Sunspots 753

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

Christianity: Christianity Today names 10 places where Christians are being persecuted.

(or something) A successful Hollywood type thanked a policeman for arresting him, years earlier.

He Lives explains the parable, or perhaps story, of the barren fig tree.

Education: (and politics) NPR reports on Cactus, a small town in Texas, that has mostly welcomed immigrants from Central America, in spite of the strain that enrollment growth has put on their school.

Food: NPR reports on a soup that's been simmering for 45 years.

Health: (And politics) According to the Washington Examiner, the Trump administration has dealt a huge setback to veterans seeking medical help.

NPR reports on the effect of loud noises on our ears.

Humor: Relevant reports on how long Halloween candy remains good to eat.
 
Politics: NPR chronicles President Donald Trump's relationship with the US intelligence organizations.

Science: The Scientist on some of the things that mitochondrial DNA does.

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

Sunspots 701

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to

someone else: 

Christianity: Christianity Today asks if the United Methodist Church has a case against Jeff Sessions, Attorney General.

Education: Grammarphobia on how (mostly English) families got their names.

Ethics: Remember Scott Pruitt, Trump's first head of the Environmental Protection Agency, who was removed after several ethical clouds? Ryan Zinke, Secretary of the Interior is probably going, for similar reasons, according to UnDark. Unfortunately, both of their replacements, or likely replacements, are likely to be more efficient, if that's the right word, at removing environmental protections, than the original appointees.

Food: Relevant reports on how long candy should be stored before discarding it.

NPR reports that immigrating to the US probably causes changes in the gut bacteria, and that this, in turn, may lead to obesity. (The study involved Southeast Asian immigrants.)

Health: Relevant reports on a study that found that over 8,000 children are hospitalized because of gunshots, each year. (More are killed, or are not brought to a hospital.)

Humor: The man who inspired the appearance, and name, of Super Mario, of video game fame, has died, according to NPR.


Politics: The Supreme Court is allowing a lawsuit, by some young people (one is 11), against the Federal Government, saying that federal actions and/or inactions related to climate change are depriving them of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Listverse describes nine Senate filibusters, and one in the Texas State Senate.

Politico reports that most Americans want stricter gun laws. That is true of Republicans, too.
White supremacy groups are using video game participation as a recruiting tool, says NPR.


Science: Earther shows us some newly discovered sea slugs. Fabulous photographs!

Gizmodo considers how much dead human skin cell material we take into our bodies.

Sports: Greg Popovich, coach of the San Antonio Spurs, has been with the team for a long time. Every other NBA team has changed coaches during his tenure, usually several times.


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

Thanks for looking!

Sunspots 650

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

The Arts: An unusual high school band's percussion section.

Christianity: A Christianity Today author on getting rid of her own "tribalism," with lessons for all of us.

Relevant reports that the government of Nepal has made evangelism illegal.


Food: (and drink) Tea growing is expanding rapidly in the US, including in my home state. I thank one of my brothers, who sends me links that I include in this column.

Listverse tells us a lot about pumpkins.

FiveThirtyEight on which candy is most popular for Halloween, and why.

Philosophy: He Lives points out that free will is outside of nature, and of scientific explanations.


Politics: (And computing) FiveThirtyEight analyzes the responses (number of likes, retweets, or replies -- not the content of replies) to Twitter posts from President Trump, former President Obama, and other prominent politicians.

Wired reports that the Federal Communications Commission has made it easier for large companies to expand their media share. This means that one kind of political view may be unchallenged in some media markets. See also here.

FiveThirtyEight reports that the Trump Administration's first FBI crime report is much less informative than previous such annual reports.

Science: A dying female chimpanzee recognizes a former human associate. (Less than 3 minute video.)

Scientific American on whether global climate change is making hurricanes more dangerous.

FiveThirtyEight considers what would happen if there were no number 6. (This was based on a 5-year-old's question, and gets pretty deep into interesting questions.)

Listverse on how animals, of many kinds, have had large effects on the environment.

The Seattle Times on how monarch butterflies have been affected by warmer climate.



Image source (public domain)

Sunspots 613

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

Christianity: Relevant on avoiding the Gospel of Comfort.

A Washington Post columnist on what the Bible says about immigration. (Some Christian leaders say it has nothing to do with that subject!)


Food: Relevant says that Valentine candy may be supporting exploitation of the poor in other parts of the world.

Health: The National Gardening Association has posted a Garden Planting Calendar. You enter your location.

Scientific American reports that being affected by a traffic jam makes it more likely that you will engage in domestic violence.

History: Scientific American points out that people of African descent, including women other than those shown in Hidden Figures, have been part of space exploration for decades.

Humor: (not really) ListVerse reports on why we are afraid of clowns.


Politics: FiveThirtyEight points out that raising the minimum wage usually doesn't affect waitresses and other workers who depend on tips.

Relevant reports that Amnesty International claims that 17,000 people have been wrongfully put to death in Syria, by the court system, from 2011-2015.

FiveThirtyEight discusses four types of constitutional crisis, with examples.

Science: National Public Radio reports that scientists have begun using DNA that wild pigs leave behind, to find out where they live, so that they can be destroyed. They are serious pests.

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)