Sunspots 916

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

Computing: Gizmodo reports that the FBI says you should be using an ad blocker.

Health: (or not) Gizmodo has published a list of the weirdest medical cases of 2022, many of them stupid things people have done to themselves.

Politics: NPR reports that Fox's Sean Hannity knew that Trump had lost the election -- it wasn't "stolen" -- but gave airtime to such beliefs, anyway.

Science: NPR says that dogs can smell time. Really.

CNN reports that two new minerals have been found in a large meteorite,

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

Thanks for reading.

Sunspots 879

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

Science: Gizmodo reports that dog facial muscles are constructed so that the faces are attractive to humans.

Gizmodo also posted videos of squid, almost instantaneously changing color for camouflage purposes.

NPR on why some smells (like ripe peaches) are appealing

Gizmodo also reports that the planet Neptune is getting colder, and astronomers don't understand why this is so.

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 866

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

Finances: FiveThirtyEight discusses the so-called eviction tsumani that didn't happen.

Health: (or something) NPR has 22 tips to use if you want to pass on drinking alcohol.

Gizmodo reports that the COVID vaccination rate in the US is 59th in the world, below all other first-world countries.

Politics: NPR has a discussion of why it's so hard to get some people to reject Donald Trump's false claim that he is the rightful President.

(and Christianity) Relevant has an article distinguishing between Christian Nationalism and following Jesus.

The Dallas Morning News also discusses Christian Nationalism.

Science: Gizmodo reports that it is possible to track animals using DNA fragments in the air around them. This is a non-invasive technique.

Gizmodo also reports that dogs can tell when a person talks in a language they aren't familiar with.

The Scientist reports that 14 new species of shrews have recently been found on the island of Sulawesi, part of Indonesia.

The Scientist also reports that preserved human feces, about 2000 years old, indicate that gut microbial diversity has decreased dramatically, as well as showing what the diet of humans was like, in that time and place.

CNN reports on a large exploding star.

Gizmodo and The Scientist discuss the recent use of a genetically modified pig heart to replace a man's heart. So far, all is going well. 

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 861

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

Christianity: Relevant tells us that Christmas was not largely stolen from pagan celebrations.

Computing: Gizmodo reports that Microsoft is making progress on storing information in DNA, rather than on tape or in other ways usually used in computers.

Environment: The Biden administration is approving fossil fuel leases at a higher rate than the Trump administration did, according to Gizmodo.

Health: (and Politics) NPR reports that counties that were strongly pro-Trump in the last election have "far higher death rates. [from COVID]"

Politics: FiveThirtyEight tells us what Americans really think about abortion.

Science: Gizmodo reports on a study that indicates that dog breeds are highly inbred.

Gizmodo reports that four states experienced record high temperatures for December.

Gizmodo also reports on bees that survived a volcanic eruption.

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 846

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

Christianity: (and computing) Christianity Today reports on a Facebook feature that is supposed to make praying for specific requests easier to do. There are concerns about privacy, of course -- this is Facebook. The feature is already in use by some churches and Muslim groups.

Science: Gizmodo reports an a study that follows the movement of a mammoth throughout its life, a few thousand years ago.

Gizmodo, and other outlets, report that murder hornets continue to be found in Washington state.

Gizmodo also reports on the calculation of pi to over 60 trillion decimal places. Don't try to memorize it.

And Gizmodo reports on the origin of one of the main dog color genes.

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 707

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

Christianity: (and history) Relevant reports that President Al Mohler, of Southern Theological Seminary, commissioned a report on racism and slavery in the history of the institution. What was found wasn't pretty. (STS is a Southern Baptist institution.)

Relevant on nine myths about Christmas, that many Christians believe, such as that there definitely were three wise men.

NPR reports on the conversion of many Iranian refugees, in Turkey.

Education: (and Finance) Catherine Rampell points out that higher education brings in more non-US money than many other industries, including agriculture, but that that source of US income is diminishing, in part because of the Trump administration's animosity toward immigrants and aliens.

Finance: Robert Samuelson explains why it's difficult to measure whether particular income groups are becoming better off, or not. He concludes that the US middle class does have a growing income, although it's not growing nearly as fast as the income of the richest people.

History: Listverse on the history of 10 breeds of dogs.

This article, in Christianity Today, discusses the cultural events that have most influenced the way we observe Christmas.

Politics: Sojourners reports that the US Congress has passed juvenile justice reform legislation, on a bi-partisan basis, which should make treatment of juveniles arrested wiser, less punitive, and cut down on the advanced criminalization of juveniles in custory. (This development should not be confused with an overall justice revamping, which is being considered by Congress, has bi=partisan backing, and is looked on favorably by the President. That package has not been approved, at the time of this writing.)

Earther is not happy with the new acting secretary of the Department of the Interior, because he has a terrible record on protecting the environment.

Gizmodo reports that more people died from guns in the US, in 2017, than ever before.

Science: Gizmodo reports on the amazing variety and amount of living things living far below the surface.

Gizmodo also reports on the discovery of a new candidate for the furthest object in the solar system.


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

Sunspots 664

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

Computing: Gizmo's freeware recommends a Facebook tweaker, which can hide lots of things that you don't really want to see.

Gizmodo reports on another scheme by Facebook to gather data on users. Sigh.

Food: Gizmodo reports that the Trump administration wants to deliver food in boxes, instead of using food stamps.

Health: (of dogs) Gizmodo discusses built-in health problems of purebred dogs.

History: Relevant reports on six black women of significance that you've probably never heard of.

Politics: FiveThirtyEight examines the hard line on crime and punishment taken by Attorney General Jeff Sessions. And here's a different report, on the same subject.

National Public Radio reports on Russian cyberinterference with the 2018 elections.

FiveThirtyEight on why the attitudes of both Republicans and Democrats on the  FBI are dangerous, and not consistent with the usual history of party attitudes.

Science: Scientific American reports on techniques to make wood much stronger (so it can stop a bullet) and making it transparent.

ListVerse debunks 10 "facts" about the human body, such as that we lose most of our heat through our heads.

A new species of crayfish is reproducing by cloning, according to the New York Times, and other sources.

Thanks for looking!

Image source (public domain)

Sunspots 578

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


Christianity: An articulate former atheist describes her process of coming to belief, in Christianity Today.

Ken Schenck on what the Bible says about bearing false witness.

The Environment: National Public Radio reports on a study of light pollution. 80% of North Americans can't see the Milky Way, because of so much light at night. We can't see it from our home. Can you?

Finance: Relevant and other sources report that HBO's John Oliver purchased (he says it's easy to do it) $15,000,000 "worth" of medical debt for about $60,000, and forgave all the debtors.

Health: The New York Times reports that the US is about 25th in the world in infant care.

Politics: Sojourners reports that Russell Moore, an important Southern Baptist, believes that Donald Trump is a lost soul, who should repent.

A woman writes, in Christianity Today, about being refused the use of women's restrooms, and other facilities.

Science: National Public Radio reports on our relationship with dogs. We may have domesticated dogs twice, or perhaps they domesticated us twice.

Listverse describes 10 groups of organisms that have been extinct for a long time. Like Trilobites, and lesser known creatures.

Science News reports that it may be possible to produce fully pluripotent stem cells from adult cells, thus making the use of embryonic cells unnecessary.

Sports: USA Today says that the first 14 LPGA golf tournaments of 2016 were won by young women -- under 23, until a week or so ago. The most recent one, a major tournament, which finished on June 13, was won by the youngest player ever to win a that major, in a playoff with another player who would also have been the youngest. Both are still teenagers.


Image source (public domain)  

Sunspots 507

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:
Christianity: Vincent van Gogh was, apparently, a devout Christian. (Thanks to a commenter for the link!)


Ken Schenck says that it's more important for the Bible to form us than to inform us.
 
Computing: Gizmo's Freeware recommends Cookie Spy, a free program that helps you look at your stored cookies, and delete them, if you want to.


Humor: (Not really, but I don't have a category for this) National Public Radio reports on something many of us know -- meetings at work are often a wasted of time, and, therefore, money.


Politics: Columnist George F. Will says that the welfare state is growing too fast, and too large.


Science: Wired reports on a really weird insect parasite. Really weird, and creepy.


Wired also tells us why wet dogs smell so badly.


Wired also tells us why the recent blizzards were worse, because of global warming.


And Wired reports on the smallest snake there is. It can curl up on a quarter.


Image source (public domain)

Sunspots 427

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:
Christianity: Staci Johnson has a post on beliefs, and discusses the difference between a posture and a position.
Weekend Fisher considers Grace and the Trinity.
Henry Neufeld says that he is not an evolutionist, any more than he is a gravitationist.
Computing: Gizmo's Freeware has posted what they say is the best list of free security products in the world.
Philosophy: The Skeptical Zone discusses intelligence, as in Intelligent Design.
Science: Wired reports that the time of year when a baby is conceived (or born) influences how healthy the child will be.
National Public Radio reports on the ancestry of dogs. It turns out that some dogs in the Americas are mostly descended from dogs that were in the Americas before Europeans came here, bringing their own dogs.


Image source (public domain)

Sunspots 403

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

 

Science:  National Public Radio reports that sweet potatoes most likely originated in the Americas, and that some of them were taken to Asia by traffic between what is now Latin America and Polynesia, all before Columbus came from Europe.

The Atlantic reports on using DNA to store information, such as the works of Shakespeare.

The Washington Post reports that dogs, who descended from wolves, had a change in diet preference, associated with becoming and remaining domestication.

NPR says that, instead of flu, you may have a Norovirus, which, if anything, is worse.

The Arts:  A James Kibble has recorded all of the organ works of J. S. Bach for free download.

Computing: A social scientist has shown that people are reluctant to wipe the memory of robots, even if they understand that these are not real people.

Image source (public domain)