Today, October 7, marks the third anniversary of the date the Hamas invaded Israel, killing 1200 and taking 251 hostage.   All living hostages have been released and the remains of the last person was recovered earlier this year. Israel still bombs the Gaza Strip, almost on a daily basis. At least 77,271 have been killed on the Hamas side, while more than 2000 Israelis and other foreign nationals have died. Gaza is now a tent city. Earlier this week I read an article from the local paper with the headline:  New Solar Technology Could Help U.S. Catch China . China controls 80% of the solar panel market today. Companies in the U.S.are developing a new kind of solar panel that could generate 25% more energy than today. Called tandem solar , the technology involves adding second and third layers of material to convert more of the sun's radiance into electricity. Mind you, this system still costs at least three times more than conventional devices with one layer of silicon....

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...