The 2019 Prognostication Post

Well lets see how I did last year...

1.A Mag 9 quake off the coast of Cali will cause more infra-structure problems...  The tectonic plates are still punchy and they will  rumble the Pacific Rim all year. BONK  The Gulf of Alaska quake came close but thankfully we had a quite year!

2.CERN ATLAS to reveal new insights into BSM physics.  The setter says it will rattle the standard model folks and make the battery storage research folks wag their tails...  DING

3. Breakthrough in fuel cell efficiency and refueling cost to emerge from someplace in Europe. This gizmo will let you strip out Hydrogen from your homes natural gas supply just like turning on your gas stove...  Just re-fuel by plugging into the port in your garage, the gas meter will whirl and your fuel cell car will be topped off.  The infra structure problem of hydrogen delivery as a fuel will evaporate in 2018... The hound had a particularly waggy tail on this one. DING

4. The setter sees a US Presidential candidate winning the Ig Nobel Prize next year... too fuzzy to know what category though.  A real test of academic freedom and the courageous leadership for a flagship institution...  BONK

5. Alibaba  buys Sears... opens kiosks across the US...  Partners with the YUM group and offers take out food when you pick your made in China stuff...  This will send Google and Amazon on acquisition spins...  Hear that Harvard B-School?  The setter has spoken!  BONK Looks like Sears will soon join Woolworth's and Ward's...

6. Autonomous drones go big as major carriers start to network their IoT fleets of drones to make inter-modal deliveries from their giant warehouses to secure terminals located at fast food restaurants or UPS trucks, where  jumpy urbanites will pick up their widget and possibly a burger on their way home from the office....  The setter saw a lot of cross channel collaboration (C^3) in retail distribution in 2018...   Pay attention Wharton... this is good thesis stuff barked out the spotted one.  Sort of a DING

7. Gene therapy starts it's glacial advance in displacing pharma as a significant cure for a major illness is published.  First a trickle, then a flood... the therapies will reprogram cellular gafootzies and address the root cause of the problem eventually making the apothecary a modern day blacksmith shop...  Look for big pharma to predict the sky is falling as the world turns up-side-down for the pill industry. DING

8. Opinion journalism reaches new heights as mixed mode media driven by social engineering mavens enable the whopper to be told over and over again with exceeding social media interconnected slickness with inferential touches from diverse "experts" that would make Noam C blush.  Nope - critical thinking is not coming to a news source or class room near you in 2018...  Woof wooooof, followed by a yawn. DING

9. Martian discovery!  InSight will land in November and have big news in December!  2019 discoveries will keep on coming about the geophysics of the red planet.  BONK maybe next year...

10. Mining the Pacific Ocean gyre will commence as a modern day gold rush unfolds.  These aquatic miners will be after a harvest of free floating petrochemicals  and recycle them at sea.  They will sail into port like the whalers of old bringing in booty from the deep blue sea.  BONK close but no cigar...


So how did the Llewellyn do?  Looks like the birder is statistically a four legged coin toss.  

Refocusing on the year ahead - the spotted one makes the following prognostications for 2019!

1.  A immunotherapy breakthrough rocks the medical cancer research world. 

2. Energy driven financial corrections around the world reshape major economies. See the hound's 4th revelation... As the keen observers grasp the sea change as in: 

Full fathom five thy father lies;
Of his bones are coral made;
Those are pearls that were his eyes:
Nothing of him that doth fade
But doth suffer a sea-change
Into something rich and strange.  -Willy S.
3. Epidemic - another flu on the way, this one will be different...

4.  Energy conversion goes big.  Electrical power storage on a grand scale will make storage of multiple clean energies practical and cheap.  This epiphany will crack the door open to a copious supply of clean power.  In twenty years nobody will remember what a gasoline pump looked like.  It'll be that trivia only "old" people remember, like rotary phones and the VIC-20.  Time marches on soldier.

5.  Fashion... look out, here comes the next big thing: Speakers built into your shoes!  If you decide to wear your wifi sweater, you can stream as you do that power walk and let your neighbors enjoy your play list too!

6.  Geophysicists will be getting a lot of ink as they put forth the theory of the spin.  We'll finally be able to rest easy in that we will have the answer to that nagging question of why does the Earth spin and what about the molten core with all that earthquakey making subduction going on?  Stay tuned! 

7.  Agricultural scientists solve the digestive problems they created by making crops bug resistant by protein modification.  Bugs didn't like it, but oops, some people don't either!  What to do?  Big stuff for food science as those clever foodies patent the next generation of bug resistant seeds...

8.  Solar science gives the carbon tax happy politicians a speed bump as we plot an orbit towards a Maunder Minimum.  But who to believe, your cold nose of the evening news!?  

9.  Smart clothing for the jobsite.... LED festooned vests that pop to life whenever cars or construction equipment gets inside the sphere of safety.  In fact... I'll take the opportunity to coin the phrase "sphere of safety." As this technology matures, every child's pram and playground will have protected perimeters and age demarcated play zones.... even the workplace will know if your in "the zone."  IoT is coming faster than you know, and maybe with some uncomfortable consequences.  But hey, it's technology so it must be good, right?

10. Smart tackle for your fishing box... yup, the time has come to see the merger of robotic "lures" with GoPro vision and audible distress sounds beamed back to your fishing rod.  Only thing, fishing line is now  conductive and your reel has a monitor built into it.  Look out fish.  Catch that whopper? Upload it to the cloud for adoration by all with that new app!  Oh oh, better make sure you have your digital fishing license!  

Happy New Year everybody!   Thanks for visiting my little corner of the web...

AML NLO, JRO and SEO AML

by the way... the gyre is being mined!

from Bishop Anthony....

2018 Nativity Greeting from His Grace Bishop ANTHONY

Download PDF
Nativity of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ
December 25, 2018
Christ is Born! Glorify Him!

المسيح يولد! تمجده!

Christmas is many things, which includes a story of two kings. One is from the world and the other King comes from heaven.
The first king, Herod, was not confident. He thought his power had to be protected. Although he was wealthy, sat on a throne, and looked down on others, he was afraid of everyone. Instead of bringing smiles to people's faces, he brought tears to their eyes. When he heard from the wise men that a baby Boy was born of a Holy Woman in the countryside, a Savior who would serve and save the people, Herod's fear got the best of him and he was in a "furious rage." He looked everywhere to find this newborn King.
Therefore, God hid the baby King, who was from heaven, and His very own Son, in a cave in the country, under the stars, in the Holy arms of his Mother, while the animals, shepherds, and angels kept watch over Him. Unlike Herod, this baby Jesus would grow up to be the Perfect King. “He increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.” (Luke 2:52) People loved Him. They were not afraid of Him. Little children would run up to Him. People were drawn to Him like metal to a magnet. And though crowds were always with Him, He made time with each person that needed Him. Everyone, well almost everyone, loved him.
The worldly king sold his kingdom for his pleasure at a party. The heavenly King, Jesus Christ, bought a Kingdom to give to His Father as a present. His purpose was His pleasure.
Herod loved making speeches. He gave speeches from his throne to force people to do his will. The fearful king wanted frightened subjects. He put on golden robes because he thought he was a god. But just as his proud heart swelled to the cheers of the crowd, he died then and there (Acts 21).
Jesus never spoke like that. He never sat on a throne; he was nailed to the Cross. And from the Cross, He never spoke more powerfully than when He didn’t speak at all. And when this King died, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords gave life to everyone. (Revelation 19:16 and 1 Timothy 6:15)
It does not matter what conditions we are given in life, whether we live in a palace and sit on a throne, or are born in a cave and lay in a manger, it is our love for God that makes us great, like Jesus Christ, the heavenly King.
May He who was born in a cave and lay in a manger for our salvation bless you always.
+Bishop ANTHONY
Bishop of Toledo
Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America


AML NLO, JRO and SEO AML

Some music history...

So many times I look for those cultural experiences that broaden the horizon. These adventures I've learned always have a story to tell.  I'm not a big fan of the country music genre, but stopping into a museum that claims to be "Birthplace o Country Music" well that was one of those place to check out.

On a cold December day and on my way to yet another airport I looked at my wrist watch and decided I had a half hour to spare. Built in the 1920's this was the Defiance Truck dealership.

We're goin' in...

The visit starts with a short movie in the second floor theater that explains how it all happened.

While your here you may catch a live broadcast on the radio station WBCM

In 1927 Bristol was the scene of the "Sessions"

There's a lot to see here.  I really like how it all started... and I have to say the roots of country are what I'd call folk with a blend of  religious expression.  A very long way from pick-up trucks, trains and  momma....

Merry Christmas JRO nad NLO - AML - Dad

Fall, Winter... looks like the NASA data is right

Two years of progressive planetary cooling... Brrr

"The new NASA findings are in line with studies released by UC-San Diego and Northumbria University in Great Britain last year, both of which predict a Grand Solar Minimum in coming decades due to low sunspot activity. Both studies predicted sun activity similar to the Maunder Minimum of the mid-17th to early 18th centuries, which coincided to a time known as the Little Ice Age, during which temperatures were much lower than those of today." NASA Sees Climate Cooling Trend Thanks to Low Sun Activity Written by  James Murphy

Ice is now a few inches deep - since this pic...

Ooooo, columner ice crystals fell the other day!

Yay!  The commemoration of the birth of Christ - Christmas no matter how you celebrate  it - is just ahead!

AML NLO, JRO and SEO AML