Is it me or does it just feel like it’s going to be a snowy winter? Or maybe we’ll have an average winter with one really intense snowstorm – I’m talking Blizzard of 96 level. I’ll never forget watching people cross country ski down my suburban street. Although, a week off from school sounded better when I was a kid than it does now as a parent. The New York Times recently published a piece about the word blizzard itself and its charming, Americana roots.
Wherever “blizzard” — to mean the snowy kind — originated, the term does seem to have “a wide reputation as a mid-western invention,” wrote the etymologist Allen Walker Read in 1928 in the journal of American Speech.
Before it was used to describe the weather event, “blizzard” meant a hit or shot. In 1829, the Virginia Literary Museum defined “blizzard” as “a violent blow.” The frontiersman Davy Crockett used it at least once in his 1834 autobiography: “I saw two more bucks, very large fellows too. I took a blizzard at one of them.” Some etymologists believe “blizzard” originated from the German “blitz,” meaning “lightning.”
Adafruit publishes a wide range of writing and video content, including interviews and reporting on the maker market and the wider technology world. Our standards page is intended as a guide to best practices that Adafruit uses, as well as an outline of the ethical standards Adafruit aspires to. While Adafruit is not an independent journalistic institution, Adafruit strives to be a fair, informative, and positive voice within the community – check it out here: adafruit.com/editorialstandards
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7:30pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat and our Discord!
Python for Microcontrollers – Adafruit Daily — Python on Microcontrollers Newsletter: Diving into the Raspberry Pi RP2350, Python Survey Results and more! #CircuitPython #Python #micropython @ThePSF @Raspberry_Pi
EYE on NPI – Adafruit Daily — EYE on NPI Maxim’s Himalaya uSLIC Step-Down Power Module #EyeOnNPI @maximintegrated @digikey
