Rmond @Rmond@qoto.org

Happy New Calendar Year!
(My new year was ten days ago,
Winter Solstice).
A friend suggested I call this the Year of the Tardigrade, an animal that can survive pretty much anything that's thrown at it. Here's hoping that we can as well.

@pzmyers
A few days ago, I had never heard of him. In a week, I will manage to completely forget him.
I will, however, remember that Thunberg has a pleasantly biting wit.

@booksthatgoboom
I read that series a few years ago, while going through Pratchett withdrawal after reading all the Discworld books.
I'ts a good concept, the developments stay plausible, and the characters remain relatable.
Each book stays level in tone and seamless with all the others, but they could each be read and enjoyed separately; a hard task.

@CrypticMirror Were they inside your living room? If so, it's an omen that your door is open.

6 months ago, I started a project that I've bneen thinking about for years.
I'm a scientist at heart, and have learned things mostly from reading.
The question often arises: What have I actually seen and measured myself? Lots of things, but now that I'm living in a permanent spot on the Earth, this project came to mind.

Just before the last Summer Solstice, I planted a post and set a 35 cm wide concrete disc on it horizontally. In the center, I drilled a hole and set a 10 cm high brass pin, sighted from that to the horizon at sunrise, and set another pin on the edge. Repeating that process at sunset, I ended up with the beginnings of a sundial.

I'm not marking hours, weeks or months, as those don't actually exist. This will show only what's actually happening in the interaction of sun and earth from direct observation.

This evening was clear, so I made a mark for the Winter Solstice sunset. I may have to wait another year to mark the sunrise, as the mornings have been cloudy. When the temperature allows, I'll drill holes and set in more pins at the marks I'm making.

Why am I doing this? Art? Sort of. Science? Yes, in the sense of "do it and see what can be learned".

#Solstice #WinterSolstice #Astronomy

@georgetakei
I wonder if he will be one of the first Neuralink human test subjects..
Wait... maybe he already is...

@pzmyers
Inherited wealth and power, in themselves, don't seem to engender compassion or character.
Most of my perspectives on this have already been covered in Monty Python sketches, and more eloquently (and sometimes the opposite) than I could express.

@AutismFather
I discovered that, for myself, it's always more instructive to replace my first thought of, "That doesn't make sense" with, "In what context or to whom does this make sense?"

@pzmyers
I can hardly wait to see the photoshop-corrected versions that are sure to follow.

@nsfordwriter
At first I thought, "But.. they're all my favorites!"
Then I realized that Sir Terry himself is my favorite character, in that all of his characters have some of him in them; he's given a spark of himself to each.

@freemo
Thank you for providing this oasis.
"You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.
R. Buckminster Fuller"

This is exactly what you're doing with qoto; I believe you're on the right track.

@Misshavisham
Here's a more complete list for younger readers, including several outside the Discworld series (I've enjoyed all of them):

https://www.terrypratchettbooks.com/book-series/younger-readers/

@Misshavisham
And my only regret is that I waited so long in my life to read Pratchett, having thought, "Oh that's just fantasy..."
Once I read "Color of Magic", I was hooked, and read the next 38 books in a few months

@Misshavisham
Hi- Here's the one I used:

https://focus.oi-rca.org/discworld-reading-order-chart/discworld-reading-order-guide-3-0-cropped-discworld-wikipedia.html

Waving hello...
By way of #introduction #introductions (If I get the concept of hashtags right):
Physically: living in the US midwest ;
Mentally: occupying as much of the interesting parts of the internet as I can.
I grew up reading mostly SF and science books, so I've seen myriad futures before, just not this particular one.
Interests: Learning, gardening, random and unofficial tutoring, STEM, archaeology, and whatever any of you might introduce me to.
What I'm hoping to find here: civil and engaging conversations