Sunspots 1003

Things I have spotted that may be of interest to you:

Gizmodo reports that sugar molecules have been detected in deep space. Note: These are not the kinds of sugar we use in cooking.

Gizmodo reports on occasions where President Trump claimed some event was actually staged using artificial intelligence, but the event really happened. 

Gizmodo also reports that ancient humans, living in Norway, caught fish and placed them in high bodies of water. Amazing! 

We get frequent (about 2 per week) calls suggesting that our Social Security benefits are not as great as they could be. I checked on-line, and these calls are scams. Hang up.

Ice cream day

 A nationwide restaurant chain tells me that today is national ice cream day.

Sunspots 1002

 

Some things that I have spotted that may be of interest to others:

SpaceDaily reports on an extensive study of the genetics of anxiety. We're a long was from understanding it, but this is a serious first step.

A summary of the evidence for fraud in US elections.

It's been 30 years since Dolly, the sheep, was developed from a cloned cell. Nature reflects on what has happen ed since. (Hint: we don't seem close to cloning a numan.)

You've heard of Leap Years. There are also (or have been) Leap seconds, and now those in charge of such things are considering a leap hour.

MSN and other sources discuss China's attempt to grow a Great Green Wall -- trees: billions of them,  planted in the desert, and whether or not it can help us fight global climate change. 

SpaceDaily reports that zebta stripes may have evolved to cut down on bites from flying insects

Lindsey Graham

According to many news outlets, Lindsey Graham, long-time senator from South Carolina, died suddenly.

Graham was one of my senators for a long time, when we lived in South Carolina.

I didn't agree with Graham on some things, but, on others, I did. He was a man of principle, willing to state his opinions, and wasn't looking to advance himself.

Rest in Peace.

Sunspots 1001

 

CNN and other outlests are reporting on possible dangers from the geological faults in Southern California.

Gizmodo reports on research on laughter. There are two kinds of laughter. One spontaneous and one not so  much.

BioLogos has an article about the apparent long lives of people in Genesis.

MSN, and other outlets, report that Pope Leo has excommunicated priests who reject some of the changes proposed and adopted during the 20th Century.

The flag seen in "the dawn's early light" near Baltimore, which was under attack by the British, was real. Here's more on Francis Scott Key who wrote what we now know as the "Star Spangled Banner." Key freed at least some of his slaves.

Gismodo reports that dust from the Sahara Desert is blowing across the Atlantic to North America.

Carol Burnett and Julie Andrews and the Boston Tea Party

This is a hilarious YouTube video of Carol Burnett and Julie Andrews, being funny, and throwing a lot of cake frosting (or aomething) around.

The two of them are pretending to replay the Boston Tea Party (although that event took place several years before the actual Revolutionary War). But it's fun. The video is about 11 minutes long.

Air conditioning makes it hotter

Recent reports indicate that Europeans are suffering seriously from the heat, including several deaths. Most buildings in Europe are not air-conditioned.

I saw a news report on that situation. A European woman was asked whether she thought that more buildings should be air-conditioned. She did not think so. Apparently, her reasons had to do with a fact that we, in North America, seldom consider. That is that running air conditioning increases the temperature.

Why is that? Because running a motor in an air conditioning device generates heat. If you don't believe this, find an air conditioning device that is where you can feel the output. You will feel heat. 

The laws of thermodynamics, perhaps the most fundamental laws of physics, tell us that moving parts in a device generate heat, from friction, and other consequences of the system. The heat in an air-conditioned building is removed to the outside.  

See this article: Air conditioning may be making cities even hotter - Earth.com

Thanks for reading!