Texas power demand soared to a record high on Sunday amid a severe heat wave sending temperatures into triple-digit territory. The good news is no major disruptions were reported on the grid as households and businesses cranked up their air conditioners. Data from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the state’s grid operator, shows power demand… Continue reading Texas Power Demand Hits Record As Heat Dome Roasts State
Visions and Revelations – Father Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen
Visions and Revelations in theDevelopment of the Spiritual Life A brief survey of the evolution of the highest spiritual life in the light of Teresian teaching has brought out how absolutely erroneous it is to characterize the mystical life as a life full of visions and revelations. For St. John of the Cross, there is… Continue reading Visions and Revelations – Father Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen
Special Surfaces Remain Distinct in Four Dimensions
In geometry and the closely related field of topology, adding a spatial dimension can often have wondrous effects: Previously distinct objects become indistinguishable. But a new proof finds there are some objects whose differences are so stark, they can’t be effaced with a little more space. The work, posted at the end of May, solves… Continue reading Special Surfaces Remain Distinct in Four Dimensions
Rethinking the EU’s Role in European Collective Defence
The war in Ukraine has laid bare Europe’s reliance on NATO and the United States—and to some degree the UK—as guarantors of its security. All are sending military aid to Ukraine, as well as soldiers to reinforce NATO’s presence on the continent. Sweden and Finland are poised to join NATO soon. French President Emmanuel Macron’s… Continue reading Rethinking the EU’s Role in European Collective Defence
JPMorgan Now Sees Fed Hiking 75bps On Wednesday, Sees “Risk” Of 100bps
While few on Wall Street took the 75bps hike forecasts by the likes of Barclays, Jefferies and Nomura seriously until this afternoon, all that changed when the WSJ “fed whisperer” floated that a 75bps rate hike is actually all too possible, sending odds of a 75bps hike on Wednesday to a certainty from 35% earlier.… Continue reading JPMorgan Now Sees Fed Hiking 75bps On Wednesday, Sees “Risk” Of 100bps
“This is All True”: The Story of a Conversion, Part 1
Summoned by a Crucifix A three-inch crucifix pendant loomed large around a woman’s neck in the yellow cinderblock basement that housed my weekly Al-Anon meeting. As stories were shared around the circle, my eyes kept going back to the crucifix and the woman. A stark contradiction – the sadness of Jesus on the Cross and… Continue reading “This is All True”: The Story of a Conversion, Part 1
An Immunologist Fights Covid with Tweets and a Nasal Spray
If you went back to that class today, do you think that the teachings would be very different? Oh yeah, I hope so. We’ve learned so much since then. When I took that class, the innate immune system wasn’t really understood well. It was only in 1997 that Ruslan Medzhitov, who is now my husband,… Continue reading An Immunologist Fights Covid with Tweets and a Nasal Spray
Camping Bans and Group Shelters Unlikely to Solve Homelessness Crisis
Increasingly, the debate around reducing street homelessness around Los Angeles is focused on what to build. Should the city continue to direct most resources toward creating permanent housing with services, which has proven to be a costly and slow process? Or should it try to rapidly add more group shelters and shared tiny homes—which, under… Continue reading Camping Bans and Group Shelters Unlikely to Solve Homelessness Crisis
Test Of Russia-Iran-India Trade Route Highlights Shifting Geopolitics
Forty-one tons of wood laminate sheeting is on its way from Russia to India. The cargo isn’t newsworthy, but the fact that it’s traveling through Iran absolutely is—potentially marking the opening of a significant new trade corridor that strengthens Iran’s relationship with India…with big geopolitical implications. On Saturday, Iran’s Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) announced that a pilot… Continue reading Test Of Russia-Iran-India Trade Route Highlights Shifting Geopolitics
The Spooky Quantum Phenomenon You’ve Never Heard Of
Perhaps the most famously weird feature of quantum mechanics is nonlocality: Measure one particle in an entangled pair whose partner is miles away, and the measurement seems to rip through the intervening space to instantaneously affect its partner. This “spooky action at a distance” (as Albert Einstein called it) has been the main focus of… Continue reading The Spooky Quantum Phenomenon You’ve Never Heard Of