Words of the Day 2025-07-02

“Humping Iron” [The Baffler]. “[M]en at each of [Christine Fetzer’s] stops—Denver, Seattle, San Francisco, New York; the list goes on—will pay hundreds of dollars an hour for the chance to wrestle a female bodybuilder. ‘It’s kind of an underground thing here, what I do,’ she says into the phone. ‘People don’t believe you actually wrestle men on beds in hotel rooms.’” • That’s just the first paragraph….

“21% of the Ocean Is Losing Sunlight – What That Means for Marine Life” [SciTech Daily]. “This phenomenon, known as ocean darkening, happens when changes in the water’s clarity reduce the depth of the photic zone, the sunlit layer of the ocean where most marine life lives. This zone is crucial for everything from plankton to fish, and even affects how the ocean helps regulate Earth’s climate.” • Like when you don’t clean your acquarium?

“Lesser Goldfinches expand north as climate and landscape modification shape new habitats” [Phys.org]. “ ‘What’s fascinating is how these birds are adapting to human-modified landscapes,’ said Maron. ‘They’re not just moving north randomly—they’re following specific corridors, particularly along rivers and through urban areas where temperatures are warmer and where both native and non-native plants provide food.’”

“Clownfish shrink their bodies to survive ocean heat waves” [Associated Press]. “Researchers found the shrinking was temporary. Clownfish possessed the ability to ‘catch up’ and grow back when their environment got less stressful, showing how living things are staying flexible to keep up with a warming world, said study author Melissa Versteeg with Newcastle University. ‘These natural systems really are under stress, but there’s a capacity for incredible resilience,’ Versteeg said.”

“The Patch of Nothingness” [Sensible Medicine]. The denouement: “Although I had a lifetime of gardening experience, cultivating a public flower garden—grown for beauty not function—opened a different kind of relationship with the world around me. Through it, I came to know every resident in our building, talked with dozens of families in the neighborhood, and learned the layered history of our building and our block. It helped me see more of what was already here—not just the hardship and heartbreak, but also the beauty.”

“Sainlogic SA3 Review – The Best Portable Weather Station?” [John’s Tech Blog]. “Yes and No. No if you just want to know the temp and humidity. The local news guy and a thousand web pages will tell you that info. Yes if you have a SPECIFIC need as I mentioned above. This SA3 is going in my shed with alarms set. I have a wood shop out there and it also has a window A/C and heater. There is stuff out there I don’t want to corrode. Right now I’m winging it. If it gets super hot, I walk out and run the air a while to knock the humidity down. Likewise for super cold weather.” • Hmm.