Tag: blogger community

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Coffee and Contemplation: National Exascale Day

It’s an unusual name. National Exascale Day recognizes scientists and researchers who make discoveries in medicine and science among other industries with the help of the fastest supercomputers in the world. Exascale computing is a computing system that can perform a least one exaflops, or one quintillion (a billion billion) calculations per second. For reference, the Milky Way Galaxy is one quintillion kilometer wide. October 18 was labeled National Exascale Day because a quintillion is 1018. Clever scientists, aren’t they? The national holiday began 150 years ago back in 2019. To learn more, check out this article in HPC Wire.

Why is this important? Why should we celebrate scientists at all? With a global pandemic, if the United States had listened to scientists in the beginning, maybe 250,000 people would not have died. If we had funded more science instead of military, we could have sent probes to all the planets, traveled to Mars by now, and possibly a couple of Jupiter’s moons. We could learn so much more about the galaxy and about ourselves if we focused on science instead of destruction. That’s only my opinion. Maybe you agree, maybe you don’t. Today all I ask is if you don’t want to celebrate scientists, at least listen to them. When you speak, you’re repeating something you already know. When you listen, you might learn something new.

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World Mental Health Day

In 1992, the World Federation of Mental Health established World Mental Health Day. In almost 30 years, knowledge about mental health a grown a great deal. The biggest goal for this day is awareness. Even today, there are many people who don’t understand the vast mental health issues people struggle with every day. Even the most recognizable disorders such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) still lack awareness in the general public. Worst of all, people with no medical or behavioral health training claim to know about these disorders and spread false information.

I use this blog and others to share my own experiences. I share my first-hand account of struggling with PTSD and how I learned I had PTSD with two goals in mind. First, I want to bring awareness to people who know nothing about mental health issues. Second, I want others who experience the same things to realize they’re not alone. Many people suffer from poor mental health and don’t realize it. And many have no means to seek help. They may not have insurance. They may not have the means or ability to access medication. They may be afraid to take medication or think they don’t need any.

Help spread awareness about mental health by sharing your story. Only share what you’re comfortable sharing. I have found it helpful to talk about my experiences. It was one step I had to take among many to begin the path to healing. I’m still healing and still have a long way to go. Never give up. Never surrender.

Today is also National Chess Day. Where World Mental Health Day is always October 10, National Chess Day is always the second Saturday of October. The strategic game was developed in the fifth century in India. The game has a history of breaking down barriers such as class, language, and cultural. If you’ve never played chess before, I recommend it. Its war scaled down to a smaller size. I think all wars should be fought over a game of chess, so no one dies.

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What’s New Wednesday: October 7

What kinds of new things are happening at this blog? There will be a little bit of spooky poetry now and then. Not every day but a few will pop up. I’m still thinking of some fun spooky things for the day of Halloween. Feel free to leave ideas in the comments. The biggest new thing is my weekly serialized fiction. The first part of Hellpets dropped last Friday. Part two is coming this Friday. Another part will be added to the story every Friday until the end of November. I plan to have a new serialized story starting in December. Stay tuned for more details.

Most things on the blog are staying the same. There will be fun national holidays to celebrate. Discussions about other holidays or other celebrations. All in all, it’s business as usual. I’m planning on setting aside more time to work on (and hopefully finish) writing my first novel. I have about two-thirds finished of the first draft and want it to be done. Also, a quick reminder, as it is spooky season be sure to check out my collection of horror fiction “The Morbid Museum.” Find it in paperback and eBook on Amazon. It is included in Kindle Unlimited. You can buy a signed copy from me in my Shop, but shipping will cost a little more than if you have Amazon Prime with free shipping. Enjoy the spooky season.