WE'RE OFF TO SEE THE TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE SUN

 Latest news:

• Peace talks with Iran?
• Israel continues to express concern about the Hamas.
• Looks like Todd Blanche's confirmation vote on the floor will occur, at the end of the week, just before the Senate goes into recess.  But will he pass?

Seems like I haven't been on a trip for awhile.  Actually, we returned less than three months ago after our cruises down the Mississippi and from Manhattan to Toronto, then a train ride from Toronto to Vancouver.  On our return, I looked ahead at our next adventure and said:

• We fly to Iceland to see some geo-cold sites, then board the Azamara Journey for 18-nights from Rekjavik to Greenland, ending up in Montreal. 
• Of course, there is one primary reason we will be on this cruise.  The next total solar eclipse.  Sun will stay dark for 2 minutes and 18 seconds on August 12.

So, anyway, we leave today on our eclipse trip.

• The Azamara Journey cruise is hopefully where we will experience that total eclipse.  The ship goes on to Montreal.

• 
  We'll fly to Vancouver, then board the Silver Whisper back to Honolulu

If you don't live along this rather narrow path, less than 200 miles wide, you won't be able to view the 100% total eclipse.  However, just about a year from today, on 2August2027, there will be a total eclipse for the ages.  Your big chance.

• This will be the longest total solar eclipse--6 minutes and 23 seconds--until 2114.

• 
  Misses Cairo, but will be right over Luxor.
• So if you ever wanted to cruise the Nile, this will be for you.
• Hmmmm.....
• However cruise packages are now already mostly wait listed.

One solution is provided by Google AI:

Specialized Nile river cruises and land-plus-cruise packages are available to see the August 2, 2027 total solar eclipse in Luxor, though continuous cruising directly from Cairo to Luxor on the river is rare or modified due to locks and river geography. Most operators combine Cairo hotel stays with a flight to Upper Egypt and a localized Nile cruise or Dahabiya that moors in Luxor for totality. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

We await our Delta flight to Seattle, stay overnight at the Airport Marriott, then tomorrow, Icelandair to Reykjavik.

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MY LIFE: PART 3G Pearl's Ashes--Mount Kilimanjaro

 But first, a few news developments:

• Chance for peace in Iran?
• About that Hamas disarm matter, Israel bombed the Gaza Strip yesterday.
• Before you get too optimistic about that possible ceasefire development in Ukraine, here is a Wikipedia article about past efforts.

• 
  Yes, there is another Heat Dome over Western North American:
• Las Vegas reached 115 F yesterdsay,
• Phoenix, Arizona will hit 116 F and El Centro, California 118 F today.
• Even Montana is expecting 104 F today.
• Parts of Mexico will get up to 120 F, and Canada will be 22 F to 43 F ABOVE NORMAL.
• Hot, but not as bad as the Heat Dome last month. 

Now, on to Pearl's Ashes ceremonies #10 and #11, in Africa.

• Some background info:

When Pearl grew up in Hilo, Mauna Kea could be seen from her home.  The volcano was especially awesome during the winter months when covered with snow.  If there was anywhere Pearl wanted to visit, but I did not, it was Africa, with Mount Kilimanjaro being her link to Mauna Kea.  Plus, there was the movie King Solomon's Mines, which was one of her favorites.  Thus, my initial thoughts to spread her ashes came from this specific feeling of guilt.

• 
  Africa was but one of several stops on my global tour:

The trip to Kilimanjaro was one of my great grand odysseys, an around the world journey of two months.  In September of 2010 I flew from Honolulu to Japan, then on to South Korea, China, Switzerland, Kenya, Tanzania, Qatar, Norway, Netherlands, Italy, then DC, Austin and Las Vegas, before returning to Honolulu.

• 
  My first stop was Japan, where I gave two talks on the Blue Revolution.
• In Tokyo to the Marine Technology Society.
• At Akita University, where I had a special encounter.  First dinner with five other professors.  Then:

On my way back to my room I noticed there was a bar area called 50's Cafe. I walked into a bizarre scene. First of all, the music, very loud, was only American of the 50's. I'm sure I was the only person who grew up in those times as I don:t think anyone else in the room was as old as 50. 

There were about a dozen seated around a large table where one gentleman dominated the conversation, speaking at high intensity to overcome the music. An equal number was seated at three nearby tables very observant of the main one. Although there were six staff members in white shirts or tuxedos, these lower dozen leaped when this person needed a drink, serving as the interface between this high dozen and the serve staff. When anyone walked out to use the restroom or make a call, he politely bowed to that  main table first.  Outside were a couple of armed (?) protectors.

Had I known what I subsequently saw  I would not have gone in.  In any case, I was there and the only alien not associated with the above scenario. While Akita I don't think is known for organized crime, my fantasy mind running wild, I could only guess that these were Yakuza. (I later confirmed this to be so, in some astonishment, for they are not allowed to frequent normal public establishments.  But this was an out of the way onsen.) I was tempted to check their fingers, but room was too dark.

• 
  I'll yet get to Kilimanjaro, but Akita was the beginning of a side journey for me.  I earlier had begun a roots search for my father's father, Kenjiro (I was named after him), whose family came from this area.  Here is a gravestone I visited.  

• 
  More so, I decided to follow the path Kenjiro's parents took around 1872 when Japan feared the incursion of Russia into Hokkaido, so they were sent, first to Otaru, where Kenjiro was born, then on to Sapporo, when the population was about a thousand, and on to Utashinai.  It was from there that Kenjiro sometime in the 1890's, went to the USA to learn something.  On his way back to Japan, he stopped off on Kauai, got married, bore my father, built the first hydroelectric power plant on the island at Wainiha, and died in an accident at work at the age of 33.
• 
  Second stop.

My China stop was Shanghai, an extraordinary city, which was then hosting a World Expo.  You've been in 100 Yen ($1) stores in Japan.  China  has 30 Cents shops. 

• My day at this Expo.

• 
  Finally, I'm in Africa, and confirmed why I just don't like it here.  The graft, disease, poverty and ...  The plane from Zurich landed in Nairobi, where the hotel warned me, don't walk out of the hotel even during the daytime.  I joined a Tauck Tour and we are flown over Mount Kilimanjaro to Tanzania.  Unfortunately, I was on the wrong side of the plane, so the photo to the left was provided by someone who I met in the tour, Arturo Gonzalez.
• 
  PA#10 was at the Nogorongoro Serena.  The  hotel reminded me of the Volcano House on the Big Island, where Pearl and I stayed several times.  Both Nogorongoro and Halemaumau (PA#6) are craters.  To the left is the view from my room where I placed PA#10.

• Highlights of this portion of the tour were visits to a Maasai (formerly Masai) Village, Oldupai(formerly Olduvai) Gorge (here with Curator Samba Ikayo) and those animals (like giraffes).

• 
  When I got to the airport in Kenya, I still had not dropped off Pearl's ashes near Mount Kilimanjaro.  So anti-climatic, but:

Desperate to do something close to Kilimanjaro, I finally selected a nice spot at the airport, but took this photo to identify the location.  Yes, that's a beer sign, and that tree is not a Jacaranda, but I'm taking this photo from where the gel cap was thrown.

Next dropping off her ashes at Machu Picchu.  This became a fearful adventure.

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1AUGUST2026

 Let me first dabble into those wars:

• Gaza Strip.
• Hamas has agreed to disarm.
• Israel maintains skepticism.
• Palestinians mistrust both Israel and Hamas.
• 
  Iran War.
• Iran accused U.S. of escalating tensions.
• Commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz is still down by 95%.
• Houthis blocking the passing of Saudi ships through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.

Both the old and new versions of this blog site have seen a jump in readership from March of this year, when we flew from Honolulu to Las Vegas for a few days, then on to Memphis to visit Elvis' Graceland, followed by a cruise down the Mississippi to New Orleans.  A short stop there, then on to New York City, followed by a Viking cruise from Manhattan to Toronto.  We then boarded a train towards Vancouver, catching another train to get us there.

Original blog:

• As I compose this posting, first one on 29April2008, this daily blog has had just under 10.5 million viewers over 6669 days, or 1574/day.
• However, the first ten years averaged only 500/day, so more have viewed it in recent years.
•  On 8May2016, after eight years, I finally reached a readership of one million.  I ended with:

  I'm more and more beginning to think that religion is an important part of the social fabric.  Me?  I'll continue to be good, but still need to be convinced that these are not fairy tales, for that matter of eternal gloom is fearsomely disquieting.

  Congratulations, Pat, while writing this post, you passed one million viewers!

  This was a Sunday posting.  Click on this to read the entire article.

• Both the old and new versions of this blog site have seen a jump in readership from March of this year, when we flew from Honolulu to Las Vegas for a few days, then on to Memphis to visit Elvis' Graceland, followed by a cruise down the Mississippi to New Orleans.  A short stop there, then on to New York City, followed by a Viking cruise from Manhattan to Toronto.  We then boarded a train towards Vancouver, catching another train to get us there.

• Recent readership.  In 2026:

• January:  0.14 million
• February:  0.12 million
• March:  0.26 million
• April:  0.65 million
• May:  just over 3 million.
• June:  1.42 million
• July:  0.54 million
• I have noticed that more people read this blog during my travels.  We leave Honolulu for Iceland on Monday, August 3, then board the Azamara Journey on a cruise to watch the Total Eclipse of the Sun on August 12, followed by several stops in Greenland, disembarking in Montreal for a few days, fly to Vancouver for a couple of days, then board the Silver Whisper to Honolulu.
• 221 countries have visited this blog site.  Curiously, Singapore has the highest viewership/capita.
• Address of old blog site:  https://planetearthandhumanity.blogspot.com/

I ran out of labels in the original blog:

• So added a new version on 30September2020.  They are both identical.
• 2131 postings so far, or 217/posting, or an average of 6520/month.
• Readership picked up in mid-2023 with 10,564 in the month of May, then 31,474 in May of 2025, 46,953 in May of 2026 and 55,226 last month.
• Address for new blog site:  https://wawh2.blogspot.com/

From Wikipedia, on August 1 in history:

30 BC – Octavian (later known as Augustus) enters Alexandria, Egypt, executes Marcus Antonius Antyllus,^[1] and brings the city under the control of the Roman Republic.^[2] (date is O.S.)  Antyllus is the son of Marc Antony from his third wife.  Antony also had three children from Cleopatra.

527 – Justinian I becomes the sole ruler of the Byzantine Empire.

1498 – Christopher Columbus becomes the first European to visit what is now Venezuela.

1876 – Colorado is admitted as the 38th U.S. state.

1893 – Henry Perky patents shredded wheat.

1907 – The start of the first Scout camp on Brownsea Island, the origin of the worldwide Scouting movement.

1927 – The Nanchang Uprising marks the first significant battle in the Chinese Civil War between the Kuomintang and Chinese Communist Party. This day is commemorated as the anniversary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army.

1936 – The Olympics open in Berlin with a ceremony presided over by Adolf Hitler.

1965 – Frank Herbert's novel, Dune, is published for the first time. It was named as the world's best-selling science fiction novel in 2003.

1980 – Vigdís Finnbogadóttir is elected President of Iceland and becomes the world's first democratically elected female head of state.  I will be in Iceland in 3 days.

2023 – Former US President Donald Trump is indicted for his role in the January 6 United States Capitol attack, his third indictment in 2023.^[19]

Typhoon Dolphin had weakened to 140 MPH earlier today, but re-gained some strength, and is now at 145 MPH.  In the current track, the eye should make landfall over the main Okinawa island ton Friday, August 7 as a Category 2 (96-110 MPH), but north of Naha.  This is just a projection at this time.

Heard of this song?  First Day in August, by Carol King.

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A DAY TO BETTER ENJOY LIFE

Enough of wars, Trump, Blanche, and bad news.  Well, one, as awful as Europe is having with high temperatures, the largest heat dome is now in the USA.

Coming Monday, we leave for Iceland, and our cruise ship from there will have several stops in Greenland.  According to Google AI:

High temperatures today reach about 59°F (15°C) in parts of Iceland and 54°F (12°C) in parts of Greenland. 

Ship arrives in Montreal, which has a high of 81 F today, then we go on to Vancouver, up to 79 F today.  Of course, this trip is to bask in the cool of a total eclipse of the sun, on 12August2026.

Another bit of good news is that Hurricane Fausto passed north of the Hawaiian Islands without causing any effect here.  Yesterday morning, from where I sit at my computer, no clouds.

And rainbows.

The other East Pacific ocean storm, Genevieve, which was a super hurricane four days ago, is now a tropical storm, and headed north, away from Hawaii.  Were you aware that hurricanes can affect weather far away from where it is?  Meteorologist blame Genevieve for strengthening that heat dome over the USA.

One more piece of scary news is that Super Typhoon Dolphin, still at 160 MPH, which at one time headed for Tokyo, is now looking to strike Naha, Okinawa.  However, the track keeps moving southward, so it remains uncertain where the eye will be in two days.

Today is National Avocado Day:

• Only declared in 2017.
• Is a super food.
• Targets insulin resistance with heart-healthy fats.
• Fights Alzheimer's with Omega 3 fatty acids.
• High in Vitamins C, E and K. 
• Used in facial creams.  Avocado is high in oleic acid content, which keeps skin soft and hydrated, while supports the regeneration of damaged skin cells.

• 
  According to Google AI:

The U.S. avocado market reached a historic milestone in 2025 by surpassing 3 billion pounds of total volume for the first time, reflecting a 4 percent volume increase and 12 percent dollar growth over the previous year. [1, 2, 3]

• 
  But isn't an avocado high in calories?  
• Yes, a whole medium sized has 320 calories and 30 grams of fat.
• Yet, this fat is monounsaturated, which is good for you heart.
• Plus, contains a lot of dietary fat.
• Solution:  half an avocado/day should be good for you.

• 
  This might be the worse way to consume avocado, but here are three alcoholic drinks.
• Avocado Margarita: Blends fresh ripe avocado with silver tequila, lime juice, simple syrup, and triple sec or Cointreau for a rich, velvety texture. A famous version is served at EPCOT's Mexico pavilion. [1, 2]

• 
  Batida de Abacate: A traditional Brazilian cocktail that blends fresh avocado, coconut milk, condensed milk, and cachaça (a Brazilian sugar cane spirit) into a frosty, sweet drink. [1]
• Avocado Smash / Zen Cocktails: Modern craft variations that muddle fresh avocado with gin or cucumber vodka, lime, and mint syrup for an earthy, garden-fresh profile. [1, 2, 3, 4]

According to Google AI:

The most popular avocado song is Dr. Jean's Guacamole Song (featuring the viral "form the avocado, peel the avocado" chant), alongside popular streaming tracks like "Avocado" by The Vegetable Plot. [1, 2, 3, 4]

Others:

"Avocado" by Cali Conscious (feat. Rastacado): A reggae-inflected track with an animated music video.

"Avocado" by Cookiee Kawaii: An electronic/hip-hop style track from the artist known for viral hits.

"AVOCADO" by Chaeyoung (feat. Gliiico): A modern upbeat track featured on solo project work.

"The Avocado Song" by Alton Eugene: A viral comedy/soul track about making avocado toast. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]

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