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<\/a><\/p>\nThinking of warmer weather might help us in this frigid weather.<\/p>\n
As Andy Williams<\/span> Griffith once said, \u201cWhat it was was football.\u201d Well, the shape of the football<\/strong> <\/a>deserves explanation:<\/p>\n The reason a football bounces so strangely is because of its shape. A football is a prolate spheroid, and it\u2019s shaped that way because that\u2019s also the shape of an inflated pig\u2019s bladder, which is what the first footballs were made of. Soccer balls were also made of pig\u2019s bladders, but as soon as technology permitted, those balls got rounder, which made them easier to kick. But as the football evolved \u2014 and was constructed of cowhide and rubber \u2014\u00a0it got even more prolate, which made it easier to carry and easier to throw. And much harder to pick up when it bounces on the ground.<\/p>\n What this oddly shaped ball \u2014 and\u00a0the physics behind it \u2014 lends to our national\u00a0pastime\u00a0is randomness.\u00a0The randomness of a bouncing ball adds an element of uncertainty that coaches and players try mightily to minimize. Indeed, the unpredictable bounce is powerful enough to determine which teams will be vying for a trip to the\u00a0Super Bowl<\/a>\u00a0and which teams will be watching the playoffs from the comfort of their couches.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Snake oil health supplements<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n Speaking of football, this guy played some \u2014 from Derwin Gray<\/strong><\/a>:<\/p>\n I recently asked a question on my\u00a0Facebook Page<\/a>: \u201cWhat are some of the \u201clabels\u201d that have been attached to you that have had a negative impact in your life?\u201d The answers I received was heartbreaking:<\/p>\n Can you imagine waking up every morning and carrying these negative, life-stealing labels with you? \u00a0I can, and I have. \u00a0It\u2019s terrible. How we see ourselves impact how we live. Negative labels attack and chip away at that fact that we are made in the image of God.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Why do dogs circle and circle before they poop?<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n If your dog spins in circles or acts like a spaz before squatting to poop, don\u2019t worry: She just might be trying to align herself with the Earth\u2019s magnetic field.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve known for a long time that animals use the planet\u2019s magnetic field, or MF, to orient themselves. Birds and sea turtles\u00a0use it<\/a>\u00a0to travel unfathomable distances with stunning accuracy. Cattle, for whatever reason, prefer to align themselves along the north-south axis while grazing. Light-sensitive proteins\u00a0recently discovered in the human eye<\/a>\u00a0suggest we may have once been able to even\u00a0see<\/em>\u00a0it.<\/p>\n And dogs might use it to poop. According to a new study by Czech and German researchers published in the journal\u00a0Frontiers in Zoology<\/em><\/a>, a two-year analysis of more than 70 dogs from 37 breeds showed that our furry friends \u201cpreferred to excrete with the body being aligned along the north-south axis under calm MF conditions.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Speaking of labels, one of them might be \u201cwoman.\u201d So this interview with Pat Storey is worth a read<\/strong><\/a>:<\/p>\n On Saturday 30 November, history was made as the first female bishop in the UK and Ireland was consecrated. Bishop Pat Storey officially took up her role as new Bishop of Meath and Kildare at a ceremony that took place at Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin. After studying French and English at Trinity College, Dublin, she trained at the Church of Ireland Theological College \u2013 now Institute \u2013 and was ordained deacon in 1997 and priest in 1998. Before consecration as bishop, she was rector of St Augustine\u2019s Parish Church, Londonderry; a position she has held since 2004. Her appointment as bishop has been welcomed by many, including the Most Reverend Dr Michael Jackson, Archbishop of Dublin, who said her election would bring \u201cdelight\u201d to many Anglicans. \u201cPat herself brings to this work of God a warm personality and a breadth of spiritual gifts to share generously in the church and in the community,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u2026CT: What are your hopes for the future of women bishops in the Church?<\/strong>BP:<\/strong>\u00a0Really honestly, I just hope that the right people are put in positions as Bishop. I was assured when I was phoned with news of my election, which was shocking news for me, that it wasn\u2019t tokenism and they felt that I was the right person; I wasn\u2019t elected because I was female. I suppose I would hope for the future that that would continue; the right people would be elected to the post and I hope and pray and know, actually, that many of them will be women. Because of course they have great skills and abilities and they are the right people and perhaps they\u2019ve been overlooked. I don\u2019t think that\u2019s going to be so much the case now, I think that it\u2019s easier once you\u2019ve got the first one in!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Persecution of Christians in the world:<\/strong><\/a> \u201cDespite the fact that Christians make up roughly a third of the world\u2019s population, there are still large pockets of the planet where they are targeted and hunted down simply because of their faith in Jesus Christ. Below are just six among hundreds of stories of persecution from the bloody, painful and tumultuous year of 2013 for Christians around the globe.\u201d<\/p>\n Who says theologians can\u2019t have fun?<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n