Sunspots 907

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

Christianity: Heart, Mind, Soul and Strength has posted a word cloud, showing how often a word is used, based on use of words in Proverbs. There are (to me, anyway) some surprises.

Computing: Gizmodo reports that Russia is assessing fines on Internet companies, mostly for disagreeing with the Russian characterization of the war with Ukraine.

Environment: NPR reports that fires in California and elsewhere in the west make storms in other parts of the US worse.

Politics: A Conversation writer examines trends in crime in the US. Is crime rising? It's complicated.

Science: A Conversation writer discusses the presence of virus genes in the human genome. There are a lot of them.

The Scientist reports that scientists have been able to determine what words a subject is thinking of, by scanning the subject's brain, non-invasively, under experimental conditions.

The Scientist also reports that swarms of bees can produce a substantial electric charge.

Gizmodo says that if you live in Pennsylvania, or states near it, you have probably seen spotted lanternflies. They are easy to identify, and, as far as I'm concerned, rather pretty. They are also destructive pests, eating several kinds of trees. I have seen them in Maryland and Pennsylvania. Here's the Wikipedia article on the insect.

NPR reports on a study that indicates that a protective mutation helped people survive the black death. It is still found in human populations, and makes carriers more susceptible to auto-immune diseases.

Sports: A Conversation writer tells us that abuse by coaches, and people with similar positions, is not just individual bad behavior, but part of the whole atmosphere of sports.

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

Thanks for reading.

Sunspots 839

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

Environment: (and Politics) Gizmodo reports that the US Chamber of Commerce has been denying climate change for years.

Finance: (or something) According to Politifact, prominent TV preachers Charles Stanley, Pat Robertson, and Joel Osteen are not selling cannabis products.

Food: NPR reports on nut thefts: Organized criminals are stealing pistachios and almonds,

Politics: Florida now has a law that expects universities to keep track of the beliefs of employees and students, according to Relevant.

According to Gizmodo, Florida has also given fossil fuels an advantage in energy sources.

Pornography: With considerable reluctance, I have added this category to my weekly sunspots. It's important, and it keeps coming up. I will not knowingly link directly to any pornographic sites.

Relevant gives us some misconceptions about sex trafficking and pornography.

Science: Astronomers have been thinking about the possibility of intelligent life on other planets detecting earth, according to NPR.

The Scientist reports on cicada holes, which are more permanent than some other animal-produced holes in the ground, and which have important effects on the microbes in the soil, and on the atmosphere. There are lots and lots of such holes.

Gizmodo reports that there are underground (and frozen) lakes on Mars.

Gizmodo reports on the collision of a black hole and a neutron star. 

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 802

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

Christianity: A Christianity Today writer argues that telling churches to close, because of COVID, is not persecution..

Ethics: The Daily Mail reports that one of the medications administered to President Trump was developed from an aborted fetus. The company does not consider the product to be from an aborted fetus. ScienceMag, an important scientific journal explains further, and says that aborted fetal cells were not used. Gizmodo discusses the situation. It's complicated.

Health: Gizmodo reports on studies about how long the COVID virus lasts, on device screens. Too long.

Politics: The Washington Post has what appears to be an accurate and unbiased page on where Trump and Biden stand on several issues.

FiveThirtyEight reports that nobody really knows why crime becomes more, or less, common.

FiveThirtyEight also discusses how the reputation of the Supreme Court has dropped in recent years.

Science: Gizmodo reports that a couple of dozen planets, orbiting other stars, seem to be well suited for life.

Gizmodo also reports on a water-loving species of mouse from Africa.

Gizmodo also reports that the US Department of Agriculture killed over a million wild animals last year.

Gizmodo also reports on a poisonous caterpillar, found in Virginia.

And Gizmodo reports on tool use by ants.

Science Alert reports on evidence that the artery structure in our arms is evolving.

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

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)

Excerpts from Orthodoxy, by Gilbert K. Chesterton, 33

Charity is a paradox, like modesty and courage. Stated baldly, charity certainly means one of two things—pardoning unpardonable acts, or loving unlovable people. But if we ask ourselves (as we did in the case of pride) what a sensible pagan would feel about such a subject, we shall probably be beginning at the bottom of it. A sensible pagan would say that there were some people one could forgive, and some one couldn’t: a slave who stole wine could be laughed at; a slave who betrayed his benefactor could be killed, and cursed even after he was killed. In so far as the act was pardonable, the man was pardonable. That again is rational, and even refreshing; but it is a dilution. It leaves no place for a pure horror of injustice, such as that which is a great beauty in the innocent. And it leaves no place for a mere tenderness for men as men, such as is the whole fascination of the charitable. Christianity came in here as before. It came in startlingly with a sword, and clove one thing from another. It divided the crime from the criminal. The criminal we must forgive unto seventy times seven. The crime we must not forgive at all. It was not enough that slaves who stole wine inspired partly anger and partly kindness. We must be much more angry with theft than before, and yet much kinder to thieves than before. There was room for wrath and love to run wild. And the more I considered Christianity, the more I found that while it had established a rule and order, the chief aim of that order was to give room for good things to run wild.

Orthodoxy, first published in 1908, by G. K. Chesterton, is in the public domain, and available from Project Gutenberg. The previous post in this series is here. Thanks for reading! Read Chesterton.

How to report a cybercrime

I have never been the victim of a cybercrime, and I hope you haven't, either, but some people have.

Gizmo's Freeware has detailed advice on how to report such crimes, to the FBI and others. The report is here. Stay safe, and thanks for reading.

Sunspots 368

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

Science: National Public Radio reports that scientists at MIT have developed a computer algorithm that can tell when a smile is fake or genuine, and do so better than humans. Did you know that we smile when we are frustrated?

Wired reports on a chemical crime investigation -- in 1850.

Politics:  I was amazed to read (on PolitiFact, which is generally unbiased) that the rate of increase in US federal spending under President Obama was among the lowest of any president since Eisenhower. Some of the credit goes to Republicans in Congress.

Computing: Wired reports on efforts by orthodox Jews to keep the Internet morally safe. (There are allegations that the hierarchy may be unduly controlling access to information.)

Image source (public domain)