Life – Page 13 – Deborah Makarios

June 21, 2019June 23, 2019

How is this Midwinter?

Today, according to my little diary, is the day of the winter solstice (15:54 UTC, if you want to get technical). Many a time and oft have I read of Midwinter, and its more popular cousin, Midsummer. Picture my astonishment, therefore, on discovering that these are simply different names for the winter and summer solstices.

Which seems bizarre. The only way in which the solstice is the same thing as the middle of winter is that it’s the shortest day of the year. And yes, short days are associated with winter.

Nordkinnhalvoya-polar-night — Short day in Norway. Photo taken at midday.

But are they what winter is primarily known for? No. What do you think of when you think of winter? Cold, right? Is Midwinter the middle of the cold season? Not even close. One could be excused for thinking it the beginning of the cold season.

Continue & Comment

June 18, 2019

Day One

Behold! it is midday on the first day of the Grand Productivity Experiment Phase One: Keystone Habit.

How’s it going?

Continue & Comment

June 15, 2019August 20, 2019

Getting Things Done: A Season of Experiment

Tarore of Te Waharoa. Joan of Arc. Anne Frank. Elizabeth of Hungary. Sophie Scholl. Therese of Lisieux. Wilfred Owen. Mrs Beeton.

What do all these people have in common? They all died at a younger age than I am now, all having left their mark upon the world (whether they knew it or not).

Even if I live to be a hundred (unlikely), I am still nearly a third of the way through my life. And should I happen to die tomorrow (possibly more likely than the die-at-100 scenario, albeit still fairly unlikely), I do not think I will pop off content with how I have spent my time on this wandering orb.

Continue & Comment