Sunspots 740

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

Christianity: A Relevant writer points out that worship isn't about church music.
Deborah Haarsma, of BioLogos, discusses the implications for Christians, if there is intelligent life elsewhere, or if there isn't.


Computing: Christianity Today reports on a study that indicates that we trust big technical companies less than we used to. And churches more. 

Education:  Grammarphobia discusses can not, cannot and can't.

Gizmo's Freeware tells about a phone app that uses your camera to solve math problems.

Environment: Gizmodo reports that climate change may have reached a tipping point for the Arctic.


Ethics: The Scientist tells us that a Chinese team is developing human-monkey chimeras.

Finance: Catherine Rampell is concerned about what President Trump might do to US fiscal policy.

Health: (and finance, and politics) Catherine Rampell points out that medicare-for-all plans have ignored how much we pay providers, particularly doctors. We pay about twice as much to these as Canada.

National Public Radio reports on the use of the CRISPR genetic engineering system to treat a woman with sickle-cell anemia.

Politics: FiveThirtyEight analyzes the second round of debates -- who spoke most, etc.

Relevant reports that over 50 people were shot in Chicago last weekend.

NPR has posted graphs, comparing gun death frequency in the US with that in many other countries.

FiveThirtyEight says that Republican politicians are much more resistant to gun control measures than GOP voters are.

Science: NPR reports on a study that indicates that children prefer men without beards, up until the child reaches puberty. (Note: I have a beard.)

Gizmodo reports that Japanese scientists may try to grow human pancreases, for transplant to people who need them, in pigs.

In 2006, there were 1411 tigers in India. NPR reports that the population was up to 2967 in 2018, a little more than doubling, thanks to serious steps taken by the Indian government.

The graphic used in these posts is from NASA, hence, it is free to use like this.
Thanks for looking!

Sunspots 557

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

The Arts: Stephen Burnett has some advice for those who are working on a film version of The Silver Chair, the great book by C. S. Lewis.
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Christianity: An article on the main reason that young people leave the church.

A Sojourners article urges us to "wage peace," and indicates how that should be done.

Ken Schenck considers, carefully, what the Bible says about suicide and end-of-life decisions. (It doesn't say much!)

Computing: (This is different from the item in last weeks Sunspots.) Gizmo's Freeware tells us how to get an instant, unique e-mail address.

Gizmo's also has an annotated list of the best free software for the Mac OS.

Wired reports on how to create an e-book, from something you've already written, or from a public domain work that isn't available in digital format.

Education: National Public Radio reports on research that indicates that "pretty girls make higher grades."

Health: The BBC reports that beards may help fight infection. Really.

Humor: (or something) The BBC, and other news outlets, report that a church shaped like a glass slipper has been built in Taiwan. Really.

Listverse is a site that puts up bizarre lists frequently -- example: "10 Ridiculous Political Parties You Won't Believe Got Elected."

Politics: FiveThirtyEight points out that politicians, and the rest of us, are not mentioning the US national deficit, or our debt, as much as we used to, and considers why that is so. (The deficit has dropped in recent years, but a deficit of even $1 adds to the national debt, which has increased, of course.)

Science: Wired reports on the bearded vulture, or lammergeier, a bird that eats almost nothing but bones.

Wired also reports on a study that finds that you have a lot more insects in your home than you thought you did.

And Wired, and many other sources, report on the possible discovery of another planet.

FiveThirtyEight reports that, again, the past year is the hottest ever recorded.

Sports: ESPN and other sources report that, for the first time, an NFL team has hired a female full-time assistant coach.


Image source (public domain)

Sunspots 475

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

Christianity: From Relevant Magazine, five bad reasons to leave your church.
 
Also from Relevant, a partly humorous, but Biblical, and historical, defense of wearing beards.
 
Rebecca LuElla Miller asks some questions about that favorite type of fiction among conservative Christian women, Amish romance.
 
The Speculative Faith blog, written by Christians, has posted another review of the God's Not Dead movie, and it points out some flaws. (See here for my review.)

Computing: A National Public Radio reported had experts monitor his on-line activity, just to see what the NSA, or others, could learn about him. A lot!
 
Gizmo's Freeware points us to a web site that will rotate a video that you shot with the wrong orientation.

Health: Big problems still exist at the Japanese nuclear power plant damaged by the tsunami, a few years ago.


Image source (public domain)