RIP

Jazz trumpeter and bandleader Maynard Ferguson, known for his soaring high notes, has died. He was 78.

In the words of his friend and manager, Steve Shankman, "Someone just said, 'Gabriel, move over to second trumpet.' He was the last of the greats. That era is closed. There is no Kenton, no Basie, no Ellington, and now, no Ferguson."

Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary defines the scientific method as "principles and procedures for the systematic pursuit of knowledge involving the recognition and formulation of a problem, the collection of data through observation and experiment, and the formulation and testing of hypotheses."

You'll notice that the word "vote" doesn't appear. Yet, the International Astronomical Union has changed its mind since last week and now has demoted Pluto to a dwarf planet BY MAJORITY VOTE. Ah, science. . . .