Sunspots 443

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

The Arts: A photo of an amazing lavatory (two washbasins and a mirror) in a German railroad station, if I understand the description. There's a small cross on the wall, too.

Christianity: Why marriage isn't for you.

Politics: "Republicans seem unin­terested in governing, Democrats seem incapable of it." - Michael Gerson, columnist.

(Sort of -- it's really about leading a church board) Ken Schenck discusses Persuasive versus Coercive Leadership.

Science: One of my Flickr contacts tells us, with a photo, that some monarch butterflies migrate to California for the winter.

National Public Radio on why you might want to have your gut bacteria analyzed, and why you might not. (It can be done, fairly cheaply.)

Sports: Kenyans are great long-distance runners. Actually, it's one tribe of Kenyans, according to a report by National Public Radio, which explores the question of why this is so.



Image source (public domain)

Sunspots 426

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

Christianity: A fine review of a book I decided not to get, among the Amazon user-contributed book reviews: "Basically, my reaction to this book is this. Reading a book about the Bible is a lot like watching someone else play a video game. You can learn some things but you can't have the experience until you do it yourself."
"A . . . scholarship focus can set up a dangerous mindset that knowledge is the point of the Bible. When actually it is to get out and share the saving grace of Jesus with the world."


Science: Discovery reports that spider webs may attract prey because the webs, and the prey, are electrically charged.

Three National Public Radio reports on gut (that's a perfectly good biology word, meaning the apparatus between the mouth and the anus, by the way) bacteria and their importance:

Gut bacterial populations seem to be quite stable over long periods of time, and we may get much of that population from our mothers or other relatives.

Gut bacteria may produce a substance, after helping us digest meat, that increases risks for heart attacks.
Gut bacteria populations may cause some forms of malnutrition.



Image source (public domain)