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| (Image by Phoenix 7777) |
It’s bad enough when a car nearly misses a pedestrian. But when a car-sized rock nearly misses our planet, it’s a close call for sure.
One week ago, asteroid 2020QG came within 2,000 miles of Earth. Worse yet, its arrival had not been detected in advance. This surprise flyby wasn’t noted “until about six hours after the object’s closest approach.” Oops!
But hey, science can’t know it all. Sometimes we have to rely solely upon faith to see us through.
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| 'Om' in Tamil (Image by AntanO) |
A lot was said by a lot of folks during the recent Democratic National Convention. Speeches abounded, some of which were excellent.
But one word stood out from the rest, and that word was “chittis.” If you had to look this up, join the crowd. Turns out that it’s a Tamil (South Indian) “term of endearment for the younger sisters of one’s mother.” The endearment factor can stretch to include others.
And Kamala Harris certainly stretched it during her historic acceptance of the vice presidential nomination. While heralding the role of family within her life, Harris extended this circle to include “sorority… best friend… godchildren” and “chittis.”
America and the world now know what “chittis” means. The proclaiming of this word has hopefully encouraged many to broaden their own concepts of kith and kin.
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/08/20/chittis-kamala-harris-dnc-tamil/
Copyright August 23, 2020 by Linda Van Slyke All Rights Reserved
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| Farewell Charlie (Fair Use) |
With meatless meat and milkless milk, it was just a matter of time before fishless fish emerged.
So now we have “faux tuna,” courtesy of Nestle SA. Composed mainly of “pea protein and wheat gluten,” this newcomer offers an alternative to Starkist Charlie. And Nestle’s isn’t the only fishless game in town: Conagra, Impossible Foods and Good Catch are also bucking the seafood tide.
All this will enable oceans and their denizens to regain strength. Fish numbers have been alarmingly decreasing, and the plastic waste from commercial nets has been alarmingly increasing.
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Copyright August 23, 2020 by Linda Van Slyke All Rights Reserved
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| (Image by Chrisatki03) |
Although angels don’t usually leave footprints, tetrapods do. Tracks from four-limbed animals such as dogs and cats can routinely be found in most locales.
Tracks from tetrapods that lived 313 million years ago, however, are quite another story. These have never been found until quite recently: along the Bright Angel Trail of the Grand Canyon.
When geology professor Allan Krill was hiking along that trail, he noticed “a set of fossil footprints” in plain sight. These turned out to be quite a find. Paleontologist Stephen Rowland deemed them to be “the earliest evidence of vertebrate animals walking in sand dunes.”
So if you see “Footprints in the Sand,” they might be the physical traces of something real special. On the other hand, they might be the spiritual traces of something even more spectacular.
Resources
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/grand-canyon-cliff-collapse-fossil-footprints-scn-trnd/index.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Footprints_(poem)
Copyright August 23, 2020 by Linda Van Slyke All Rights Reserved
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| (Fair Use) |
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| (Fair Use) |
It finally reopens, and you eagerly enter its portals. But wait! Before being seated, you are asked to weigh in. Literally.
This is not an imaginary scenario. A China-based chain recently did just that. When customers came to Chuiyan Fried Beef, they were told to “weigh themselves and answer personal health questions” - all in the name of ceasing to waste food.
After many an outraged complaint showed up on social media, the chain retracted this policy. Patrons can now feel free to stuff themselves to their heart’s discontent.
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| (Photo by Joey Makalintal) |
After hiding out in the African Horn for the past half-century, the elephant shrew is now back on the scientific “radar.”
Last officially seen in the 1970s, these wily creatures have managed to avoid the so-called progress of modern times. They’ve quietly gone about their business with just one fatal flaw: the love of peanut butter.
One was recently caught with this bait, and is now on the royal road to “conservation.” Although this might bode well for the species, it might not bode well for the trapped individual.
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https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-53820395
Copyright August 18, 2020 by Linda Van Slyke All Rights Reserved
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| Panda Cubs (Photo by Joshua Doubek) |
When pandemic pandemonium becomes too much to bear, bear this: the possible birth of a National Zoo panda.
Zookeepers at D.C.’s famous site are eagerly awaiting the arrival of Mei Xiang’s baby. At age 22, this matriarch would set records for being “the oldest giant panda to successfully give birth in the United States.”
She was artificially inseminated with frozen sperm from zoo-mate Tian Tian. Ultrasound has revealed a viable fetus that could possibly emerge this week. Something to hope for when hope is hard to come by.
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https://www.startribune.com/national-zoo-awaits-birth-of-pandemic-panda-cub/572142712/
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| Bell Peppers (Photo by Kham Tran) |
‘Tis the season for harvesting all sorts of healthful veggies. Then why choose pepperoni over peppers?
But that’s exactly what pizza lovers have been doing for years. Pepperoni seems to be America’s favorite topping. Yet lately it’s been running low on supply and high on price. Better to go with peppers, onions, mushrooms, eggplant: green and lean.
So let’s get back to basics. Garden-variety choices can be far better than pork-barrel ones.
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Copyright August 18, 2020 by Linda Van Slyke All Rights Reserved
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| (Chart by Mikael Haggstrom) |
It doesn’t take much imagination to figure that vaping is a vapid activity.
However, it’s not just a zero-sum game. The loss experienced by vapers can be far greater than the commercial gains of vaping providers. Whereas money can be replaced, human life cannot.
Stanford researchers claim that teenage and young-adult vapers “were five to seven times more likely than non-vapers to get COVID-19.” That’s not just a significant difference, but a “huge” one.
And that’s not all. Vapers are more susceptible to asthma, pneumonia, collapsed lung, bronchitis and seizures.
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| 1860 Republican Convention (Public Domain) |
Why settle for Zoom imagery when you can instead commune with life-sized holograms?
For a mere $60,000 you can purchase your very own PORTL device. This will enable you to transport holograms of friends, Romans and countrymen (Caesar included) to receivers who await them with eyes and ears wide open.
If $60,000 seems a bit steep, do not despair. PORTL has been working hard on your behalf. Soon the price will be lower and the machinery lighter. Soon you can invite Lincoln to the Republican Convention. He might have some interesting feedback on how things have changed.
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https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tech-hologram-idUSKCN2531D5
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| Nunavut in Canada (Image by TUBS) |
Nothing in this physical world lasts forever, but some things last for a pretty long time.
Such was the case with the intact Canadian Milne Ice Shelf, which lasted for 4,000 years. Yet it has now begun to crack. Chalk this up to global warming, now seemingly indisputable.
And the Arctic has been warming even faster than the rest of Planet Earth. Ice melts are occurring from above (air) and below (water). Temperatures in the Milne region have lately been registering 9 degrees Fahrenheit more “than the 1980 to 2010 average.”
So if you’re heading that way, look out! And if you’re not, look out anyway. We don’t want Earth to fare worse than the Titanic.
Resources
https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/canadas-intact-ice-shelf-collapses-due-warming-72242095
Copyright August 17, 2020 by Linda Van Slyke All Rights Reserved
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| Yersinia pestis (Public Domain) |
According to the Bible, there are all sorts of plagues. There are locusts and flies and frogs and lice. Not to mention rivers of blood.
According to science, the list just keeps growing. Although smaller in size, today’s threats are larger in numbers. We now fear invisible enemies more than obvious ones.
We currently put coronavirus on top of our scoundrel list. But there’s another plague that has never quite left us: the one caused by Yersinia pestis. This bacterial nightmare still rears its ugly head from time to time. Just recently, a New Mexico man “in his 20s” died from it.
Chances are, there will never be a complete absence of plagues here on earth. But like every other calamity, how we approach it can make all the difference.
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Copyright August 17, 2020 by Linda Van Slyke All Rights Reserved
