'Strange brew...'

1. Back from the islands. And Hawaiian paralysis. Entertaining thoughts of longer winter extensions. Like those 'snow birds' slathered with SPF 35 soaking up the rays. In exile from the frosty. And their boxed up SAD lamps. Tropical storms, teased, but veered towards the leeward side. Oh that would have been lovely. It only rains in my dreams. And Seattle. Drifted around in slippas and shades. There is nothing like those island trade winds in the morning. Lunched with my 91 year old aunt at the Elks Club which is old school Honolulu. Nostalgic. The view from the terrace exquisite; the water glittering, lapping the shore. Could have hovered on and on. Moving down the line, we crossed over and closed out the week at an off the gird happening. 'Local' ingenuity always at work: da best: the malasada burger. Who knew? And no, I didn't.

2. Flying back. Mental note to never go during the winter months when the currents from Japan are so blustery. Three hours of turbulence. The woman across the aisle from me, crossed herself at least 10 times; couples, white knuckled, held hands for hours. Uh, yeah, those clever royals and their separate flights. Jesus H. After all that, everyone should have been served a round on the house.

3. Hoops time. The Madness. Will we see a team, Kentucky, go undefeated for the entire season? The team features a roster full of McDonald all Americans; most of them will come out in June and flee to the NBA. One and done. Bulls eye on their jersey, it will take stones to raise the hardware. Look to the Big East and Nova, or the Pac 12 Zona to shock the world.

4. Sports trivia. 10 billion wagered on the Super Bowl. 12 billion during the March Madness. Millions in the work force will stream games at their desks. Is this a great country or what?

4. In Cali, it's almost April. No relief for the central valley. Global warming burrowing in.