Sunspots 955

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

Computing:  Gizmodo reports on a study that indicates that teenagers in the US spend nearly five hours a day on social media.

Gizmodo reports that New York is considering requiring a background check in order to purchase 3-D printers.

Education: Grammarphobia tells us that there are too  many exclamation points in communication.

Medicine: Gizmodo reports on transplanting pig kidneys to monkeys. Seems quite successful.

Politics: A Conversation writer discusses the failure of Israel to be ready for the recent attacks.

Science: A new kind of ice has been discovered, according to a report on ScienceAlert.

A Conversation writer tells us why space is so dark, even though there are lots of stars.

Gizmodo reports that special wildlife exits, avoiding traffic, are, indeed, being used by ocelots and other animals, in Texas.

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

Thanks for reading.

 

Sunspots 923

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

Computing: Gizmodo reports that voice actors are in danger of losing compensation for their work, because of artificial intelligence productions.

Environment: Gizmodo reports that California authorities have restricted access to fields of wild California poppies, because of the damage caused by visitors/selfie photographers during the last superbloom (after a rain).

(and Science) According to Gizmodo, some scientists are exploring the possibility of slowing global warming by shooting moon dust into space, to block some of the sun's light.

Politics: (or something) NPR reports that the military shot down an "object" over Alaska. Whatever it was, it doesn't seem to have been as sophisticated as the Chinese balloon shot down off the South Carolina coast.

The Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms agency has released a report on the use and distribution of guns in the US. It's scary, and indicates that gun violence will increase.

FiveThirtyEight reports that President Biden's Cabinet officers have stayed put longer than is typical -- they must really like their jobs.

Science: A woodpecker, or a family of them, stored 700 pounds of acorns in a chimney, according to NPR.

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

Thanks for reading.

 

Sunspots 913

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

The Arts: NPR reports that Pantone has selected its "color of the year."

Christianity: A Christianity Today article on "The Theological Foundations of Natural Science."

Computing: (and Sports) FiveThirtyEight discusses the high-tech balls being used in the World Cup competition.

Education: Grammarphobia considers three different meanings of the word, "lap."

History: Gizmodo reports on some scribbles in the margin of a medieval manuscript.

Politics: An article in The Conversation says that a federal judge has ruled that it is illegal to prevent domestic abusers from having access to guns.

Science: The Scientist reports that some moths emit noises to avoid being eaten by bats.

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

Thanks for reading. 

Sunspots 856

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

The Arts: (or something) Gizmodo reports on an esthetic advance in the design of screws.

Education: (and politics) NPR reports that the Texas governor, and some other officials, are trying to get some books removed from public school libraries.

Health: NPR reports on how our future interaction with COVID may develop.

History: Grammarphobia explains how first names became last names. (Example: Davidson) A lot of last names are based on first names, most not so obvious as the example I gave.

Politics: NPR reports that former Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio has cost the taxpayers $100,000,000 in legal fees.

Science: Gizmodo reports that two California condor females had offspring by virgin birth -- no mating involved. Some birds can do this occasionally.

(or something) Gizmodo also reports on how a gun shooting blanks could kill someone.

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 667

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

Christianity: Weekend Fisher has a good meditation on competition, from a Christian perspective, posted during Lent, and, as she notes, between the Winter Olympics and March Madness.


Education: National Public Radio reports that Dolly Parton has spearheaded a long effort, which, so far, has resulted in 100 million books being made available to children.

Finance: (and politics) An article in Bloomberg examines what US companies are doing with their tax savings. Not very much is going to employees. About twice as much is going to stockholders as to investment in upgrades, research, and such.

Food: Relevant reports on the fanciest McDonald's in the US.

Health: National Public Radio says that North Americans put their backs at risk because of their postures when bending over.

(and/or politics) Gizmodo, and other outlets, report on a study that says there are fewer gun injuries while the National Rifle Association convention is being held, presumably because the attendees aren't using their guns during that time.

History: Gizmodo reports that a 131-year-old message in a bottle has been found.

Humor: (and politics) National Public Radio reports on the annual Gridiron Dinner, giving many of the jokes, by President Trump and others.


Politics: A Pew Research poll shows that white evangelicals want more gun control, too.

Scientific American on how the Trump administration is letting public lands be exploited, and wilderness destroyed.

Science: According to The Atlantic, over half of the genes of common fruit flies have analogs in humans.

Gizmodo reports that termites have been placed in the same group of insects as cockroaches.

Christianity Today (!) reports that many environmental scientists are experiencing sadness and depression, because of the accelerating damage to the environment, caused by humans.

Thanks for looking!

Image source (public domain)

Sunspots supplement - Paul Samuelson's top 10 statistics, from Ben Beach

Paul Samuelson, columnist on economic issues, has posted the top 10 statistics of 2017, which he has taken from someone named Ben Beach. They make fascinating and interesting reading.

Sunspots 595

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


Christianity: First Things reports on a study of beliefs among evangelicals, and finds that all too many such believe that their own interpretation of the Bible is the final authority, as opposed to the interpretation of the church at large.


Computing: Gizmo's Freeware reminds us that it's a good idea to run the free Malicious Software Removal Tool regularly on Windows computers, and tells us how to do it. I just did, and it took less than 5 minutes and didn't find anything, thank God!

Newsweek claims that neither of the major candidates for President knows as much about computers and the Internet as he or she should, considering the importance of this topic.

Finance:  FiveThirtyEight asks what is wrong (if anything) with insider trading?

Health: Scientific American has a brief report on the likelihood that the types of microbes in breast tissue may increase, or decrease, the likelihood of breast cancer.


Humor: (or something) Listverse tells us about 10 things you can legally do, if you are in the right country. (Sample -- marry a dog.)

(actually, 10 bizarre accidents that have recently killed people.
the reverse of humor.) Listverse reports on
 
Politics: (and computing) Newsweek reports that the Bush Administration "lost" 22 million e-mails during President Bush's tenure in office, including during the time of the decision to go to war, under some under highly suspicious circumstances, used a private server (belonging to the Republican National Committee!) and stonewalled Congress on what was in those e-mails, and what happened to them. This by no means excuses Mrs. Clinton's mistake (or whatever you want to call it), but what the Bush White House did may have been just as bad, or much worse.

Leonard Pitts muses about the death (by a gunshot) of a 6-year-old boy, who lived less than an hour from me, and points out that we get all worked up over deaths caused by foreign terrorists (there have been "only" 71, since 9/1/2001) and hardly even notice over 30,000 deaths a year, all too many of them innocent children, killed by guns wielded by citizens.

Christianity Today blasts both Presidential candidates, but also blasts all too many evangelicals who have supported Mr. Trump. "What Trump is, everyone has known and has been able to see for decades, let alone the last few months."

Science: National Public Radio tells us that video chats are good for small children's development.






Image source (public domain)

Sunspots 580

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

The Arts: Wired on how neon signs are made.

Christianity: Relevant tells us why men shouldn't refer to their spouses as "smokin' hot wives," and analyzes the Song of Songs (aka Song of Solomon) in the process.

Relevant muses about prayer being (sometimes) boring.

Ken Schenck closes a fine series on the Ten Commandments with some thoughts on "Thou shalt not covet."

Computing: Gizmo's Freeware has an annotated list of Android apps that serve as reminders and calendars.

Gizmo's also recommends running VirusTotal on any Android devices you have.

Health: Listverse on 10 feats of human endurance, such as staying awake, or going without food and water, for a very long time.

History: Listverse reports on the 10 richest men (no women listed) in history.

Politics: Politifact finds, after thorough research, that the US does not have the highest personal tax rate  in the world, although perhaps it has the highest corporate tax rate in the world.

Wired tells us that people are modifying existing guns to make their own semi-automatic weapons.

Relevant says that racism is alive and well in the US, even in Christians, and, probably, in you and me, and tells us what we can do about it.

Science: Listverse points out 10 things that one or more species of animals can do, that we can't.

Gizmodo reports that the Caribbean basin makes a very low-pitched sound.


Image source (public domain)  

Sunspots 579

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

The Arts: Listverse reports on 10 interesting dollhouses. Some of them have been used for children's play, some haven't.

Christianity: Heart, Mind, Soul and Strength doesn't think we are capable of understanding God fully (or even close to that.) This is in response to an atheist that thinks that, if there is a God, we should be capable of understanding Him.

Relevant on how to escape sexual temptation.

Christianity Today on how suffering produces sanctification.

Ken Schenck tells us that telling the truth is almost always the loving thing to do.

Health: The New York Times reports that, although there are some disturbing trends in health in the US, such as increased suicide rates, and increasing disparity in the life-spans of rich vs. poor, the health of children seems to be improving.

Philosophy: (Or something) Listverse gives us 10 possible explanations for the feeling of déjà vu. I'm not sure that I'm comfortable with any of them, but they're interesting.

Politics: The New York Times on how rare gun deaths are in other countries.

Wired explains the FBI's terrorist watch lists.

Science: Wired wonders if mockingbirds can be trained to sing "songs" that are less annoying.


Image source (public domain)  

Sunspots 558

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



Christianity: An article in Relevant examines Christianity and debt, and asserts that going into debt is not always a sin. (It can be!)

Crosswalk asks us to think about foul language, especially as we may let it in through entertainment outlets.

An essay in First Things, entitled Nikabrik's Candidate, about Christians and politics. (You need to read Prince Caspian, if you haven't.)

Ken Schenck has posted on what the Bible says that relates to abortion.

Finance: (and Health) US News has published rankings of the Best Countries, for such categories as for raising children, retiring, investing.

Politics: "10 Myths about Guns and Gun Control" is an article that points out some myths on both sides of this controversy.

Benjamin L. Corey argues that being for the mass deportation of illegal immigrants is the opposite of being pro-life.

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 553

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


Christianity: An article in Christianity Today argues that the Star of Bethlehem was a comet.

Recently, the President of Liberty University, Jerry Falwell, jr., urged LU students to carry guns, and be prepared to use them, in case the campus were to be invaded by terrorists. John Piper has posted a detailed, scripture-based response, stating, basically, that that's the wrong attitude for a Christian.

Health: (If you are a fashion model, anyway.) National Public Radio reports that the fashion industry may be going to require that models not be walking skeletons -- really. There have been a few deaths among them, and the super-skinny models are probably inducing anorexia in girls.

Politics: FiveThirtyEight analyzes Republican support for Presidential candidates as correlated with the education of those Republicans, both so far for the 2016 race, and for the 2012 race. Romney was strongly supported by Republicans with college degrees.

The Difference Between differentiates between Marxism and Socialism.

FiveThirtyEight also analyzes, by state, preference for saying "Happy Holidays" vs. "Merry Christmas."

NPR reports on the young Donald Trump, especially in military school.

Science: Christianity Today-related publication, Behemoth, on virgin births. (In animals, not in Bethlehem.)


Image source (public domain)

Sunspots 551

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


Christianity: Christianity Today reports on the most popular Bible verses, based on on-line access to them. Popularity varies by the user's country.

Computing: How to look at the other person's screen when they call you with a Windows computer problem.

Education: (And politics) FiveThirtyEight has studied the effect of affirmative action in college admission -- without it, minorities are still not as likely to be admitted.

Politics: Most Americans aren't middle-class anymore.

Science: Wired reports on a lacewing fly with an amazing signal that attracts females.

Wired also reports on what happens if you get shot -- and it's not a lot like the way TV and movies portray it.

Sports: FiveThirtyEight analyzes Stephen Curry's long basketball shots, and finds that, so far this season, his accuracy is unprecedented.

Breanna Stewart, of the University of Connecticut Huskies, has become the only player in women's college basketball history to have both more than 300 career blocked shots and 300 career assists. She is also the only women's player (and, I think, the only player of either sex) to have been named most valuable player of the NCAA Final Four for three years. And she has most of this season yet to play, God willing!


Image source (public domain)

Sunspots 550

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

Christianity: (and politics) Ken Schenck has a fine post (and it's not long) on "God calls us to respect our governments," based on what the Bible says about that topic.

Relevant has a thought-provoking post on the question of whether there really is a "War on Christmas," and, in the process, looks hard at how our culture handles Christmas. Not well.

Computing: A short introduction to how to use Twitter.

Education: The difference between "have" and "have been."

The Environment: Wired reports that quite a few climate scientists have come to realize that the scientific findings don't matter. It's the money.

Politics: Leonard Pitts, jr., on the recent activity of Presidential candidate Donald Trump, and those who are enthused by this activity: "Keeping the customer satisfied, giving the people what they want, is the fundament of sound business. More effectively than anyone in recent memory, Trump has transferred that principle to politics. Problem is, it turns out that what a large portion of the Republican faithful wants is racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, the validation of unrealistic fears and the promise of quick fixes to complex problems."

Jerry Falwell, jr., recently urged the students at Liberty University to carry concealed weapons, and be prepared to use them on terrorists. Relevant analyzes what he said, and the reaction from the students, and says: the point that ought to concern all Christians is the joyous tone being struck here. Falwell speaks for the largest Christian university in the United States, and publicly calls for death to thunderous applause. Even if we allow for the distinctly unlikely possibility that Falwell or one of his students would ever have the opportunity to shoot and kill radicalized Islamic terrorists, ought the response really be one of—there's really no other way to put it—celebration? Shouldn't our reaction to violence elicit a slightly different response than a Monday night touchdown? Indeed.

Science: FiveThirty-Eight discusses the Paris Climate talks.


Image source (public domain)