Mark W Leach

A father, lawyer, bioethicist & blogger commenting on prenatal testing for Down syndrome. And sometimes Johnny Cash, bourbon, current affairs, & the Steelers.

[Mark W Leach @MarkWLeach]

@lutherabel1 https://t.co/bSZbPVbuUj

[Mark W Leach @MarkWLeach]

@EsotericCD #NSFW https://t.co/rjHBASWdsS

[Mark W Leach @MarkWLeach]

@Super70sSports https://t.co/0Z0acByEwu

[Mark W Leach @MarkWLeach]

@baseballcrank “woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!” Mt 23

[Mark W Leach @MarkWLeach]

Just watched @mrgrahamkay special Pete & Me—incredible comedy special. Informative, emotional, &, most importantly, FUNNY! Thank you @nateland_ent

[Mark W Leach @MarkWLeach]

@cjscalia Ooh, that’s a good ‘un! https://t.co/gLy3lqrTAn

[InfantryDort @infantrydort]

Executive Mansion,
Washington, Nov. 21, 1864.

Dear Madam,--

I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement of the Adjutant General of Massachusetts that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle.

I feel how weak and fruitless must be any word of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save.

I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.

Yours, very sincerely and respectfully,
A. Lincoln

[Mark W Leach @MarkWLeach]

@dustyslay @Joe_knows_ball No argument here. Pretty good opening five albums by the Brothers with a pretty impressive second act two decades later (that, admittedly, was not an option for Skynyrd).

[Gary Sinise @GarySinise]

Today is our nations Memorial Day. Enjoy your day and take a moment to remember the true meaning of this day. A day to pay our respects to all those who have given their lives in our country's defense. God bless these brave heroes and their families.

[Mark W Leach @MarkWLeach]

@EB21122 @bonchieredstate Was tempted to make the same joke suggested here, until I heard & watched the replay say just what you did. I hope every driver, male or female, would make the same sacrifice.

[Mark W Leach @MarkWLeach]

@dustyslay @Joe_knows_ball Tuesday’s Gone & Call Me the Breeze (& many others) are incredible, but Skynyrd wasn’t gonna get me thru the desolation of I-74 in Central Illinois in winter after the farmers had tilled the fields, turning the world into a Black&White movie. Only this: https://t.co/cBwIdm4pT5

[Mark W Leach @MarkWLeach]

@macoates While there was no DJ EZ Rock, I do believe the perp “got loose now”

[Mark W Leach @MarkWLeach]

In 1992, I witnessed a hold up at an ATM & when the police arrived, I ID’d the thief as resembling Rob Base. There was a music store next door. The moment we showed the victim an album cover of his, she exclaimed “Oh my gosh! That’s what he looked like!” #truestory

[Cam Miller 🎥 @cammillerfilms]

I must have listened to It Takes Two 4,256 times in 1988-1989. What a game changer. What an icon. RIP Mr. Base.

[Mark W Leach @MarkWLeach]

@SeanTrende Ohio does have excellent supports & provided the model for @CedarLakeKY in KY for their “mini-ICF/MRs”. Best wishes on your son’s next chapter

[Mark W Leach @MarkWLeach]

Thank you @michaelbd for recommending @TeviTroy ‘s “Manifest Tenacity”, his review of @craigfehrman latest book on Lewis & Clark. Buying my copy now! https://t.co/SyBQ0q9ts6

[Anish Moonka @anishmoonka]

Take a photo of the sun out your window at noon every Saturday for a year, then stack all 52 photos. The sun is in a different spot in each one, and the dots draw a giant figure-8 across the sky.

The shape has a name. It's called an analemma. The first one ever photographed was made by an American astronomy editor named Dennis di Cicco, between 1978 and 1979, from an east-facing window of his home in Massachusetts. The year before, his first attempt had failed because he misaligned the camera and part of the figure-8 fell off the edge of the film. Pulling it off on a single piece of film, no digital tricks, is so hard that fewer people have done it than have walked on the moon.

The 8 comes from two facts about how Earth moves. First fact: Earth leans. The planet's spin axis tilts by 23.4 degrees, the same lean that gives us seasons. In summer, our side of the planet leans toward the sun, so the sun rides higher in the sky. In winter, our side leans away, and the sun sits lower. That up-and-down swing is what makes the 8 tall.

Second fact: our orbit is shaped like an egg. It's a slightly squashed circle, so we're not always the same distance from the sun. In early January, we hit our closest point at around 147 million kilometers. In early July, our farthest, around 152 million kilometers. Earth moves faster when it's closer to the sun, because gravity is stronger up close. That speed change means the sun doesn't cross overhead at exactly noon by your clock every day. In early November, the sun runs about 16 minutes "ahead" of your watch. In mid-February, it's about 14 minutes "behind." That few-minute drift gives the 8 its sideways wiggle.

The two loops of the 8 also come out different sizes. The bottom loop is bigger because that's winter, when Earth is closest to the sun and moving fastest.

Other planets get different shapes for the same two reasons. Mars draws a teardrop, because its orbit is much more lopsided than ours. Jupiter has a tilt of only 3 degrees, barely a lean, so its analemma is just an oval. Mercury has practically no tilt, so its analemma collapses into a single dot. The cleanest of all belongs to Neptune: with a 28-degree tilt and an almost perfectly round orbit, it draws the most symmetric figure-8 anywhere in the solar system.

The viral clip stacks three years of the same sunset on top of each other. All three figure-8s overlap almost exactly. Earth runs the same loop year after year, so reliably that you could lay your great-grandfather's sun photos on yours and the dots would match. Every birthday you've ever had, the sun has been tracing this same 8 outside whatever window you happened to be near.

[Mark W Leach @MarkWLeach]

@DrewFranklinKSR Hope Matt’s enjoying the game!

[Mary Katharine Ham @mkhammer]

This is absolutely lovely. Please listen. Dang you @ericchurch for making me homesick on a Thursday morning.

[Bryan Johnson @bryan_johnson]

This is it.
Everything learned spending millions on longevity.

From: Your Immortal Unc and Auntie.
To: Our Immortal nieces and nephews.

0. Sleep is the world's most powerful drug.
1. Be in your bed for 8 hours
2. Same bedtime every night, any time before midnight
3. Don’t eat right before bed
4. Calm foods for dinner
5. No screens 1 hour before bed
6. Avoid added sugar (be aware it’s in everything)
7. Avoid all things in an American convenience store
8. Avoid fried foods
9. Shoes off at the door
10. Eat whole foods, particularly veggies fruits nuts legumes berries
11. Walk a little after meals or air squats
12. Get your heart rate high routinely
13. Lift heavy things
14. Stretch daily
15. Water pik, floss, brush, tongue scrape, morning and night
16. Make an effort to drink water
17. Get sunlight when you wake up (UV is low)
18. Protect skin in midday sun
19. Stand up straight
20. See at least one friend once a week
21. Avoid plastic where you can (in all things)
22. Circulate air in rooms
23. When stressed, breathe, learn to calm your body
24. Go to the dentist
25. Avoid sitting for long times
26. Protect your hearing, the world is too loud
27. Alcohol is bad for you
28. Finish coffee before noon
29. Avoid bright lights after sunset
30. If obese, look into a GLP
31. Sleep in a cold room
32. Texting while driving is dangerous
33. Turn off all notifications
34. Limit social media use
35. Don’t smoke anything
36. If you struggle to sleep, read a physical book before bed
37. 1 hour before bed have a calm wind down routine: bath, read, light walk, listen to music
38. The body is a clock and loves routine. Have a daily morning and evening schedule.
39. Avoid long distance travel where you can
40. Baby steps first: incorporate new things slowly
41. Do less… most things don’t work.

Bonus points if you get your blood checked.

Start here, it will change your life.

[Mark W Leach @MarkWLeach]

@Super70sSports In Louisville on Friday night