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  Have a Happy Thought: I’ve been a bit inconsistent lately, so this week is a two-for one. Part 1 – Nagori One of the great things about learning about other cultures and languages can be finding a out about a word that doesn’t exist in your language, even though the concept resonates deeply. Many English speakers find this in German words (like schadenfreude ). This week’s example comes out of Japan: Nagori: appreciating the fleeting beauty of the passage of time; or savouring something that you know will soon be ending. ·       The first hit of colour in leaves that reminds you to relish those last lingering summer nights ·       The last night in an old house before moving to a new one ·       Gathering for a (family or friend-group) reunion photo ·       Looking back at your footprints toward the end of a particularly enjoyable walk Here’s the nudge to make som...

  Have a Happy Thought: We’re past the halfway point of the year, which means very few if any New Year’s Resolutions are still going. That being said, you don’t need to wait for a new calendar to make some change in your life. In fact, making a change at a significant date is one of only 93 effective behaviour change techniques available to you (ok, not all 93 are as effective as others, but…) If the change you want to make is to read the actual source material… knock yourself out: Behaviour change techniques: the development and evaluation of a taxonomic method for reporting and describing behaviour change interventions (a suite of five studies involving consensus methods, randomised controlled trials and analysis of qualitative data) | NIHR Journals Library Or you can trust this quick summary of the 16 categories (93 total techniques): ·       scheduled consequences (10), ·       reward/threat (7), ·   ...

  Have a Happy Thought: Penguins are a social species – like humans, dogs and meerkats. Also like these other social species, the social relationships between penguins can be… confusing. And ever-changing. Two zoo/aquariums in Japan have especially noticed the dynamic relationships of the penguins under their care, and have mapped out all of the strong friendships, crushes, temporary marriages, break-ups, polyamory, cheating... if it’s a type of relationship, these penguins have tried it out. Just as an overview, here is the relationship chart for penguins in Sumida Aquarium in Tokyo: Visit the aquarium’s home page to be able to zoom right on in Sumida Penguins Relationship Chart 2026 ｜ Sumida Aquarium   And here is just a snippet of the penguins at the Kyoto Aquarium: Full chart at Kyoto Penguins Relationship Chart 2026 ｜ Kyoto Aquarium   The best part is that these charts are updated (at least...

  Have a Happy Thought: I’m just going to spew some volcano facts at you today (like a volcano spews lava, get it?). There are around 1,350 active volcanoes on the Earth. 4 of those active volcanoes are in Antarctica (there are another 15 on the continent , but they’re not considered active) There might be over a hundred more volcanoes (active or not) under the ice sheets in Antarctica. When a volcano erupts under a literal kilometer of ice , it actually doesn’t really melt a lot of the ice. It might melt a little bit of the bottom of a glacier, which might speed up a glacier moving (think of a frozen ice cube on a dry table. Now think of putting an ice cube on a patch of water on a table on a slight slope. Oops! That ice cube is off the side of the table now.) If it does melt a significant amount of water, a sub-glacial volcano can cause a jökulhlaup – basically a massive and sudden flood coming out of the bottom of a glacier. ...

Have a Happy Thought: It’s never too late to switch careers. Take Edward Lear, for example. Aside from sounding like a weird mashup of Shakespearean tragedies, this incredible artist had several careers – starting serious, and ending… less so. In his early life, Lear used his love and talent for drawing to put food on the table. Don’t think that means what he drew was boring… he was one of the great naturalist artists of the late 19 th century, drawing incredibly accurate pictures of living animals: ​ ​ By Edward Lear - First edition of Illustrations of the Family of Psittacidae, or Parrots. Originally a painting by Edward Lear posted to flickr at Macrocercus aracanga. Red and yellow maccaw, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7798168  ​ ​ Greater sulphur-crested cockatoo in Illustrations of the Family of Psittacidae, or Parrots, 1832 By Edward Lear - sAHdEw7PismRDw at Google Cultural Institute maximum zoom level, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimed...

Have a Happy Thought: If you haven’t had a good look at a banknote recently, you really should. There is some incredible artwork as well as security features, and it’s all fascinating . (For example – did you know that New Zealand bank notes are actually printed in Canada ?) The European Union is doing a full re-design of the Euro. And for the first time, they’re proposing the possibility of “portrait” view… must be for the TikTok generation . Either way you hold a banknote, some of the imagery, and the stories behind them, are amazing. Here’s just a quick sample – There are 10 Design profiles, each of which have six denominations… so lots to look at (and lots for you notaphilists to plan for your future collections!): Image: Design A, focused on how culture is formed. In landscape mode.   Image: Design B, focused on bird species in relation to its habitat. In landscape mode.   Image: Design D, with different de...

Have a Happy Thought: Sunshine lifts your spirits. If you’re in the northern hemisphere right now, you’re getting plenty of that sunshine. And statistically, if you are a human, you are more likely to live in the northern hemisphere. (although statistically, if you receive this by email, you are juuuust more likely to be in the southern hemisphere.) More humans live in the eastern hemisphere than the western, as well. This gives rise to some very interesting maps, like… Here is a view of the globe that captures only 7% of humanity: Image: Map of the earth where a small dot represents 2,500 people. The bottom image shows New Zealand pretty much in the centre, and only represents 7% of humanity. Source: Bill Rankin, 2015. CC BY-SA. This uneven distribution of humanity on the planet means that, in northern hemisphere summer, during the eastern hemisphere mid-day, there are times where 99% of humanity is in sunlight (unless there are clouds, but you get the point). Image: map of ...