me!
But I learned from the book that I’ve been doing mindfulness meditation for four years without realizing it. I just thought of it as “That thing where I focus on the sounds all around me until I can map my place in the world by sound.” I was aware this had a mindfulness component, but it was just something I started doing in my kayak one day. It helped me to feel some peace when my grandma was in her final days.
Time is money; money is power; power is pizza; pizza is knowledge. Let’s go!
— April Ludgate, Parks and Recreation, Season 6: Second Chunce
I found this envelope on a shelf when I cleaned my office recently. It’s apparently from before I understood what a filing cabinet is.
Read and listen to “A Cold Glow”
Where to read and listen to “A Cold Glow,” my flash fiction story about a kid on a space station who butts heads with the station’s computer in his quest to carve a jack-o’-lantern.
I can’t believe this album is ten years old now. Sainthood isn’t considered their best album, but I loved it. Tegan and Sara used to be the one indie artist I listened to when my …
Here are a couple things I’ve learned about while doing worldbuilding research for Stars Fall Out:
The Roman month of Mercedonious. Learning more about the history of intercalation (inserting extra days into the calendar, such as in a leap year), provided the inspiration for me to fix a story problem. I have a section of Stars that, timing-wise, felt weird in relation to the rest of the story. I decided to run with the weirdness; I made them intercalated days called for on the authority of one of the Grand Oneiromancers. One of those “can you believe this law is still on the books?” kind of things.
I also learned how to convert between different number base systems. I’ve always thought it would be cool if we had a base 12 system rather than base 10, so I gave one of the cultures in my story a base 12 system, and another base 9. Now I’m trying to make it as hard as possible for them to change currency, which is adding some nice color to a scene in the bakery when a guy comes in with imperial money.
Also, history of the number zero. Unrelated, for my purposes.
Nine reasons to cut your own hair (besides saving money)
People often cite money as a reason to cut your own hair. Do the math! Think of how much money you’ll save! After years of DIY haircuts, I’ve found other reasons as well.