Sunspots 971

Things I have spotted that may be of interest to others. I try not to post anything that requires a

password, and/or money, to access. 

A PhysOrg writer discusses the two species of rats that live in the US.

Learn about the matador bug, which waves warning signs, which are part of the insect's back legs.

Newsweek (and other outlets) point out that Hawaii is not protected by NATO. (It's in the Pacific, not the Atlantic).

Bible scholar Ken Schenck gives us a one-post interpretation of Revelation.

A Conversation writer points out sales pitches by the nutritional supplement industry.

PhysOrg reports that most of us believe in conspiracy theories.

PhysOrg also reports on how we are losing estuaries, which are important out of proportion to their sizes.

Sunspots 859

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

The Arts: (and humor) NPR has posted winners of the Comedy Wildlife Photography Award.

Christianity: (and politics) A Relevant writer makes a good case that "the media" are not massively anti-Christian, and warns against taking one issue (such as abortion) and making that the only issue.

A Christianity Today writer reflects on on-line giving of various sorts, as putting money in an offering plate becomes less common.

Another Christianity Today article describes the results of surveys which indicate that committed Christians are less likely to have sexual relations outside of marriage than was true in the recent past.

A blog post says that the term "evangelical" has been hi-jacked, and has come to mean, in many people's eyes, not a group of beliefs, but a certain kind of politics. The article says that there are people who identify themselves as "evangelical" who do not use the Bible as a guide, don't attend church, or who are actually Muslim or Hindu in belief.

Computing: FiveThirtyEight discusses disparities in exposure to environmental problems, such as toxic waste. Minority groups are more concerned about these matters than "average" persons.

Education: FiveThirtyEight reports that predicted teacher shortages didn't happen much (there have been some places where they did), and that teachers have become more vocal about safety and other issues in schools. (There have been serious shortages in bus drivers and other non-professional education staff.)

Finances: Gizmodo discusses the question of why gas prices are so high. It's complicated.

Health: CNN reports on the loss of smell in some people who have had COVID.

History: (and health) NPR goes over the history of vaccination requirements, all the way back to 1818. There have always been objections.

Politics: NPR discusses yet another book on the last days of the Presidency of Donald Trump. Some scary stuff.

I am not making this up. Gizmodo reports that hundreds of QAnon cultists gathered at the site of the assassination of President J. F. Kennedy. Why? They were expecting Kennedy's son (who died in a plane accident several years ago) to appear and announce that Donald Trump is the legitimate President. It didn't happen.

There's an update to the previous article, here, and it's serious.

Science: An anonymous donor (!) gave a large, poisonous spider, with fangs strong enough to pierce a human fingernail, to an Australian animal park.

There are YouTube videos, such as this one, showing the annual crab migration in Australia, which involves millions of red crabs.

Gizmodo tells us about examples of animals from two different species cooperating for the benefit of both.

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

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

Thanks for reading. 

Sunspots 837

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

Health: (and politics) An NPR graphic (with accompanying text) indicates that people living in Red states are considerably less likely to have been vaccinated for COVID than those living in Blue states.

Politics: FiveThirtyEight discusses QAnon beliefs, and points out that some of them have been around for decades, before QAnon was identified.

Science: The Scientist, and other outlets, report that rotifers, frozen in Siberian ice for 24,000 years, are still alive, and even able to reproduce.

NPR reports that a fossil dinosaur as long as a basketball court has been found in Australia.

NPR also reports that several varieties of apple, thought to have disappeared, still exist.

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

Thanks for looking!

sunspots 821

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

Christianity: Relevant tells us why Lent matters.

Education: Listverse tells us about three-dimensional shapes.

Politics: Politico describes some case studies of QAnon believers.

Relevant debunks conspiracy theorists who claim that the snow in Texas was fake. (And that Bill Gates was responsible for it.)

Science: The Scientist reports that researchers in four countries have been able to communicate (in both directions) with subjects who are asleep and dreaming.

The Scientist also reports on experiments that show that dogs have awareness of their own bodies. This seems obvious, but isn't really.

DNA from a cave bear, about 360,000 years old, has been recovered, and usable sequence information has been found, according to Gizmodo. The cave was not in permafrost, from which much older DNA has been recovered.

The AP reports that an almost extinct ferret species has been given more potential genetic variety by a clone of an animal dead for a few decades.

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

Thanks for looking!

Sunspots 785

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to

someone else:

Christianity:The head of the Southern Baptist Convention made a speech praising diversity in his denomination, but pointed out that there was a lot of room for improvement, according to Christianity Today.

Relevant reports on a poll, which says that about one-fourth of Americans see President Trump as a man of faith.

Christianity Today goes back to the topic of Christians and conspiracy theories.

Computing: Gizmodo reports that Twitter recently deleted 170,000 accounts, because they were pumping out propaganda for the Chinese government. Apparently, however, not many people were paying attention.

Gizmo's Freeware points to a site with all sorts of free calendars.


Environment: Gizmodo reports that sea otter populations, in the Pacific Northwest, should be encouraged to increase.

Health: NPR reports that some experts believe that COVID-19 may be around for a long time.\
So does Gizmodo.

History: (or something) Listverse discusses some conspiracy theories that refuse to die.

Science: Science magazine reports that scientists have put various cell parts together to make an artificial system that carries out photosynthesis.

Sports: FiveThirtyEight says that Maya Moore, who left the WNBA of her own accord, to pursue social justice (overturning the conviction of an innocent man), gave up more than any other athlete gave up for a cause. (I have learned, from a reliable source, that Ms. Moore has been appointed head coach of the men's basketball team at a small college.)


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

Thanks for looking!

Sunspots 780

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

Christianity: BioLogos discusses "Christian" conspiracy theories, about COVID-19.

Education: Grammarphobia tells us why we say "fourteen," instead of "onety-four."

Grammarphobia also gives us the history of the words "butt" and "buttock," and explains their relationship.
Health: CNN asks what things will be like if we don't develop a COVID-19 vaccine, and reminds us that there are some serious infectious diseases without vaccines, and not for lack of trying. (Think AIDS, for one.)

Gizmodo points out that taking temperatures is not a fool-proof way of checking for COVID-19 infection.

You may (or may not) have seen the Plandemic video. Here is a documented story from lifehacker debunking it, and another from  National Public Radio, doing the same. Here is a report from the Snopes web site.

Politics: (or something) FiveThirtyEight says that the recent jobs report, bad as it is, doesn't really cover all the people who are out of work.

Gizmodo reports that there is considerable overlap between COVID-19 misinformation and climate change denial.

Sixty Minutes reports that the Trump administration terminated a virus research grant for no good reason.

FiveThirtyEight has studied voting by mail, and finds considerable variety in how it's used. There's no particular advantage to either party.

Science: NPR reports that a black hole, about 1,000 light-years away, has been found.

The Ryugu asteroid has been photographed from very close, like on the asteroid, and the results are remarkable.

Sports: Gizmodo reports on a basketball backboard and hoop that adjusts its position so that almost all shots go through the hoop.

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

Sunspots 777

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

Christianity: He Lives argues that there are only two kinds of  God's laws.

Christianity Today argues that gullibility is not a spiritual gift, and notes that evangelical Christians are more likely to fall for conspiracy theories than the population at large.

GeoChristian reviews a book about the interaction/discussion between a young-earth creationist, Todd Wood, and an evolutionary creationist, Darrel Falk. They learned to respect each other as Christians.

Relevant has an essay on how Ecclesiastes resonates with the current pandemic.

Environment: NPR reports on a study that shows that outdoor cats have a big impact on birds and small quadrupeds.

Humor: Gizmodo reports that we are living in the golden age of crossword puzzles.
 
Politics: (or something) The US Postal Service is in financial trouble, and some people are suggesting that we buy stamps, as a way of helping it, according to NPR.

FiveThirtyEight discusses what happens if a presidential candidate dies or can't run for office for other reasons. (We have the two oldest candidates ever, running.)

Science: Gizmodo on "Why is it so hard to figure out if the Corona virus is airborne?"

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

Sunspots 749

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

Christianity: A Christianity Today article suggests ways of dealing with temptation to sexual sin.

Computing: (And Politics) A web page that lists the best fact-checking sites.

Education: Grammarphobia on why we say "zig-zag," not "zag-zig."

Environment: CBS News, and other outlets, report that Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument is being severely harmed by border fence construction.
 
Finance: (and politics) Catherine Rampell says that the economy probably won't be enough to keep President Trump from being impeached.

Catherine Rampell also points out that  President Trump has brought back the much-criticized individual mandate.

Food: (and politics) NPR reports that most Himalayan pink salt is actually from Pakistan.

Politics: Catherine Rampell describes another whistleblower matter -- about the President's tax returns.

FiveThirtyEight examines the question of whether Democratic Presidential hopefuls Sanders, Warren or Harris are likely to move toward the center if they become the Democratic nominee.

FiveThirtyEight also reviews evidence that most of us (of whatever political persuasion) see things through serious bias.

Michael Gerson believes that President Trump is being driven by a bizarre conspiracy theory.

Science: The Scientist tells us that macaques are not able to hear patterns and frequency ratios in music.

Gizmodo reports on a study that indicates that human fetuses have limb muscles that disappear during embryonic development. These muscles are like those found in reptiles.

Gizmodo also reports on evidence that a large object struck the earth about 12,800 years ago.

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

Sunspots 633

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

The Arts: On The Writer's Almanac, Garrison Keillor reads a fine short poem, and discusses the beginning of National Parks in the U. S., and other things.

Christianity: Andy Crouch discusses the Creation in a thought-provoking and stimulating post from BioLogos.


Computing: Wired considers the possibility of having a simpler smartphone.

A Wired writer asked a cybersecurity company to send him phishing e-mails. He almost got caught.

Ethics: Wired has an essay on the ethics of the lies told by President Trump, and other people. The article references what some church fathers had to say on the subject of lying.

Food: National Public Radio reports that India is having political, religious, and economic disagreements over the use of cows as meat.

Humor: Relevant warns us of serious theological problems with fidget spinners.

(or something) Wired shows us a photo of an amazing "bicycle graveyard" in China.
 

Politics: Relevant on the danger of Christians entertaining conspiracy theories.

Image source (public domain)