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 597

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

Christianity: Lifeway Research has set forth four questions that indicate whether someone is an evangelical.


Computing: Gizmo's freeware has updated its annotated list of free games for Windows machines. (Some of these have Ios and Android versions.)

Finance: The New York Times discusses Walmart's higher wages, and, perhaps, treating workers better, and the effects of these changes on the bottom line.

Food: Relevant says that newly developed sweet potatoes may prevent blindness in many people. (The potatoes have not been genetically modified.)

Health: Scientific American says that weight loss surgery also alters the brain.

Gizmo's Freeware points us to a hearing test that requires just a computer and headphones.

History: Listverse on clowns that terrified people in the past.


Politics: Charles Krauthammer, no one's idea of a left-winger, claims that the election of Mr. Trump would be very dangerous, and tells why.






Image source (public domain)

Sunspots 594

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

Christianity: Benjamin L. Corey claims that the US is not hostile toward Christianity, but hostile toward Christians who try to bully others into certain kinds of behavior.


Computing: Several companies in the information sector are working together with public representatives to develop ethics guidelines for artificial intelligence, according to reports by National Public Radio and other sources.

Gizmo's Freeware has posted an updated and annotated list of the best free apps, including, for example, substitutes for Word and Excel, and games, and many more.

Finance: Scientific American reports that Congress, with a bill backed by members of both parties (!) will probably pass legislation that helps prevent people who have lost property in a flood from continuing to receive federally backed insurance payments when they re-build in the same place. The worst case mentioned is a home that has had 34 damage claims in 32 years, whose owner has been paid about ten times the property's value over that time period.

Food: Cup noodles are 45 years old. NPR reports on their history and culture (and also on Ramen noodles).

Health: National Public Radio reports on the value of walking for health, especially in older people.

History: Listverse presents 10 amazing stories of survival in the Arctic.


Humor: (or not) The Conversation on why some of us think clowns are creepy.

Real humor: An amazing rope trick video.




Politics: NPR reports on the question of whether fact checks matter.
Science: NPR reports that an environmentally cleaner car may actually cost less.
Scientific American reports that 8-month-old babies are able to understand more than we might expect, and to use communication with adults.

Image source (public domain)