Sunspots 953

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

Christianity: (and Politics) Joel Edmund Anderson is not happy with our habit of picking a verse that seems to back up our position, but ignoring the biblical and cultural context. He points out examples from both major positions -- conservative and progressive.

Computing: Gizmodo reports that children with mobile phones receive a mind-blowing number of notifications each day.

Gizmodo also reports that there's a deepfake, based on the appearance and sound of Tom Hanks, that's being used to sell on-line. Hanks has nothing to do with the fake.

Politics: The Conversation has a post on "conservative" and "liberal" Supreme Court justices -- they aren't easy to categorize.

CBS News tells us about the more than a dozen government shutdowns since 1980.

Science: ScienceAlert discusses dog-like animals in South America (there are four species there), and a new hybrid between a pampas fox (one of them) and a domestic dog.

Gizmodo reports on a study that indicates that, 250 million years from now, the present continents will have merged into one, and that land mass will not be suitable for mammalian life.

And Gizmodo gives us a guide to the solar eclipse coming soon to the western hemisphere.

Gizmodo also reports on a study that indicates that some elephants are considerably better than others at solving puzzles. Gizmodo also reports that some scientists claim that elephants, humans, and bonobos are self-domesticated -- they have become more social and less aggressive towards others of the same species.

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

Thanks for reading.

Sunspots 639

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

Christianity: Christianity Today reports that Perry Noble, recently fired as senior pastor of the largest church in South Carolina, NewSpring, is thinking strongly about starting another church.

A Relevant writer says that Jesus didn't need the approval of others.

Ed Stetser warns against overemphasizing patriotism in church services, here and here. He cites evidence that 53% of protestant pastors think that their congregations sometimes love America more than they love God.


Computing: I haven't used it yet, but Firefox Send is said to be a free, safe way to send large files to other users.

Wired has a thorough article on how the Russians are viewing and waging warfare. Scary, and it's doubtful if our government really understands.

The Guardian reports on a man who "married" a robot. CNN reports on a man who "married" a video game character.

Food: Listverse lists 10 ice cream flavors that are popular outside of the continental United States, but you probably can't find in the US at all.

Health: Scientific American reports that women with insomnia are more likely to give birth to premature babies.

History: (or botany) Listverse on the history of 10 commonly consumed fruits.

Humor: (or botany) Wired has posted a photo of a man trimming the world's largest hedge. It's really tall.


Politics: A Christianity Today writer argues that the use of nuclear weapons is inherently, and always, evil.

Listverse reminds us of times when the press made us aware of scandalous uses of power.

The Barna group reports on what Americans think makes America great. Different groups responded differently.

Science: A Clemson University professor has spent more time in the shadow of total solar eclipses than anyone else on earth.

FiveThirtyEight reminds us that there will be less solar-powered electricity during the upcoming solar eclipse.



Image source (public domain)