Sunspots 877

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

The Arts: Gizmodo ranks the 10 best original Star Trek episodes, and James T. Kirk's (William Shatner's) role in them.

Christianity: (and politics) Christianity Today asks why there are no evangelicals on the US Supreme Court.

Computing: A Gizmodo post on how big tech (especially Facebook) has not done what's best for most of us.

Environment: NPR reports that Australia's Great Barrier Reef is in grave danger.

NPR also reports on misinformation used to halt installation of wind turbines.

Finances: Gizmodo points out that Western oil companies paid for much of Putin's war.

Food: NPR reports on making pizza without yeast.

Health: (and politics) FiveThirtyEight on the miserable job of COVID testing by most of the states in the US.

Politics: Vladimir Putin has used the Bible to support his recent actions, according to Relevant.

A Christianity Today author points out the difference in how we treat Ukrainian refugees vs. our treatment of Syrian refugees.

Science: Nature has an opinion piece, arguing that testing the genetics of human embryos is questionable or worse.

Gizmodo reports on a study of the "plumbing" of Yellowstone's geysers. Some interesting underground connections and features.

Gizmodo reports on a really fancy (and, apparently, useful) tape measure.

Gizmodo also shows photos of 7 different kinds of animal camouflage.

The Scientist reports on how a man with no muscle control at all was trained, using a brain implant, to respond in computer-generated text.

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 801

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

Christianity: (and Politics) J. D. Greear, President of the Southern Baptist Convention, has strongly denounced white supremacy, and urged all Christians to do the same, according to Relevant.

Computing: NPR discusses claims that Facebook is biased against conservative content.

Environment: Tasmanian devils are being re-introduced to Australia.

Food: Gizmodo reports that the Irish Supreme Court has ruled that what Subway calls "bread" can't be called bread.

Listverse reports on 10 fruits that have changed a lot over the centuries.

Health: NPR on what temperature readings at the doors of various establishments do, and don't do.

Politics: FiveThirtyEight on why hatred came to dominate US politics.

Science: The Scientist reports that there may be a few bodies of water underneath the surface of Mars.

Gizmodo reports on a study that indicates that bird brain size is related to longevity.

Asian Giant hornets, aka murder hornets, are still a threat in Washington State and British Columbia, according to Gizmodo.

The graphic used in these posts is from NASA, hence, it is free to use like this.

Thanks for looking!

Sunspots 786

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

Christianity: A Sojourners writer is not happy with Franklin Graham's actions on racial justice. The same writer commends the record of Franklin's father, Billy Graham.

A Christianity Today writer says that the recent LBGT Supreme Court ruling was not a death knell for church and state relations.

Christianity Today also has a good article on simple things you can do to enhance your Bible-reading.

Ken Schenck offers thoughts on the Prodigal Parent, on Father's Day.

Computing: An article that says that the real bias of social media platforms isn't against conservatives, but is for extreme views of all stripes.

ListVerse suggests 10 alternatives to commonly used web applications and web sites. The claim is that these alternatives do a better job of protecting your privacy.
 
Environment: Another report, from Gizmodo/Earther, that honeybees are threatened.


Finance: FiveThirtyEight on how the stock market has stayed pretty healthy, while the economy, by most measures, has been hit pretty hard by the COVID pandemic.

NPR reports that banks, and other businesses, are running low on coins -- like pennies, dimes, nickels and quarters.

Health: Gizmodo tells us that Anthony Fauci downplayed the effect of COVID-19 early on, and says that he actually lied about the effectiveness of masks, so that they would be available for health workers.

Gizmodo also tells us that we should shut the toilet lid before flushing.


Politics: A writer for Sojourners is not impressed by the Trump administration's record on religious freedom.

The fourth of a series of posts by Joel Edmund Anderson, taking an in-depth look at the racial situation in the US.

FiveThirtyEight says that the firing of the head attorney for the Southern District of New York was wrong, for four important reasons.

So far, President Trump's poll numbers show that white evangelicals are not nearly as solidly for him as they have been, according to a Fox News poll, reported by Relevant.

Science: Gizmodo reports that astronomers may have discovered a new category of object, larger than our sun, but not much larger.


The graphic used in these posts is from NASA, hence, it is free to use like this.

Thanks for looking!

Sunspots 778

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

The Arts: Some hard-working Japanese created a mile-long wooden Xylophone that plays "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring," by Bach.

Christianity: (and Politics) An article pointing out how Christianity is privileged, not persecuted, in the US.

Christianity Today says that those of us who oppose protesters who want to open up the country should have compassion on them.

Computing: Gizmodo reports that accepting a lot of seemingly random Facebook Friend requests makes it more likely that you will be a target for questionable Facebook stuff.

Listverse tells us how telemarketers work.

Gizmo's Freeware reports on a free (you don't even have to register) on-line tool that enhances and enlarges pictures.

Education: Microsoft Word has started flagging the use of a double space at the end of a sentence. Some of you aren't going to like it. The article tells how to bypass that AI correction.


Environment: Earther reports that the Trump Administration is planning to allow Uranium mining near the Grand Canyon, which, says Earther, is unnecessary -- we don't have a shortage.
 
Science: Gizmodo reports that there seem to be several objects in our solar system that were captured from some other star's system.

I never thought of this one, but why not? Scientists are looking for DNA in streams, and finding out about land animals from the DNA they leave behind, according to The Scientist.

Sports: FiveThirtyEight notes the retirement of Muffet McGraw as head women's basketball coach at Notre Dame, and suggests that achieving as many wins as she had will be nearly impossible in a few years. (Three active coaches have more wins than McGraw's 934.)

The graphic used in these posts is from NASA, hence, it is free to use like this.

Thanks for looking!

Sunspots 774

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else: (No April Fools' jokes

here)

Christianity: Christianity Today discusses the impact of Corrie ten Boom.

Some churches are meeting during various varieties of shutting down, according to Christianity Today.
 
Computing: Gizmo's freeware recommends a note-taking application, which has several interesting features, and is, of course, free.

NPR discusses attempts to prevent false information on Facebook and other platforms. 

Education: A National Emergency Library will lend you over a million digitized books.

Health: (and politics) FiveThirtyEight on why we shouldn't "just try" drugs in the hope that some such will  be an effective treatment for COVID-19.

Humor: (and Engineering) Gizmodo put up videos of 11 really cool Lego creations, which, among other things, will vacuum up Legos, and sort them.

Philosophy: (And Science, and Christianity) Christianity Today has a fine article examining the possibility of a multiverse (or multiverses) and the implications thereof. Part of the impetus for the article was the Spider-verse movie.


Politics: FiveThirtyEight discusses remote voting by members of Congress.

Science: Gizmodo reports that some squid, living in darkness, deep in the ocean, apparently communicate by glowing.

Gizmodo also reports that seismic activity levels are down, because many of us are staying home.

Earther reports on a bacterium that consumes polyurethane, a plastic that is, otherwise, almost impossible to break down.

The graphic used in these posts is from NASA, hence, it is free to use like this.
Thanks for looking!

Sunspots 719

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

Christianity: A Relevant article suggests that Christian couples (and others) should argue more.

Computing: Lifehacker reports on using a VPN (Virtual Private Network). You are using one, aren't you?

Gizmodo discusses whether or not it's OK to touch your computer screen or monitor.

Gizmodo on what happens to Facebook accounts when the owner dies.

Gizmo's Freeware recommends https://pinetools.com/ for many kinds of free on-line tools.

Finance: The trade deficit has gotten wider, including with China, in spite of President Trump's campaign to reduce it. One reason for the increase is that Americans are more prosperous now than a few years ago, and, thus, buy more stuff. Here's another article about that subject.

Health: Gizmodo reports on a child who wasn't vaccinated. His treatment cost over half a million dollars, and was excruciating.

Michael Gerson on confusing political freedom with science (he is arguing that Senator Rand Paul should not be questioning the value of vaccination).

Humor: (or something) NPR reports on some interesting items in those fine print agreements that most of us click on (or sign) without reading. (Including, in one case, getting a $10,000 check.)


Politics: Catherine Rampell on how rolling back regulations hurts consumers, especially when enforcement is also rolled back.

FiveThirtyEight discusses the six wings of the Democratic party. Interesting. Two questions, though. Was the author aware that there are supernatural creatures with six wings in the Bible? (Isaiah 6:2) What on earth does "performative wokeness" mean? (That phrase was in the article.)

A USA Today editorial is sorry to see the FDA chief resign. According to the column, he actually wanted to protect consumers. The columnist also points out that the Trump administration has increased red tape requirements on some of the poorest of us, and wants to add more of such burdens.

Science: Gizmodo and other outlets report that a new species of killer whale may have been discovered.


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

Sunspots 717

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

Christianity: USA Today reports on what Southern Baptist leaders want done to stop their sexual abuse crisis.

Threads from Henry's Web has a solid post on how Christians should respond to the Pledge of Allegiance, and related matters.

Christianity Today on how parents should deal with their children's doubts.


Computing: Gizmodo reports that Facebook employees who are supposed to weed out conspiracy theories, violent posts, and the like, are underpaid, and that their jobs affect their mental health adversely. They apparently joke about committing suicide and engage in sexual activity on breaks, as ways of coping.

Education: NPR reports on the large discrepancy between funding of mostly white school districts vs. mostly non-white ones, and explains the reasons for this.

Environment: National Geographic reports that a mammalian species has gone extinct, because of climate change.

Food: A Relevant article says that leftover pizza may make a better breakfast, nutrition-wise, than some cereals. Hmmm.

(And politics) Gizmodo reports that a "soda tax" seems to have worked, in Berkeley, CA. That is, taxing carbonated and sweetened drinks did change people's behavior.

Health: Scientific American reports that listing all the side effects of a drug may actually make it more desirable to listeners, viewers or readers.

WalletHub has studied us, and ranks the most sinful to least sinful states. The methodology is given, too. Nevada is the most sinful. It was the highest state in Greed, 3rd highest in Jealousy, and 6th highest in Lust. Vermont was the least sinful state.

NPR reports that growing up with access to green areas contributes to a healthier life.

Gizmodo reports that the death rate from drug overdoses is considerably higher in the US than in other nations.

Politics: Surprise (or not)! The Trump administration is apparently going to appoint a climate-change denier (who is not trained in climate science) to chair a committee to study global climate change, according to Earther.

Catherine Rampell on President Tariff Man, er, Trump.


Science: NPR reports that an Italian lab is experimenting with a gene drive system that might stamp out African mosquitoes. For more on gene drives, see here.

Gizmodo reports that it is easy to fool people with a disguise.

Gizmodo also reports on the re-discovery of a giant bee, from Indonesia.

NPR reports on locusts, as in plagues of locusts. It turns out that they are common grasshoppers that change appearance and behavior, under stress.

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

Sunspots 669

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


Christianity: He Lives has a brief post on the importance of the resurrection.

Computing: ZDNet reports that Microsoft claims that its artificially intelligent language translators have become as good as expert human translators, in changing sentences in news reports from Chinese to English.

Gizmodo on how to use Facebook, but make as little information as possible available to others while doing so.

Health: Gizmodo reports on a study of how a virus spreads between passengers in an airplane.

History: Sojourners tells us some interesting facts (or not) about St. Patrick.

Politics: A Relevant writer says that some white evangelicals seem to have a double standard on Presidential morality.

An annotated list of people and things that President Trump has insulted on Twitter, as of January 3, 2018. (It's a long list!)

Science: Scientific American reports on experiments that suggest that people are less likely to return favors, as time increases since the first favor.

Gizmodo on why our faces change shape as we get older.

Gizmodo reports on really black, and really white materials, including paint.

Gizmodo also reports on the bone structure, and possible flight behavior, of Archaeopteryx.

Scientific American reports on a study that showed that having tigers around farms in Bhutan increased farm profitability. Reason: the tigers kept some other predators away.


Thanks for looking!

Image source (public domain)

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 662

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

Christianity: (And politics) A Christianity Today writer takes Jerry Falwell, Jr., to task for defending President Trump's sexual indiscretions on dubious scriptural ground.


Computing: Gizmo's Freeware recommends a program that checks your Windows computer for vulnerability to the Spectre and Meltdown malware, recently discovered to be dangerous, with vulnerability built in to many information appliances. (The computer I'm using now is not vulnerable, probably due to some recent updates.)

Wired doesn't think Facebook is going to do much better than it has on feeding users reliable news. [Personal note: I glance at the Facebook news feed about once every two weeks, and never click on something. After such a glance, I search for the topic, maybe once every couple of months. Facebook is not a good way to get news.]

National Public Radio discusses best "screen time" practices for parents, including a quiz. Oh, oh.

Health: (or something. A YouGov survey reveals that a lot of us don't make our beds every day.

History: Listverse describes some recent archeological discoveries related to the ancient Greek civilization.

Politics:  National Public Radio reports that several top positions in the Trump administration (such as an ambassador to South Korea) have not been filled, and that morale among federal employees is low.

NPR also reports that the Trump administration is continuing protection for some lands in Alaska. Good for them!

Science: Listverse on ideas about whether life exists elsewhere in the universe.


Thanks for looking!

Image source (public domain)

Sunspots 654

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

The Arts: Listverse on 10 really unique church buildings.


Computing: Relevant gives us 5 questions we should ask ourselves before posting to social media.

Education: Grammarphobia on when to use commas with lists of things, and when not to.

Finance: (sort of) Wired on the importance of efficient use of curb space, in and by cities.

Food: (sort of) National Public Radio reports that today's dishwashing appliances are much more efficient, in water use, than such devices used to be.

Health: Scientific American on the dangers of marijuana use by teens.

Humor: (or Finance) Listverse reports on some truly strange lawsuits.


Politics: National Public Radio reports on a poll of 38 economists, who agree unanimously that the Republican tax plan will cause the US debt to rise, and that it will not lead to increased economic growth.

Science: National Public Radio reports on studies that pinpoint which ice areas, melting, will affect which cities, causing sea levels to rise. The results are not what we might have thought.

Listverse shows us videos of 10 shape-shifting organisms.

Thanks for looking!

Image source (public domain)

Sunspots 651

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

The Arts: Here's a web page explaining many of the features of The Garden of Earthly Delights, a really strange painting by Hieronymus Bosch. (His first name is also spelled with a J.)

Listverse tells us where some movies were actually shot.

Christianity: Christianity Today discusses how information appliance use changes the way we read the Bible.

Christianity Today also reflects on the 500th anniversary of Luther's theses.

Ken Schenck has posted 95 theses for today's church.


Computing: National Public Radio reports on Facebook's questions about whether it's doing more harm than good.

Gizmo's Freeware reports on a free Optical Character Recognition web site.

Food: Listverse discusses 10 food plants that have been drastically genetically modified (all prior to the discovery of DNA).


Politics: FiveThirtyEight analyzes tweeting, and finds that those who self-report that they are very conservative, or very liberal, are much more likely to tweet about politics.

Economic columnist Robert Samuelson says that there's no hard evidence that cutting taxes leads to economic growth.

FiveThirtyEight also says that we don't really know how many people are in gangs in the US.

A Wired writer discusses how the Trump administration has stopped collecting all sorts of potentially useful data.

Science: Nature reports that there are actually two species of orangutan, and one of these is in danger of extinction.

A US Government report clearly blames human activity for global climate change.

A poem, "Why I Love Being Married to a Chemist," was featured in The Writer's Almanac for November 7.

Thanks for looking!



Image source (public domain)

Sunspots 646

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

The Arts: A splendid photo of Padar Island, Komodo National Park, Indonesia, from the air, on Flickr.

An amazingly colored bird, also from Southeast Asia, also on Flickr.

From ClassicFM, a photo of a bass drum that broke, when it was used to play the cannon part from Tchiakovsky's 1812 Overture.

Christianity: A commenter, in Christianity Today, on the matter of the NFL and the US flag. (Not the same commenter, or viewpoint, as was mentioned here last week.)

Sojourners reports that a number of high-profile Southern Baptists, and others, have called on President Donald Trump to denounce the alt-right movement.

Heart, Mind, Soul and Strength reminds us that it is important that God is personal, and explains why.

He Lives points out that God is omni-holy. He isn't omni-merciful, or omni-just, though.


Computing: (and Politics) National Public Radio reports that Republican Senator James Lankford is saying that Russian trolls have injected themselves into the current debate over racial treatment and the national anthem, on both sides, in an attempt to divide the US citizenry.

A Wired contributor suggests that we delete Facebook, etc., from our smartphones, and use them only from a computer, and gives reasons for suggesting this. (I did that myself, a couple of years ago, and have not gone back to Facebooking on our smartphone.)
  Finance: Wired analyzes the consumer protection now offered by Equifax.

Food: Scientific American on the science of brewing coffee.

History: Listverse reports on the ways that Christ's disciples died. They were all painful and humiliating.

Humor: (or something) Listverse also reports on 10 famous quotes, and how we don't attribute them correctly.
 

Politics: (and Sports) FiveThirtyEight has analyzed the political preferences of the fan base of all of the National Football League teams. All of them have substantial support from people leaning in both political directions, but some have more of one than the other. Fans of NASCAR are mostly Republican, fans of the NBA are mostly Democratic.

FiveThirtyEight also tries to explain President Donald Trump's behavior.

Science: Scientific American reports on a giant rat species, new to science, from the Solomon Islands. (It was known to the local inhabitants.)

Sports: Phil Mickelson, golfer, took a selfie of himself, with former presidents Clinton, Obama and George W. Bush, but mostly cut himself out of the photo. (In CBS Sports and many other sources.)


Image source (public domain)

Sunspots 631

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

Christianity: Relevant reports that Congressional Democrats gathered to pray for Representative Scalise after the Alexandria shooting.

Relevant also asks if we need to go to church every Sunday.

A Relevant commentator points out that the oft-given advice to "always believe in yourself," is not very good advice.

And, again, it's Relevant (and other sources) reporting on the Southern Baptist denunciation of racism, including the so-called alt-Right movement.



Computing: Wired reports that the U. S. Supreme Court has ruled, unanimously, that a person, even a sex offender, cannot be barred from having a Facebook account. Such a prohibition would violate his freedom of speech. (He can be barred from contacting minors, and from some other activities on-line.)

Health: You may remember the tricorders used for non-invasive medical diagnosis in Star Trek. Scientific American says that we are getting there, in developing such devices.

Listverse discusses 10 theories on why we dream.


History: Listverse tells us about 10 times when a contest was won by a single vote.

Politics: An analysis by FiveThirtyEight indicates that President Trump's win, and his rhetoric, have made Europe less nationalistic -- politicians praised by Mr. Trump have lost ground in polls and in votes.

(sort of) A photo of Paul Ryan, Chuck Schumer, Mitch McConnell and Nancy Pelosi, smiling together at the recent congressional baseball game.


Science: Scientific American reports that we have discovered 69 moons that orbit Jupiter.

Scientific American also has an essay on why fathers downplay their expression of feelings for their children.


Image source (public domain)

Sunspots 628

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

Christianity: A Sojourners writer says that white evangelicals have been far too silent about high-profile African-American deaths.

Relevant says that Christians are too apathetic about sexual abuse.

Relevant also has a good article on being called to some sort of ministry.


Computing: Wired tells us that the .GIF graphics format has been around for 30 years, and is still widely used.

Listverse points out 10 disturbing facts about Facebook.

Education: FiveThirtyEight tells us why the National Spelling Bee is so difficult, and points out the most common types of spelling errors from previous contests.

Health: National Public Radio reports on a study of how accurate fitness tracker devices are.

Undark reports that, under "Trumpcare," as presently envisioned, it is likely that victims of domestic abuse will be denied reimbursement for injuries suffered from an abusive spouse, and, possibly, denied coverage for any problem, if there has been a history of domestic abuse.


Politics: The Wall Street Journal tells us that rural America is the new "inner city."

Science: Listverse tells us 10 interesting facts about eagles.

Listverse also tells us that pink is not really a color, and then goes on to describe 10 "Pink Wonders of the Natural World."

Scientific American reports that some cicadas, which were expected to emerge as adults in 2021, have emerged this year.

Sports: National Public Radio reports on shooting free throws underhanded, as NBA great Rick Barry did. So does his son, a collegiate player.


Image source (public domain)

Sunspots 600

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

Christianity: (sort of) Scientific American (!) on how to be a better forgiver.

Relevant on how social media are shaping our lives, in ways you may not have considered.

Listverse reminds us of 10 (actually more) people in the Bible who were important, but are not named.


Computing: You probably don't want to know how I keep up with several RSS feeds, such as those from Relevant, Christianity Today, Scientific American, BioLogos, and several blogs by individuals, but I'll tell you. I use Feedly. Gizmo's Freeware (I follow its posts through Feedly) suggests a number of RSS aggregators, including Feedly, all free. Perhaps one of these would help you.

Finance: (or something) Scientific American on how deadlines actually help people to get things done.

Food: Scientific American also reports that some insects that are eaten commonly (in some cultures, anyway) are better sources of iron in the diet than beef.

History: From the American Museum of Natural History, a video showing the growth of the human population through time, especially the last two millennia.

Listverse tells us 10 things that you didn't know about toilet paper.


Politics: Relevant says that there were lots of fake news stories related to the recent political campaigns, on Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, says that he doesn't think they influenced the election much, if at all. I saw some fake news, but figured the Facebook Friends who re-posted the items weren't interested in being told that the Mexican legislature really hasn't agreed to pay for Mr. Trump's wall, or that someone in the FBI wasn't shot to death over the e-mail leaks. As I understand it, such fake news makes money from being seen, and the more bizarre the claim, the more likely that people will look at the page.

Science: Listverse discusses 10 amazing facts (they said "eye-popping facts") about human vision.

Scientific American points out eight worrisome trends in the world's climate.





Image source (public domain)

Sunspots 587

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

Christianity: (or Religion) Listverse sets forth 10 common misconceptions about Hinduism. (See also the Wikipedia on Hinduism -- the two sources do not agree on every point.)

Listverse also sets forth 10 common misconceptions about Jews.

Computing: National Public Radio reports on storage of information in arrangements of individual atoms. Potentially, our hard discs, thumb drives, etc., could be superseded.

Education: Wikipedia articles (here and here) on the development of a written Cherokee language, in about 1820, by a Native American named Sequoyah. His system of symbols made it easier to teach reading and writing than the symbols most of us use today.

Finance: John Wesley's sermon on "The Use of Money."

Food: National Public Radio reports on the discovery that cockroach milk is very nutritious.

Politics: (Not really. but I don't have a category for this.) Two young women are hitchhiking across Europe with a sofa (!) in an attempt to help refugees.

Wired reports that your political posts on Facebook or Twitter don't change anyone's mind.

Science: Listverse reports on 10 mysteries involving spiders.

And Listverse also reports on 10 amazing things that 10 species of animals can do.

National Public Radio reports on some very old sharks (like more than two centuries, at least.)

NPR alsoreports on why sunflowers follow the sun. ("Follow" means that the flowers turn toward the sun throughout the day).

And NPR reports that earthworms really do enrich soil.





Image source (public domain)

Sunspots 577

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

Christianity: A Christianity Today columnist who is not a Trump supporter cautions against looking down on evangelicals who do support him.

Benjamin L. Corey on the question of whether Jesus was a pacifist, or not.

Relevant has an essay on "How to Pray When You Don't Feel Like it."

E. Stephen Burnett argues that Christians need fantastic literature that appeals specially to them. Maybe so. I confess that I'm not a huge fan of most such literature. (I am a fan of good fantastic literature, whoever writes it.)

Weekend Fisher argues that rational thought is a natural process -- it isn't miraculous. (Which, of course, does not deny that God made it possible.)

Computing: Wired on Facebook's new privacy settings.

Education: Listverse tells us 10 facts about the English language that you may not have known.


History: (and economics, and Christianity) Ken Schenck on what the Bible says about economic structures in society.

Politics: (or economics) Wired reports on a book about the economics of Star Trek, which has what is apparently a fictional money-free society.

Science: Listverse has a post on 10 strange anatomical facts about animals. Among other things, the post discusses the tongues of frogs and the location of a tick's eyes.


Image source (public domain)  

Sunspots 561

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

The Arts: Gizmo's Freeware lets us know that the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra offers about 250 orchestral works for free streaming.

Christianity: Relevant tells us what the Bible says about dating. (Nothing direct, but there are some important principles.)

Computing: Gizmo's Freeware discusses an easy, and free, method of sharing information across computers. You can create, and/or share, code, sketches, lists, and other types of information.

Gizmo's also reviews free Windows firewall programs.

A Wired post argues that you should never delete a Facebook account upon the death of the owner of the account.

Humor: (or something) Listverse tells us the strange stories of the names of some candies, and also gives information on the "candy desk" in the U. S. Senate. Who knew?

Listverse also lists 10 common words, and gives their history -- they used to mean something quite different. The list includes "artificial," "nice," and "silly."

Politics: Sojourners discusses evidence that our political, and other, strongly held beliefs influence our perceptions of the facts. Surprise.

National Public Radio reports that the head of the government's interrogation program says that waterboarding, and similar strategies, do not work.

Listverse reports on 10 controversial statistics often used by advocates of one side or another in the culture wars -- on rape, suicide, and gun violence.

Science: Wired discusses some electric fish, some new to science. They can communicate electrically with each other.

NPR, and many other news outlets, report on the discovery of gravitational waves, predicted by Einstein, and giving more evidence that black holes really exist. Nature also has a report on this.


Image source (public domain)