I agree with you about the bees being a mystifying story. A friend of mine keeps bees on my farm and one of his hives completely vanished last year - no dead bees and no recolonization of the hive. Colony collapse disorder they call it, although no one seems to know what's actually going on.

As for the housing market, people are begining to sit up and take notice, but the real decline has barely begun. The stock market is in a similar position IMO - about to make a decisive move downwards in the near future. The view I have held for a long time is that we are marching inexorably towards a deflationary depression. The value of all assets should fall in relation to cash, which would be in very short supply. With everyone calling for the imminent demise of the US dollar, I would suggest keeping your eye out for a short squeeze as people try to cash out of other assets.

Thanks again, Stoneleigh.

The fuel degradation story is very interesting. Do you have any leads to other analyses of this problem? What happens to the degraded fuel?

I also like the story of the farmer learning how to maximise use of rainfall. Mental energy at work. It's why I hold out hope for a better future than what appears to be our species lot.