RaMbLeS
Welcome to RaMbLeS, a collection of weekly musings on life and Scripture. It all began in 2005 on Google’s blogspot as the aBeLOG (a name now recycled), a semi-autobiographical devotional that attempted to keep well-wishers abreast of my activities as I relocated to Scotland for a few years. Since my return, I’ve continued my RaMbLeS, and here’s its most recent incarnation on Homiletix, as random reflections usually based on current news articles and travel experiences and whatever else takes my fancy!
Residence?
Tax time deadline was midnight, last Monday, April 15, 2024. And when it comes to taxes, for the wealthy, and where you are each minute matters.
According to Bloomberg, at New Jersey’s Teterboro and Long Island’s Islip airports, dozens of private jets destined for Florida took off at times such as 23:42 or 23:54, shortly before midnight. Tax attorneys tell stories of clients idling in their luxury SUVs near the New Jersey entrance to the George Washington Bridge shortly
Warning!
Way back in the 1940s, to gauge the incidence and prevalence of polio, scientists checked sewage in different parts of the country to see there was any polio virus being excreted.
But now, building off from those attempts to see if certain diseases are on the verge of becoming epidemics or pandemics, researchers from Baylor College of Medicine, Houston (your faithful blogger’s alma mater) have been analyzing public wastewater. They showed they could detect over 450 disease-causing
Bullies!
Yes, playground bullies thrive! And we have proof: Children who displayed aggressive behavior at school, such as bullying or temper outbursts, are likely to earn more money in middle age, according to a five-decade study that upends the maxim that bullies do not prosper. They are also more likely to have higher job satisfaction and be in more desirable jobs, say researchers from the Institute for Social and Economic Research at the University of Essex, U. K.
The British
Muscles?
Everything fades with time. Especially our strength. With aging, those muscles begin to decline: that’s a condition called sarcopenia.
(I don’t want to talk about the mind fading—that’s too depressing!)
There might be hope for us aging-muscle-decliners. Something called trigonelline.
So claimeth a bunch of scientists from Singapore, Switzerland, Japan, Australia, UK, and the USA in “Trigonelline Is an NAD+ Precursor that Improves Muscle Function During Ageing and
Stink!
We all smell! Yes, we do.
The only question is: Do we smell good or bad?
In fact, there is even a disease code that dermatologists can bill: L75.0 for “bromhidrosis” (from the Greek: bromos, “stink” + hidros, “sweat” = stinky sweat) .
To a great extent, body odor has a genetic predisposition, but external factors also do play a role: gender, diet, health, medications or drugs consumed, etc. But researchers from the appropriately named Department of Aroma and Smell
Honest?
The Wall Street Journal reported recently that a Harvard University probe into the work of prominent researcher Prof. Francesca Gino (of Harvard Business School) had found profound problems:
After reviewing the available evidence and interviewing Professor Gino and several witnesses, the Investigation Committee has determined, by a preponderance of the evidence, that Professor Gino significantly departed from accepted practices of the relevant research community and committed
Flat?
A recent article in The New York Times (NYT), “Are You a ‘Floor Person’? Why Lying on the Ground Feels So Good,” by Christina Caron, extolled the virtues of lying flat on the ground.
Now, to be sure, there isn’t much research that touts the benefits of reposing prostrate on the ground, but psychologists quoted for the article said spending time on the floor is unlikely to hurt.
(That may be true for them. For me, it hurts! But that’s beside the point.)
Apparently
Abe Kuruvilla is the Carl E. Bates Professor of Christian Preaching at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (Louisville, KY), and a dermatologist in private practice. His passion is to explore, explain, and exemplify preaching.