117. RECLINER CHAIRS

Sit up or lean back, without changing your track

* Because of the weather, this afternoon I am working from home. Rather than in my office, how happy I am to be sitting in the recliner chair in my living room!
* This particular chair belongs to my old housemate Isaiah. He moved to Iowa, but the chair didn't fit in his car. We were very grateful that he chose to leave it with us.

116. WATER BOTTLES

Like a water fountain on the go

* Albeit, water bottles need to be filled, while water fountains do not. However, a water bottle, unlike a water fountain, can fit in your back pocket. Or if you find it more comfortable, a water bottle can fit in your backpack pocket.
* I recently received a new water bottle as a present. It has a latch that keeps the bottle from leaking. This is important.
* I once composed a poem which began "Balancing a water bottle on my head ..." and included corresponding acrobatics. I still perform it occasionally, on special request.

115. BIRDS

Needing only miniscule might for incredible flight

* I got the idea for this simple miracle from this New York Times article, describing ongoing research to study how birds fly.
* Even very tiny birds can generate the strength to fly very far. For instance, the NYT article mentions how "the calliope hummingbird weighs only as much as two paper clips, yet it migrates annually between Canada and Mexico."
* This simple miracle makes me think of the doves released by Noah after the flood. It is good that they were able to keep flying in search of dry land.

114. TASTE BUDS

Between topsoil and brownies, making a difference

* I have heard that a food's smell has a big impact on how we perceive its taste. But even if I could still smell a food, I still don't know if I would want to eat a food without my taste buds. Would smelling the food even have any significance without taste buds?
* It seems that there are very few criticisms of food as sharp as "It has no taste!"
* Last week, I made brownies twice - once for a new year's day celebration and the next day for dinner at a friend's house.
* Hopefully, the brownies that I made truly did have a good taste, and when my friends said that they had a good taste, they weren't just saying it to be polite. How much effect does how we think something will taste have on how it actually tastes to us?