This is Day 21 of our trip and Day 12 of our cruise on the Oceania Riviera from Yokohama to Vancouver.  We've been sailing in the open ocean for several days, the seas are now not as rough, and we finally arrive in Kodiak, Alaska tomorrow.  As such, I have been occupied with topics like the International Date Line and why the USA is great, and could well become greater under Donald Trump ( that was the potential if he somehow succeeds in gobbling up Canada and Greenland ). First, Happy Boys Day. It was my third posting of this blog site,  5May2008 , that I wrote about Boys Day.  Same day as Cinco de Mayo, as shown at the end. Today, though, I'll revert to a topic I toss in perhaps monthly called Energy Matters, the following from the  5May2025 issue  of this subject from the America Energy Society. Here is some bad stuff you probably had no idea even existed:  PET COKE. Petroleum coke is the final product from the cracking of oil. When burned, it emits...

  Three noteworthy elections today, one in Wisconsin and two in Florida .   How much have the antics of President Donald Trump and Elon Musk hurt Republicans? Those two Florida elections for the U.S. House are in solidly deep-red states, so the odds are very low that a Democrat can prevail there.  What could happen, though, is a much closer race than expected, so that alone will be an indicator of the damage Trump/Musk  caused. In Wisconsin, the race is for the state's Supreme Court.  Elon Musk alone has provided $15 million for the Republican candidate, plus three $1 million prizes for those signing his petition.  However, Democrats and affiliated outside groups outspent Republicans on the airwaves, $42 million to $33 million.  The key point is will Democrat voters show up to vote showing disdain for Musk and Trump?  We will know tonight. Senator Cory Booker is filibustering, now past 21 hours.   Watch live on You Tube .  Why?...