• Beyond the farthest star. Brian at Upon Reflection talks about the most distant and hence oldest cosmic burst of energy ever recorded — surprisingly close to the beginning of the universe.
• Balancing anonymity, privacy, and security. Having my pseudonym is fun and convenient, but how do my needs for privacy balance against the overall security of the internet and society?  David at Sciencetext gives a nice summary of the issues debated.
• On the perils of Lake Sarez (Usoi) in Tajikistan. It is easy to forget at times the many and unexpected ways natural processes can put people in peril.  Dr. Dave at Dave’s Landslide Blog talks about the dangers of a natural dam formed by a century-old landslide — and the debate about what to do about it.

That’s it for this week!  Now, for a quick announcement: it is expected that research blogging will slow down significantly over the holidays, though nobody is sure yet quite how much.  I’m planning to post each Monday anyway, though I may post fewer selections depending on the amount of submissions.

See you next Monday!