renewable energy

Thoughty Thursday: Popping your mental corn, Jan 29-Feb 4, 2023

/ Melanie Marttila / 1 Comment

How’s your week going? Ready to get your mental corn popping in time for the weekend? Let’s go!

Scott Neuman shares three things to know about Black History Month. NPR

What is Juneteenth and why is it important? Karlos K. Hill and Soraya Field Fiorio. TED-Ed

Joanna Lonsdale and Jane Downs reveal the lost history of Tynemouth’s Holocaust safe home for girls. BBC

This injectable biomaterial heals tissues from the inside out. UC San Diego

Jadine Ngan explains why we made fewer memories during the pandemic. The Walrus

Fred Lewsey reports that tuning into brainwaves speeds learning in adults. University of Cambridge

Katina Bajaj says that our brains aren’t meant to work at optimal efficiency. Here’s how to offload your thoughts. Fast Company

Julia Métraux: how did Amy Robsart die? Fertile ground for an Elizabethan mystery 😉 JSTOR Daily

Emily Zarevich introduces us to Elizabeth Siddall, the real life “Ophelia.” JSTOR Daily

Jane Draycott introduces us to the other Cleopatra. Aeon

Alexandra Witze wonders, will an artificial intelligence discover alien life? SETI utilizes AI. The picture of ET is a little condescending and, as my spouse reminds me, what everyone’s calling AI is actually an expert system. Nature

Joey Roulette explains what to expect during the green comet’s encounter with Earth. Reuters

Will Dunham: astronomers document a not-so-super supernova in the Milky Way. Reuters

Becky Ferreira reports that archaeologists discover 1.2-million-year-old workshop in mind blowing find. Motherboard | Vice

Oliver Milman reports that US renewable energy farms outstrip 99% of coal plants economically. The Guardian

True facts: the smartest slime. Ze Frank

UK to restore swathes of wildlife habitat and provide a home for hedgehogs. Reuters

Charlotte Hilton Anderson list 28 ways your pet says, “I love you.” Reader’s Digest

Do all animals play? Be Smart

Thank you for visiting. I hope you took away something to inspire a future creative project.

Until my next chapter weekly update, be well and stay safe; be kind and stay strong. The world needs your stories!

Thoughty Thursday: Popping your mental corn, Aug 29-Sept 4, 2021

/ Melanie Marttila

Welcome to thoughty Thursday, your chance to get your mental corn popping in time for the weekend!

Eric Levenson and Stella Chan report that grand jury indicts police officers and paramedics in the 2019 death of Elijah McClain. CNN

Mohammed Elnaiem: what is critical race theory? JSTOR Daily

Khadija Mbowe: who benefits from all this outrage and division?

Hannah Kost: pipe ceremony held at Calgary City Hall to start planning a permanent residential school memorial. CBC

Adam Edelman reports that the Supreme Court declines to block Texas’ restrictive abortion law, dealing a blow to Roe vs. Wade. NBC News

Karen Gallardo: on the front lines, this is what the seven stages of severe covid-19 look like. Los Angeles Times

Denis Constantineau: Laurentian has lost trust of Francophone community. The Sudbury Star

Joe Hernandez provides the latest updates on Ida, the hurricane thrashing the Gulf Coast. NPR

How mirrors could solve our energy problem. Physics Girl

Paola Rosa-Aquino: floating wind turbines could open up vast ocean tracts for renewable power. The Guardian

Christine Rankin: two Canadians win gold and break records at the Paralympic games. CBC

Extreme senses. In our nature | It’s okay to be smart

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you took away something to inspire or inform a future creative project.

Until next tipsday, be well and stay safe, be kind and stay strong. The world needs your stories!

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Sept 6-12, 2020

/ Melanie Marttila

Welcome to thoughty Thursday, a convenient way to research, inspire creative Ideas (what I call popping your mental corn), learn something cool, or otherwise support your creativity.

For the past several months, I’ve isolated posts related to anti-racism and the pandemic for your convenience.

Dani McClain shares some advice on how to talk to kids about racism and police violence. The Atlantic

Gabriela Fowler explains what it feels like to “pass as white” when you’re mixed race. Buzzfeed

How the death of George Floyd sparked a street art movement. The Smithsonian Magazine

Daniel King shares Ashima Yadava’s portraits of survival. Mother Jones

Rebecca Renner explains why every year—especially 2020—feels like the worst year ever. Doomscrolling, anyone? Anyone? Beuller? National Geographic

Why is it so hard to remember things right now? SciShow Psych

Eleanor Cummins says, the office will never be the same. Popular Science

Alexandra Jones: Jessica Meir returned from the ISS to a pandemic-ridden Earth. The Face

Tammy Chen is a dentist who’s seeing more cracked teeth. How is that connected to the pandemic? The New York Times

The biggest lie about renewable energy. ASAP Science

Paul Vallely explains how philanthropy benefits the super-rich. The Guardian

Alan Yuhas reveals that Roanoake’s “lost colony” was never lost (according to a new book). The New York times

Kat Lonsdorf revisits Fukushima: the ghost towns behind the gates. NPR

Amber Dance considers experiments on mice in space and how they’ll keep human bone and muscle strong on the ISS. Knowable

Gerardo Carrillo: “mammoth central” found at Mexican airport construction site. The Washington Post

Sarah Bahr announces that the Met will hire its first full-time Native American curator. The New York Times

Thanks for visiting and I hope you took away something to support your next creative project.

Until next tipsday, be well and stay safe, be kind, and stay strong. The world needs your stories.

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Mar 17-23, 2019

/ Melanie Marttila

It’s time to get your mental corn popping.

Students perform haka to honour fallen classmates in Christchurch. The Guardian

Debra Bassett explores the complexity of grieving in the digital age. Fast Company

April Fulton: if life’s noises drive you mad, you may have misophonia. The brain is a weird and wonderful thing. NPR

Marina Koren looks at the seasons on other planets: on Pluto, it’s been spring since 1990. The Atlantic

SciShow considers the Pilot Wave Theory.

 

Kendra Louis-Pierre explains how almost every country in the world can power itself with renewable energy. Popular Science

Jessica Stewart profiles Debra Bernier, the artist who transforms driftwood into sculptures that look like spirits of nature. My Modern Met

Michael Greshko reveals the significance of the latest fossil find in China and how it sheds light on the Cambrian explosion. National Geographic

An owl compilation video from The Pet Collective 🙂

 

I hope you found something to inspire a new creative effort.

Until next Tipsday, be well, be kind, and stay strong. The world needs your stories.

thoughtythursday2016

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Dec 18-24, 2016

/ Melanie Marttila / 2 Comments

The holiday edition of thoughty Thursday will help get your mental corn a-poppin’ after your turkey coma wears off 😉

Was Hildegard of Bingen right about the herbal cures she proposed? Medievalists.net

Sarah Sloat reports on how evolution made really smart people long to be loners. Inverse

Lady Gaga opens up about her PTSD. Good Is

Anna Lovind: avoid the bad and you’ll miss out on the good.

The first female doctor in Britain spent 56 years disguised as a man. Lauren Young for Atlas Obscura.

Nicolas DiDomizio introduces us to the Purple-Red Scale, a new way to understand the sexuality spectrum. Mic

Mike Murphy reports on the world’s first solar panel paved road. Quartz

Las Vegas is now powered entirely by renewable energy. Avery Thompson for Popular Mechanics.

Apparently, there’s a massive metal dragon hiding inside the Earth’s outer core. IFLS

Bob MacDonald reports on climate change, as seen from space. CBC

Phil Plait wishes us a happy solstice with this video of 24 hours of light. Slate

And, for the non-science-y among you, here is the magical history of Yule, the winter solstice celebration.

Enjoy this lovely video by Angie Pickman: the longest night.

I must commend the Welsh for having some of the strangest traditions. A rhyming, skeletal horse comes a-knocking? Allison Meier shares the tale on Hyperallergic.

Hudson, a pup nailed to a rail road tie and abandoned, gets a prosthetic paw.

 

And just to end on a light note, here’s a golden retriever pup playing with a door stop.

 

Come on back on Saturday for my last post of the year. It’s all about class and equality in fantasy and science fiction. Yes, it’s another WordlCon 2016 report 🙂

Be well, be kind, and be loved. Virtual hugs!

thoughtythursday2016

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, May 15-21, 2016

/ Melanie Marttila

A small, but interesting assortment of goodies.

So this happened: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accidentally elbowed an NDP MP in the process of trying to escort a Conservative MP to his seat. Yes, he shouldn’t have done it. He apologized three times. Gabrielle Gallant explains why associating ‘elbowgate’ with violence against women is an insult to victims. The Globe and Mail.

Aboriginal children express their pain through art and story. Peggy MacDonald for CBC news.

Why we live in an age of anxiety. A special feature by The Guardian including pieces by Paula Cocozza, Lindy West, Chitra Ramaswamy, and Rhiannon Lucy Cosslet.

Anna Lovind searches for a simpler life.

Ruth Whippman says people with more money are less lonely. The Guardian.

The record-breaking temperature trend continues. Phil Plait for Slate.

Portugal runs for four days on renewable energy alone. Arthur Nelson for The Guardian.

Recyclable six pack rings could save a lot of turtles. Popular Mechanics.

What hiking does for the brain is pretty amazing. Michael Pirrone for Wimp.com

Yuval Harari’s latest book predicts the rise of the useless class. CNet.

From ‘little people’ to shape shifters, Lucy Tulugarjuk shares the encounters she’s had with some of the North’s most fascinating otherworldly entities. Edge North.

Dancing with the devil: the history of satanic burlesque. Dirge Magazine.

The Presets: Epic Fail. Shared by a friend following the previous week’s DIYMFA post 🙂

 

And that was your thoughty for the week.

On Saturday, I’ll be tackling the topic of resistance for DIYMFA.

Thoughty Thursday