CHICAGO, IL (March 31, 2016) — Covenanters routinely share links to social media articles and videos that Covenant News Service believes may be of interest to others. Each Friday we post five of them. Following is a sample of those submissions—their inclusion does not represent an endorsement by the Covenant of any views expressed.
Before You Ever Make Fun of Comic Sans Again
It turns out that the typeface everyone loves to hate can help spell academic and professional success for people with dyslexia.
From the article: “Being able to use Comic Sans is similar to a mobility aid, or a visual aid, or a hearing aid.…I have other ways of writing and reading, but they’re not like they are for someone who’s not dyslexic.”
Why a Methodist Chaplain Is Hiking the Appalachian Trail
Hiking the trail is exhausting but also can lead people to consider spiritual questions. Meeting a chaplain on the trail can prove an unexpected blessing for those needing encouragement or just to talk.
From the article: “If Hall completes the thru-hike, he’ll be the third United Methodist Appalachian Trail chaplain to do so. It’s a challenging hike, and injury and ailing family members have pulled two chaplains off the trail, Ashworth said. Only about one in four thru-hikers make it all the way, says the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, the not-for-profit group that preserves and manages the trail.”
Why American Farmers Are Hacking Their Tractors with Ukrainian Firmware
John Deere requires farmers to have all repairs and modifications done through dealerships and “authorized” repair shops. Embedded software prevents the farmers from making even simple repairs so they have turned to the black market to find a workaround. The contracts also raise questions as to who owns the tractor once it is bought. The answer has implications for owners of other products.
From the article: “There’s software out there a guy can get his hands on if he looks for it….I’m not a big business or anything, but let’s say you’ve got a guy here who has a tractor and something goes wrong with it—the nearest dealership is 40 miles away, but you’ve got me or a diesel shop a mile away. The only way we can fix things is illegally, which is what’s holding back free enterprise more than anything and hampers a farmer’s ability to get stuff done, too.”
The Worst Baseball Team Ever
New York iconic writer Jimmy Breslin died recently. The Pulitzer Prize-winner’s work is considered among the best ever feature writing. Among his most famous articles was this one.
From the article: “It was long after midnight. The bartender was falling asleep, and the only sound in the hotel was the whine of a vacuum cleaner in the lobby. Casey Stengel banged his last empty glass of the evening on the red-tiled bar top and then walked out of this place that the Chase Hotel in St. Louis calls the Lido Room. In the lobby, the guy working the vacuum cleaner was on his big job—the rug leading into a ballroom—when Mr. Stengel stopped to light a cigarette and reflect on life. For Stengel this summer, life consists of managing a team called the New York Mets, which is not very good at playing baseball.”
Power Rangers Turned Him into a Billionaire
Can there be forgiveness for this man? No networks wanted Power Rangers but Haim Saban persisted. Finally FOX aired the first episode in 1993.
From the article: “By 1995, sales of ‘Power Rangers’ products exceeded $1 billion a year, according to the Licensing Letter trade publication. In recent years, action figures, video games, bedding and other ‘Power Rangers’ products have generated annual sales in the U.S. and Canada of about $200 million.”
