Sunspots 926

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to others*:

Computing: Gizmodo reports that the US Marshals have been hacked.

Gizmodo also reports that there's a printer that prints chocolate constructions.

Gizmodo also reports that Chuck-E-Cheese is still using floppy disks to run its game machines!

Finances: (or something) A Conversation writer argues that buses are the cure for urban transportation woes.

(and humor) NPR posts about tooth fairy inflation.

Health: (and ethics) A woman is to be arrested for refusing to be effectively treated for tuberculosis.

The Conversation discusses in-family aggressive behavior -- in other words, bullying a sibling. It is actually more common than "regular" bullying.

Politics: A Yahoo! commentator takes on Marjorie Taylor Greene's suggestion that the US split into two countries.

A Conversation article tells us that the caste system is, unfortunately, alive and well in the US.

(and computing) Gizmodo reports on lots of Twitter bots, backing former President Trump, and attacking various non-Trumpists.

Science: Gizmodo reports on the development of really white paint (which really cuts down on the amount of heat absorbed from sunlight.)

USA Today reports that Japan has hundreds of tiny islands that it didn't know were there.

Gizmodo reports that some humans were riding domesticated horses about 5000 BC.

(and ethics) NPR reports on discussions of whether to alter human genes.

*I try not to include items that require a password or fee to view.

Thanks for reading.

What about the earthquake? What happened? Did God cause it?

I have just now read three fine posts on the recent earthquake in Japan. (Thank you, Google Reader.) One is by a geologist, writing at The Panda's Thumb, who explains what happened, and puts to rest some ridiculous rumors, such as the one about a supermoon (whatever that is). He also says that the number or severity of earthquakes is NOT increasing. There's also a Wikipedia article on this earthquake.

Two other posts are from a Christian perspective. One, from Heart, Mind and Soul, deals with the question, "Did God cause this earthquake?" Short answer: "No," but it's not quite that simple. Read the post, and the second comment. As the blogger points out, Jesus answered a question like that.

The second post, by He Lives, is on the statement, "There must not be a god, because if there was, he wouldn't allow such things to happen." (Paraphrased from scientist Jerry Coyne, who is not nearly as good a philosopher as a scientist.) The blogger puts that statement to rest, again.

Read these for more on the earthquake. I normally put out a Sunspots on Wednesday, but this seems more pertinent, so I'll hold off on that for a day or so.

P. S. A study, using US Geological Survey data, by the Institute for Creation Research (which I don't always agree with) indicates that the frequency of earthquakes is not increasing.

Thanks for reading this.