THE HURRICANE OF THE CENTURY

The story of the day is Super Hurricane Melissa.  Plus, that World Series game last night deserves a few comments.  But first, tracking President Donald Trump.

• Trump spent yesterday meeting with Japan Emperor Naruhito, the nation's symbolic leader, at the Imperial Palace.  Naruhito is 5'8" and 65 years old and Trump is 6'3" and 79.

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  Then today, he met with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.  A lot of flattery and gift-giving from Takaichi.
• She told him that Japan would be nominating him for the Nobel Peace Prize.
• I should mention, though, that Trump is getting nowhere with Putin.
• And seems to have lost influence over Netanyahu.
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  Gave him a golf bag signed by Hideki Matsuyama, as well as a putter used by former PM Shinzo Abe.
• Trump announced approval for the first delivery of U.S. missiles for F-35 fighter jets, but which Japan purchased.
• Lunch was American rice and American beef.
• They did sign a deal on rare earth minerals, as well as a document heralding a new "golden age" of U.S.-Japan relations.
• The government shutdown is now up to 28 days, the second longest ever.  The longest?  35 days in 2018-19 during Trump's first term.

Super Hurricane Melissa at around 1PM local time made landfall over the western portion of Jamaica at 185 MPH.  

• The speed of inner eyewall was 225 MPH at 10,000 feet from the ground.  Fortunately, the high mountain range for the island is on the east side.

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  However, the storm surge occurs on the northeast quadrant, so even Kingston will be seriously impacted.
• Montego Bay is on the west side, but on the north coastline.
• The damage to the entire island will be especially catastrophic, more so because at 4.5 MPH, Melissa is a slow moving hurricane.
• Nearly 3 million people live here.
• One huge problem is that only a relatively low percentage of the population participated in evacuating their home, and 70% of them live within 3 miles of the coastline.
• Officials warned residents about crocodiles.  There are 28 species here, but only 300 or so adults.
• 
  Melissa will make landfall in eastern Cuba late Tuesday or early Wednesday at Category 3 strength (119-139 MPH).

• Then, the Bahamas on Wednesday and Bermuda on Thursday, still at Category 2.

• 
  No danger for the USA.
• I waited to find more info, but nothing much has been officially released.
• Last year three Atlantic hurricane names were retired:  Beryl, Helen and Milton.  This year, Melissa will no doubt attain that notoriety.

I last night watched might have been the best major league baseball game in history.  Certainly historic:

• Longest World Series game in time, 6 hours 39 minutes, and tied for the most innings at 18 with the Red Sox at Dodgers in 2018.  I began watching the pre-game program, then the post-game interviews, a total of more than 8 hours.
• 609 pitches were thrown by 19 pitchers.  The average/game is 290.
• Freddie Freeman of the Dodgers hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of 18th inning with two outs for a 6-5 victory.  Second time, in that last year in Game One of the World Series, he hit a walk-off grand slam in the 10th inning.

• 
  Maybe, though, Shohei Ohtani accomplished more:
• Went to bat 9 times.
• Hit two home runs and two doubles.
• Walked five times, four of them intentional.
• Or, reached base 9 times in the same game, tying three others in the postseason, the last one in 1942 by Stan Hack of the Chicago Cubs.

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  But to me, the hero of the game was Will Klein.  Google AI agreed with me.

Yes, Dodgers pitcher Will Klein was the hero of World Series Game 3, pitching four scoreless innings in relief to secure a win for Los Angeles in extra innings before Freddie Freeman hit a walk-off home run. Klein's performance was crucial, as he came in during a marathon game and stranded runners, giving the Dodgers a chance to win. 

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  Key Performance: Klein entered the game when the Dodgers needed him most and pitched four innings of scoreless relief, a career-high for him.
• Setting up the Win: His dominant performance, which included ending the 18th inning with a strikeout, set the stage for Freddie Freeman's walk-off home run to win the game.
• Unlikely Hero: As a reliever who wasn't originally on the NLCS roster, Klein's performance was an unexpected and heroic effort that helped secure a historic victory. 

Klein:

• Preparing for the major league.
• Pitched in college for the Eastern Illinois Panthers from 2018, posting earned run averages of 6.62, 5.11 and 3.33 in his three years.

• 
  Was nevertheless selected by the Kansas City Royals as their 135th pick in the 2020 draft.  Signed for $200,000.
• Had an up and down minor league career, and was first promoted to the major leagues for the first time on 25April2024.  In five appearances, recorded a 6.35 ERA.

• 
  Traded to the Oakland Athletics on 30July2024, and allowed five runs and four runs in two short appearances.
• Traded to the Seattle Mariners on 21January2025.  Sent down to the minors, struggling to a 7.17 ERA over 22 appearances.
• Acquired by the Los Angeles Dodgers on 2June2025 and spent most of his time in the minor leagues with a 5.16 ERA. 
• Was not much of a reliever in the regular season.
• Was inactive for the first three rounds of the postseason, but added to the active roster for the World Series.  Why???  Mostly because Alex Vesia had sudden family problems and dropped out at the last moment.
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  For the full season, only relieved in 14 games and pitched in 15.1 innings all year, fewer than the number of innings just in Game 3.  Had a 1-1 record.
• Was the bottom-rated (#9) of 9 relievers on the team.
• Had not pitched yet in the postseason.
• By the 15 inning, the Dodgers had used 8 relievers, and only Klein was left.
• Never pitched more than two innings in a game.
• All he did was pitch four innings, giving up one hit and no runs, walked 2, struck out 5 and became the winning pitcher.
• Yes, he was the hero of Game 3, and might well be more used in the future.

Here is Klein in the post-game interview.

Today is National Chocolate Day.

Here are 12 ways to enjoy today.

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THE FIRST FEMALE PRIME MINISTER OF JAPAN

But before I get into Sanae Takaichi, the first female prime minister of Japan, the latest news of the day.

• Did you know that the meaning of trumpery is worthless nonsense?  Term has long been in this dictionary:

Trumpery - as defined by Merriam-Webster: "The meaning of TRUMPERY is worthless nonsense." 

1. Showy but worthless finery; bric-a-brac. 
2. Nonsense; rubbish. 
3. Deception; trickery; fraud.

• 
  While the world turns with not much peace, and the U.S. still in government shutdown, Wall Street is breaking all time high records.

According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 gained 82.92 points, or 1.23%, to end at 6,874.61 points, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 431.22 points, or 1.86%, to 23,636.09. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 333.87 points, or 0.71%, to 47,540.99.

• 
  However, last time I checked, gold prices today tumbled by 3% to just below $4000/ounce, a sign that there just might be a solution to sanity with China tariffs, while silver was down by almost 3.5% to $47/oz.
• 
  Is there peace in the Gaza Strip?  According to the The Guardian, no:

Donald Trump insists the war in Gaza is over. No, it isn’t. The violence is much reduced. Yet Israeli forces have reportedly killed about 100 Palestinians and wounded hundreds more since the 10 October ceasefire began. Food aid supplies are still heavily restricted. The occupation continues, in Gaza and the West Bank. US officials fear prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his accomplices may renege on the deal, as in the past.

Likewise, Hamas elements and rival gangs have kept fighting. The terrorist group is not disarming; Israeli forces have not fully withdrawn to the agreed lines. US-framed security, governance and reconstruction proposals remain vague, hypothetical and contentious. The war’s root causes, principally the denial of Palestinian sovereignty and statehood, are not addressed. Unless that changes, it will all kick off again, sooner or later.

• 
  The end of the Ukraine-Russia War?  Not close.  According to Time:

The relationship between Washington, D.C., and Moscow appears to be increasingly strained, as the U.S. announced significant sanctions against Russia last week, targeting the country’s main two oil firms and their subsidiaries.

​​“I just felt it was time. We waited a long time. I thought that we’d go long before the Middle East,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Oct. 23.

• 
  At least there is no hot war involving China.  That Taiwan issue remains a concern, but the current issue has to do with 130% tariffs Trump placed on China.  
• Trump arrived in Japan today for a 5-day Asian trip, will go on to Malaysia, and meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday in Busan.
• There supposedly is now a framework for a trade deal between China and the USA.  
• However, according to Time:

Why Any Deal at the Trump-Xi Summit is Unlikely to Last.

So about Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.

• 64-year old Sanae Takaichi has worked in politics since 1993, and on October 21 became Japan's first female prime minister.
• She was born and raised in Nara, and graduated from Kobe University.
• She spent two years from 1987 as a congressional fellow for Democratic congresswoman Pat Schroeder.

• 
  Upon return, she wrote a book about this experience, then became known as a TV personality, leading to her political career.
• She lost in her first election, but went on to become a congress lady.

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  In 2004 she married fellow House of Representatives member Taku Yamamoto, who previously had three children.  They divorced in 2017, but remarried in 2021.  He is now partially paralyzed, and she is his caregiver.

• 
  Very conservative, and the fact that she makes regular visits to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine says a lot about her.  I've been there, but I'm not a Japanese politician, and went to see the cherry blossoms in bloom.

• 
  Is a fan of horse racing, heavy metal and Japanese rock. Drove a motorcycle and owned a 1991 Toyota Supra (I did too, the car part).  Played drums and piano in her youth.  Practices judo and karate.

There was no new Saturday Night Live show this weekend.  

• However, the November 1 SNL will have actor Miles Teller as host and Brandi Carlile as the musical guest.  She was alongside Elton John and host JackBlack this past spring on SNL.  

• 
  Got to add my favorite SNL cold opening from 8 years ago, featuring Melissa McCarthy as White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer.  There were 20,749 comments.  
• Another appearance.  Only got 11,836 comments.  

• 
  A third one.  7,482 comments.  
• You ask, who is Sean Spicer?  Watch his greatest hits.  1,496 comments.

• 
  That wasn't funny at all, so here are the five funniest sketches and impersonations on SNL by Melissa.
• Melissa McCarthy actually appeared 11 times on Saturday Night Live.

Coincidentally, there is Hurricane Melissa, which is now the strongest ocean storm of 2025!  She is a super hurricane at 175 MPH, and is already beginning to lash Jamaica.  NOAA's hurricane hunter aircraft, and, as you know, they are today not getting paid, just flew into the hurricane and recorded winds of 220 MPH a few thousand feet above sea level.  Expected are 40 inches of rain, a 13-foot storm surge and sustained winds of 160 MPH. 

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SAN DIEGO to HONOLULU

Goodbye San Diego.  Things went well enough returning to Honolulu from San Diego.  Some disappointments included having to wait more than an hour for the Hawaiian Airlines desk to open at the airport, then we found out that the company is supposedly putting together an executive club not yet ready.  Also, even though Hawaiian has merged with Alaska Airlines, as business class passengers, we could NOT use the Alaska lounge.  Finally, the flight left late.  So I missed taking a perfect sunset photo.  Here is one when we were in flight.

By, the way, should you wear a mask throughout a flight?  First, you can't if you wish to eat and drink.  But no matter, this info to the left says that there is just about no chance of getting infected by COVID or the flu or anything else respiratory if you keep a mask on for the whole plane ride.  Who does that?  What is the rate if you don't wear a mask?  People were coughing behind us.  Maybe 5-10% had on a mask.  I did not.

Otherwise, I enjoyed the ride back to Honolulu.  Salad and curry on rice for the dinner.  Had Johnny Walker Black Label, beer and Bailey's Cream/Cognac over ice. 

Saw two films.  Materialists, with Dakota Johnson and Chris Evans.  Movie released this summer and did relatively well, earning $109 million worldwide.  Rotten Tomatoes score of only 78/66, which was about right.  

The redeeming virtue for me was that the movie occurs in New York City.  We were there for almost a week in one of our recent trips, and some of the scenes were memorable.  Some of the "needledrops" were nice, like Sweet Caroline, etc.

The second was Black Bag, given 97/70 scores by Rotten Tomatoes.  Very well-made espionage film with intrigue and psychological games.    Stars Cate Blanchett, Michael Fassbender, and Pierce Brosnan, directed by Steven Soderbergh.  Released in March of this year.  In case you never figured it out, black bag refers to a code word for top secret information and operations that intelligence agents cannot disclose to each other.

Arrival in Honolulu.

Walked 35,763 steps, or almost 18 miles.  But this is for the entire 10-day trip, so only around 1.8 walking miles/day.

I was sent an article by Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated this morning, and it was so poetic that I thought you would enjoy it:

TORONTO — The fingers of Dodgers catcher Will Smith played upon the keys of the PitchCom device on his right knee like those of a virtuoso pianist playing Johan Sebastian Bach. In and out, up and down, fast and slow, as if weaving multiple melodies within one work, Smith called one of the most beautiful World Series games ever composed because of how well the master on the mound followed his lead. Dodgers righthander Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitched the Brandenburg Concertos of the World Series oeuvre.

It was classical music on a ball field. Yamamoto threw 104 pitches at 19 different speeds with six different pitch types spaced apart as far as 24 mph. He didn’t just beat the hottest lineup of October; he also made the Toronto Blue Jays hitters appear overmatched in a 5–1 victory Saturday that evened the World Series at one throwback win apiece: an old-school contact-heavy win by Toronto in Game 1 and this magnum opus by Yamamoto in Game 2.

The World Series continues with Game 3 tomorrow, November 3, 8PM from Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Max Scherzer pitching for Toronto and Tyler Glasnow for the Dodgers.  Games 4 and 5 will also be in Los Angeles.

• Game 4, Tuesday, Shane Bieber of Toronto, Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers.
• Game 5, Wednesday, not yet announced.  Toronto has Chris Bassitt, who pitched the final two innings of game 1.   The Dodgers could move Snell to only four days of rest, but might also consider Emmet Sheehan, Clayton Kershaw or Roki Sasaki.  This is the only day of uncertainty for pitching.

• 
  Oh, in this second game of the World Series, Yamamoto walked no one, and completed his second straight nine-inning game.  Worse for Toronto, if the Series goes to Game 6, Yamamoto could pitch with 5 days rest.

To close, is this true?

Well, yes, and no.  Nothing has been confirmed.

Hurricane Melissa is up to 140 MPH, and projected to strengthen into a Category 5 tomorrow, crashing into Jamaica on Tuesday.

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