It looks like things are starting to reopen nation wide, in a staggered sort of way. Some states that have rushed to open are seeing growth in the number of cases, while others that stubbornly remain closed are starting to see some reductions in the number of hospitalizations. In Pennsylvania this will mean that about 11% of population will have their stores open and their stay at home lifted at the end of the week, but there's no way there will be enough virus tests to pull off opening the entire state. At least we aren't Florida. Or Brazil.
There's at least one more positive that may grow out of all this mess. As we all know there is concern for the "meat supply chain", and that meat processing appears to be one of the big causes for corona flair-ups. So there may now be a bi-partisan push to break up the meat packing industry. Tyson may come to regret that advertisement.
With the states opening and Spring springing, it starts to look like the worse may more or less be behind us. Then suddenly... Murder Hornets!
With queens that can grow to two inches long, Asian giant hornets can use mandibles shaped like spiked shark fins to wipe out a honeybee hive in a matter of hours, decapitating the bees and flying away with the thoraxes to feed their young. For larger targets, the hornet’s potent venom and stinger — long enough to puncture a beekeeping suit — make for an excruciating combination that victims have likened to hot metal driving into their skin.
In Japan, the hornets kill up to 50 people a year. Now, for the first time, they have arrived in the United States.
Wikipedia does an even better job of making them serious no fun. 1/4 inch stingers!
The stinger of the Asian giant hornet is about 6 mm (0.24 in) long, and injects an especially potent venom that contains, like many bee and wasp venoms, a cytolytic peptide (specifically, a mastoparan) that can damage tissue by stimulating phospholipase action, in addition to its own phospholipase. Masato Ono, an entomologist at Tamagawa University near Tokyo, described the sensation as feeling "like a hot nail being driven into my leg".
So I am continuing my semi-checkout from reality. Right now I'm taking a short break from the MTV VHS dump to listen to a little L'Entourloop...
With luck my sanity will recharge by Monday. In the meantime, enjoy these Michigan protesters that had their guns replaced with dildos: