But first, from Time magazine: $100 The price of oil hit $100 a barrel on Thursday for the first time since May. It comes after the Houthis of Yemen struck two Saudi tankers in the Red Sea, enforcing a long-threatened blockade of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, another shipping route crucial to the world’s energy supplies. From the New York Times (Sam Sifton) this morning: The Trump administration has imposed new tariffs on goods from more than 80 countries . The tariffs, along with the war in Iran, are threatening the U.S. economy . For my readership, here are some upcoming journeys. August-September 2026:   Total Eclipse of the Sun . Ever see a total eclipse of the Sun?   This is the one where you will feel that extra chill, gets almost dark and some animals think it is the end of the day.   My one experience was on 11July1991 over the Big Island of Hawaii on by wife's birthday .  To quote that posting, it is pretty amazing that the coverage is...

The Ritz-Carlton Luminara was yesterday sailing at sea on our way to the port of Phu My, Vietnam.  Lunch at Haesu Bit.  Sushi Chef Joe. Sashimi and sushi My meal of yellow-fin tuna and hamachi sashimi, ikura-unagi-tobiko sushi, fried truffle rice, miso soup, , green tea, hot sake, cold beer and Nikka Day whisky. End of meal in Haesu Bit. Picked up an ice cream cone. This is my third time in less than a month at-sea between Thailand and Vietnam.  Tomorrow, Ho Chi Minh City,  We were supposed to have stopped at the Thai island of Koh Kood, but the captain decided to skip this because: Koh Kood isn't inherently dangerous but   recent concerns stem from reports of occasional gunfire from the nearby Cambodia border conflict   (late 2025), leading some governments (like the UK's FCDO) to advise against travel, though locals say tourists are unaffected and the border issue is distant, with risks mostly related to natural factors like  mosquitoes  and gen...