OK, this is some scary shit. In Scientific American, no less. Great, now I won’t be able to get on a flight without wondering about the incomplete physics of it. Perhaps flight is simply a matter of belief, and if we quit believing, it won’t work any longer.

In better news for science, turns out there is a scientific explanation for why you can only get great buttermilk biscuits in the south. I’ve often wondered about this, and here you go. I’m relieved that I’m not quite the kitchen klutz I thought.

Last week we had some interesting work done on our home. We knew we had a bee hive in our roof, and it got in the way of installing the new fire suppression system. We did the right thing and hired a beekeeping company to come out and move the bees rather than kill them. What we (they) found when they peeled back the roof was a huge hive and what must have been a lot of honey. See picture above. It was expensive, but I’m glad we got them removed from the eaves – they would have just kept on filling space with their comb – and glad we saved/relocated some thousands of bees. Win-win.

The political news of late is so depressing I don’t even know where to start. I’ve kept to my rule of not discussing politics on this blog – the subject is so divisive – but I’ll break it to mention Trump and Barr’s recent actions to completely undermine the rule of law. A court and jury sentenced Roger Stone to nine years in prison. That should be the end of it.

Then Trump weighs in hard via Twitter about how “unfair” the sentence was, and the DOJ decides to intervene and “reconsider” the sentence. All four prosecuting attorneys then resigned, having been undermined so completely by the Executive branch. And now the world awaits to see what the newly-elevated monarchy will decide the sentence should be, if any. This is just wrong on so many levels. Trump’s unchecked escalation of the powers of the Presidency is at least as frightening as the Cold War of the 50s and 60s. Where does it end?

In other fun news, the coronavirus outbreak just keeps getting worse. 200+ deaths per day now, and tens of thousands reported as infected, primarily in China. Both these figures are likely under-reported, and if infection rates keep progressing as they have the last month…it’s very bad news. My personal fear is that the virus will enter the US in a big way soon and effectively shut down air travel. Trouble with that (aside from the obvious big picture issues) is that I want need to get to KY in May to see my new grandson and family. And yes, I know that’s pathetically self-centered and parochial. But there it is.

Finally, in much better news my beloved KY Wildcats have won two straight tough games against Vandy and Tennessee and may finally be coming of age. Coach Cal always does an amazing job shaping a bunch of high school stars into a cohesive, fun-to-watch team by February each year. Here’s to hoping this bunch fights their way all the way into the Final Four. Go Big Blue!