Sunspots 977

Things I have spotted that may be of interest to others.    

ZDNet reports that a study, by the BBC, about how good artificial intelligence (chatbots) do in summarizing news stories, showed that they don't do that very well.

There are still Brazilian tribes that are unknown by the rest of us, according to Gizmodo.

Gizmodo also reports on dating apps, finding that using one is a way for a female user to be raped, more often than other means of connecting. The report also says that the companies involved could do a much better job of removing dangerous users, but has chosen not to.

MSN describes the animals with the longest lifespan. (Thanks to one of my brothers for this information)

CNN lists a number of GOP senators who deny Trump's claim that the Ukraine-Russia was started by the Ukraine.

South American tapirs were thought to be extinct. They aren't!

Thanks for reading.

Sunspots 900

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

The Arts: A Christianity Today writer on Tolkien's world, and ours.

Christianity: A Christianity Today writer on how corporate worship may bond us together in ways we don't realize.

Christianity Today has posted links to several articles on the late Mickail Gorbachev.

Politics:  A Conversation writer says that Iran is winning the war between Russia and Ukraine.

Gizmodo notes that former President Trump has incriminated himself on his own social media platform.

Science: Gizmodo on 7 animals that use tools.

A web page that tells us that fruit flies have been important in Nobel-prize-winning research.

A writer for The Conversation points out that over half of human fertilized eggs die before the woman knows that she is pregnant, but that laws protecting human embryos don't take this into account.

Another writer for The Conversation discusses what we know about fish sleep.

Sports: FiveThirtyEight tells us which of the big universities are football schools, and which are basketball schools.

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

Thanks for reading.

Sunspots 652

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

The Arts: E. Stephen Burnett discusses the way Christians often think about popular culture.

Grammarphobia distinguishes between their, they're and there.

Christianity: Benjamin L. Corey says that prominent Young-earth Creationist Ken Ham is actually driving people toward atheism.

Health: FiveThirtyEight reports on a scary subject -- North Korea probably has chemical and biological weapon capability, and biological warfare would be harder to stop than nuclear weapons.

Relevant reports that the constant barrage of Christmas music may be doing psychological harm.

Humor: (or something) Listverse discusses 10 apparently simple questions that the writer says no one can answer.

Politics: Listverse discusses ways Russian social media users tricked US citizens into distrusting one another, and our political processes.

FiveThirtyEight reports on how President Trump's trade policies (everyone is treating the US unfairly, so we'll pull out of trade agreements) are doing.

The editor of Christianity Today blasts a supposedly Bible-based defense of Roy Moore, candidate for the US Senate from Alabama: "Christians don't use Joseph and Mary to explain child molesting accusations."

Relevant also weighs in on the Moore accusations, pointing out that the Republicans from Alabama have mostly come to Moore's defense, unlike the colleagues of some high-profile entertainers.

Scientific American describes four laws that could significantly cut down on gun violence, and gives evidence for that claim.

Thanks for looking!

Image source (public domain)

Sunspots 639

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

Christianity: Christianity Today reports that Perry Noble, recently fired as senior pastor of the largest church in South Carolina, NewSpring, is thinking strongly about starting another church.

A Relevant writer says that Jesus didn't need the approval of others.

Ed Stetser warns against overemphasizing patriotism in church services, here and here. He cites evidence that 53% of protestant pastors think that their congregations sometimes love America more than they love God.


Computing: I haven't used it yet, but Firefox Send is said to be a free, safe way to send large files to other users.

Wired has a thorough article on how the Russians are viewing and waging warfare. Scary, and it's doubtful if our government really understands.

The Guardian reports on a man who "married" a robot. CNN reports on a man who "married" a video game character.

Food: Listverse lists 10 ice cream flavors that are popular outside of the continental United States, but you probably can't find in the US at all.

Health: Scientific American reports that women with insomnia are more likely to give birth to premature babies.

History: (or botany) Listverse on the history of 10 commonly consumed fruits.

Humor: (or botany) Wired has posted a photo of a man trimming the world's largest hedge. It's really tall.


Politics: A Christianity Today writer argues that the use of nuclear weapons is inherently, and always, evil.

Listverse reminds us of times when the press made us aware of scandalous uses of power.

The Barna group reports on what Americans think makes America great. Different groups responded differently.

Science: A Clemson University professor has spent more time in the shadow of total solar eclipses than anyone else on earth.

FiveThirtyEight reminds us that there will be less solar-powered electricity during the upcoming solar eclipse.



Image source (public domain)

Sunspots 610

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

The Arts: A 1 minute, 46 second video of popcorn kernels popping.

Christianity: Russia has recently clamped down on evangelical (and other) religious activity, according to Relevant.

Christianity Today points out that Cardinal Dolan's reading, at the Trump inauguration, was from the Apocrypha.

Christianity Today reports that the abortion rate in the US has hit an all-time low.


Computing: WordCounter counts the number of words in entered text (you can copy text in from a document). It also gives the number of sentences, the reading level, and other statistics.

Education: Something called the Matthew 25 Declaration on public education.

Humor: (or something) Listverse posts little-known facts about some classic TV shows. (One such fact -- the person who invented the re-run.)

Listverse also posted about 10 "epic typos" in history. Amusing, unless you were affected.


Politics: Politico reports on British espionage in the US, prior to World War II. The British were trying to influence the US election, hoping that this would bring the US into the war against Germany. Does this remind you of anything?

The New York Times reports on fake news, but with a twist. The researchers made up news stories that were never published at all, and, when asked, some people claimed that they had seen these stories, and believed them.

Science: Scientific American reports on a huge wave in the atmosphere of Venus.



Image source (public domain)

Sunspots 596

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

Christianity: Stephen Burnett continues a series about "Christian White Magic," here and here.

Relevant reports that a missionary in Russia has been arrested and fined for holding a religious service in his home, and inviting others to attend.

A Relevant commentator says that Christianity is not just a relationship -- it's a religion.

Finance: Relevant reports that the Mall of America will be closed on Thanksgiving Day.

Health: (and food) A doctor tells why he eats dropped food off of his kitchen floor, even if it's been there more than five seconds.

History: Listverse sets the record straight on Pocohantas. She had a very hard life.

Humor: A Christianity Today contributor prays for certain characteristics of a possible future husband.

Literature: Morgan Busse, Christian writer of fantastic literature, asks "What if Only One Person Reads my Books?"


Politics: The New York Times reports on a study of the political leanings of doctors, and there are several interesting results. Surgeons, for example, are nearly three times more likely to be Republican than infectious disease specialists. Also, doctors in higher-paying specialties are more likely to be Republican.

Science: Scientific American reports that silkworms, fed mulberry leaves sprayed with solutions of certain artificial materials, produce silk which is stronger than normal silk, and such silk can conduct electricity.

Oh, oh. Scientific American reports that the Food and Drug Administration, important scientific journals, and universities exert considerable control over how news from these bodies is reported. One example -- Fox News is not invited to FDA press conferences. The reason for this is not clear.

And Scientific American says that ISIS gets quite a bit of money from agriculture.

Listverse grosses us out with photos and descriptions of the 10 creepiest fungi.

FiveThirtyEight tells us that rocks don't just sit there.






Image source (public domain)

Sunspots 585

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

The Arts: Listverse reports on 10 mysteries in the works, and lives, of great composers of classical music.

Christianity: A Relevant columnist says that living together without being married is not the best way to assess compatibility.

Christianity Today reports that Russia has enacted a law which may outlaw evangelizing in Russia.

Christianity Today reports on the harmful effects of pornography.


Computing: The Wall Street Journal on how to avoid being hacked.

Freesound is a repository of sounds that you can use, free.
 
USA Today on the possibility of some really scary hacking, of your car, and other "wired" apparatus. 
Wired reports that hacking of the brakes and accelerator of a transfer truck, or a bus, is fairly easy.
 
Health: The New York Times discusses studies that show that being cold doesn't cause you to get a cold.

Philosophy: Listverse on 10 thought experiments in philosophy.

Politics and race: South Carolina's US Senator Tim Scott, a Republican African-American, on prejudicial treatment by some police officers.

Science: Listverse on 10 examples of convergent evolution -- that is, where the same feature is found in organisms not closely related. Example: opposable thumbs in pandas and primates.

The New York Times, and other sources, say that many of us, especially evangelical Christians, are afraid of technology to enhance human abilities, such as DNA engineering or brain chips.




Image source (public domain)