Sunspots 712

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

The Arts: Gizmodo reports that the Mona Lisa doesn't really have the Mona Lisa effect (the eyes follow you, whatever your position relative to the painting) but other paintings do have it.

Christianity: Christianity Today reports on the 50 countries where it's hardest to follow Christ. Only two of these are in the Western Hemisphere. India has risen, if that's the word, to being in the top 10 most dangerous countries.
Ken Schenck presents Biblical (and other) arguments for having women in ministry.


Computing: An article on NPR suggests that parents spend more time on-screen with their children. 
This article lists the top 10 moneymakers on YouTube, for 2017. The highest one was 7 years old at the time. See also this article in Scientific American, which says that technology use doesn't harm teenagers much, or any.

A Gizmodo reporter tried hard to live without Amazon. She found it to be impossible -- Amazon controls so much of the internet.

Google has an on-line phishing quiz -- can you spot attempts to harvest your information?

Finance: Listverse describes 10 jobs where you get paid for doing (almost) nothing.

Food: Earther reports that half, or more, of wild coffee species are likely to go extinct.

The web site for an institution that keeps samples of strains of microorganisms used to make sourdough.

Politics: FiveThirtyEight analyzes the chances, in the primaries, of 17 possible Democratic candidates for President.

FiveThirtyEight also reports on various legal cases involving the President.

S. E. Cupp is not happy that our troops, for the first time ever, are not getting paid during a government shut-down, and she blames the President.

Gizmodo reports that photos of the President, on his official social media accounts, have been edited to make him look better.

Science: A giant disk of ice is floating on a river in Maine, and slowly rotating.

Phys.Org reports that plants that get fresh water from sea water produce more brine than fresh water.


The graphic used in these posts is from NASA, hence, I believe, it is public domain. 

Thanks for looking!

Sunspots 691

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

The Arts: (And Science) Gizmodo reports that scientists have sketched the Mona Lisa using bacteria. Really.

Christianity: A theologian discusses "God and Creation." The essay is a readable summary of theology, and inspiring.


Education: A Scientific American writer tells us why STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) students also need the humanities. And it isn't "to make you more well-rounded."

History: The BBC reports that the recent weather in the UK  has made it possible to discover important historical, or pre-historical, sites from the air. There are photos. I thank one of my brothers for this link.

Politics: Gizmodo reports that the US Defense Department is preparing for climate change. The report also notes that "climate change" was not a phrase found in the Defense Authorization bill. "Environmental Condition Projections" was used.

World Magazine reports on how the administration of Liberty University suppressed articles in the student-run campus newspaper.

Scientific American has an essay on the types of work that immigrants do (and don't do).

ListVerse reports on 10 border walls no one talks about. (At least they don't make US news reporting.)

Michael Gerson comments on the current President, who is a celebrity, not famous -- there's a difference, he says.

Science: Christianity Today reports on a Pew Research study, which found that Christians aren't much different than other US citizens, in their views on the applications of genetic technology. (Mostly negative) The respondents were mostly in favor of using genetic engineering to wipe out dangerous mosquitoes.

Thanks for looking!

Image source (public domain)