Saturday Round-Up (July 9)

Here's another random set of articles I came across this past week:


WiFi "Napping" Doubles Phone Battery Life.  A Duke grad student found away to extend the battery life of laptops and smartphones. My Android definitely needs this.

Refocusing on the Family.   Jim Daly has been leading Focus on the Family to be more culturally-relevant. His own story is a great one of how God can redeem life from brokenness.

Killing Mosquitoes and Saving Water in Rice Paddies.  A safe polymer has been shown to reduce adult malaria mosquitoes by 93%, while also reducing water evaporation from rice paddies.

Extended Sleep Time Improves the Athletic Performance of Collegiate Basketball Players.   So this is the reason I wasn't a stud athlete. Forget my lack of speed, size, or strength -- what was really holding me down was my lack of sleep. Regardless, this article is a great reminder that I need more sleep in order to be a better worker, husband, dad, etc.

Does "Education" Expand or Limit Your Options?  When I was in college, a mentor gave me this advice (as I was considering graduate school), "Get all the formal education you need to do what you want to do. But don't go to more school just for the sake of going to more school."

Tree Frogs Self-Cleaning Feet.  Turns out, the frog uses mucus. "If this can be translated into a human-made design it could provide a reusable, effective adhesive." Yeah, if they want some of my 4-year old's excretions, he produces enough for all of us.

Summer Jobs for Teenagers.  Only 25% of American teens have summer jobs. Why? Summer school and unpaid internships are a couple of reasons. But, "forget the kids who don't want to work. Worry about the kids who do."

Wife & Mother: Power to Grow or Destroy.   An encouraging word for women, who hold great potential, capacity, power. (And for more, read What Is Ezer?)

Dirty Words of Counseling.  Instead of "should" and "just," remember Because and Therefore.  "The gospel alone empowers obedience."

Reported Costs of Drug R&D Questioned.   Despite being an organic synthetic chemist at heart, I am not a big fan of the sales and marketing used by Big Pharma. Part of that is because "85% of new drugs exhibit few if any advantages over existing drugs." My latest case-in-point -- what is the big deal with Zyrtec, when Claritin (even the generic version) does the same thing?

Flight Deck of the Space Shuttle Discovery.  I saw the Discovery take off in 1985. Was the technology on it's flight deck top-notch 26 years ago? Check out this panoramic view.

Leaving Anger on the Field.  In a study of 649 children low socioeconomic backgrounds, sports participation helped improve self-control and lower aggression. Because the impact was greater among boys than girls, it seems to connect with what I wrote about boys needing help with emotional self-control.