Sunspots 963

Things of interest that I have recently spotted:

Grammarphobia tells us about the history of the exclamation point/mark.

Gizmodo reports on a study indicating that cursive writing helps children learn more than keyboard use does.

A Conversation writer tells us about the smells we experience when we cut the grass. It's part of the plant's defense mechanisms.

A Conversation article discusses the question of why insects circle artificial lights at night, and answers that question.

Another Conversation article points out how getting enough good sleep increases athletic performance.

Thanks for reading!

Sunspots 947

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

Computing: Gizmodo tells us some interesting, and maybe useful, things you can do with Google searches.

Gizmodo says that dating apps may be preventing users from seeing their most likely partners.

Politics: The Conversation has posted an article which claims, based on the Constitution, that Donald Trump has already disqualified himself for appearance on the 2024 Presidential ballot.

Another Conversation writer discusses the use of "um" and "uh" and related sounds in a debate.

Health: A Conversation article on the importance of sleep. (Caffeine doesn't really make up for lack of sleep.)

Science: Birds and reptiles lay eggs with a yolk, which provides nutrition for the embryos until they leave their shells. Humans, and other mammals don't need a yolk for food. Science alert reports on the important functions of our embryonic yolk sac.

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

Thanks for reading.

Sunspots 842

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

Education: Grammarphobia discusses the origin of the phrase "tossing and turning."

Environment: NPR on recycling plastic -- what really helps, and what doesn't.

Gizmodo on why TV news does such a bad job at reporting on climate change.

Gizmodo also reports that poor neighborhoods, all over the USA, suffer more from heat waves.

And Gizmodo reports on how wild hogs are having a serious effect on climate.

Gizmodo also reports on the environmental costs of shipping goods into North America.

Ethics: (and Science) Gizmodo reports on guidelines for human genetic engineering, produced by a World Health Organization group. In summary, the group is not ready to approve such procedures.

Science: (or something) Relevant reports on a survey that indicates that most couples become romantically involved after months or years as friends, rather than falling in love the first time they see each other.

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 821

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

Christianity: Relevant tells us why Lent matters.

Education: Listverse tells us about three-dimensional shapes.

Politics: Politico describes some case studies of QAnon believers.

Relevant debunks conspiracy theorists who claim that the snow in Texas was fake. (And that Bill Gates was responsible for it.)

Science: The Scientist reports that researchers in four countries have been able to communicate (in both directions) with subjects who are asleep and dreaming.

The Scientist also reports on experiments that show that dogs have awareness of their own bodies. This seems obvious, but isn't really.

DNA from a cave bear, about 360,000 years old, has been recovered, and usable sequence information has been found, according to Gizmodo. The cave was not in permafrost, from which much older DNA has been recovered.

The AP reports that an almost extinct ferret species has been given more potential genetic variety by a clone of an animal dead for a few decades.

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

Thanks for looking!

Sunspots 718

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

Christianity: He Lives argues that Matthew 18 should not be used for general church discipline.


Computing: Gizmo's Freeware identifies the 27 best web sites for wasting your time.

Gizmodo also reports that there are data hoarders -- people who collect lots and lots of files.

Environment: Earther describes some of the really bad things that global climate change may cause.


Health: NPR reports that changing patient's attitudes helps them to take the medicine, and for it to help them. Attitude changes included having patients interpret bothersome side effects as a signal that the medicine is working.

Gizmodo, and other sources, report on research that indicates that sleeping late on weekends doesn't make up for too little sleep on other nights.

Humor: (and Health) NPR reports on how using Car Talk's diagnostic methods helps doctors diagnose illness.


Politics: Michael Gerson says "The current investigations targeting the Trump administration are not partisan witch-hunts. They are the natural result when a leader surrounds himself with crooks, cronies and conmen."

Joel Anderson has a proposal which should end most or all of the controversy over abortion. But, he says, politicians don't want to solve the abortion issue -- it energizes voters too much.

NPR reports that flood disaster money is distributed in ways that favor the rich. Surprise!

Science: FiveThirtyEight explains why it's hard to show that global climate change really exist -- a politician throwing a snowball is more dramatic, and usually presented with more confidence.


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

Thanks for looking!

Sunspots 673

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

The Arts: Christianity: Gizmodo reports that some Catholic priests are performing exorcisms over a phone connection.

Computing: Gizmodo reports that the European Union is proposing to give robots/artificial intelligences legal status as persons, much like corporations may have such legal status, but not be able to vote, and with other limitations. A number of AI experts, and other experts, don't think this is a good idea.

Finance: (or something) National Public Radio reports that those stickers and labels, saying "warranty void if removed," are illegal.

Health: New Scientist reports that people who stay up late are more likely to die.

(or something) FiveThirtyEight reports that suicides may be a bigger threat to police than various kinds of non-police angry people, but that no one is keeping track of police suicides, nationwide.
  
Humor: (and several other categories) National Public Radio remembers Carl Kasell, long-time newcaster with a splendid voice, and also part of its humor and news show, Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, here and here.

Politics: Sojourners asks why many evangelicals still support Scott Pruitt, head of the Environmental Protection Agency, in spite of several ethically questionable actions.

More on Pruitt's questionable behaviors, which have been questioned by the EPA, itself.

We may be concerned, and should be, about the fate of Syrian civilians, but the US has accepted only 11 Syrian refugees this year, so far, according to NPR.

Relevant reports that Franklin Graham has questioned the Christianity of political progressives.

Thanks for looking!


Image source (public domain)

Sunspots 598

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

The Arts: Rebecca Luella Miller, of Speculative Faith, believes that Christians have vacated certain types of media, and, that being the case, it's no wonder that these media seem to be anti-Christian.

Christianity: From the Huffington Post, 12 questions that all Christians, including me, should be asking themselves. (The post is in the framework of asking these questions of Mr. Trump, but the questions are pertinent for all of us.)


Computing: Gizmo's Freeware points to a utility for Windows that will tell you your WiFi password, if you've forgotten it. It will also name your connection for you, if you have forgotten that.

Food: Listverse gives us 10 interesting facts about chewing gum. (I know -- chewing gum isn't actually a food.)

Health: The New York Times reports on access to healthcare in the US. We just don't have the best healthcare in the world, no matter what politicians of both parties may say.

Scientific American reports that blue light, such as is emitted from the screens of various information appliances, prohibits sleep hormones from working effectively. The article mentions a couple of programs that may help to adjust the light emitted by your device(s). I've installed one of these on my tablet.

Humor: (or something) Scientific American reports that telling lies gets easier, the more you do it, and there are neurological changes in the brain that lying causes.
 

Politics: FiveThirtyEight lists 20 times that Donald Trump has threatened to sue someone, or actually has sued them, during his Presidential campaign. The post also points out that Trump has been sued 17 times during the same period.

Benjamin L. Corey reminds us that Roe v. Wade was decided by a 7-2 vote in the U. S. Supreme Court, and that 5 of those 7 were appointed by Republican Presidents. For more on the Supreme Court and abortion, see here.

From a Patheos blogger, "I'm Pro-Life, And I Don't Care About the Supreme Court."

From Sojourners: "Read This Before You Cast a 'Supreme Court' Vote."




Image source (public domain)

I'm glad Jesus got out of bed

The Bible tells us that Jesus, although God in human flesh, was tempted, just as we are. (Hebrews 4:15, all references to the ESV) This verse strongly implies that He was not only tempted, but tempted in the same ways we can be (He was tempted "in every respect").

Note, then, Mark 1:35: "And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed."

If it had been me, I would have been tempted to roll over and go back to sleep. (He had had a hard and busy day previously.) So Jesus must have been also tempted like this. But He got up, and prayed. I'm glad He did. What if He hadn't? If He hadn't, He would, I suppose, have sinned, by yielding to temptation, and, if He had sinned, He would not have been a sinless sacrifice for me.

I'm glad Jesus got out of bed.

Thanks for reading. I hope I pray more.