As I compose this posting, Lala early this morning was still a tropical storm heading westward for the eye making landfall over the southern portion of the Big Island of Hawaii. However, all signs point towards a strengthening into a hurricane.   A Category 1 means sustained winds of from 74-95 MPH . If this projected path is maintained, Kona will be seriously impacted, but Hilo might not. My first job after graduating from college was at the Hutchinson Sugar Company in Naalehu, the southernmost city in the USA.  This part of Kau County could well be very severely damaged by this hurricane. The media have mostly indicated that official historical records don't show a hurricane has ever made landfall over the Big Island.  However, Google AI indicates: On August 9, 1871 , a powerful Category 3 hurricane struck the islands of Hawaiʻi (the Big Island) and Maui , causing severe, tornado-like destruction and widespread property damage from Hilo to Lahaina. [ 1 , 2 , ...

Another short flight today, from Copenhagen to Amsterdam on KLM.  By the way, for those planning on a European trip, keep in mind that they don't all use Euros.  The exceptions are Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Sweden, and Denmark, where it is about 7 Danish Kroner to the U.S. dollar.  Also keep in mind that Norway is not a member of the EU and it is nearly 11 Norwegian Kroner to the U.S. dollar.  Sweden and Iceland use the Krona. The airline lounge was okay, with hard liquor, wines and beers available in the morning.  Neither our Munich nor Copenhagen hotel executive clubs, for example, offered any kind of spirits beyond wine and beer.  We were the only one there for a long while. As we approached Amsterdam, saw tulip fields. One of the advantages of living in Scandinavia is the lack of severe natural disasters.  Sure, a few hurricanes have managed to survive all the up to this far north causing some damage.  Take tsunamis, ...