By Stan Friedman

CHICAGO, IL (July 18, 2014) — Many Covenanters routinely share links to social media articles and videos with one another 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 of any views expressed.

Restaurant Watches Old Surveillance and Shares Shocking Results on Craigslist

Having received consistent bad reviews for slow service in their restaurant, owners checked video of 10 years ago and compared it to 2014. Turns out that even if you’re not talking on a cellphone in a restaurant, just using it still may be annoying other people in tangible ways. I wouldn’t be surprised if these findings held up elsewhere too.

The Return of School Segregation in Eight Charts

This is why court decisions matter. In 1954, the Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Board of Education that separate but equal schools were unconstitutional. That led to desegregation. In recent years, court rulings, or lack of them, are helping to re-establish integration. This is why Frontline is one of my favorite shows.

Six Powerful Psychological Effects That Explain How Our Brains Tick

The writer looks at the various default settings in our brains. He quotes psychologist Daniel Kahneman, who wrote Thinking, Fast and Slow, a much-heralded book that suggests we might not have as much freedom of choice as we think—or at least we’re more influenced by other factors than we think. In his book Kahneman points to an Israeli study on the odds of inmates being granted parole. Prisoners who appeared before judges who had just eaten a meal had a 65 percent change of getting parole, while those who appeared before judges who were about to eat their next meal had almost no chance of getting parole. The depletion effect impacted the decisions adjudicators made in these cases. It’s long, but the summaries are worth reading—as are the criticisms.

Biblical Scholars Tell About Their ‘Aha’ Moments

Peter Enns’s blog is titled Rethinking Biblical Christianity. I would hope that whatever any of us believes as part of our Christian faith is at least somewhat different than what it was even a year ago. If not, then perhaps we’re not paying attention to the text. Perhaps it’s been a bit longer since you’ve had an “aha” moment, but could you point to a time when you had one? We’d love to hear what it was.

35 Genius Life Hacks Everyone Should Know, Especially #18

I keep reading that readers like “how-to” articles, so here you go. I really do think #18 is cool. Just don’t try it in a restaurant (see top story).