HAVE YOU HEARD OF A SMART SPEAKER?

I'll continue the Worldometer data tomorrow. For now, this morning The New York Times reported that Europe is doing something better about this Fall/Winter COVID-19 wave. They are keeping schools open but shutting down bars, restaurants and any kind of congregation:

My venerable bathroom bluetooth speaker playing songs from my iPod broke down. But it was 10 years old, so, being functional in that high moisture environment that long was good service.

I actually wanted my speaker to show me what song by whom was playing. So I checked into this and stumbled across a showdown rating among Amazon Echo, Sonos One, Google Next and Apple HomePod. For the record, here is how they ranked:

What do they do?

Play speakers in any room.
Turn on the lights anywhere.
Play music anywhere.
Respond to questions, like asking Siri on you Apple device.
Set reminders.

What you get depends on what you have:

Alexa: Google Nest Mini.
Google Assistant:Amazon Echo Dot
Siri: Apple HomePod

Get Sonos if you want the best sound, don't have anything anyway or want a challenge. Actually, the Apple HomePod sounds better, and a HomePod Mini is soon to come for $99. But if you're techno-challenged, you still need to get into their smart home platform called HomeKit.

The problem is that I don't see any monitor above. However, you can ask these electronic assistants verbally, and they respond to questions.

Come back tomorrow for the next generation: Google Nest Hub vs Amazon Echo Show. Both have screens and are even smarter.

I continue in the international genre for song #42, from Japan:

Sakura
Kimigayo

Sakura, or cherry blossoms, appeared some time in the Edo or Tokugawa Period (1603-1868), and became nationally popular in the Meiji Era (1868-1912). The melody spans a modest range, allowing for the use of a shakuhachi (flute) and koto (string instrument).

Sakura does not seem to make the list of all-time popular songs in Japan because it is too old. Here is a list for music from the 1800's into 1945. However, the world over, Sakura might well be the most recognized Japanese song. Certainly, those spring blooms returning annually help.

Kimigayo in 1888 became the national anthem of Japan. The lyrics are among the oldest in the world, coming from a poem of the Heian period (794-1185). The original national theme was written by Britisher John William Fenton early in the Meiji Period. However, it was unpopular, so Hiromori Hayashi, an Imperial Court musician, in 1880 composed what we have today, enhanced by Franz Eckert, a German bandmaster, into a Gregorian mode. With a length of 32 characters, it is the world's shortest national anthem. The regality and rich tone make Kimigayo my song #42.

I'll end the entertainment section with Glenn Campbell playing classical music with a symphony orchestra. He was noted to be one of the five best guitar players ever. Passed away three years ago at the age of 80 after releasing 64 albums, 17 of them attaining gold/platinum/double-platinum status. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2010 and still embarked on his final Goodbye Tour, with three of his children in the backup band.

Central America is bracing for Category 5 Hurricane Iota at 160 MPH to make landfall, first over Nicaragua, then into Honduras and El Salvador. Unlike Hurricane Eta, which hit this same region as a Category 4, Iota will then move into the Pacific Ocean.

The worst storm to impact Hawaii in recorded history is Hurricane Iniki, which in 1992 moved from the Caribbean across Central America to Hawaii. However, that was in the month of August. Yet, the other recent serious one in 1982, Hurricane Iwa, threatened Hawaii on Thanksgiving Day, and caused considerable damage to the island of Kauai.

A NEXT COVID SUBVARIANT?

By now most know that the Omicron BA.5 subvariant has become the dominant infectious agent, now accounting for more than 80% of all COVID-19 cases. Very few are aware that a new one, BA.4.6, is sneaking in and steadily rising, now accounting for 13% of sequenced samples . However, as BA.4.6 has emerged from BA.4, while there is uncertainty, the scientific sense is that the latest bivalent booster targeting BA.4 and BA.5 should also be effective for this next threat. One concern is that Evusheld--the only monoclonal antibody authorized for COVID prevention in immunocompromised individuals--is not effective against BA.4.6. Here is a reference as to what this means. A series of two injections is involved. Evusheld was developed by British-Swedish company AstraZeneca, and is a t ixagevimab co-packaged with cilgavimab . More recently, Los Angeles County reported on subvariant BA.2.75.2 . which Tony Fauci termed suspicious and troublesome. This strain has also been spreading in

Part 3: OUR NEXT AROUND THE WORLD ODYSSEY

Before I get into my third, and final, part of this cruise series, let me start with some more newsworthy topics. Thursday was my pandemic day for years. Thus, every so often I return to bring you up to date on the latest developments. All these subvariants derived from that Omicron variant, and each quickly became dominant, with slightly different symptoms. One of these will shock you. There has been a significant decline in the lost of taste and smell. From two-thirds of early patients to now only 10-20% show these symptoms. JN.1, now the dominant subvariant, results in mostly mild symptoms. However, once JN.1 infects some, there seem to be longer-lasting symptoms. Clearly, the latest booster helps prevent contracting Covid. A competing subvariant, BA.2.86, also known as Pirola , a month ago made a run, but JN.1 prevailed. No variant in particular, but research has shown that some of you will begin to lose hair for several months. This is caused by stress more than anythi

HONOLULU TO SEATTLE

The story of the day is Hurricane Milton, now a Category 4 at 145 MPH, with a track that has moved further south and the eye projected to make landfall just south of Sarasota. Good news for Tampa, which is 73 miles north. Milton will crash into Florida as a Category 4, and is huge, so a lot of problems can still be expected in Tampa Bay with storm surge. If the eye had crossed into the state just north of Tampa, the damage would have been catastrophic. Milton is a fast-moving storm, currently at 17 MPH, so as bad as the rainfall will be over Florida, again, a blessing. The eye will make landfall around 10PM EDT today, and will move into the Atlantic Ocean north of Palm Bay Thursday morning. My first trip to Seattle was in June of 1962 just after I graduated from Stanford University. Caught a bus. Was called the Century 21 Exposition . Also the Seattle World's Fair. 10 million joined me on a six-month run. My first. These are held every five years, and there have only been

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