Rotundus.com

What does a few billion dollars of spending buy you? Per the Globe & Mail:

... in an economic phenomenon that repeats itself every four years, the Olympics have driven away most of the 300,000 tourists who would usually be in London over the summer ... 'The central London attractions such as the London Zoo, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster Abbey and the British Museum are all seeing attendance figures down 30 to 35 per cent last week compared to the same week last year.' ... The hotel industry is suffering from the lowest booking levels in years. ... London’s legendary West End theatres have been devastated, their expensive plays abandoned by sparse crowds ... Restaurants have been hit particularly hard, having lost both tourist traffic and the custom of many Londoners, who have fled to the seaside or stayed home during the Games.

Of course it's also a more general thing:

It is a phenomenon experienced by virtually every city that holds an Olympic Games: the organizers and the government predict great tourism benefits which never materialize. In any city that already has substantial levels of tourism – that is, virtually any city that could qualify to host the Olympics – there is a lot more to be lost than gained from the Games. In 2000, Sydney hoped to see 132,000 tourists during the Games, but saw only 97,000, and experienced no growth in tourism during the years afterwards. Four years later, Athens had an even worse experience: Its organizers had hoped for 105,000 hotel guests per night, but received only 14,000. Greek tourism had not yet fully recovered.

Spanx on Steroids: How Speedo Created the New Record-Breaking Swimsuit

"After Olympic officials banned the swimsuit that caused records to fall at the 2008 games, scientists are back with a new outfit that might break even more" - it's not just artificial limbs that make a difference.

More Germans leave their estates to Israel

"2012 sees peak in number of aging Germans, who driven by guilty conscience, leave their money to State of Israel"

The Speed of Sound Is Too Slow for Olympic Athletes

"Sprinters in the position farthest from the pistols were getting slower start times, so organizers switched to an electronic tone."

Is Algebra Necessary? and Yes, algebra is necessary.

I vote yes.

Here's one example that cropped up in the aftermath of the Chick-fil-a CEO's comments:

Recently, after Jonathan, in a piece written for The Atlantic, defended Chick-fil-A against a potential boycott by gay activists, a 'gay, former-evangelical' blogger claimed he had evidence Jonathan himself was gay. In the parlance the effort was to "out him."

... Jonathan's views have been clear--he considers homosexual practice as sin and is not in favor of redefining marriage (about half of America agrees, btw). Such views make you a target today, regardless of your personal situation.

So, what is Jonathan Merrit's personal situation? I'll leave you with just a few excerpts for now:

In 2009, I was contacted by the blogger in response to an article I wrote about just that--that Christians must love people who experience sexual brokenness. We corresponded several times by email and text for a couple of weeks, some of them inappropriate. When I was traveling through a city near him, we met for dinner because we'd corresponded so recently. As we were saying goodbye, we had physical contact that went beyond the bounds of friendship. I was overcome with guilt, knowing I had put myself in an unwise situation. We never saw each other again and we ceased contact after a period of time.

... When I returned home, I saw a Christian counselor to address the events in my life and sort through my childhood and what I believed God wanted for me. I also began to acknowledge to myself that I have sin in my past, sin for which I accept responsibility. Inappropriate texting, inappropriate actions are inappropriate no matter who the other party is. These were my decisions and no one else's.

... I don't identify as "gay" because I believe there can be a difference between what one experiences and the life that God offers. I'm a cracked vessel held together only by God's power. And I'm more sure each day that only Christ can make broken people whole.

True blue mates! Orphaned kangaroo and wombat are inseparable friends (they even share the same pouch)

Random baby-animal photos...

A Day Job Waiting for a Kill Shot a World Away

"Drones are not only revolutionizing American warfare but are also changing in profound ways the lives of the people who fly them."

Godly Locks: Inside L.A.'s Bizarre Human Hair Business

"Wig-making may be the only industry that relies on religious devotion, Hollywood glamor, and raw materials harvested from human heads."

The Myth of Gender Bias in Medicine

”It has become an axiom that for years a male-dominated medical establishment has neglected women's needs -- giving comparatively little attention to research on female-specific diseases such as breast cancer, systematically excluding women from clinical and from drug testing, and providing less than equal care to female patients. … But what are the facts behind the rhetoric?“