Again, nothing much going on around the world today, but this unusual hot weather could turn to snow in New York and New England this weekend .  Cities like Chattanooga, Birmingham and St. Louis could challenge heat records today dating back more than 125 years.  Then on Saturday, there could be some snowflakes in the northeast.  Not much, and mostly only at elevation, but the first snowfall is always exciting for most. One bit of sad news is that the first American pope, Robert Francis Prevost, or Pope Leo XIV, a year and a half into service, found out that he has lung cancer.  No details yet.  Here is a video. Yesterday, I reported on the embarrassing situation of the USA being mediocre, if not poor, in excellence of airports and airlines.  Those, unfortunately, could very well be mere symptoms of our possible decline as as the world leader.. On the other hand, according to Google AI: Many prominent analysts argue that talk of American decline is a recurr...

Back to my cocoon, also known as apartment 1212 at 15 Craigside.  Looking forward to doing essentially nothing until our next potentially monumental journey: We fly to Iceland to see some geo-cold sites, then board the Azamara Journey for 18-nights from Rekjavik to Greenland, ending up in Montreal.  Of course, there is one primary reason we will be on this cruise.  The next total solar eclipse.  Sun will stay dark for 2 minutes and 18 seconds on August 12. Will you see this event from where you live?  Google AI says: Upcoming Total Solar Eclipses: August 12, 2026: Greenland, Iceland, Spain. August 2, 2027: Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Somalia. July 22, 2028: Australia, New Zealand. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ] For those in the United States, the next total solar eclipse visible from the contiguous U.S. will be on August 22, 2044 . [ 1 ]   How old will you be in 18 years? Some reviews of the Azamara Journey. Google AI says: The Azamara Journey is hi...