Posted: September 19, 2019

Could you swim to another country? Sarah Thomas did. The 37 year-old long-distance swimmer crossed the English Channel to France . . . and then back again! . . . four times! . . . without stopping! It was a new world record. 

The swim took Ms. Thomas 54 hours and 13 minutes. That’s non-stop swimming for over 2 days! She practiced for this challenge last year even while going through cancer treatments. Swimming helped her cope, and she dedicated her success to all cancer survivors. 

A boat with Sarah’s family, GPS system, and supplies sailed next to her. The only nourishment she took was a protein shake. It was tossed to her on a string by her team every 30 minutes. Drink. Stretch. Swim. Pausing even to tread water would let the current pull her backwards. Grease covered the swimmer’s body to keep her skin from getting rubbed raw.

The English Channel connects the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean between England and France. At its narrow point you can stand on the beach in England and see France on the horizon. But the Channel is cold, choppy, and a busy shipping lane. So Sarah Thomas had to plan her route to deal with cargo ships and the tides.

 When Mrs. Thomas finally crawled onto the rocky beach, a crowd welcomed her with M&M’s and a towel. 

 “I feel a little sick,” she said. But the incredible swimmer was pleased with her accomplishment.

Posted: September 20, 2019

Every house needs to be spruced-up now and then—even the White House. Melania Trump will show off a few of her touch-ups tonight. The President and First Lady will be holding a state dinner for the Australian Prime Minister and his wife.

Guests will find fresh wall fabric in the Red Room. They’ll see new draperies in the Green Room and restored furniture in the Blue Room. 

Those are just a few of the home improvement projects Mrs.Trump has overseen. She wants to keep the public rooms at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue looking their museum-quality best.

Some of the projects were long overdue. Sunlight streaming into the Red Room had left wall fabric “so faded it was almost pink,” says Stewart McLaurin, president of the White House Historical Association. “Those rooms should always look their very best.”

Mrs. Trump mostly stays out of the spotlight. But she has put her interest in history to use. “Our family is grateful to live in this true symbol of our nation’s history, but we are even more honored to play a part in restoring and enhancing our country’s sacred landmark,” she says.

The First Lady designed a new rug for a main entrance after foot traffic wore a path across the old one. The new piece has a border showing the flowers of the 50 states. The Trumps are wealthy and used to spending freely. But Mrs. Trump knows that a penny (of taxpayers’ money) saved is a penny (of taxpayers’ money) earned. So workers refreshed draperies in the Green Room by switching material from the backside to the front. Only the fringe had to be replaced. 

The White House is ready for important visitors now—like you and half a million others each year.

Posted: September 18, 2019

No kites! No drones! And absolutely no pigeons! That’s the message the city of Beijing posted on its website this week. China has banned activities that could affect flight safety in seven of the capital city’s 16 districts. Balloons and flying lanterns are also banned. 

China is preparing for a military parade and other celebrations on October 1. That day marks the 70th anniversary of China’s Communist Party taking over. China is planning a big to-do, but what they will be celebrating is sad. People in China will be cheering for a government that takes away freedom and persecutes Christians. 

China held parade practices two weekends in a row. City streets closed. Military planes soared over the parade route. Tanks rumbled down the road. 

The parade is set to be a big part of a huge ceremony at Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. More than 100,000 people are expected to be there. At the ceremony, President Xi Jinping will give a speech. The parade being planned is to be bigger and better than any of Beijing’s other anniversary parades. 

Closed roads and buildings along the practice route re-opened on Monday. But the skies are still closed. They’ll be a “no-fly zone” for a few more weeks. Even pigeon owners have to keep their birds grounded. Training racing pigeons is a tradition in China. Pigeon coops can be seen on the rooftops of many tall buildings. Until the parade passes by, the roof is as close as any racing pigeon will get to the sky!

Posted: September 17, 2019

There was a tremendous traffic jam in Paris, France over the weekend. City streets were clogged with commuters. Roads became a tangled web of cars, pedestrians, scooters and bikes. A transportation strike had shut down the city’s trains. It was the biggest strike to hit the Paris public transport system in over ten years. 

A strike happens when a group of people demand change by saying “no” to work. In Paris, transit workers went on strike against a change of plans for their retirement benefits. 

President Emmanuel Macron wants to treat government workers the same. Right now, different workers have different rules. There are 42 retirement plans—each for different jobs. Transit workers have their own retirement plan. They can retire earlier than other workers. Lawyers have other rules for their retirement. So do nurses. The French president wants all workers to have the same retirement age and benefits. But transit workers don’t want to work more years before retirement. 

The transit strike closed ten train lines. It interrupted city bus and tram schedules. People had to work from home or find another way around the city. Bikes became a backup plan. So did scooters. The ride-hailing company Uber took advantage of the traffic jam. It offered two 15-minute rides free on its electric scooters and bikes. 

Is traffic back to normal today? Hopefully. But lawyers plan to strike next. They aren’t happy about the retirement changes either. Changes aren’t always easy to make. But sometimes, they are important. 

Do not cast me off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength is spent. — Psalm 71:9

Posted: September 16, 2019

Ding, ding! This weekend, residents of San Francisco, California, were missing that cheerful sound. And tourists were missing their rides. That’s because the city’s famous cable cars have stopped running. Don’t worry, though. They should be out of service for only another week. And what’s more, a three-year repair project will finally be finished.

Cable cars have no motors. A long steel cable runs under the street. It is always moving. A car’s operator is called a grip. You can guess why. When the grip pulls a lever, the car grabs the moving cable. Off they go!

At the ends of the cable car routes, a building is filled with the sounds of powerful electric motors. Gearboxes inside the building have 30-foot tall wheels. They pull 19 miles of steel cable at a steady 19½ miles per hour.

Each of San Francisco’s 40 cable cars can hold 60 people. Seven and a half million people ride them each year. That’s a lot of riders and equipment to haul up and down the steep streets of the City by the Bay. And that’s also why the cable cars are parked. Three of those gearboxes had gotten worn from all that work! They have been restored. Now it is time to refurbish the final one.

San Francisco’s cable car system began in the 1890s. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1964. Soon enough, the cable cars will again rumble along their tracks. And the conductors will once again ring their bells. Ding! One ring for “stop.” Ding! Ding! Two rings for go.

Posted: September 13, 2019

Autumn is near. That means it is time to prepare for winter. And it also means it is time for Bavarian herders to carry out an annual tradition. So on Wednesday, they gathered in the Alps to drive their cattle from the high mountain pastures to the valley below.

This year, like every other year, herders dressed in traditional costume. Like their ancestors, they wore lederhosen pants and felted hats decorated with flowers. As in days gone by, the work was shared among men and women, and boys and girls. 

Tourists came out to watch as the herders moved 700 head of cattle down roads and trails to the town of Bad Hindelang, Germany.

In this colorful fall ritual, it isn’t only the herders who dress up. Cattle can also be seen wearing wreaths of autumn flowers and large cow bells. The drive brings cattle from chilly Alpine pastures as high as 4,000 feet down to warmer grazing lands below.

Come spring, the cattle will be led back up the same trails and roads they just came down. Then they’ll spend the summer feasting on the sweet grasses and herbs of the mountain meadows.

He owns the cattle on a thousand hills,

The wealth in every mine;

He owns the rivers and the rocks and rills,

The sun and stars that shine.

Wonderful riches, more than tongue can tell -

He is my Father so they're mine as well;

He owns the cattle on a thousand hills -

I know that He will care for me.
(John W. Peterson, based on Psalm 50:1)

Posted: September 12, 2019

Eugene Roe admits that he has a “soft spot” for old pianos. That is why his shop and showroom contain a collection of more than 350 of them. 

Spare parts and rusty tools lean against brick walls. Long lines of dusty pianos sit on uneven floorboards. This is where makeovers happen. 

Another large section of the Fitchburg, Massachusetts, building holds hundreds more pianos waiting for the craftsman’s touch.

But Mr. Roe has a problem. The warehouse owner is selling the building. Mr. Roe must move all those pianos by the end of the month. The 84-year-old is not sure how that will happen. He does not have the money to pay movers. And he is not sure how many pianos will even fit into his new shop. 

Yet this self-taught piano tuner/repairer remains fervent about his work. “This is where pianos come to get resurrected,” he declares. He works on the wood, ivory keys, or aging strings on each one.

His all-time favorite instrument was a grand piano from 1886. A recording engineer bought the piece. He still sends Mr. Roe recordings of concerts played on that piano.

That is why this gifted man says, “We’re going to find a place for everything if we can.” And why he is hopeful that help will come.

Posted: September 11, 2019

Last week, an important lock cracked at the Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River. The crack caused a big leak. This week, the lock is shut down for repairs. 

The lock we’re talking about doesn’t need a key to open. It doesn’t keep a door fastened. But it is a key to shipping things up and down some big rivers. A lock is a narrow canal on a waterway. It’s like a giant bathtub. It has gates at each end. Opening and closing the gates changes the level of the water in the lock. A lock raises or lowers boats. The water level inside the lock changes to the same height as the water on the other side of the dam. 

Being locked out of the lock during repairs is good news for safety, but bad news for boat traffic. Millions of tons of cargo travel the Columbia River every year. It’s like a busy boat highway that runs from the Pacific Ocean to the U.S. Pacific Northwest. 

There’s a huge traffic jam on the river right now. Boats going upstream can’t travel past the Bonneville Dam. Boats going downstream can’t travel past the dam either. Boats are stranded everywhere. The river system has seven other dams. They use the power of water to generate electricity for the western U.S. Locks were added to the dams to allow large boats to pass through them. The Bonneville Dam is critical. Its broken lock has broken the river system!

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is repairing the damaged lock. Crews are working fast. They’ve drained the lock. They’ve taken out the faulty concrete. Now, the lock can be fixed. How long will it take? Engineers can’t say just yet. But shipping companies are eager to know. They need the lock to open—soon!

Posted: September 10, 2019

Have you ever lost something important? On the Moon?

Just as its lunar lander, Vikram was supposed to be touching down, India lost touch with it. Oh, no! Radio silence! Was it broken? At mission control, the mood was grim. But a day later, cameras from the orbiter that had dropped the lander spotted Vikram on the moon’s surface.

"It must have been a hard landing," says India Space and Research Organization (ISRO) chairman K. Sivan. He described the landing as "15 terrifying minutes."

India’s space experts don’t know yet how much damage the lander and the six-wheel rover it was carrying have suffered.

ISRO will try to regain communication with Vikram. If its solar panels can catch light, its batteries will charge. But will it and the robotic rover operate? Whether they do or not, officials are calling the project a victory for India’s space program.

The $140 million mission, named Chandrayaan 2, lifted off on July 22. Its purpose was to study shadowed moon craters thought to contain water. But another goal may have been more important to India than moon water. The nation badly wants to join a very exclusive club. Only three countries have successfully landed vehicles on the moon (U.S., Russia, and China). Losing Chandrayaan-2 would certainly hurt India’s pride. But the nation hasn’t given up. Prime Minister Nanendra Modi was at mission control. "Let us hope for the best," he said.

Posted: September 9, 2019

Samsung said, “Hold the phone. We can still fold the phone.”

Buyers have been excited about Samsung’s Galaxy Fold since the company showed off its new product in February. Frustrating technical problems caused months of delays. But the phone with the folding screen finally went on sale on Friday.

Reporters were given sample phones to try out early this year. But some of the reviewers said the phone started flickering, going black, and then fizzling out. Others accidentally peeled off the outer layer of the screen. Samsung was embarrassed. But the company didn’t give up. They claim all the problems have been fixed now. 

We sure hope so. Because the Galaxy Fold has a price tag of nearly $2000. It will be for sale first in South Korea, then France, Germany, and Britain. U.S. buyers will have their first chance at the new phones by early October. 

Galaxy Fold is slightly longer and narrower than a regular smartphone. But it opens to the size of a small tablet. Its screen has a thin crease down the middle. It features a screen on the outside too, so that the phone can be used when closed. If you fold and unfold a piece of tin or cardboard or plastic, it eventually breaks or tears. But don’t worry about that, say engineers at Samsung. They brag that their new screen can be opened and closed 200,000 times without breaking. That’s 100 times a day for five years.

Posted: September 6, 2019

He has a houseboat, a podcast, his own business, five islands, and hundreds of bunnies—and he’s only 15-years old! Caleb Smith has a heart for rabbits and some big ideas. He noticed too many abandoned pet bunnies. He decided to become their rescuer. 

First, he started adopting bunnies. According to the Twin Cities Pioneer Press, Caleb borrowed a barn to house his rabbits. Rabbits multiply quickly. So did the youngster’s ideas. 

Twin Cities reported that at 14, Caleb leased an island in the Mississippi River. (He wanted a space for his bunnies to play.) In 2017, he won a competition for young business people. He used the $5,000 prize money to buy a houseboat. The houseboat ferries bunnies back and forth to the island. 

Caleb started “Bunny Boot Camp.” (That’s a one-hour lesson on rabbit care.) He coordinates bunny foster care and “Little Vet” classes for kids. His “Comfort Bunnies” visit people who are hurting. “Pasture Buddies” lets people help out with bunny chores. Caleb’s rabbits host play dates, birthday parties, baby showers, and more. 

Eventually, Caleb decided to buy the island he rented. He named it Peacebunny Island. He owns Hope Island, Hoppiness Island, and a couple of others too! 

Is Caleb Smith chasing down too many rabbit trails—getting into too many projects? Maybe not. According to his website, peacebunnyisland.com, he still has time to play with rabbits.

Posted: September 5, 2019

When is a bicycle not a bicycle? When it has a motor? According to aAnew national ordersays,the answer is no! They areIt isregularstill bicycleikes.

A OnElectric electric bicycles (e-bikes) are bicycles with motors that help power them. You can still pedal the bike but a small battery-powered batteryiesand a small motor add power to pedalingfor the electric bicycle (e-bike). also makes it go. This makes pedaling uphill, or for long distances easierHillsand long distances , distances, and terrain becomeare alleasier to handle.

In national parks, cars and motorcycles stay on paved roads. Bicycles Bicycle riders and hikers can go on taketrails that go deep into the parkwoods and hills. They often have the best views. But people who aren't strong enough to hike or bike strong enough or healthy enough to pedal on difficult trails often that far miss out on themthosegorgeous sights.

Now e-bikes can go where regular bikes do! AAnew Trump administration order rules allows the motorized bikes on park trails.that the e-bikes are normal bikes. Now they can ridecan travel  on all the paths hikers canon alltrails that allowregular bikes..

Many hikers are excited thatthey can see more of the beautiful parks. "We're really stoked.. . . There's just too much traffic on the main park roads that you can't enjoy them," says Gordon Goodwin. The, a69-year-old man whoenjoyslikes to hike inthe trails inMaine.

Or they can keep up with the rest of their family. “You can bring grandma and a 7-year-old and the whole group will be able to stay together,” says the CEO of a bicycling company.

SBut others worry about e-bikesome are worried people will ride too fast. An e-bike's top speed can be much faster than a person’s walking speed. Hiking in a national park shouldn’t feel like crossing a highway, objectorstheysay.

“If you’re hiking on a trail in Utah and you’re rounding a bend and something’s coming at you at 20 mph, that really changes the experience,” says Kristen Brengel. She is,vice president of the National Parks Conservation Association.

Hiking in a national park shouldn’t feel like crossing a highway, objectors say. Others worry Many people are concerned the thatelectric speedy bikescould be rough on  also damage trails or spook horsesthat share somethepathsor tear up the hard work they put in to preserve the trails. 

But the new statement says riders must use the motor only to boost their pedaling, they cannot zip around using only the motor. 

Would you ride an e-bike? Hopefully it will help peopleDo you know someone who would getto seemore of God’s creation if theyhe or shecould ridee-bike on a park trail?see more of God's creation. Psalm 95:4 says, 

“InHhis hand are the depths of the Eearth; the heights of the mountains are Hhis also.”— Psalm 95:4.,

Posted: September 4, 2019

Psalm 107:25 tells us that it is God who “commanded and raised the stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea.” God is in charge. But over the weekend, Hurricane Dorian seemedto have a mind of its own. Earlier, Dorian appeared to be headed for a direct strike on Florida. But over the Labor Day weekend, it shifted course, and slowed, parking itself over the Bahamas. Moving at just a few miles per hour, wind and waves battered low-lying islands.

Prime Minister of the Bahamas, Hubert Minnis said the Islands had never seen such damage.

The highest point on the islands of Abaco and Grand Bahama is 40 feet above sea level. Dorian’s surge put The Grand Bahama airport under six feet of water. People fled from one storm shelter to the next. Rising water trapped others in their attics.

By Tuesday morning, winds had dipped to 120 mph. Dorian was crawling along. Its eyewall had lingered over Grand Bahama Island since Sunday night.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the hurricane was expected to continue up the U.S. coast. But its new path placed it well away from the shores of Florida, Georgia, and South and North Carolina. Perhaps the storm would not be as damaging as once feared, thought experts. Still, coastal states ordered hundreds of thousands of people living near the ocean to leave.

“We’re taking the ‘better safe than sorry’ attitude,” says Georgia’s governor, Brian Kemp. Weather expert Daniel Brown warned only a small change could draw the storm’s dangerous core toward land.

Posted: September 3, 2019

You don’t drive, but this story is for you!

Why are so many drivers running red traffic lights these days? Statistics are now available for the year 2017. Compared to 2012, they show 28% more accidents in which people tried to zoom through red lights.

"Drivers who decide to run a red light when they could have stopped safely are making a reckless choice," says the American Automobile Association’s David Yang.

But whyare drivers making those bad choices? That question has experts stumped. In a way, the higher numbers don’t make sense. Sure, there are more motorists on the road than in 2012. Back then people did less driving because of high gas prices. But today, everyone knows there are more cameras monitoring intersections. The chances of getting a ticket are higher. 

Brian Tefft studies statistics for the association, also called AAA. He suspects that distracted driving is a big reason more people blow through red lights.

While reasons for red light accidents are hard to give, good advice is not. And Proverbs 12:15 says a wise person listens to advice. So, drivers: Don’t text or get distracted by other things like eating or kids in the back seat or knobs on the dashboard. The automobile club suggests tapping the brake pedal near an intersection. The blink of a brake light warns other drivers. Pay attention to the yellow that comes before the red light. But also, after stopping for red, wait a few seconds after the light turns green. And that’s where this story can help you, too.

Red light runners aren’t a danger only to other drivers. They’re a danger to walkers and cyclists. You too should wait a few seconds before using a crosswalk after the light on your side turns green. Check to be sure cars have stopped. Make eye contact with drivers to draw their attention. Remember what Mr. Tefft says about distracted drivers. But don’t yoube a distracted walker by wearing earphones or looking down at your phone.

Posted: September 3, 2019

A basketball-sized grapefruit has brought two world records to a Louisiana couple. The giant citrus grew in the yard of Mary Beth and Doug Meyer of Slidell. The Guinness Book of World Records says it's the world's heaviest and largest in circumference (measured around). It weighed 7 pounds, 14.6 ounces and measured 28¾ inches around. That's almost as big around as an NBA basketball!

The grapefruit was a full pound heavier and more than an inch bigger around than the previous record-setter, a grapefruit grown in Brazil in 2006.

A Louisiana State Commissioner presented a Guinness certificate to Mr. and Mrs Slidell. But he should have included a grapefruit squeezer—a really big one!

Posted: August 30, 2019

Over the last few weeks, reports of fires in the Amazon rainforest have sparked concern. And those news stories have also fueled heated arguments. How many blazes have there been? How many have been started by people? Why? What will happen if the Earth keeps losing rainforest?

More than 77,000 fires have been recorded by Brazil’s National Space Research Institute this year. That’s many more than last year. About half of the fires have been in the Amazon rainforest. And about half of the Amazon rainforest is in Brazil. 

Images from space show huge clouds of smoke from many fires. And they show big sections of the rainforest laid bare. That’s a big concern, say people who study nature and weather patterns. Trees take decades to grow tall and full. Forests absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen. Their thick ground cover absorbs water, nourishes soil, and prevents erosion. And the Amazon is home to animals and plants that don’t live anywhere else.

Some scientists and experts say news reports are exaggerating the situation in Brazil. Many of the reported fires are not burning untouched rainforest. For decades, cattle ranchers and farmers have cut down acres and acres of trees. Each year they use fire to clean up that already-cleared land.

On the other hand, many of those ranchers and farmers have not asked for permission to use land. Brazil’s president, Jair Bolsonaro has been in favor of big projects that plan to clear more of the rainforest. His government has not been as strict about enforcing laws against land clearing. That makes people bold about breaking the law. And many more acres are being cleared illegally than ever before.

President Bolsonaro says Brazil’s forests belong to Brazil. But people from many nations say what happens to the rainforest affects the whole Earth. So, in a way, it belongs to everyone. Both sides have a point. But both sides can also pause and remember whom it allbelongs to.

The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein.— Psalm 24