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!
Eyes!
A recent study supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and the National Institutes of Health showed that the eyes, indeed, are “windows to the soul.”
Well, at least windows to how well your brain might be functioning.
So claimed the authors of “Retinal Signs and 20-Year Cognitive Decline in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study,” published in Neurology.
The study was done with 12,313 men and women in their late 50s who were tested for memory,
Ready!
The departure of journalists from this life is not often a loss for the nation, but it is, when the journalist in question is Pulitzer-Prize-winning commentator, Charles Krauthammer.
Noted one obituary:
He was a jewel in American conservatism, unfailingly elegant and civil, and stubbornly independent-minded.”
Sometime in 2008, I grew tired of watching CNN and decided to flip channels for a better source of news. I landed upon Fox, and was especially taken by its 5:00 pm
Cussing!
10:54 am.
Apparently, that’s when the average American puts forth their first cuss word of the day. At 10:54 am.
At least, that’s what a new study says.
FWIW, the survey was sponsored by 9Round 30 Min Kickbox Fitness.
We love taking clients who have never worked out, or haven’t exercised in a long time, and getting them in the best shape of their life. Our trainers will customize your workout to your fitness level. Some new club members start with just a few rounds until
Disgust!
There are apparently six kinds of things in the world that disgust us, reports a study published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society: “The Structure and Function of Pathogen Disgust,” by researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Brunel University in London.
Previous studies noted that many of the things that elicit disgust in humans have some relation to infectious diseases. Perhaps disgust originated as an emotion to
Thanks!
“Universals and Cultural Diversity in the Expression of Gratitude,” published recently in Royal Society Open Science, had some interesting things to say about thankfulness.
Here, we ask to what extent people express gratitude in different societies by focusing on episodes of everyday life where someone seeks and obtains a good, service or support from another, comparing these episodes across eight languages from five continents.”
They studied the following languages:
Evil?
Google LLC, belonging to parent company Alphabet Inc., is a multinational American enterprise specializing in internet-related services—advertising, searches, cloud computing, software, and hardware.
From the outset, Google’s unofficial slogan was …
Don’t be evil!”
Here is the full version in Google’s Code of Conduct (Wayback Machine, April 21).
“Don’t be evil.” Googlers generally apply those words to how we serve our users.
Blood!
Hemolytic disease of the newborn (HDN) is a condition when a woman with Rh– blood becomes pregnant with a baby with Rh+ blood. This incompatibility, though not dangerous for the first pregnancy, can be lethal for the next Rh+ baby she might have.
To prevent this, if the mother is given specific antibodies (anti-D), these would prevent her from being primed to create destructive antibodies that would be deadly for the next Rh+ baby.
But for this you need to isolate anti-D
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.