Hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones are the same storm .  However: In the Northern Hemisphere they spin ( looking from above ) in the counterclockwise direction. In the Southern Hemisphere they spin in the clockwise direction. Something called the Coriolis Force created by the rotation of Planet Earth triggers the storm. They are called: Hurricane if initially formed in the Atlantic or Eastern Pacific Oceans. Typhoon if formed in the Western North Pacific. Cyclone if in the South Pacific and Indian Oceans. The ocean waters need to be at least 80 F ( 27 C ) from surface to 150 feet deep for these cyclonic storms to form.  Thus, the ocean is too cold during winter months. Hurricanes cannot exist about 300 miles above and below the equator.  Thus, no storm of this nature has ever crossed the Equator. At 39 MPH it is called a tropical storm and given a name. Reaching a sustained 74 MPH the classification is changed to hurricane, typhoon or cyclone. They are classified according the the Saffi

Hurricane Ida was as fearsome as predicted, with more than a million in Louisiana without electricity, but, as of this morning, there has been only   one person reported killed , by a falling tree.  This number will no doubt increase as the search begins, but Hurricane Katrina had 1833 deaths. The good news of the day is that  some doubt has been cast on the Israeli report  that vaccine immunity is waning, maybe dropping to as low as 39% from the original mid-nineties.  While there is no doubt that more vaccinated people are today getting sick from the Delta-variant, that could well be because they are taking more chances through travel and so on, and the actual immunity might still be quite high.  In any case, these individuals who do get sick, all tend to live with mostly mild symptoms.   There is a growing sense that booster shots might not be necessary at this time, and the more sensible policy would be to first vaccinate the world, invoke more vaccine mandates and accelerate the

THE BEST ELECTRIC WINE BOTTLE OPENER Super   Hurricane Ida   ( there are reports she just hit 155 MPH while nearing the Louisiana coastline, which qualifies her for Super status ) made landfall near Port Fourchon as a Category 4 with constant winds of 150 MPH at the inner wall of the storm.  There will be considerable wave and wind damage, plus floods from all the rainfall: Reportedly, Ida was the most powerful hurricane to strike Louisiana since the 1850's.   Governor John Bel Edwards  said yesterday that she will be the strongest to make landfall over Louisiana.  This was when when the projected speed was supposed to be 140 MPH. How much more powerful is a 150 MPH hurricane compared to a 75 MPH hurricane?  You need to divide the smaller number into the larger number, then take the cube of the quotient.  Thus, 150/75 = 2, followed by 2x2x2 = 8.  A 155 MPH hurricane is 8.86 times more powerful than a 75 MPH hurricane. Are you one of those still struggling to open a wine bottle usin

  Before I get into the very dangerous Hurricane Ida approaching New Orleans, a few other news items of the day: The USA suffered yesterday with 190,370 new cases and 1304 new deaths. #2 Mexico had 835 new deaths with "only" 20,633 new cases. #2 India with 46,805 new cases had 514 new deaths. Hawaii had our worst day ever, 1035 new cases and 9 new deaths.  Interestingly enough, Florida had the highest number of new cases with 27,584, but only 8 new deaths.  Hmmm... The U.S. has now passed  100,000 evacuations  from Kabul Airport, which will come to halt on Tuesday.  Lots of fears, but no particularly serious after-attacks. The NCAA women's volleyball season began yesterday with Hawaii beating Fairfield, and will play Marquette tonight, with Texas A&M tomorrow.  Two stars were first year freshmen. The NCAA football season began today, with Hawaii at UCLA in the Rose Bowl on ESPN. So on to  Hurricane Ida , at this writing only a Category 1.  However, all projections sho

  I'll pass today on Afghanistan, COVID-19 and politics.  I began a UFO series last week, and will conclude today with some viewing options. My conclusion is that like religion and ghosts, UFOs remain in a stage below even paranormal phenomena.  But that doesn't mean you can't enjoy a film or documentary to keep your curiosity active. Interestingly enough, there is a  2009 book  on this subject by Chris Hallquist.  You should know that he has been president of Atheists, Humanists and Agnostics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison since 2005.  There are  other points of view , of course.  One is Geta Christina of  Why Are You Atheists So Angry ? But this is not a Sunday, so let me go on to the the topic of the day.  What can you see on your TV set? For example, I just saw on Netflix  Top Secret UFO Projects , a series with six episodes.  I watched all, and wonder why.   Rotten Tomatoes  did not bother to review it.  The blog site  Decider  did, and recommended that you ski

                   From  Worldometer  (new  COVID-19 deaths yesterday):          DAY    USA    WORLD     Brazil      India      South Africa June     9    1093     4732         1185       246       82 July    22     1205     7128         1293      1120     572 Aug    12     1504     6556        1242        835     130 Sept     9     1208      6222       1136       1168       82 Oct     21     1225      6849         571        703       85 Nov    25      2304    12025        620        518      118 Dec     30      3880    14748       1224       299      465 Jan      14       4142    15512         1151        189       712                  Feb      3       4005    14265       1209       107      398           25       2414    10578        1582        119      144 Mar     2        1989      9490       1726       110      194           31       1115      12301        3950       458       58 April   6         906     11787         4211        631       37 May    4         853     13667