What is the highest point on Earth?

This seems like an easy question. It is at the top of Mount Everest, of course. But is it that simple? It depends on how you define highest. If you mean the height above sea level, then yes, that is the correct answer. But the Earth is not a perfect sphere. It bulges at the equator, making it what we call an oblate spheroid. So if we define tallest by the distance from the center of the Earth, then we have to also take into account the fact that sea level near the equator is ‘higher’ than at points away from the equator.
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And now for some good news

The way that children are treated in the US is a scandal. Despite all the talk of family values and Christian morality, the reality is that many children are treated poorly. One measure is that Infant mortality rates in the US are terrible given its wealth. Other indicators of concern for children are measures of pre-natal and post-natal care for mothers and children and the availability of low-cost quality day care.
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New species found under the Antarctic

That evolution shapes the nature of organisms depending on their environment is well known. But we may think that we have explored pretty much all the Earth and thus encountered all the variety that exists. So it is interesting when previously unknown regions of the Earth that have vastly different environments from those we are familiar with reveal new kinds of organisms.
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A tale of two pitches

A month or so ago, I discussed how in cricket, especially when played at the highest level in the five-day version known as Test matches between national teams, the nature of the central playing surface (known as the ‘pitch’) is very important. The goal of the groundskeepers should be to produce a pitch that provides a good balance between bat and ball, providing batters with the opportunity to score runs while giving the bowlers enough help that they feel that getting the batter out is something that can happen at any moment.
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How to know when to shut up

This Reuben Bolling cartoon reflects a common situation. If you are ever tempted to start giving your opinion on something with the preamble “I know this is not politically correct but …” or “I know this is going to upset some people but … ” or “You may not like what I’m going to say but …”, it is probably a good idea to think twice, because the chances are that what you are going to say is really offensive or poorly thought out and is going to get you in trouble.
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Film review: Seeing Allred (2018)

Netflix released yesterday the documentary Seeing Allred on Gloria Allred, the high-profile attorney who has been prominent in representing the women who were the victims of odious people like Bill Cosby and Donald Trump. I watched it last night and it was very good. Allred has been a lightning rod for critics, many of whom have accused her of being a publicity-seeking, ambulance-chasing, money grubbing lawyer, exploiting her clients for her own financial benefit and ego.
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“Where is my flying car?” may soon no longer be a joke

Some of you may remember the animated TV show The Jetsons about a family that lived in the future that had all manner of anticipated technological advances. One of them was the flying personal car and that particular item has become a punch line whenever people want to express disappointment that we do not have many of the amazing things that we thought had been promised to us in the dreams of science fiction writers.
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Next on the White House soap opera …

More troubling questions have arisen about Rob Porter, the White House staff secretary who resigned yesterday in the wake of stories that he physically abused his two ex-wives and that they suffered bruises because of it and had photographs documenting them. Although his title of ‘staff secretary’ makes him sound like an underling who merely typed memos, did the photocopying, and made coffee, that is misleading. The job is actually a very important one because all information to the president passes through the staff secretary. As such that person has to work very closely with the president’s chief of staff. People who have held this position before Porter have subsequently gone on to other important positions.
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But can’t you see? Your prayers have not worked!

Thanks to a blog post by a skeptic in a nearby city who goes by the pseudonym Rev. El Mundo, I heard about a school district fairly close by where they used to have prayers, this time before school athletic events. Of course, they had to have known that such prayers are unconstitutional but school administrators tend to pander to the needs of the local community and hope no one notices that they are violating the constitution. They only stopped when they received a letter from the Freedom From Religion Foundation to stop the prayers or face a legal challenge.
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