Jenny Bristol

Daylight Saving Time: Know Your Facts!

This isn't about Daylight Saving Time in general, though I think it has outlived its usefulness. This is about people's misuse of terms surrounding it. We're adults. Can't we agree to educate ourselves to the point where our communication is clear? Huh? Can we? Please?

Jun 24

The Magna Carta. Image is in the public domain because its copyright expired.

Happy 800th Birthday, Magna Carta!

Happy 800th Birthday to the Magna Carta! Yes, it's that old.

Jun 15

Charles Bukowski by Graziano Origa 2008 CC BY-SA 3.0

“Be Kind”

As I do every spring/summer, I've been up to my elbows planning next year's homeschooling. It's great fun, and I always put a lot of work into it. The more planning I can do during the summer, the smoother our experience during the school year. And since my daughter is beginning 9th grade next year, I'm also looking ahead to the entirety of high school for her.

May 27

Marriage Equality in Arizona

It's about time. We now have marriage quality in my state of Arizona.

Oct 17

Euclid’s Elements

Ever want to read about Euclidean geometry from the man himself? Euclid's Elements is free online. Obviously out of copyright and all. Being Euclid. Though it's had to be translated into English and such. Regardless, it's available online. For free.

Mar 27

Stephen Fry on Humanism

From his many superb acting roles and books to his hilarity on QI to Molly Lewis's fantastic "An Open Letter to Stephen Fry," I've been a fan of Stephen Fry for about two decades. Here he is, sort of taking on the subject of how to be happy without religion.

Mar 25

We can't all have libraries as beautiful as the Melk Benedictine Abbey Library in Austria, but all libraries are awesome. Photo: Public Domain

Public Libraries Are Important

From story time to book clubs to puppet shows to science presentations to art classes to social opportunities for teens to Irish step dance performances to chamber music performances, our library system offers a wide variety of opportunities for learning and socializing. Not to mention the books and other materials on the shelves. And we take advantage of it all.

Mar 23

Dolls, Dolls, Dolls!

Dolls. They are such a fun craft project. You only need very small scraps of a variety of kinds of fabric, thread, and a bit of stuffing, and you have made a one-of-a-kind toy for someone.

Mar 22

A Mid-Century Selfie

Selfies were a thing long before the latest cell phone trend.

Mar 20

The Phoenix Lander microscope shot the larger image, and the inset one is my augite photo. Larger photo: Public Domain from NASA. Inset photo: Jenny Bristol

An Unexpected Email From SETI

Last week, I received an unexpected email from a scientist at SETI. Long ago, my vision of the work SETI did involved little green men and radio signals from the sky. But they are actually working on all kinds of research with more immediate results.

Mar 19

Family History Photo – Six (Hats Are Cool)

Why don't we wear hats more often?

Mar 16

Captain Jeremiah Mosher Sample, my 3rd great grandfather on my dad's side. He was mortally wounded at the Battle of Gettysburg during the Civil War.

Family History Photo – Five

Captain Jeremiah Mosher Sample, my third great grandfather, was mortally wounded at the Battle of Gettysburg.

Mar 15

My paternal grandfather, second from right.

Family History Photo – Four

My grandfather, as a boy at camp in Maine.

Mar 14

My paternal grandmother. Age: maybe two.

Family History Photo – Three

Since I've hit both of my maternal grandparents, it's time to show off my paternal side. Above is my paternal grandmother. I'm guessing she was about two years old or so. Her mother had died in the 1918 flu epidemic, so she was raised by her father, who remarried about five years later.

Mar 13

The photo was taken in Illinois in 1928, so my grandfather was about 13.

Family History Photo – Two

To accompany my photo from yesterday of my grandmother as a little girl along with her siblings, today I offer a photo of my grandfather as a little boy, with his siblings plus parents.

Mar 12

Guess which one is my grandparent? Photo credit unknown, but they were likely family of mine.

Family History Photo – One

I have a plethora of family history items in storage tubs that I haven't had the time to archive yet, but I'm fortunate to also have plenty of digitized photos of my family on both sides. I treasure these photos, especially the ones of the family members that I knew. Road trips to visit family were a frequent activity my whole life, so I knew much of my extended family. I thought I'd share some...

Geek Mom: We’re Big in Japan

The Geek Mom book is now being published in Japan. In Japanese. With our words (except translated into Japanese) and Dave Perillo's illustrations. His awesomely fantastic illustrations are why, I think, we sold the rights in Japan. They are so cute.

Mar 10

One of my heroes: Vi Hart. Photo: Wikipedia (CC BY 2.0)

Vi Hart: Geek Math Hero

Unless you've been living under a rock, if you're in the geek world, you know who Vi Hart is. But just in case you aren't already aware, she's a Geek Math Hero, to me and to the rest of my family. Her videos on hexaflexagons and twelve tone music, among others, have enthralled us and inspired us to dig further into the awesome world of math.

Mar 6

kurt-vonnegut--the-shapes-of-stories_502918a226d9a_w1500.png

Kurt Vonnegut and Story Shapes

Kurt Vonnegut's rejected master's thesis was on the shapes of storylines.

Feb 28

In red, on a duvet cover. Drool. Image: Marimekko

Marimekko Celebrates 50 Years of Unikko

I discovered the Finnish design company Marimekko years ago, finding their gorgeous floral Unikko design, but didn't realize what it was at the time. I just loved the style and colors. Once the internet came up, and fancy things like "search terms" were for more than just database administrators, I was able to find more about it. Unfortunately, their products (usually fabric) were still too expensive for underemployed me.

Feb 27