Random Thoughts

Joe Nocera writes about how science proves the NFL wrong about Deflategate. Turns out Exponent, the company that did the supposed research for the league, had "dubious bona fides, having disputed the dangers of secondhand smoke and asbestos." But when independent scientists at several universities ran the numbers and did their own tests, they all concluded that Exponent had gotten it wrong, and that "no deflation occurred and the Patriots are innocent."

Another American, this time a student at the University of Virginia, has been arrested in North Korea for various charges including plotting against that country. Which raises the question, yet again, after repeated incidents like this, why do people keep going there? If you asked me to make a list of the places on this planet I'd like to visit, North Korea wouldn't even come in last place. My favorite line in a CBS News story on this subject says, "Pyongyang is pushing for more tourists as a way to help its dismal economy." Yes, please come to North Korea and see our beautiful jail cells.

Enough with the David Bowie stories. It's been almost two weeks since he died, yet every day there are posts on Facebook and Twitter from people who are just getting around to sharing their Bowie story or favorite song. Even "60 Minutes" is doing a story about him tomorrow night. We need a new timeline rule -- you can only publicly mourn one important classic rocker until the next one dies. That means that when we heard about Glenn Frey last Monday, we were done with Bowie.