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Recent Posts: M Thomas Apple Author Page
And it went BOOM BOOM 💥
Rocky objects traveling through space are known as meteoroids, but when they enter Earth’s atmosphere and create fireballs, they are called meteors. Any fragments that fall to Earth’s surface are meteorites. https://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/meteor-boom-ohio-pennsylvania-rcna263876 The Earth is bombarded on a daily basis from outer space. Just not usually over urban areas during daylight. In Ohio. Not a […]
AI scammers — stealing our work then trying to trick us again for PR
“As a science fiction author, I’ve always loved hearing from fans of my fiction,” [US based author Jason Sanford] tells the Guardian. “But now when someone emails saying they loved one of my stories, my first thought is that this is yet another scammer setting me up for the kill.” https://www.theguardian.com/books/ng-interactive/2026/mar/12/ai-book-scams-publishing-fraud?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other Yet another reason I […]
“Don’t worry about it” — Van Allen A to burn up tonight
“For the average person, it will be a nice light in the sky if you get lucky and, otherwise, don’t worry about it,” Dr. McDowell said. “We have much more scary re-entries that happen. Occasionally, there is a 20-ton Chinese rocket stage that comes down. Those are much scarier for me.” https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/10/science/space/nasa-satellite-earth-re-entry.html?unlocked_article_code=1.SVA.dk5d.09lMgapDCbYq&smid=nytcore-ios-share OK, granted that the odds […]
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Author Archives: MThomas
Year 2: Colleague Reactions
Just over 5 months ago, my year-long child care leave ended and I went back to work. Since then, I haven’t posted on this blog for a very good reason: I was insanely busy. Of course, not too busy to … Continue reading
Posted in colleague reactions, gender roles, Japan, parenting, Paternity leave
Tagged child-raising, family leave, fatherhood, Japan, Japanese, parental leave, Paternity leave, work, workplace hostility
2 Comments
Endings and beginnings
I go back to work tomorrow on April 1st. My year-long paternity leave is over. No April Fools.
Posted in day care, gender roles, Japan, Paternity leave
Tagged child care, child-raising, family leave, fatherhood, gender roles, Japan, Japanese, orphan, parental leave, parental roles, Paternity leave, Tohoku, work
2 Comments
Don’t panic: Japan is not sinking
My last post, about something now that seems totally innocuous, was on Friday, March 11th, at 10 or 11 in the morning. Japan time. We all know what happened just a few hours later.
Posted in Japan, media, natural disasters, parenting, Paternity leave, Uncategorized
Tagged child-raising, earthquake, family leave, Fukushima, half-Japanese, hysteria, Japan, Japanese, media coverage, Miyagi, Paternity leave, radiation, Sendai
9 Comments
Taking Leave 