A Memory Called Empire (Teixcalaan, 1)

I attended a worldbuilding talk by Arkady Martin

sublight

Drill

 Every year they had a drill to fit in the island. The famous party question goes, who/what would you take to the desert? If you want al your people next to you, you should fill the form. It is important to make sure you update the details, so that you are always close to the people you want to be.

The island is the size of Hawaii.

Plans are now changed to ensure that it is spread out in few locations instead of all into one after the huge traffic mess that the last drill caused.

With the fuel reducing, we have to find alternate resources to get there. All the activities we do there and learn might help us create our own safety islands.

The String

 The pine sticks gathered to make a thick bundle

like a rope

strung into baskets

The cotton loomed into a string

yarn

The metal made into filaments

thick or thin

The dam splits the water into

manageable chunks.

The magma into mto streaks of metal

Then ready to be woven into a fabric

into a mat

Map Study

 The American Imperative

Standards maker

World building

 Leah Newsom made an interesting comment about how the design of the cities say how roads are laid out is to direct some behaviors. That made me wonder if we could design an L-shaped road around a square or rectangular city and have only one-way horizontal roads. Then I came across reversible lanes. Looking at how the building communities are laid out in Japan, if each small division is self-reliant, then lot of traffic and road space can be reduced. Does reduced road space mean less fatalities? Have roads or number of lanes been increased for safety?

Looking at Turkey's roads with a lane for car parking, they must be one-way in deep residential areas. If the distance is not much, then one way should be fine. I think now I understand why we started with less space for initial houses and now we want 3 lane size roads in residential areas.

Bike Path Networks to Connect Rural Wisconsin Communities shows how when major moves are made to modes of transportation by design choices, somethign lefts to be doen for those that fall out of the reach of those choices. 

Finding your water and food sources and remembering the routes to them in songs.

 

A Brief History of Phoenix

Jawa dam in Jordan Electricity is a portable mill. Because you cant take the water source to the place you need, you convert it into another form where it flows easily. Canals for drinking as water use, electricity for distributing power/energy as was done in the Barbegal Mills. A History of Energy Flows - From Human Labor to Renewable Power shows how the cycle od using horses for farming and the legumes grown increasing the horses power wiht better/larger intake of calories shows that innovation is a survival strategy. The number of revolutions per minute with oxen and ilk was less than 6 which moved to 30 with the Barbegal Mill which is now at 80 revolutions per minute at the Lurgashall watermills.

While reading about this water mill, I was curious about the Manarola picture from Bing. Manarola is named after a watermill too. How watermill works was a surprise that at the heart of the mill was the millstone used by my grandparents in villages.

An unsuspecting thing that could go wrong with the millstones is explosion in the mills caused by the dry stones and dust flour. In hindisght, our cavemen figured this out as the way to cause sparks.

This aboriginal map makes you wonder if following the celestial paths on earth was the way to find water and food and as away to remember how to get back to them following the motion of stars was some sort of encoded knowledge in stars or a matter of chance.

Salt River Project

Craft Chat

 

Hayden Ferry Review

had a craft chat with selfportrait as a bowl of persimmons poet Saba Keramati and Plot holes poet Rebecca Martin. Persimmons poem was inspired by Persimmons poet Yiyun Li. I didnt hear the name of the poet at that time but found it in the when I was reading about Gardens of Water. 

Tiny Architecture

Whats the honking sound of sa?

While writing this letter ణ some kids gave extra loops to this letter, some going as far as making them look like some elements in an electric circuit.

One said that the bottom parts were the tires and the letter was a car. I asked her if she was taking the letters for a drive. The laughs started. I told her that each letter has a parking spot and all letters need to be parked in the right spot.

She had difficulty in remembering the order of the 5 letter group. I told her ka cha ta tha pa was a good nemonic to remember.

Then the laughs spilled again with ketchup.

Building on the car and parking theme, I said that each letter has its honking sound that it needs to be associated with.

Thats how I had fun teaching Telugu to kids and on the receiving side of the question - Whats the honking sound of sa.

 

Istanbul: Memories and the City 

unused pianos

turban shelves

Reading the list of the antiques in the house, do you find it funny that we hoard future antiques.

Rooms designed for hypothetical visitor

sitting room museum

The Baron in the trees - Philosophical fiction

The large three panel window glasses of the tall building reflect the opposite side of the street as if they were not in the same time but in a different era.

The opposite side is modern with faux balconies with ornate diagonal support.

What does it mean to see a nest so far away on a dried tree in Istanbul. what of the tulip shape balustrades on the road by the median. The perfect shadows of it. Today's mountain casting shadows on the ranges behind, made all the shadows of the palm trees and lamp posts on the road so much clear.

Blast from the Past

Gardens of Water

fern lined basket

Making a basket 

bakkal means grocery

Six of Crows

Machinations of law in the Heist tale

I saw a bit of Kaz and Inej video.

Inclusive book.

 

Following Caesar: From Rome to Constantinople, the Pathways That Planted the Seeds of Empire

Virtual travel

The Architect's Apprentice: A Novel 

Intepe Sk 

Just like water meanders obstacles, roads to cant cut corners quickly, based on the size of the vehicle, the turns need to be stretched out. 

Mutli sail yacht in the water shows that it is navigable.

Eagle sculpture is so modern.

Master architect Sinan

Imarti means black. Imarti a sweet made from urad dal which has black husk.

Rhetoric in Sinan's work

Leonardo and Michelangelo were invited to Istanbul. Sinan would have met them? Imagine Sinan in this

Oil and Marble: A Novel of Leonardo and Michelangelo

The power of Empathy

 

The Power of Empathy: A Thirty-Day Path to Personal Growth and Social Change

Day1

Empathy: Turning Compassion into Action

Contents

Learn from the young

Over the weekend, I spoke to a college student and felt so hopeful about our future as to how informed they are. I would extend this to learn about the young. Having read that adolescent brains take longer to sleep pressure at night, I can now empathize why my tween wont sleep at her elementary school time. Having an open mind to understand the world around, so they feel heard is what empathy is all about to me. To be able to receive information, we have to find ways to stay curious to keep the sense of wonder and not get complacent that we understand everything. Things change.

Day 2

For reasons I will never understand, when I was a first year at uni, a middle-aged Doctor from Gaza moved temporarily into the room opposite mine in halls.

We weren't sure what to make of our new neighbour. But after a day, I decided to knock on his door and say hello... 1/🧵 pic.twitter.com/pZWSMITT0D

— Ben P🦉 (@__BP__) November 2, 2023

Day 3 

Today I understand what was meant by any judgements associated with empathy. For this to make sense, we have to understand the situations where empathy will paralyse people from action eg doctors and other service profesional saving lives. 

types of empathy include cognitive, emotional and somatic

Can little actions bring big joy researchers say micro-acts can boost well-being

As I read Supercommunicators, I cant help but be amazed at how empathy is tied to understandinh others, sharing our vulnerabilities to make a connection. Mimicry to reciprocity. We are very strong wired to imitate our loved ones. I might be going a little far, talking like I have braces.

Participate in the bigjoy project

Day 4

While filling the survey for big joy project, I realised my privilege built on my parents hardwork. I should maintain a gratitude list. Todays activity for Big joy project was to "dwell in awe".

Down rise/ Fall up

 When you go down, you rise.

When you fall, fall up

Talking to a professional

 If you get your highschooler to talk to a professional, what do you expect the kid to learn?

Colleges do this too with freshman required to attend a career night where they get to ask professionals about their day to day work and how they ended up in their career and the courses they took.

In a recent session, I spoke to a student and showed her some chips, what semiconductor industry is. Made sure that she knew the concept of industry - eg auto industry.

This is a good time to remember to use the 5 levels.

blossoms MIT

kids at this age wonder why they need to study courses they dont like for eg chemistry

I told a little bit about interdisciplinary, multiperspectivity. Importance of talking to different kinds of people. Inclusivity.

I found a chance to tell about Hachimoji DNA with 8 letters. She connected to it as she just started learning about the 4 letter DNA.

I suggested planning and taking up mini projects.

tours of any fabs or companies nearby

drive goals through your projects