Substance Abuse

Thoughty Thursday: Popping your mental corn, Dec 4-10, 2022

/ Melanie Marttila

I know I said I was going to trim down thoughty Thursday, but there were so many interesting non-newsy things to share this week! In any case, it’s tome to get your mental corn popping 🙂

Matthew Wills: kidnappers of color versus the cause of antislavery. JSTOR Daily

Danielle Han discusses grave matters: conflict in reburial and repatriation. JSTOR Daily

From Anne Bonney to Zheng Yi Sao: the notorious women of piracy. PBS Origins

Heidi Ledford reports that severe covid may cause markers of old age in the brain. Nature

The Next Big Idea Club explains how to make the most of the brain you have, according to neuroscience. Fast Company

K.J. Aiello wonders who gets to be mentally ill? The Walrus

Zach Sweger: many genes linked to alcohol and tobacco use are share among diverse ancestries. Penn State University

In conversation with Dr. Jake Taylor. Dr. Becky

Dr. Alfredo Carpineti: JWST spots clouds and even a sea on Saturn’s moon, Titan. IFLS

Beth Miller reports that Marianna Safronova and collaborators say quantum clocks could be used to detect dark matter. University of Delaware Daily

Unusual gamma-ray burst reveals previously undetected hybrid neutron-star merger event. Los Alamos National Laboratory

Researchers use ultrasound waves to move objects. University of Minnesota

A resource for your next apocalyptic science fiction novel: asteroid launcher. Or just have fun lobbing space rocks at Earth. Your choice. neal.fun

And here’s another, scarier app: NukeMap. For fictional purposes, of course … Alex Wellerstein

Hallie Golden reports that an Indigenous reservation has a novel way to grow food—below the earth’s surface. The Guardian

In search of the blackest thing on Earth. Be Smart

Feline genetics help pinpoint first-ever domestication of cats, MU study finds. University of Missouri

The end of year animal awards. Ze Frank

Thanks for stopping by for this week’s mixed bag of edutainment. I hope you took away something to inspire 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, Jan 15-21, 2017

/ Melanie Marttila

Another small curation this week. With all those #alternatetruths out there, I guess the world isn’t feeling too thoughty 😦 Or maybe that’s just me.

Timothy B. Lee gets a bird’s eye view of Women’s Marches all over the US. Vox

Sarah Kaplan reports on the astonishing science behind fairy rings in the desert. The Washington Post

Rae Paoletta interviews Dr. Chandra Prescod-Weinstein about the importance of Hidden Figures. Gizmodo

Nunavut’s 96 year old seamstress models her clothes and advocates for traditional design. Priscilla Hwang for the CBC.

Emma Young: Iceland knows how to stop teen substance abuse, but the rest of the world isn’t listening. Mosaic

Phil Plait offered this lovely astronomical metaphor to those saddened by inauguration day: if you need strength, be like Daphnis. Slate

Katy Koontz considers fireflies: a surreal synchronized wave of light. BBC

Emily Laurence: what to do when meditation doesn’t work for you. I must admit, I’m not a good meditater. Well and Good

Samoyed sings while squeezing toy. #sammytude

 

All the best.

See you on the weekend for more WorldCon reportage!

thoughtythursday2016

Sundog snippets: The other thing

/ Melanie Marttila / 11 Comments

Sundog snippet

Real quickie here.

Just posting to let everyone know (and hope that you all keep me accountable): I’m quitting smoking.

Phil is too, and already this morning, we did the circle and snarl.  This evening he snapped at the dog.

Day one is almost over though.  It can only get easier.

Other than feeling a little “floaty,” I think I’m doing well.

Come Tuesday, I’m heading out of town, training for the day job.  My hope is that by the time I get back, we’ll be done our initial and respective detoxes, and things will be looking up.

Our motivation?  Phil added up what we spend on cigarettes between the two of us for the year: over $8,000.  That could have covered all our contingencies this year (Nuala’s ALC repair, the gazebo, Bucket).  Instead, we put everything on credit cards and then transferred it to the line of credit after.

We really couldn’t afford all this.

With the elimination of smoking, though, that $8k can go toward the line of credit and/or the credit cards to keep our debt down and eventually reduce it to $0.

The goal is lofty, but we’re going to do our best.

Wish us luck!!!!!

Stop Smoking - Quit Smoking

Stop Smoking – Quit Smoking (Photo credit: Free Photo Fun)