Sunspots 955

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

Computing:  Gizmodo reports on a study that indicates that teenagers in the US spend nearly five hours a day on social media.

Gizmodo reports that New York is considering requiring a background check in order to purchase 3-D printers.

Education: Grammarphobia tells us that there are too  many exclamation points in communication.

Medicine: Gizmodo reports on transplanting pig kidneys to monkeys. Seems quite successful.

Politics: A Conversation writer discusses the failure of Israel to be ready for the recent attacks.

Science: A new kind of ice has been discovered, according to a report on ScienceAlert.

A Conversation writer tells us why space is so dark, even though there are lots of stars.

Gizmodo reports that special wildlife exits, avoiding traffic, are, indeed, being used by ocelots and other animals, in Texas.

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

Thanks for reading.

 

Sunspots 930

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

Christianity: The Natural Historian considers LeBron James in light of Psalm 139:13 ("For you formed my inmost being. You knit me together in my mother’s womb."

Computing: (and the Arts)  The Conversation reports on the use of 3-D printing in producing buildings, and architecture.

Education: Grammarphobia discusses laundry lists.

Environment: Gizmodo reports that it's not just oceans that are rising. It's also groundwater, and that is causing big problems.

Gizmodo also reports that cats have hunted several animal species to extinction.

Health: Gizmodo reports that we are running out of effective antibiotics, as bacteria have quickly adapted.

Science: The Conversation presents a discussion on the relationship between tornadoes and global warming.

Another Conversation writer tells us why snails and slugs are so slow.

Thanks for reading. 

Sunspots 929

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

Christianity: An article in Christianity Today, which argues, with lots of evidence, that Christianity and Democracy are not inextricably linked.

Computing: Gizmodo on getting calls that fake the voice of a loved one, or a friend. Deepfaking.

Environment: Gizmodo reports that more electricity was produced from renewable sources than from coal, in the US in 2022.

Food: Gizmodo reports on using a 3'D printer to make cheesecake.

Health: NPR reports on a study that shows that life expectancy is shortening in the US, and many other countries are doing significantly better.

Politics: A Conversation writer discusses the importance of the protests in Israel.

Science: NPR reports on a girl with half a brain. Really.

Gizmodo reports on a newly discovered 13-sided tile.

Thanks for reading.

Sunspots 926

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

Computing: Gizmodo reports that the US Marshals have been hacked.

Gizmodo also reports that there's a printer that prints chocolate constructions.

Gizmodo also reports that Chuck-E-Cheese is still using floppy disks to run its game machines!

Finances: (or something) A Conversation writer argues that buses are the cure for urban transportation woes.

(and humor) NPR posts about tooth fairy inflation.

Health: (and ethics) A woman is to be arrested for refusing to be effectively treated for tuberculosis.

The Conversation discusses in-family aggressive behavior -- in other words, bullying a sibling. It is actually more common than "regular" bullying.

Politics: A Yahoo! commentator takes on Marjorie Taylor Greene's suggestion that the US split into two countries.

A Conversation article tells us that the caste system is, unfortunately, alive and well in the US.

(and computing) Gizmodo reports on lots of Twitter bots, backing former President Trump, and attacking various non-Trumpists.

Science: Gizmodo reports on the development of really white paint (which really cuts down on the amount of heat absorbed from sunlight.)

USA Today reports that Japan has hundreds of tiny islands that it didn't know were there.

Gizmodo reports that some humans were riding domesticated horses about 5000 BC.

(and ethics) NPR reports on discussions of whether to alter human genes.

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

Thanks for reading.

Sunspots 536

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

The Arts: Wired discusses producing fine musical instruments with 3-D printers. (They use the term, 3dvarius!)

Rebecca Luella Miller on Christianity and beauty. (She brings in Tim Tebow, too, amazingly enough.)

Christianity: Benjamin L. Corey on the type of people you should associate with (hint: see Galatians 5:22-23).

Relevant on how to guard against infidelity, especially on-line infidelity. "Married people don’t just suddenly stumble into affairs ... It’s usually the inevitable result of thousands of questionable decisions, all of which slowly, sometimes imperceptibly, lead people astray."

Relevant also lists "7 Sins the Church Ignores."

Computing: Gizmo's Freeware tells about a database that lets you know, immediately, if your e-mail address has been hacked.

Health: National Public Radio has a report on six communities, on at least three continents, where people live much longer than others, and suggests reasons for this, including some things that you and I can do individually -- but community action is more important.

Literature: (or something) NPR reports on new words added to the Oxford English Dictionary.

Science: Wired tells us why we don't know enough yet (and may never) to preserve most endangered species by artificial insemination.

National Public Radio lets us listen in on, and explains, mate-attracting sounds in treehoppers and crickets.



Image source (public domain)

Sunspots 471

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

The Arts: There really is a book named Amish Vampires in Space. And, according to this review, it's not nearly as bad as the title would suggest.
Christianity: Ken Schenck discusses the matter of disagreements between Christians.
Computing: Gizmo's Freeware points us to a service that lets you selectively print only the parts of a web page that you want printed. It also lets you save the important parts as a .PDF file.

The Huffington Post reports on producing your own make-up -- yes, lipstick, and whatever else -- with a 3-D printer, and what that might do to the cosmetics industry.

Google, in Spain, has lost a court battle that may influence the results of "googling" someone. It may affect the whole world.
Science: Wired reports on moths that look like wasps.
The Panda's Thumb reports that scientists have taken the first steps toward adding to the possibilities of the genetic code -- adding two new Nitrogen bases, in addition to the usual A, C, G and T.

Image source (public domain)

Sunspots 467

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

Christianity: A blog post on why it matters that women discovered the empty tomb.
Computing: Gizmo's Freeware reports on Browser Extensions (to Firefox and Chrome) that check for the Heartbleed problem.
Humor: (or something) Wired reports on a couple who are using a 3-D printer to make candy, wedding cakes, and the like.
From The Onion: wasting money on an app, and the results.
Science: Wired reports on a scientist who has studied psychopaths for 20 years. They're different . . .


Image source (public domain)

Sunspots 418

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

Christianity: Christianity Today has published a graphic, with accompanying text, on "The Sex Lives of Unmarried Evangelicals." Conclusion: Evangelicals are not having sex outside of marriage as often as some people have said that they are.

Computing: (and maybe politics) It is now possible to make a handgun with a 3-D printer, according to National Public Radio and the BBC.
 
Science: National Public Radio on some of the structures of the tongues of animals, especially bats, and how those tongues are used.
NPR reports on recent research which created cloned human embryos, for the purpose of producing embryonic stem cells for therapeutic purposes. This is in the earliest stages -- no therapeutic treatments have been attempted yet. The NPR article indicates the obvious, namely that there are lots of serious ethical questions raised by this research.




Note: If anyone cares, I have published this part of my blog on Wednesdays, without fail, for years. The previous Wednesday, and surrounding days, were unusually busy. So I'm publishing on Friday.

Image source (public domain)

Sunspots 370

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

Humor:  One of National Public Radio's best shows, Car Talk, will cease producing new broadcasts in a few weeks. Too bad!

Sports: Congratulations to the Oklahoma City Thunder, who are in the finals of the National Basketball Association championships, for the first time as the Thunder (the franchise used to be located in Seattle). This is the only major professional sports team in Oklahoma. There are several states with no such franchise, including South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, Virginia, New Mexico, Montana, Iowa, Kentucky, Nevada, Idaho, and others.

The Arts: (sort of) National Public Radio reports on grading student writing by computer.

(and manufacturing, and computing) A blog post about the artistic possibilities of 3-D printing.

Politics:  NPR also has explained the European financial crisis, with help from George Soros.

Image source (public domain)