Sunspots 485

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

Christianity: A post in Relevant says that complaining is a spiritual problem.
Education: National Public Radio reports on Turnitin, a service that checks the papers submitted by college students, for plagiarism.
Health: An amazing 3-minute video on what we look like to an ultraviolet camera. The video also shows graphic evidence that we should use sun-screen, aka sunblock, and that glass blocks UV waves. See here for a report on the video, in Slate.
Humor: (Or something) Coffee is now being made from coffee beans eaten, then passed through the gut, of elephants. Really, says National Public Radio.
Science:  Wired reports that city spiders grow bigger than spiders not in urban areas.
NPR reports on using people with Down syndrome as subjects for research into Alzheimer's. It turns out that, if they live long enough, all people with Down syndrome develop Alzheimer's.
Wired also reports on fungi that control the behavior of ants.

Image source (public domain)

Sunspots 208

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

Computing:
I note, with gratitude, that this is the fourth year's worth of Sunspots I have been privileged to publish. (52 * 4 = 208)
They are usually published on Wednesdays, but I posted something else in observance of Earth Day yesterday.

Slate tells us that YouTube, like many newspapers, is in big financial trouble.

Wired reports that a Federal Appeals Court has upheld the legality of using previous college student papers to check for re-submission by other students in a subsequent class.

Philosophy:
In case you haven't heard, some of the most rabid naturalists/atheists/etc., including Richard Dawkins, are using the term "bright" to describe themselves , as people who don't believe in God. Here's an article, apparently by an atheist, arguing that that isn't a, er, bright idea. (His pun, not mine.)

Christianity:
(or maybe not) A blogger had been criticizing the pastor of First Baptist Church, Jacksonville, FL. The pastor receives a $300,000 annual salary, has received land worth that much as a gift from members, and his wife is on the church payroll. The church obtained a subpeona, and compelled Google to divulge the name of the blogger, who is a former member of the church.

(sort of) Bonnie reports that Chuck Colson has discussed the matter of physical abuse by church members. She says that Colson presented statistics that indicate that about half of all pastors, if told of abuse by a husband who is a church member, will either tell the wife to submit, or that it is her fault. Sad, sad.

Image source (public domain)

Sunspots 205

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

Science:
Wired reports on an asteroid that was tracked on a collision course with earth, from the neighborhood of Saturn.

Wired also reports on evidence, including a photo, that our ancient ancestors may have cared for a handicapped child for a long time.

Sports:
Frank DeFord, of NPR, rejoices that four highly paid sports bad guys were cut from their teams, in spite of their talent.

Philosophy:
(or something) e! science reports that graduate school students have not had sufficient education as to what constitutes plagiarism. I suspect that the problem is much more fundamental than that.

Image source (public domain)