Fun varies.  Some go hiking or surfing or cuisine dining or shopping .... whatever you wish, if you had the time, money and will.  I once golfed on Saturdays, mostly at the Ala Wai Golf Course. However, I just went to West Loch this week.  Note that the Rainbow Shower Trees are in bloom. I yesterday bought an Apple 13" Macbook Air Starlight because my travel computer had some minor problems.  I did not realize that it was 7 years old!  I had them transfer my files, and they called me today to pick my new portable up.  Cost?  $1150. Had lunch at Assaggio's Ristorante Italiano, an escalator down from the Apple Store at the Ala Moana Shopping Center.  Ordered a bowl of Pasta e Fagioli, Antipasto and Ossobuco, with a Peroni beer.  The bread here is wonderful. So in addition to picking up my new portable computer, what else will I do this weekend?  Mostly watch TV. I almost always fix the alcoholic drink identified with the Triple Crown of th...

As I begin this posting, I look to my right and see.....a rainbow. Next, the Iran War: Yesterday, President Donald Trump warned Oman not to work with Iran to jointly manage the Strait of Hormuz . Oman has been a close strategic partner of the U.S. for 50 years, and has been involved in peacemaking. That article hinted that Trump was confused, as he has been recently, and misspoke in even mentioning Oman. As you can see, Iran and Oman are the two countries through which the strait passes, so a cooperative agreement actually makes a lot of sense. The strait is only 21 miles wide at the choke point, and you can see Iran from Oman. Yesterday, again, the U.S. struck Iran's Bandar Abbas. However, today the news is that the the U.S. and Iran reached a tentative deal to extend the ceasefire .  What does this mean? First of all, this so-called deal is unofficial, as the agreement has no yet been approved by the leadership of either country.  And where is Israel, still actively striking...

 I'll start with what happened over the past 24 hours: The China Xi - USA Trump summit in Beijing was not a disaster.   Not much was agreed to, but no huge problems resulted. Xi admonished Trump about Taiwan, and his response was muted.  China could play a role in settling the Iran War.  It appears that Xi Jinping will return a visit to the U.S. in September. In a Star Advertiser poll: What should the U.S. do in the war against Iran? May 14, 2026   D. Just “finish the job” with military action (235 Votes) A. Current ceasefire/diplomacy is working (126 Votes) B. Call on NATO for active role (105 Votes) C. Call on China for active role (54 Votes) Oil prices went up: Brent crude futures gained $3.35, or 3.17%, to $109.07 a barrel by 12:34 p.m. CDT (7:34 a.m. Hawaii time). West Texas Intermediate futures were up $3.85, or 3.81%, at $105.02. So on to my topic of the day.  May 15 is the135th day of 2026, so there are 230 days left this year.  Thus far, ...