Important reads!
Downed Power Line PSA — This Might Shock You
We never know what situations we are going to encounter in life. So, just in case you find yourself around downed power lines that are live — this downed power line PSA from Puget Sound Energy shares some key information that may help save your life: Stay at least 35 […]
Tis The Season…
Tis the season — to share love and laughter among friends, family and furcritters…
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Book Review: GOOD MORNING, MIDNIGHT by Lily Brooks-Dalton
I loved GOOD MORNING, MIDNIGHT by Lily Brooks-Dalton – which surprised me, since this novel was billed as a post-apocalyptic story. I have read only a handful of such stories and warmed only slightly to them (The Age of Miracles, The Dog Stars, and Station Eleven). Why did I fall […]
With Only 8.6 Percent Of The Sun …
A total solar eclipse happens about every 18 months, but rarely in the U.S. And, yet, we didn’t join the masses traveling to the Great American Total Solar Eclipse of August 21, 2017. We stayed home. A place, according to eclipsewise.com, that would have an eclipse obscuration of .914 — […]
Movie: HIDDEN FIGURES
As soon as I saw the preview for HIDDEN FIGURES I was hooked. As a women, as a history lover, as a child of the sixties who grew up watching the race to the moon, the civil rights movement, and the race riots in my hometown of Chicago, I […]
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Primitive Technology — Where Tiny House Meets Survivor Man
As I am neither a millennial nor a survivalist, it might seem kind of strange that I am a fan of both the “tiny house” movement and the survival/wilderness teachings of Les Stroud and Bear Grylls. I could blame it on a childhood with too many fond memories of playing with […]
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Movie: (DIS) HONESTY — The Truth About Lies
We all love a good story about the rise and fall of an unworthy person. It is the stuff of history, fiction and our daily news. Of course, the bigger the rise, the better the fall. Right? But what if the “unworthy person” was ourselves? What if, at some point in […]
Martin Molin and the Musical Marble Machine
There is something so utterly fascinating about mechanical music machines. I don’t know what captivates me the most — whether it is the complex timing involved, the thousands of little intricacies and artistries, or the idea that so much thought, imagination and effort went into planning and creating what many times were personal entertainment […]
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President Lincoln, Inventor and Proponent of Wind Power
In 1849, Abraham Lincoln conceived of and successfully patented a system of air chambers and bellows to lift boats over shoals and obstructions in a river. As a U.S. Congressman (House of Representatives 1847-1849), Lincoln was a frequent boat traveler between Washington D.C. to his home in Illinois and had seen the need for an […]
The Lure of Comic-Con
Out of my element at Comic-Con 2015, where 250,000 movie fans, comic devotees and techno geeks gather, I had an expectation of being trampled in a sea of humanity. Instead, I found enthusiastic, welcoming people whose entry badges were like a symbol of solidarity. It’s like we were all part […]
Lost and Found News: Probiotic Beer, Gut Checks, Toxin Heroes, Team Gut
A round-up of recent, ponder worthy gut health (yes, gut as in part of our digestive tract) news you may have missed: Probiotic Beer may become the new yogurt If you have never gotten on the probiotic (healthy bacteria for your gut) bandwagon because you didn’t like yogurt or if you […]
The Pain And Glory Of Being A Nature Nerd
Back in October, I experienced a bit of a surprise as I was weeding our rock-wall shelves. Perhaps more surprising to some may be my reaction to what happened – a true indication of just what a nature nerd I am. Bending under an acacia bush and tugging at weeds, I felt […]
Even The FDA Doesn’t Know What’s In Our Food
Eating and drinking is about as basic to our survival as it gets. While we might debate whether various manufactured foods are the healthiest choices we can make in a day, we assume the FDA has approved their ingredients before we eat them. We assume all the ingredients meet the standard of a “reasonable certainty” that no […]
Beating Back the Drive-By Media In Politics
As nature abhors a vacuum, so the drive-by media is hungry to control and define any public figure whose impact might supersede their own. How do we beat them? Whether we believe that Hillary Clinton’s “email-gate” is empty click-bait or something substantive, the amount of feverish news coverage generated in advance […]
The American Nurse Project — Insight Into A Beloved Profession
THE AMERICAN NURSE PROJECT, which includes a book, documentary film and ongoing blog interviews, tells the story of the life and professional commitment of nurses across the United States. The creator, photographer Carolyn Jones along with her team, wanted to raise awareness of the uniqueness of the nursing profession by allowing nurses to […]
Lost & Found News: Human Migration, Solar Impulse, Discerning Dogs
News to ponder that you may have missed: Lost: Holiday Vacation Travel to Human Migration Mapping When someone says “holiday vacation travel” what comes to mind? Do you envision new sights and familiar haunts? Do you remember the hustle bustle, joys and frustrations of moving luggage and people from point […]
Behind the Scenes
At night I’ve been known to stare into the quiet darkness beyond our windows, so different from the fierce sunlight of the day and its illumination. And I wonder: what really happens out there, after the sun slithers behind the mountains? What happens behind the scenes? A lot, it appears. […]
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Quotable You: “Not All Were Sprinkled With Happiness…”
A dear friend has a favorite saying she shares as needed. Words of wisdom told to her by a boss early in her work life. Since she had her 99th birthday a few months back, one can assume she knows what she is talking about. “This Too Shall Pass!” she confidently assures… A simple […]
Book: THE SECRET WISDOM OF THE EARTH by Christopher Scotton
THE SECRET WISDOM OF THE EARTH by Christopher Scotton has received a great deal of pre-release accolades – all well deserved. I suspect, however, the spell it cast over me is a bit different than the one cast for others, mainly due to my own geography and relationship to mining. (Not […]
Words: Steve Jobs “Bicycle For Our Minds…”
The common everyday bicycle is one of the most underrated inventions. In the US, we mostly consider it as a toy for kids. But the invention and wide use of bicycles, a simple tool of transportation, became a major force of innovation and change throughout the world. It lead to mass […]
A Disgruntled Snowman’s Snow Fight
We may be disgruntled by the snow, but it is here to stay — at least for a couple of months. So we might as well find humor in it where we can. I’ve long been a fan and follower of the folks over at Animation Chefs. Their goal is to: “lead kids into a thinking, […]
Does Hollywood Reflect Our Struggle With Aging?
I recently asked if we are now a Botox Nation, preferring Barbie and Ken’s wrinkle-free faces, boobs of steel that say Hi! to the ceiling and six pack abs to a less glamorous reality. It was both surprising and encouraging that so many readers voiced their objections to the lack of value […]
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Komen Pink Camouflaging “Bit For The Cure”
One in eight women will develop or die from breast cancer. Having a mission statement to end breast cancer is noble in words. How an organization goes about achieving that mission shows whether it is noble in deed. Susan G. Komen Foundation, whose symbol is a bold pink breast cancer […]
Freezing Eggs, A Perk For Female Employees?
When I read the headline that Apple and Facebook are now offering to freeze female employees’ eggs as a perk of employment, I thought I had entered the Twilight Zone! Is that taking progress a bit too far? Is this move a way for companies to push women to push their choice to […]