Five Good Things for 11/17/2015

Five things I encountered today that were interesting, educational, beautiful, edifying or that I otherwise found to be…well, good. None of these are promotions and I do not receive any benefit from sharing them. I just like them.

I was a bit of a nervous wreck last night, as my husband was driving back from California through central Utah, in the middle of a blizzard, with a broken phone. So I had no way to communicate with him. I became a little anxious, to put it mildly, once he was over two hours late (although watching The Rescuers helped), but he made it back and only spun off the road once (!!). All is well and we still had some evening left to enjoy. Here are your very relieved Good Things for today.

1) One of my favorite comfort foods is curry puffs from our local Thai restaurant. I may have indulged while I was home alone this weekend, although I’ve always wanted to make them at home. The sweet cucumber dipping sauce goes incredibly well with the rich puff pastry and curried potato filling. So satisfying!

Five Good Things for 11/12/2015

Five things I encountered today that were interesting, educational, beautiful, edifying or that I otherwise found to be…well, good. None of these are promotions and I do not receive any benefit from sharing them. I just like them.

I didn’t have to work yesterday and the best of intentions to write all day. Instead I slept all day. That’s the same thing, right? But I must have needed it because I feel about a million times better today. So I guess that’s… something.

1) I love that even after an actor’s run as the Doctor ends, that Doctor’s story can continue on in audio plays, novels, and especially comics! Titan just announced a 4th Doctor miniseries coming in March. Tom Baker was such a classic Doctor and I’m glad his spirit will continue in new adventures.

2) This beautiful sci-fi short film, Exode, imagines what it would be like if a civilization formed on the back of a living creature. And what would happen if that creature died. It’s such a perfect, moving little story and the art is like being in a dream.

Five Good Things for 11/11/2015

Five things I encountered today that were interesting, educational, beautiful, edifying or that I otherwise found to be…well, good. None of these are promotions and I do not receive any benefit from sharing them. I just like them.

I know I’ve been sparse with the regular content this week, but I hope to have a few things up later. Work’s been crazy but at least I’m off today so I can stop writing boring technical papers and start writing fun blog posts. Man, I need to find something to do that doesn’t involve sitting in front of a computer.

1) Today is Veteran’s Day, which is why I’m not at work. For most of us, it’s just a day off work (if that), but I think it’s important to at least take a sec to remember the people who fought in wars on our behalf and who keep us safe in peacetime. However you feel about the military or about any particular war, I think we can all agree that those who have served deserve respect and help they don’t often get. I’d like to bring attention to our woman veterans, particularly, who face unique challenges and often don’t have support services tailored to their needs. There have always been woman veterans but today there are more women than ever who are dealing with the aftermath of combat. A great program that help woman veterans is Final Salute, and I encourage you to visit their website, learn about the issues woman veterans face, and donate.

Five Good Things for 11/4/2015

Five things I encountered today that were interesting, educational, beautiful, edifying or that I otherwise found to be…well, good. None of these are promotions and I do not receive any benefit from sharing them. I just like them.

Well, the warm season is officially over where I live. We had an unusually mild fall, with nearly every day in the high sixties or seventies, but as of five minutes ago, the extended summer is officially over. I picked the last of the tomatoes just in time for tonight’s frost and I don’t expect to see 60 again until spring. How’s the fall weather treating you all?

1) Possibly the best movie of 2015, Pixar’s Inside Out, came out on DVD/BluRay yesterday. It’s sweet, funny, and if you have a child or ever were a child, pretty much guaranteed to make you cry. I can’t think of another movie that really deal with the complex emotions of any person so well, much less one that focused on those of a tween girl in such an empowering way. A good movie and an important one. And if you’re wondering how the five basic emotions portrayed in the movie might combine to form more complex feelings, Vox has this handy chart!

Five Good Things for 10/27/2015

Five things I encountered today that were interesting, educational, beautiful, edifying or that I otherwise found to be…well, g, ood. None of these are promotions and I do not receive any benefit from sharing them. I just like them.

1) Crabbie’s alcoholic ginger beer. Last night I had the dilemma of feeling stressed out and wanting a drink, but also having an upset tummy. So I grabbed a bottle of this, reasoning that ginger settles the stomach and alcohol is, well… good. I was pleasantly surprised. It’s a little on the sweet side, but I really like the flavor and the ginger isn’t so overpowering that you can’t drink too much of it. My stomach is settled and my brain soothed. Unfortunately even the internet won’t divulge the other spices that go into the unique flavor (although there’s definite some grape in there), but it’s definitely different than anything I’ve had before.

2) This is a Baby. Owl. Dancing. To “Monster Mash”. With a stuffed owl partner. You’re welcome.