Sunspots 968

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

CNN tells us a lot about Wordle.

The Visual Capitalist shows us which languages are most widely used. 

A Conversation writer discusses the complicated relationships between orthodox  Jews and the Israeli government.

Another Conversation writer explains why airlines charge bag fees. (There are laws that make this almost absolutely necessary!)

And another Conversation article is about how bad nursing home care can get, and how the goal seems to be making as much money as possible.

Gizmodo reports on a government report that says there are no UFOs (aka UAPs), and mentions some people who are not convinced.

Thanks for looking!

Sunspots 852

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

Christianity "Resurrecting Orthodoxy" explains what the Bible says about demons. It's complicated.

(and Computing) Relevant reports that the most-viewed Christian Facebook feeds, so-called, are almost all run by troll farms in Eastern Europe. (For what it's worth, I'd never seen or heard of any of them, except the Guideposts feed, which is apparently not run by such a troll farm.)

Relevant also has an article examining the idea of modesty. It's complicated, and many of us have been operating as if it's simple.

Environment: Gizmodo reports that a bee swarm killed over 60 endangered penguins in South Africa.

Gizmodo also reports that summer 2021 wildfires, mostly in the US and Siberia, emitted more carbon dioxide than the country of India did.:

Politics: An audit of Arizona's fall Presidential election ballots, by a firm picked by the GOP legislators, found that, is anything, President Biden got more votes than were reported in November, according to Fox News and other outlets.

FiveThirtyEight on why bipartisanship in the Senate is so rare.

Science: Gizmodo tells us about tiny parasitic, nearly transparent fish found in the Amazon.

NPR reports that Mars may have been too small to hold its water from gradually escaping Martian gravity.

Gizmodo reports on the creation of new languages -- there have been some such, recently.

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 722

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

Christianity: resurrecting orthodoxy has a fine review (I haven't read the book, so I think it's a fine review) of John Walton's new book on how people in Bible times understood the Torah. Says resurrecting orthodoxy: "Someone who scoffs at the valuable insights scholars try to give about the Bible is someone who is not serious about understanding the Bible." 

Computing: (and Politics) A Section 230 of a law, passed a number of years ago, which protects on-line publishers, and means, for example, that this blog is not liable for the articles it links to, is now under attack. Gizmodo says that it shouldn't be.

Education: Grammarphobia tells us how to punctuate "yada yada yada," "blah blah blah" etc.

Health: (or something) Relevant reports on a survey that indicates that we are having less sex now than we used to.

(and Politics) Catherine Rampell says that if Republicans develop an alternative to Obamacare, it will look a lot like Obamacare.

Humor: (or something) Listverse tells us 10 interesting things about horses.


Politics: (And Finance) Catherine Rampell is unhappy with the President's choice to fill a vacancy on the Federal Reserve.

FiveThirtyEight has an essay on the differences within the Republican Party.

Relevant has compiled what Democratic candidates for President have said about their faith. (Some haven't said much, some have said quite a bit.)

S. E. Cupp says that all Presidents, and candidates for that office, should be as thoroughly scrutinized as President Trump has been.

Catherine Rampell reminds us that we still haven't seen President Trump's tax returns, and what we might learn if and when we do. She understands that he is not legally bound to let us (or Congress) see them, unless Congress asks for them.

Michael Gerson believes that the President is very wrong in his desire to cut off aid to Central American countries.

Science: Gizmodo reports on a study of the positions animals take when they relax.

NPR reports that up-to-date astronomical discoveries are being translated into Blackfoot, a native American language, by the mother of one of the scientists. She has had to make up words for some scientific terms.


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

Thanks for looking!

Sunspots 602

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

Christianity: I've probably mentioned this before, but it deserves repeating. Relevant has a post on the Good Samaritan and refugees.


Food: The History Blog reports that turkeys were domesticated in North America at least 1500 years ago.

Health: Relevant reports that the U. S. abortion rate is the lowest it's been since 1971,

History: Listverse tells us about 10 ancient female warriors, and their exploits. Deborah and Yael (Judges 4) are not mentioned.

Listverse also discusses 10 ancient languages, which you may have never heard of.

Politics: (or something) Relevant reports that the UN says that there are 25,000,000 orphans in Africa.

Science: National Public Radio points out that humans did not invent agriculture.






Image source (public domain)

Sunspots 592

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

Christianity:A Christianity Today article on the pervasive role of coffee in many churches.

Christianity Today also has an article on reasons why we can't afford not to pray for each other.

A writer for Relevant points out three lies that churches often teach about dating.

A Christianity Today interviewee wants us to stop reading the Bible in little pieces.


Computing: Gizmo's Freeware points to a helpful article on how to sort, and how to find most anything in your gmail.

Education: A Scientific American contributor weighs in on whether tablet devices are a good teaching tool.
 
Politics: A Relevant writer says that "we" are not in a holy war with ISIS.

Science: Scientific American reports that people react differently to moral dilemmas when they hear about them in a language other than their native tongue.

Scientific American also reports that a bipartisan group of military leaders is urging action to prepare for climate change. (The Republican-controlled Congress has specifically barred the military from doing so!)

And, says Scientific American, there is an almost unknown group of soil microorganisms, the Cercozoans, that occur in immense numbers, and astonishing variety, and are important in soil ecology.


Sports: (or something) The Associated Press reports that an 800-plus pound alligator has been caught in South Carolina.

Congratulations to In Gee Chun (aka Chun, In-Gee) on arguably achieving the best score ever in a major tournament, by a golfer of either sex, in the recent Evian Championship. (ESPN; Wikipedia)





Image source (public domain)

Sunspots 541

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

The Arts: (or maybe humor) National Public Radio examines the history of blurbs -- you know, those complimentary phrases from other authors, used to promote books -- and their usefulness.

Christianity: A video, about 4.5 minutes long, from a survivor of a World War II concentration camp, on an act of generosity, and the it's result.

Literature: (or something) Wired interviews a man who has created more languages than anyone else (except possibly Tolkien.)

(or something) The History Blog reports on a clay tablet that adds to our knowledge of the Epic of Gilgamesh, which is often referred to as the oldest known literature, in any language.
 
Politics: The Atlantic on the mostly un-remembered history of gun rights.

(or something) Wired has an essay saying that car crashes and hitting pedestrians should not be called "accidents." That implies that the driver did nothing wrong, when, usually, he/she did.




Image source (public domain)