MARIJUANA IN PURGATORY

As much as I am not particularly looking forward to what is creeping into my mind, fearful anxiety, I actually have continued to be in a nice sense of euphoria for almost four months.  In fact, as mentioned in my presentation on euphoria last year, there is a feeling that my life is changing, for the better.  It is almost spring.

Nearly a decade ago this blog site reported on one of my trips to Amsterdam and posted on marijuana and magic mushrooms.  So a few months later I returned to this Dutch city and actually tried magic truffles.  What an experience!  Now I know what Dali was on when he painted that piece of art.

However, Amsterdam is particularly noted for its coffee shops, where marijuana is ordered and smoked.  I'm pretty sure I'm doing it right, starting with mild, and on my third trip asked for strong...and nothing much happened.  

Thus, my visit to the 2019 Hawaii Cannabis Expo yesterday should have been a pale comparison to all the above.  Seniors pay "only" $21 to enter, and, activity continues through Sunday afternoon.  

While there were a lot of booths, most of them sold things like real cookies and health products.  As would be expected, the real stuff is only medically legal in Hawaii, so don't expect much.

It was a learning experience for me.  You see marijuana leaves in the media all the time, but you should know that psycho-active ingredients are only in the bud/flower.

Furthermore:

• Only the female Cannabis sativa (indica and ruderalis, too) supplies active ingredients.  

• The main chemical is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), and there are at least 65 other cannabinoids, plus more than 400 other such compounds.
• You are supposed to get a stoned feeling of heightened mood and better appetite.
• Onset begins minutes after smoked, but 30-60 minutes when cooked and eaten.
• The effect lasts from 30-60 minutes.
• Side effects include impaired motor skills (so don't drive), red eyes and higher anxiety, maybe even fearful.

• Is the most widely used illegal drug in the U.S. and World, with perhaps 5% of adults experiencing so each year.The highest incidence of use occurs in Zambia, U.S. (a little more than half have experienced this product), Canada and Nigeria.  You would think The Netherlands should be on this list. 

• South Africa, Uruguay and Canada are the only two countries which allow for recreational cannabis.  In the map above, blue for legal, red for illegal.
• Washington and Colorado are the only states allowing for recreational MJ, but nine other states have decriminalized possession.
• Spiritual use in India is not prosecuted.  But what is spiritual?
• The cost in the U.S. is around $200/ounce, which translates to $4/joint, or so.
• When was marijuana first used?  Five thousand years ago!

So on I went to the Expo.  Here are some of my purchases:

I was thinking of asking my doctor about marijuana sleeping pills anyway, so Jonathan Kim provided a wealth of information:

I have never taken pills for sleeping, but this is becoming more of an adventure recently, so I bought a bottle, with discount, amounting to around $1/pill.  I previously got some Melatonin, years ago, and I still had the bottle, but never tried it.

This Kauka version contains CBD (cannabidiol--certainly looks like the other one) and, I think, Melatonin.  Both CBD and THC come from marijuana, but the CBD is not psycho-active.  It relaxes you, which, I guess is legal.

I'll bring a few on my France trip, but only for psychological purposes.  I'll wait until talking to my doctor.

Speaking of fearful anxiety, the most useful item I got was a mini stomach pack (imagine fanny pack as the more common alternative).  Comfortable and flexible material awaiting my trip to France.  You can see it to the right with the free lanyard and pens.

-

Tropical Cyclone Gelena is easing pass Mauritius to the north.  Rodrigues Island experienced serious damage:

-

PURGATORY: Fearful Anxieties

Today, I begin a two-part series on Purgatory.  My first venture into this realm was in 2014 when I speculated that 15 Craigside itself could well be that fabled transition exclave.  Since then I've toyed with Hawaii being that spot, all the up to Planet Earth as the venue.  In any case, clearly, the term Purgatory is merely an adumbration, and if you don't know what that means, read on.

I had one of my rare long and colorful dreams last night.  It's like, toss in my two upcoming trips, with the all the potential stresses and joys, and ask my dream mind to concoct a bewildering screenplay.  While not as well-written as my HuffPo of just about eight years ago, SUICIDE DREAMS, the creativity was impressive.

To repeat, next week I leave on a two-week trip to France, specifically on a tasting spree to Champagne, Bordeaux and Cognac regions.  There will be a period in Paris, where I've arranged for a French Valentine's dinner, a meal on the Eiffel Tower, and my return to the original La Tour d'Argent.  I've also dined several times in their Tokyo version, most recently in 2015.

Then from March 22 through May 2 I have a luxury tour of the Orient.  The difference in the two is that I'm totally in charge of this second one, and was invited to join three others to France, and will need to think about the frustrations that could come from being on standby flights, an overnight ordeal from Los Angeles to Paris and wonder how serious it will be with the Yellow Vests, terrorists, pickpockets and train thieves.  And oh, did you know France is at war with Italy?  Sure, mostly a diplomatic spat, but still, that reminds me that the last time I took Eurail Pass, I had to suffer through several suddenly called rail strikes in both countries.

Which leads to my latest doozy of a dream:

• Everything occurred in an amalgam of Arabian Nights, Bangkok and Singapore.
• It was extremely colorful, with dark periods.
• I was in a small group, where we got confused on how to get to a French restaurant.

The dream went on for a very long period, and was more a nightmare of fearful anxieties.

Tomorrow, part 2 of life in Purgatory, which will come from some or all of the following, fraught with various degrees of fear and/or anxiety:

• Catch The Bus to the north shore to experience 60-foot waves.  However, the roads could wash over, and I might not get back to Honolulu.  The grid-lock of others wanting to do the same could also be terrifying.  Maybe I should stay the night at Turtle Bay.  The hotel began as a Del Webb, shifted to Hyatt, then Hilton, and is now, I think, owned by the Blackstone Group.

• Go to the 2019 Hawaii Cannabis Expo.  The Hawaii State Legislature, having gotten medical marijuana finally legislated, appears this year to be interested in the recreational form to enhance tax revenues.  My sense is that, like gambling, something about local morals will stop any serious consideration.

• Get to my University of Hawaii campus office to print out some travel information, for my home printer seems to be balking.  While there, perhaps a meal at Sushi King and Rainbow Wahine softball games with St. Marys and Fresno State.

-

BUTTERFLIES AND GLOBAL WARMING IN PURGATORY

I'm on James Hansen's mailing list.  He normally sends climate warming info, but recently had one on Monarch Butterflies.

Can you believe that most of them spend their winter at a 15 acre pine/fir forest in a Mexican mountain?  Only a few years ago they were on the verge of extinction.

Hawaii, of course, is different.  We are not on the Monarch migratory path.  What we have is what we imported almost a hundred years ago from California?  Why?  To control army worms.  I guess they must have done research to find another option to milkweed, for that is the only plant that nourishes Monarchs on the mainland.  Turns out that the larvae thrived on the crown flower leaf.  Interestingly enough, in the early 1970's they were considered pests because they reduced the production of crown flower, which is used for leis.

In the USA milkweed is undesirable, for they take up space that can grow profitable crops and is toxic to livestock.  So public grounds and schools came to the rescue.  However, recently, when the Monarchs looked like they were going extinct, some farmers voluntarily planted sizable acres to save the butterfly.

I now and then see crown flower plants for sale, and am tempted to buy one to see if I can help the cycle.  You can purchase Monarch Butterfly eggs.  Ten will cost about $15.  You can also buy eggs from the Julia Butterfly, Cloudless Sulphur Butterly and Viceroy Butterfly.  However, they each need a different food source.

This e-mail just came from Jim (he regularly gets arrested for leading environmental movements):

GLOBAL TEMPERATURE IN 2018 AND BEYOND

James Hansen, Makiko Sato, Reto Ruedy, Gavin A. Schmidt, Ken Lo

Abstract.  Global surface temperature in 2018 was the 4th  highest in the period of instrumental measurements in the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) analysis.  The 2018 global temperature was +1.1 C (2F) warmer than in the 1880-1920 base period; we take that base period as an estimate of 'pre-industrial' temperature.  The four warmest years in the GISS record all occur in the past four years, and the 10 warmest years are all in the 21st century.  We also discuss the prospects for near-term global temperature change.  Additional figures are on our global temperature web page.

But, President Donald Trump trumps on:

Donald J. Trump‏Verified account @realDonaldTrump

More

Be careful and try staying in your house. Large parts of the Country are suffering from tremendous amounts of snow and near record setting cold. Amazing how big this system is. Wouldn’t be bad to have a little of that good old fashioned Global Warming right now!

4:59 AM - 20 Jan 2019

However, 74% of Americans now say that global warming is happening, and, even 70% of liberal/moderate Republicans.  Conservative Republicans?  42%.

-

OARFISH: ARE THEY AN INDICATOR OF DOOM FOR JAPAN?

I leave for my annual Japan Sakura trip on March 22.  There is a legend that the sudden appearance of the deep sea oarfish omens a coming natural disaster, and, more specifically, the imminence of a serious earthquake for Japan.  The Japanese name of the fish, ryugu no tsukai, translates to "messenger from the palace of the dragon king." 

There were three manifestations last month:

• tangled in a net off the port of Imizu (north-coast prefecture of Toyama)
• two more were discovered in Toyama Bay (indicated in red) nine days earlier.
• the yearly record for Toyama Bay is four in 2015, and a total of twenty since 2009

Yet, earlier this month, The Express said seven of these fish were recently found.  However, according to a competitor, that tabloid tends to be somewhat sensational:

There is bullshit, utter bullshit and Daily Express headlines. 

Remember that Great Tohoku Earthquake in 2011 that led to the Fukushima nuclear catastrophe?  At least 10 oarfish were washed up along Tohoku in 2010, leading to the 11March2011 cataclysm.

There has been recent fear of a major earthquake in the Nankai Trough.  However, it is located in the Pacific Ocean, and Toyama is off the Japan Sea on the other side of the country.  Furthermore, there is nothing currently seismically active anywhere in Japan.

Ichthyology Professor Hiroyuki Motomura has a more mundane explanation.  He has 20 oarfish specimens in his collection, and he said that these fish tend to rise to the surface when their physical condition is poor, rising on water currents, and always found dead.  He said there is no scientific evidence of connection to anything, so don't worry  Here is an 18-foot oarfish from off Catalina Island, California in 2013.  No earthquake came.

Japan has recently been spooked by earthquake alarms. Cell phones were warned early this year about a 6.4 earthquake that would strike off the coast of Ibaraki (somewhat south of the Tohoku area), closing Tokyo's transport network.  They were somewhat accurate, for two earthquakes came, but they were of 4.4 and 3.9 magnitude in the ocean, and were not felt on land.  

There was also the true false alarm of 1 August 2016 where a 9.1 earthquake was predicted to decimate downtown Tokyo, but nothing happened.  However, Japan is the most seismically active populated area on Earth, accounting for 20% of global earthquakes of magnitude 6.0 or greater.  There is some measurable earthquake event every five minutes.

-

CHINESE NEW YEAR 4717

My energy/environment Wednesdays will return in two months.  I have a 14-day trip to France beginning next week, then a six-week journey through the Orient from March into May.

The USA has been around now for almost 243 years.  The Chinese calendar is at Year 4717.  Chinese legend holds that Buddha asked all the animals to meet him on New Year's Day.  Twelve came.  Thus we have this Year of the Pig or Boar.  I guess there were dragons in those days.

Of course, I had to have a Chinese meal yesterday, for February 5 began the new year.  I was having my car serviced at Pacific Honda, so walked to The Mandalay.

I was curious about a special tea set next to my table.  The person in charge used what must have been a very expensive tea.  Da Mong Pao tea has been sold at a cost of 30 times its weight in gold, or $1400/gram.  A pot of tea would then cost $10,000.  Interesting that the first batch was thrown away.  He then kept filling hot water for several more pots, using the same tea.  It was a lot of work, which his table of eleven did not show any particular emotion of special thanks.

This was so busy a day that Mandalay, a Cantonese restaurant, did not serve Shanghai Soup Dumplings, which take too much effort.  So I ordered scallops/spinach dumplings, beef pastry buns and custard tart, with Tsingtao Beer and White Label Scotch to enhance the dumplings:

I brought the scotch, and paid $20 for the entire meal, including a generous tip and tax.  I had two buns left over, so had them nicely packed.  On the way out I noticed that the line went outside the door.

I gave those baos to my Pacific Honda interface.  Must have had a positive influence, for he charged me nothing for the safety and air-conditioning check.

-

THE BEGINNING OF A NEW COLD WAR

When Donald Trump gives his State of the Union address today at 9PM EST (4PM Hawaii), he will focus on his wall.  Maybe totally ignored will be his decision to pull the U.S. out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, which was signed by Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev in 1987.

The Berlin Wall fell on 9 November 1989, and the Cold War officially ended on 3 December 1989 when Gorbachev and George Bush said so in a press conference at their Malta Conference. 

The world in general might not today appreciate the momentousness of this event.  From the frightening prospects of first strike...response...mutually assured destruction and nuclear winter, the only planetary fear of consequence now is global warming.

Has Donald Trump committed his greatest blunder yet?  Yes, and no.  He says the U.S. is withdrawing because Russia refuses to destroy their cache of missiles.  NATO allies agree with him.  Now, the U.S. will be begin to rebuild a stockpile of nuclear arms.  Escalation will no doubt return.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pomeo said:

Russia has jeopardized the United States’ security interests, and we can no longer be restricted by the treaty while Russia shamelessly violates it.

To quote from Quartz:

The only winners of this withdrawal will be nuclear weapons’ manufacturers, said several members of Congress in a new bid to limit a new arms race. “Of course the Russians have been cheating on the INF treaty for years; the question is how we punish them for cheating,” said Jim Cooper, a Tennessee Democratic member of Congress.

Putin has been cheating, and our only response is to bring back the prospects of nuclear winter.  Surely, there has got to be a better way.

-

SURE, SUPER BOWL LIII WAS KIND OF BORING, BUT WHAT A DAY FOR ME

The scary thing about Super Bowl LIII is that those roman numerals stand for 53, and I remember the first game, where the Green Bay Packers routed the upstart Kansas City Chiefs, 35-10.  Then, two years later, Joe Namath guaranteed a New York Jets victory, and they did upset the Baltimore Colts, 16-7.  That was half a century ago.  Many of you reading this were not yet born in 1969.

But reverting to cuisine, my Super Bowl brunch was something that might happen in Japan, but not in the USA, except for 15 Craigside:  Wagyu Beef and O-toro and red caviar, with more than half a dozen vegetables, plus sake and beer:

It was a sparkling blue day in Honolulu.

The creativity with the o-toro is in the combinations, sort of like a sandwich:

Endive and ikura, plus o-toro inside a slice of cucumber and shiso.  Here is one with o-toro, ikura, myoga and Belgian endive:

I experienced a couple of firsts.  One, sea asparagus is a nice, slightly salty variation.  Second, instead of rice, I had soba.  Here,  an o-toro sushi using soba (made of buckwheat, and said to be healthier than rice) with sea asparagus and ikura.

About the Super Bowl itself, the Star Advertiser yesterday on page X5 indicated that 92% of those who bet on the game will lose money.  Also, of the more than $6 billion wagered, 97% participated illegally.  I am guilty on both counts.  I lost $1 in a 15 Craigside parlay, which had to be illegal.

My choice for Super Bowl watching was boiled peanuts with beer and a 32-year old Highland Park scotch over cracked ice:

Oh, the Patriots won their sixth championship, 13-3.

However, my Super Bowl eating did not end until this morning for breakfast, where I usually have a substantial meal before walking 18 holes at the Ala Wai anyway.  Leftovers of Japanese wagyu, otoro, sea asparagus, myoga, tsukemono, and sunny side eggs over natto and rice with a backdrop of another beautiful Honolulu morn.

Finally, tomorrow (although if you're reading this in the Orient, it is already tomorrow) is the Year of the Earth Pig (same as boar) where the lucky color is yellow:

For you piggies, you need to wait until 2031 for the Year of the Gold Pig.

-