Six Takeaways: The end of the world, and Comic Sans

1. The Darkerist Hour — Astronaut Scott Kelly made the awful mistake of quoting Winston Churchill on Twitter this week. “One of the greatest leaders of modern times, Sir Winston Churchill said, ‘in victory, magnanimity.’ I guess those days are over.” He twuttered, and we can make a few guesses as to what he was referring. But that’s not the story. The story is the backlash he received by those who take issue with some of Churchill’s “contemporary” views. Kelly, unfortunately, compounded the backlash by apologizing, drawing an equal backlash from Churchill supporters. It’s dangerous ground to apply modern standards to historical figures, but is becoming more and more popular over time. Sad, considering Churchill is one of the primary reasons we don’t goose step down Main Street. The BBC has the story.​
2. This might explain why no one in my circle responds -- Google+, launched just a few years ago, when the world was young and before Facebook could sway elections, was going to be the next, well, um, Facebook. That never happened, and this week Alphabet announced it was pulling the plug, which may surprise some of you who thought it was already dead. And that’s the official explanation. Lack of use. Oh, and a newly announced privacy lapse affecting up to 500,000 users.
3. Closing time, James -- I wish this was an entry about GoldenEye, where that line came from, unfortunately, that was basically what scientists said this week about climate change. Now, I know many question the science, or whatever. I think we need to get down to brass tax. Man-made or natural, the climate is changing. The occasional blizzard, or more specifically weather, doesn’t change that. It’s happening. Weather and climate are not the same. It might be a good idea to do something about it. Back to the BBC for the story.
4. Kids do the darndest things -- Cheating a bit here, but it can’t be seven takeaways. So two stories about kids. The first is a very helpful youngster who aided mom with the shredding. The family had also saved up $1,000+ to repay their family for their Utah football season tickets. You know where this is going. Don’t worry, though. This story has a happy ending. Dr. Pepper and Utah both stepped up to cover the money and provide a first class experience at the stadium. The second story: an 8-year-old girl found a pre-Viking era sword in a Swedish lake. A drought lowered the level of the lake near the Swedish-American girl’s family vacation home, revealing the sword. The obvious question: Is this the basis for a system of government? I’m pretty sure I heard somewhere that supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony.​
5. Tippy? Or Tipsy? -- Look out for the birds in Gilbert, Minn. Apparently, their in their cups.
6. No word on Comic Sans -- According to The Guardian, Australian researchers have developed a new font — Sans Forgetica — that helps people remember information. It’s all courtesy of RMIT University in Melbourne. Participants in the study remembered 57% of text written in Sans Forgetica compared with 50% in a plain Arial. Baby steps.