Sunspots 816

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

Christianity: Russell Moore, a Southern Baptist official, on the insurrection at the Capitol last week.

He Lives says that Uzzah, Ananias and Sapphira were not punished. An interesting idea.

Christianity Today on the bible used in incoming President Biden's inauguration.

Computing: (And politics) Gizmodo reports on "industrialized information," in other words, pumping out what's usually false or misleading stuff  as a business, or using such entities. It's growing. One of the worst offenders: Michael Bloomberg's unsuccessful run for President.

Environment: The Trump administration has enacted a rule that makes it easier for fossil fuel companies to pollute, according to Gizmodo.

And they have rolled back regulations that expected more efficiency in water heaters and gas furnaces.

And they have given a green light to a company that wants to mine on land considered sacred by the Apaches.

On the good news side, Gizmodo reports that a wolverine was photographed in Yellowstone National Park, and wolverines have also been seen at Mount Rainier National Park, for the first time in 100 years.

Ethics: Christianity Today considers three ethical questions related to COVID vaccines, and concludes that these should be taken.

Politics: Politico has a thorough article on 30 things that the Trump administration accomplished. My view is that some of them were for the good, some not. Yours probably would be the same, although perhaps we might differ on specifics.

Science: LiveScience on why it's so hard to swat a fly.

Gizmodo reports on the discovery of electric eels hunting in groups, something like wolves.

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

Thanks for looking!

Sunspots 796

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

Christianity: Relevant reports that some Christians were seriously put off  by Vice-President Pence, "whose Wednesday address raised eyebrows for paraphrasing Hebrews 12 (which is fine), but swapping out the biblical language for patriotic buzzwords (which is not)."

Christianity Today has two articles on what the Bible says about police and policing. The articles are here and here.

(and Sports) Christianity Today also has a discussion of the role of Christian athletes, mostly black, but some white, in the racial justice movement, over the past few decades. There's very little mention of women, unfortunately.

Environment: Gizmodo reports that wolverines, which have been absent from the area for a century, have returned to Mount Rainier.

Gizmodo also reports on a study that shows humans have about as large a footprint in the oceans as they do on land.

Health: Gizmodo expands on the six foot/two meter social distancing guideline.

Gizmodo also reports on the puzzling change in COVID testing guidelines, from the Centers for Disease Control.

The Huffington Post takes on the claim that only 6% of those said to have died from COVID actually died of it. It's complicated, but one quote: "Since March, when the pandemic started, the United States has suffered 200,000 more deaths than usual."

Politics: (And religion, unfortunately) Christianity Today points out the dangers of QAnon.

Science: The Scientist reports on an attempt to cut down on dengue fever, which is transmitted by mosquitoes, in Indonesia. Mosquitoes infected with bacteria were released, and the frequency of dengue fever dropped dramatically.

Listverse tells us about some amazing mushrooms.

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

Thanks for looking!