We leave today for San Diego.  Probably will go to the zoo, some rank as  #1 in the world .  Here is another video of  how to visit the zoo .  There is also a hop-on-hop-off trolley system, with a stop at our hotel, the Marriott Marquis. But our primary purpose for this trip is Paso Robles to taste Petite Sirah.  We have relatives in the San Diego area, and four of us will drive from San Diego to Paso Robles, then back a few days later. The cities are 332 miles apart, a drive of 6 hours without stopping.   If you're a fan of this blog, you know by now that my favorite wine is Petite Sirah from Paso Robles.   There is a lot of history going back more than half a century . I tasted a very early version of this wine when it was not yet bottled.  I was spending a summer at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in the early 70s and knew a colleague whose last name was Concannon.   James Concannon founded the company in 188...

Kiko remains a hurricane , but should by tomorrow weaken into a tropical storm.  If the eye went over Hawaii, there would still be some devastation and a lot of flooding.  However, the track has been predicted to pass sufficiently north of the state such that high surf and associated damage might well be the only problem. In the West Pacific is  Typhoon Tapah,  which just attained typhoon strength today and made landfall over China well away from Macao. The Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of America are eerily quiet as high season begins.  No serious ocean storms are predicted for at least the next week. In the East Pacific is  Post-Tropical Cyclone Lorene  so inconsequential that it is not even shown on the map. She was a hurricane on September 3, strengthened to 85 MPH on the 4th, but later that day lost hurricane status. Almost all ocean storms in the East Pacific threaten Mexico, especially the Baha Peninsula, but only very rarely extend into California....

From  Time  magazine, I begin with a slew of Trump topics.  You can read the details. The unpopular Big Beautiful Bill is now in the House . The only truly effective anti-Trump person:  Elon Musk. The Trump Gaza ceasefire proposal . The July 4th Free American Anti-Trump Protest planned across the USA . This site began as a renewable energy and environment blog, and has evolved to just about any subject.  I try to keep Wednesdays for sci-tech, with perhaps a monthly focus on energy.  More recently, I've drawn from the  Energy Matters  info sent to me by the American Energy Society.  I'm inserting direct quotes this time to eliminate my predilections for more credibility. This service starts with some broad topics. - Fossil fuels: Helium is locked in a supply crunch, and prices are surging. - Renewables: Congress will probably pass new renewable fuel standards for 2026 and 2027. - Policy: President Trump is now focused on Califor...

The wine world knows that France, Italy and California produce the best red wines.  The top two wine producers switch between Italy and France, with Italy now #1.  #'s 3 and 4 also change, with Spain today producing more than the USA.  Australia is #5.  China is rapidly rising, and is  affecting wine prices in other ways,  too.  Interestingly enough, though  world wine production is dropping , and  is lower than 1961.  Some blame climate warming. Today I will focus on the best red wines.  Some day I'll talk about the finest white wines. France:  Bordeaux and Burgandy. More specifically, there are two blends of Bordeaux, the left bank uses mostly Cabernet Sauvignon and right mostly Merlot. Burgandy is almost always Pinot Noir, although White Burgandy is Chardonnay. Italy:  Piedmont for Barolo and Tuscany for Brunello de Montalcino. California:  Napa Valley and parallel Sonoma Valley, Cabernet Sauvignon and red blends. ...