Good late morning from the Interior! I was late to bed last night and slept in to almost ten this morning.

Johann, it was so good to see your post and hear about your Christmas! I hope you are taking time for yourself as you care for Windell and family! I was sorry to hear of his continuing health issues but thrilled to hear of that baby's recovery with your daughter and son in law. There are children who don't have that chance.

MarsGal, I was intrigued by your post and Bernice II. I Googled, and luckily her sacrifice was successful as her husband returned and instituted policies that brought Egypt safety and prosperity for a long while.

We miss out here as in the summer there is almost 24/7 daylight and in the winter a cloud cover that keeps the heat in and obscures the stars and solar activities. The only event I'm aware of is that in the autumn and winter, the moon moves from the Southwest to the Northwest low in the heavens and completes the circle returning to higher skies in the summer. It is common to see both the sun and the moon in the summer. There are labs and astronomies w/telescopes at the University, but they're not open to the general public

Marilyne, I never knew about SeniorNet before arriving in 2000. I believe Bunnie and GinnyAnn told me about it as they were in both TA and SeniorNet. I stayed almost exclusively in PSP, Pets, Recipes and the Missouri folder before adding Norm's group. So much of my activities came from these folders and their derivatives.

Then shortly after SeniorNet dumped their discussions, Thirdage did the same,  until someone, I believe Sandy emailed me about Norm's Yahoo group and then later, Pat Scott's. However, I think there was another brief group between Norm's with Yahoo and the SeniorNet demise.

Larry, the Gallery doesn't compress your photos. It's only storage.

Bubble! It is so lovely to see you back on board! You were missed! I know that one time after losing a computer that I had the same email issues. I first went through and culled the trash and then set up temporary holds and processing folders for those emails I could go through in order of importance. It took me about a month and a little over but since I had separated them from the regular emails, it was easier. That was in 2008.

Hello and Good Morning to all I've missed!

Mary Anne,  yes,  I have the Duluth Canal, etc. cam and the Soo Locks cam on both computer and tablet.  It's not that I can't see them; it's that I haven't had time to "stick with it" lately.

I thought about sharing Bash pictures on S&F to show people that have been mentioned in the reminiscing for those who only "met" them on-line.  Might also have some of various ones Helona, GinnieB and I met while they were traveling through OKC.

Today's Project du Jour was happily interrupted by a phone call from Miss Ellen as she was on her way back from visiting friends in Tulsa.  She is here from NYC for the holidays  and a chance to visit with her in any way takes precedence, of course. 

Kind of you to say, Marilyne, but I don't think I am a real whiz at astronomy or a lot of other things. I just get curious about stuff and look them up. I will tell you a secret. I have an app on my Kindle tablet called Distant Suns. The first version I had, I bought for my PC long ago. Now they have it for several different platforms. Check out the product page for tablet and iOS apps. Here is their home page. https://distantsuns.com/ It is GPS based so it will pinpoint where you are and give you a look at the sky, day or night, to see where all kinds of stars, clusters, galaxies, planets, etc. are at any given time. You can set it up to just see the sky as is or have it include the outlines of the constellations. There are a few other features as well. The downloads page has a downloadable users guide otherwise you have to go out to the Google, Apple or Amazon stores. The Products page lists what is available. As far as I know the apps are still free. They list a free app called KeckWatch and there is DistantSuns+VR which are Apple only. They might be interesting too, but I don't use Apple products. Notice that they are members of the Moms with Apps collaborative group.

George has four cats now, the oldest is Lily who is about 8 or nine now. Then there is Roxie, Mom to Scotch and Soda.

Originally published Dec. 31, 1983 by The Star;

"lf we look into the world as it may be at the end of another generation, let's say 2019 — that's 35 years from now, the same number of years since 1949 when George Orwell's 1984 was first published — three considerations must dominate our thoughts:

In 1983, American writer Isaac Asimov wrote that by 2019, "It is quite likely that society, then, will have entered a phase that may be more or less permanently improved over the situation as it now exists." 

1. Nuclear war. 2. Computerization. 3. Space utilization.

If the United States and the Soviet Union flail away at each other at any time between now and 2019, there is absolutely no use to discussing what life will be like in that year. Too few of us, or of our children and grand· children, will be alive then for there to be any point in describing the precise condition of global misery at that time.

Let us, therefore, assume there will be no nuclear war — not necessarily a safe assumption — and carry on from there.

Computerization will undoubtedly continue onward inevitably. Computers have already made themselves essential to the governments of the industrial nations, and to world industry: and it is now beginning to make itself comfortable in the home.

An essential side product, the mobile computerized object, or robot, is already flooding into industry and will, in the course of the next generation, penetrate the home.

There is bound to be resistance to the march of the computers, but barring a successful Luddite revolution, which does not seem in the cards, the march will continue.

The growing complexity of society will make it impossible to do without them, except by courting chaos; and those parts of the world that fall behind in this respect will suffer so obviously as a result that their ruling bodies will clamour for computerization as they now clamour for weapons.

The immediate effect of intensifying computerization will be, of course, to  change utterly our work habits. This has happened before. Before the Industrial Revolution, the vast majority of humanity was engaged in agriculture and indirectly allied professions.

After industrialization, the shift from the farm to the factory was rapid and painful. With computerization the new shift from the factory to something new will be  still more rapid and in consequence, still more painful.

It  is not that computerization is going to mean fewer jobs as a whole, for  technological advance has always, in the past, created more jobs than it has destroyed, and there is no reason to think that won't be true
now, too.

However, the jobs created are not identical with the jobs that have been destroyed, and in similar cases in the past the change has never been so radical.

Destroying our minds The  jobs that will disappear will tend to be just those routine clerical and assembly-line jobs that are simple enough, repetitive enough, and stultifying enough to destroy the finely balanced minds of those human beings unfortunate enough to have been forced to spend years doing them in order to earn a living, and yet complicated enough to rest above the capacity of any machine that is neither a computer nor computerized. It is these that computers and robots for which they are perfectly designed will take over.

The jobs that will appear will, inevitably, involve the design, the
manufacture, the installation, the maintenance and repair of computers
and robots, and an understanding of whole new industries that these
"intelligent" machines will make possible. This means that a vast
change in the nature of education must take place, and entire
populations must be made "computer-literate" and must be taught to deal  with a "high-tech" world.

Again, this sort of thing has happened before. An industrialized workforce  must, of necessity, be more educated than an agricultural one. Field hands can get along without knowing how to read and write. Factory employees cannot. onsequently, public education on a mass scale had to be introduced in industrializing nations in the course of the 19th century.

The change, however, is much faster this time and society must work much faster; perhaps faster than they can. It means that the next generation will be one of difficult transition as untrained millions find themselves helpless to do the jobs that most need doing.

By the year 2019, however, we should find that the transition is about over. Those who can he retrained and re-educated will have been: those who can't be will have been put to work at something useful, or where ruling groups are less wise, will have been supported by some sort of grudging welfare arrangement.

In any case, the generation of the transition will be dying out, and there will  be a new generation growing up who will have been educated into the new  world. It is quite likely that society, then, will have entered a phase  that may be more or less permanently improved over the situation as it  now exists for a variety of reasons.

First: Population will be continuing to increase for some years after the present and this will make the pangs of transition even more painful. Governments will be unable to hide from themselves the fact that no problem can possibly be solved as long as those problems continue to be intensified by the addition of greater numbers more rapidly than they can be dealt with.

Efforts  to prevent this from happening by encouraging a lower birthrate will become steadily more strenuous and it is to be hoped that by 2019, the world as a whole will be striving toward a population plateau. Second:  The consequences of human irresponsibility in terms of waste and pollution will become more apparent and unbearable with time and again, attempts to deal with this will become more strenuous. It is to be hoped  that by 2019, advances in technology will place tools in our hands that  will help accelerate the process whereby the deterioration of the environment will be reversed.

Third: The world effort that must be  invested in this and in generally easing the pains of the transition may, assuming the presence of a minimum level of sanity among the peoples of the world, again not a safe assumption,  weaken in comparison  the causes that have fed the time-honoured quarrels between and within nations over petty hatred and suspicions.

In short, there will be increasing co-operation among nations and among groups within nations, not out of any sudden growth of idealism or decency but out of a cold-blooded realization that anything less than that will mean destruction for all.

By 2019, then, it may well be that the nations will be getting along well enough to allow the planet to live under the faint semblance of a world government by co-operation, even though no one may admit its existence. Aside from these negative advances — the approaching defeat of overpopulation, pollution and militarism — there will be positive advances, too.

Education, which must be revolutionized in the new world, will be revolutionized by  the very agency that requires the revolution — the computer. Schools  will undoubtedly still exist, but a good schoolteacher can do no better  than to inspire curiosity which an interested student can then satisfy at home at the console of his computer outlet. Education will become fun because it will bubble up from within and not be forced in from without.

While computers and robots are doing the scut-work of society so that
 the world, in 2019, will seem more and more to be "running itself,"
more and more human beings will find themselves living a life rich in
leisure.

This does not mean leisure to do nothing, but leisure to
do something one wants to do; to be free to engage in scientific
research. in literature and the arts, to pursue out-of-the-way interests
 and fascinating hobbies of all kinds. And if it seems impossibly
optimistic to suppose that the world could be changing in this direction
 in a mere 35 years (only changing, of course. and not necessarily
having achieved the change totally), then add the final item to the mix.

 Add my third phrase: space utilization. It is not likely that we
will abandon space, having come this far. And if militarism fades, we
will do more with it than make it another arena for war. Nor will we
simply make trips through it. We will enter space to stay.  With
 the shuttle rocket as the vehicle, we will build a space station and
lay the foundation for making space a permanent home for increasing
numbers of human beings.

Mining the Moon By  2019, we will be back on the moon in force. There will be on it not Americans only, but an international force of some size; and not to collect moon rocks only, but to establish a mining station that will process moon soil and take it to places in space where it can be smelted  into metals, ceramics. glass and concrete — construction materials for the large structures that will be put in orbit about the Earth.

One  such structure which very conceivably, might be completed by 2019 would  be the prototype of a solar power station, outfitted to collect solar energy, convert it to microwaves and beam it to Earth.
It would be the first of a girdle of such devices fitted about Earth's equatorial plane. It would the beginning of the time when a major part of Earth's energy will come from the sun under conditions that will make it not the  property of any one nation, but of the globe generally.

Such structures will be, in themselves guarantees of world peace and
continued co-operation among nations. The energy will be so necessary to  all and so clearly deliverable only if the nations remain at peace and
work together, that war would become simply unthinkable — by popular demand.

In addition, observatories will be built in space to increase our knowledge of the universe immeasurably; as will
laboratories, where experiments can be conducted that might be unsafe, or impossible, on Earth's surface. Most important, in a practical
sense, would be the construction of factories that could make use of the  special properties of space — high and low temperatures, hard
radiation. Unlimited vacuum, zero gravity — to manufacture objects that could be difficult or impossible to manufacture on Earth, so that the world's technology might be totally transformed.

In fact, projects  might even be on the planning boards in 2019 to shift industries into orbit in a wholesale manner. Space, you see, is far more voluminous than  Earth's surface is and it is therefore a far more useful repository for  the waste that is inseparable from industry.

Nor are there living  things in space to suffer from the influx of waste. And the waste would  not even remain in Earth's vicinity, but would be swept outward far .beyond the asteroid belt by the solar wind. Earth will then be in a  position to rid itself of the side-effects of industrialization, and  et without actually getting rid of its needed advantages. The factories  will he gone, but not far. only a few thousand miles straight up.

And  humanity, not its structures only. will eventually be in space. By
2019, the first space settlement should be on the drawing boards; and
may perhaps be under actual construction. It would be the first of  many in which human beings could live by the tens of thousands, and in which they could build small societies of all kinds, lending humanity a further twist of variety.

In fact, although the world of 2019 will  he far changed from the present world of 1984, that will only be a barometer of far greater changes planned for the years still to come."

Patricia, the Isaac Asimov article is really fascinating to read! Some predictions are dead-on accurate, yet others are far from off the mark.

He was right on, with what he called "computerization", and how it has affected life, as compared to what it was in 1984.
Computerization will undoubtedly continue onward inevitably,is certainly true, and there seem to be no slowing down or end to it.  As he predicted, computerized robots have taken over a huge number of routine factory type jobs, and millions of people are out of work, as a result. 

The comments about the USA vs Russia (Which was still the Soviet Union in l984) were interesting.  Although there hasn't been any combat, the conflicts and intrigue goes on and on, and seems to be getting worse.

He was wrong on two major predictions:
1. The slowing down of world wide population growth . . . instead, population has continued to expand in all but a few of the smaller developed countries. No "plateau"in sight!
2. Space exploration, and establishing settlements on other planets.  Interesting how he predicted by 2019, we could be "mining the moon"! Not even close on that one. A third prediction that hasn't happened, but looks hopeful, is dealing with world wide pollution of cities, oceans, etc.  Utilizing outer space as a place to get rid of trash, sounds like a great idea, but it will be decades before that ever happens . . . if it ever does.

Marilyne, I have to disagree, somewhat, regarding missing the mark on space exploration. We are just a smidge slower than Asimov's predictions. We are and have been doing it, but not with humans for the most part. We are still getting telemetry from Voyagers I & II, and have a bunch of exploration payloads out there in the deep. Right now New Horizons is doing a fly-by of Ultima Thule way out in the Kuiper Belt. https://www.space.com/42859-new-horizons-ultima-thule-flyby-webcast-guide.html and https://gizmodo.com/all-the-incredible-stuff-happening-in-space-in-2019-1831215547

The Chinese are bound and determined to have a large presence on the Moon. They are studying the feasibility of a manned lunar expedition as well as building a permanent outpost near the moon's south pole in the 2030's. NASA has plans for a space station to orbit the moon; I don't know what the status of that is just now. Private enterprise is getting more attention what with several companies formed to design the machinery to carry out space mining, building a commercial space station, and putting a permanent space colony on Mars in the not too distant future.

We have lots of competition, as mentioned there are the aforementioned Chinese (CNSA) but also major efforts by the Japanese (JAXA), the European Space Agency (ESA) and Russia (Rosscosmos). For a full list of worldwide space agencies and their capabilities see this article from Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_government_space_agencies Many of these have no launch capabilities or have limited capabilities at the moment. I'd especially like to mention Brazil since it is cropping up in a few of the SciFi books I've read. They do have launch capabilities which have sent up a number of earth orbit satellites. I expect we will be seeing more about India's space program in the future, too.

If you are laughing about the formalizing of the US Space Command, keep in mind that several nations already have a separate military space program aimed at protecting their satellites as well as having the ability to disable or destroy those of other nations. We are expanding our territorial conflicts over territory, resource possession, and protection into space. I'd not like to be behind the 8-ball on that.

Also keep in mind that what we see in the public domain now is just the tip of the iceberg as propriety and secret research continues way ahead of what what the powers that be release to the public regarding new technology. Cutting edge technology often goes unnoticed because it is too expensive for most commercial enterprises. Who knew much if anything about 3-D printers before they started becoming commercially available; now the International Space Station has one. How many of you are following the advances in graphene materials, or my newest interest, Optogenetics? Both, if research continues apace, will bring big advances in materials and medical interventions, among other things.

Okay, I get a little passionate about what the future holds, except where politics, power plays and war-mongering are concerned. I am also a bit leery of globalization at this time. Who will hold the power should a formal global government come about? How will it affect the little guy?

Hi Everyone. We are going to have a cloudy day with some brief showers this morning and then just clouds this afternoon with a low chance of further rain.  It is suppose to get to 60 degrees early this afternoon.  I am going to Sunday School and then come home and pick up Pat for Church.  Following Church we will go somewhere to eat.  This afternoon we are expecting Scott to come out for a little while as he still hasn't gotten his Christmas presents.  He won't be able to stay too long as he has to work again tonight.  I did watch a lot of football and some basketball yesterday afternoon and evening.  The final two teams to play for the National Championship have now been decided and one of them is Clemson, a South Carolina team, and the other is the University of Alabama.

In a few minutes I have to leave to go to Sunday School so will just post the above this morning and try to get back and post later this afternoon.

Good morning. 

It is a pretty sunny morning here, and not too, too cold.

I am just marking my place.  I have a lot of little odds and ends to take care of today.  Lots of picking up and straightening up and getting rid of lots of junk papers.  Hate when stuff just gets so piled up.  I don't know where all the mail comes from.  Most of it gets trashed.

Also, will need to take care of some bills to go out in the mail tomorrow. 

I hope everyone has a wonderful Sunday.

Joy

Good morning, only it isn't.  I got ready for church and waited and waited for Dot.  At 10 to 10, I decided to look to see if I had a message from her - and I did.  The TV said it was icy out and she does not like to drive on ice, so we did not go to church.  Tom left to pick up Annie who will come here for a few minutes, then he will take her to work.  We'll pick her up later this afternoon to go to Holland and take her home after that. 

Tom and Annie are going to bring my bookcase up from the hallway by Tom and take the little end table by me to replace the bookcase.  Like robbing Peter to pay Paul, isn't it?

I'm interested in what Patricia, Marilyn and MarsGal have written about "the future".  I don't follow it too closely, however, I do read some of the articles that appear.  I feel I won't be around when/if they happen even if the younger members of my family will. 

I have to do some picking up for when the furniture exchange takes place and I'll be back later (BBL).

Mary Ann

MaryAnn, I notice that you were here about 30 minutes ago. 

I am wondering if you happened to be watching the  Two Harbors boat launching dock and saw the man going out in a small power boat. I was really surprised when I just happened to look at the webcam and saw him backing the boat into the water. And, from what it looked like to me,  he wasn't a really young guy.  He had a difficult time walking out on the pier... looked a little icy and he was slipping.  WHen he got out into the water, it looked like it was going to be a rocky ride. That little boat was bouncing all over the place.  Couple times it looked like the back end was almost in the water.  Didn't seem like it was a good time to be going for a boat ride.  I guess he was one of those avid fishermen. LOL

I am sorry that you didn't get to church, but I can understand Dot not wanting to drive if it was icy.  Hope you will make the trip to Holland ok.  I am sure you are looking forward to see everyone, especially the little girls.  Have fun with them.

Will look forward to hearing about your day.

Joy

Joy - I would have liked to have seen the lone fisherman in the boat, on such a cold Winter morning!  I often sit here and watch individual people on the different webcams, and wonder about them.  Also I wonder what they would think if they knew I was watching them, in real time, from thousands of miles away?    

Mary Ann - sorry you missed Church, but you still have a fun day to look forward to. It will be nice to have Annie with you. I'll be waiting to hear about Eleanor and Johanna, and everyone else in your Holland family. 

MarsGal - You know much more about the US Space Program than I do, and also about programs in other countries like China, Japan and Russia.  We hear very little about what they are doing from our media, but I guess the information is out there if you know where to look.  I was thinking more about the Moon exploration, that Isimov predicted would be in full swing by this date. Mining the Moon, sounded very interesting, but obviously hasn't happened.  I was mostly concerned with the massive population explosion in  the Third World countries, since his prediction.  He thought we would have reached a plateau by now, but instead , we never hear anything about trying to get population under control?  That's the big problem that I see, looming in the future.

Good late morning from a very brisk Interior, We have 80% humidity, blowing snow with wind gusts of 40 MPR and accompanying higher temperatures. Farrah is, as usual, considering I slept in again and she has been awake longer.

Asimov, a naturalized American, an immigrant of Russian birth, a professor of biochemistry, and a noted science fiction writer had over ninety books to his credit.  He did mention the possibility of militarization and using space as a dumping ground for our garbage that I found reprehensible.

His guesses about overpopulation and pollution were overly optimist as evangelical conservatives are not only preaching a return to sixty-year-old values but encouraging not only over large families but adoption of children to spread this message even further.

The hatred, and narcissist belief that the color of our skins, the type of education, profession or the area we live is better over another is not better but worse. The Industrial Revolution had the same issues, and it brought down the world order of that time and helped to usher in the two world wars.

They are already discussing how climate change, pollution, and overpopulation has exacerbated tensions and brought us to the same place as the flash point of the Industrial Revolution. Uber right nationalists are not new, their scapegoats are not new, nor are the narcissism or conditions that spawned them.

If you compare the history between their time and ours, it includes the same players, the same areas and you need only substitute the current names for the terms of the past.

I've read everything that has been written here and I've written everything I have to say in the Soda Shoppe.  Have a lovely day!

Oh, there's Shan beside my posting; he's so cute.

A lot of water has gone over the dam since I started reading an hour or so ago.  Since Dot and I did not go to church, we also did not go out to eat afterward.  Tom had picked up Annie, brought her here, then took her to work.  In about an hour or so, he will pick her up and we'll go to Holland.  When he got back from taking Annie to work, Tom suggested we go out to eat and to include Dot.  We were going to the New Beginnings, but there were so many cars around the place, we ended up going to the Cholesterol Pit where Dot and I had  our usual and I don't know what Tom had, probably eggs and toast with something. 

I want to nap before we leave, so I'll return much later.  I'm having trouble with my space bar because it doesn't want to space.

Mary Ann

The weather man was right as it is a cloudy afternoon.  When we came out of Church this morning it was raining.  We only had one service today so when I got back from picking Pat up home I had to park  quite a ways from the Church.  We decided we both just wanted to come home and eat lunch as we both were tired.  We thought Scott was coming out this afternoon but it is only about a hour before he needs to go to work so he may not make it out. 

Bubble, good to see you are back online.  I echo what others have said in that I missed you.

Patricia, thanks for the info about the Gallery.  I have very seldom used it as I am not a photographers although with the iPhone have a great camera that is easy to use.  I am trying to remember the name of the program I had that made resizing so easy.  That was an interesting piece on the projections made about where we would be by 2019. 

Mary Ann, like you I am not going to waste my time worrying about the future as my heart is getting weaker, especially the last few weeks, and doubt that I will live to see some of the things.  However, things in our world can change quickly so one never knows. 

I have read all of the postings.  I may be late getting here to post tomorrow morning as I have someone coming to the house around 9 am for an hour or more.

Patricia I couldn't agree with you more on the population problem and all that it brings with it, environmental ills, food shortages, and the like. I have to wonder, when he wrote that, if Asimov was either not thinking of the third world nations or if he was catering to his readership or did really believe that the wealthy nations would be more willing to share their wealth than they are or that the third world nations could pull themselves up a lot faster.

As for militarizing space, the Chinese are already shooting down their old, defunct satellites for target practice. I think we are doing some research into protecting our space assets (GPS and communications satellites among them), but not I haven't seen much out there.

And here is Mary Ann with her own problem with space. Gave me a laugh. I hope you can correct the problem Mary Ann.

We are to get freezing rain tomorrow morning. I had wanted to go down to the State Store to get a bottle of wine for New Year's Day, but that may not happen now. George will be bringing a pizza over.

You are right, look at all the food shortages, recalls and such that are being accepted and commonplace. The world is again becoming a dangerous place. Diseases are increasing, and medical care and antibiotics are decreasing in both developed and undeveloped nations. Life expectancy is decreasing, and pregnancy and childbirth rates are said to be back to early nineteenth century rates. Our children are the first generation not to have exceeded the previous generation in wealth, education and opportunities. Yet none of this is a political priority.

MarsGal, one of the remarks he made was interesting because we have had that minor, so far revolution; "There is bound to be resistance to the march of the computers, but barring a successful Luddite revolution, which does not seem in the cards, the march will continue." Luddite means "a person opposed to increased industrialization or new technology."  "a small-minded Luddite resisting progress."

Perhaps that ties into this; "Again, this sort of thing has happened before. An industrialized workforce must, of necessity, be more educated than an agricultural one. Field hands can get along without knowing how to read and write. Factory employees cannot. Consequently, public education on a mass scale had to be introduced in industrializing nations in the course of the 19th century.

The change, however, is much faster this time and society must work much faster; perhaps faster than they can. It means that the next generation will be one of difficult transition as untrained millions find themselves helpless to do the jobs that most need doing.

By the year 2019, however, we should find that the transition is about over. Those who can he retrained and re-educated will have been: those who can't be will have been put to work at something useful, or where ruling groups are less wise, will have been supported by some sort of grudging welfare arrangement."

This has not happened as those in power do not feel the need to provide a good education and employment for those lacking. They feel that this is socialist and against the very fabric of social order in so many countries. Those with plenty feel they must guard it against the have-nots. I believe Asimov was too charitable in his writings.

As to the Chinese and other such nations, it is all a matter of priorities and ideology, not their subjects. Many politicians worldwide are more ruled by deep pockets than constituencies.

For example in the Arctic, Fairbanks is less than 1700 miles from the geographical North Pole. Since the ice is melting at never seen before rates, mining, oil/gas ships, research vessels and warships from around the world are converging because of previously untapped natural gas reservoirs. This is even after numerous worldwide experts have warned that this activity will make fracking seem innocuous.

I have no plans until the third, (when classes start up again); except for hunkering down and playing on the computer. I have discovered on YouTube, PBS videos of Are You Being Served, Hyacinth and other Brit television along with Carol Burnet, Dean Martin, and numerous historical videos.

We just returned from our Christmas in Holland and in a few minutes I'm going to bed.  It's late for me, but not others - 10:30 pm.  I'll just say we had a very good time.

Mary Ann

Boy!  I sure was wrong about this being a fishing and outdoor sports discussion.  It's more like school!  Once again.  I expressed most of my thoughts in the Soda Shoppe today!

Good morning, Jane, and all the early morning friends.

Jane,  you are so right.  Too old and too much to absorb.  I have enough trouble handling current things, let alone worry about what could be.  LOL It is interesting reading if you are into all that. I just have a hard time getting through a lot of it.

Today is the last day of the year 2018.  I hope that 2019 will be a happier and healthier one for everybody.

I will check back later. But, to MaryAnn, I am so glad you had a nice time.  I am sure you will tell us more about your day later.

Have a good day.


Joy

Patricia, yes, I just read the other day about the Russians planning or increasing bases in the Arctic area. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that we are doing the same. Alvin Toffler, a futurist and businessman, wrote several books focusing mostly on the modern tech, the digital and communications revolutions and their impact on society. I bought his first book, Future Shock, when it came out in 1970, but never read it. Now, wouldn't you know it, I can't find it. It must have been discarded with one of my periodic clean outs or moves.  Guess I will have to find another copy, plus his follow-ups. Toffler passed away at 87 in 2016, but his organization still lives. I am bookmarking it to look into later today. https://www.tofflerassociates.com/

Well, I don't see anything resembling ice-rain as yet. In fact, all I see is some frost on the ground. It is now 31^oF. So, maybe I will get out to the store after all.

Earlier, I got hung up watching train videos on YouTube. I found a bunch of new ones showing "street runners", trains that go through streets in towns. I've been watching several live cams, but until last night had not seen these vidoes, on of which included several from Augusta, GA at Broad and 6th. Also, I got to "ride" the Stewartstown/New Freedom track between York, PA and the Maryland line. Finally, finally, I found a video showing trains being switched at the other end of the Enola Yard from where I live. Great! Maybe there are more, I hope, of the Yard.

Well, I'm awake, but just barely and it's 8:30 am.  Yesterday before we went to Holland, Tom and Annie brought a bookcase up here where it now is almost empty so today I have to relocate things to the bookcase.  In the process my switch to the table lamp was dislodged and I am typing in the dark.  I'm a touch typist so that part isn't too bad, but there are some keys like up or down arrows that I may have to look for so it's more touch and feel.  The outlet is behind an end table and I'd like daylight or Tom to fix it!

Last night was a noisy one.  The girls were fun to watch to see how they reacted to certain things.  For instance, I gave them each a soft, fuzzy teddy bear and at least one bear went to bed with them.  Both are starting to talk and get upset when we can't understand what they want.  Both know the meaning of NO whether directed at them or by them.  We had good food before opening gifts.  Now Christmas is really over and I have no plans for tonight.  I probably will stay up to greet the new year, but that's not written in stone.  I can just as well greet 2019 in bed, asleep.

I've mentioned my Christmas message with pictures of everyone - Tom had it printed on photo paper and it turned out great.  Every one of all of the families is in it.  Norm would have loved it because in reality, it is his family and descendants. 

MarsGal, I have seen some of those "train specials" on PBS, probably not the same as you found, but I loved watching them, especially the scenery.  There have been trains from all over the country.  I didn't find any specials this year that I wanted to watch. 

Mary Ann

Good Morning Everyone from
the cold and dry rocky coast of Maine. 

Today is the last day of Twenty Eighteen"... 
Imagine that?

I feel fortunate to have  lived since 1943. 
We have been lucky here in the USA only to
have been attacked one very bad time  (911)..
but have had some terrible mass shootings by
good old Americans born in the USA...

Pretty sicko bunch praying on citizens of ones
country.  And I believe that about any country
around the Earth that seems to exist to cause
harm to their neighbors.   

I am grateful for every day that I wake up
and no one has blown the USA off the face of the
earth...  (yet) ..

So I just  enjoy living in my litt;e
section of the planet and  wish that the rest
of OUR planet EARTH could be cleaned up and
resort to being Peaceful.     

I think that our demise lies some where between
being over taken by pollution and/or
destroyed by unstable climate changes
(no matter who is at fault for that one)... 


It is a very nice day here and I am getting
ready to go for a walk to the drug store to
pick up some of my meds.  (taking a walk
in the Sunshine) 

Love and Peace to ALL
Sandy

    

Sandy, I often think in this day and age that we should have become more civilized since the beginning of time, but I know that will never come to pass.  There's always one in every crowd that want to be Lord of All.  And what we do to ourselves as citizens of the US is terrible.  I read the news on the computer and I am horrified to read what passes for news.  I wish the powers that be would put all of the various categories of what they consider news in together.  That way I wouldn't have to read about the suicides of the rich and famous, who slugged who and they're going to court about it, which sports stars are having arguments with each other - and they get paid such big money to participate in their sport or chosen career.  Maybe it's always been that way and maybe it wasn't always publicized like now.

Off my soapbox.

Mary Ann

I am back from my little jaunt down
to CVS,   and can report that it is a beautiful
day out!!!     Sunny and cool but not windy and
the ground is very very dry, so no slip sliding away.

Have a good day,  everyone ..
love
Sandy

Merry Monday,

Oh....the "news" these days!!!    I'd like to every local newscaster who starts off a story by saying "You're not going to believe this" in a horrified tone of voice.
And repeating the same story plus video over and over and over and .....    

And I really hate the efforts to force everyone to read newspapers, etc. on line.  The OKC daily, which has existed since before statehood, is down to almost nothing and is even being printed on the other side of the state - so we don't get anything local that happens after 9:00 p.m.

O.K......  Callie    

I've found several live webcams for New York City - including one for Times Square.  Have been watching them set up for the New Year's Eve broadcasts tonight.  Hope the cams don't "go dark" while the festivities are going on.
Granddaughter who lives in NYC is here for the holidays and is coming over for a one-on-one chat tomorrow afternoon.  Although I know she avoids Times Square like the plague,  I hope I can remember to bring up the web cam and have her tell me about the area it shows.

All three compartments of my laundry cart are overflowing.  Better get busy....

CUL8R... 

Hi Everyone.  On this New Year's Eve our day is foggy and cloudy with some possibility of rain.  However, we are to get into the low 70's this afternoon.  Certainly not a bad way to start a new year.  Nothing else planned so far for today.  I will likely watch some more college football and basketball.  We hope Scott will make it out today.  A friend was here for an hour this morning and the Heat Pump tech stopped by and looked at the outside unit.  All was fine and he didn't even come to the door.  He had told me he would be stopping by.

MarGal, I certainly hope our country is working on protecting our space assets. I always hate to hear of folks having freezing rain and glad to see that you didn't have any as of the time you posted today.  I hope you enjoy your pizza.  I remember "Future Shock" but don't think I ever read it.  I have been stopped by one of those long trains that go across Broad and 6th in Augusta. There are no train tracks here in North Augusta.   

Patricia, computers are now such an integral part of our lives and society and commerce I don't see how we can got backwards.  Not everything that we call progress turns out well and often we encounter unintended consequences. I am very concerned about the dumbing down of education in our public schools.  I saw something on the news the other night showing an elementary child using Alexa to get the answers to his math problems rather than trying to learn the fundamentals.  Are you ready for your classes to begin in three days.  I think I have seen about every epidsode of "Are Your Being Served" and "Keeping up Appearances".  Carol Burnet and Betty White will likely remain my favorites as I love comedy. 

Mary Ann, glad to see you had a good time in Holland with family.  I can't remember the last time I stayed up until 10:30 pm and I won't tonight as well.  Glad the little girls liked your teddy bears. 

Jane, I saw your posting in Norm's Bait and Tackle.  Usually if I have commented on someones post there I won't try to do it make the same comment in the Soda Shoppe.

Sandy, 2018 seemed to go by very quickly here in South Carolina.  You are a couple of years younger than I am.  When we were in school one didn't have to worry about safety or being safe in your Church or when you were out.  I didn't grow up in a city so know I didn't experience what some city kids may have experienced.  Please send a little of your sunshine down our way as it seems we are mainly having cloudy and rainy days and not seeing a lot of the sun even if we are warm.

Callie, I agree with you about the news.  I get so tired of the use of the "Alert" for something that has been reported for the last 24 hours.  The one saving grace of the national newscasts is the final segment where they show something positive that someone is doing or has done.  It has been years since I have subscribed to a newspaper and do rely on news sites on the web.  I have never understood the why people will stand outside in the cold to see a ball drop to indicate the New Year.  I heard they are expecting something like 2 million people to be in Time Square tonight.

Good morning from a plus 32 Interior! We had a low yesterday of plus 15 and winds and drifting snow. While the 40 MPH winds have retreated to the passes, in town, we are having southeast winds of 25 MPH with lots of humidity and drifting snow with the Chinook winds. Yes, MaryAnn, we do change rapidly weatherwise with the plains and mountains.


Sandy, I agree, but you've forgotten about the Japanese attacking the Aleutian Islands during WWII and sending many Islanders and all of the American schoolteachers and workers to Japan for internment through the rest of the war. https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-the-aleutian-islands

MarsGal, I read "Future Shock" years ago around the same time I read "Silent Spring," but it has been awhile.  I've watched many of the train videos, particularly the western ones but will have to go East. I've copied your links. I enjoyed the Canadian train and info you sent earlier, thank you.

There are two train yards here as the train cuts through the city and circles the Northwest side on its way out. This city supplies every area north of the Southeast, so we have trains, planes and ships going every which way with groceries, freight and raw materials. I read once that it is the only train that still stops at certain bush crossings to pick up passengers. It crisscrosses the entire state and was owned and operated by the military, then the state, and it is now a combination of state and private ownership.

I agree with the news. It's all about filler than content. I blame that on local newspapers being bought up and consolidated into huge corporations. But then the highest sales come from People Magazine and the National Enquirer, so they go with what sells. People don't seem to want to know what's going on in the world. They want the glitz & glam and feeling they're superior.

Larry, I watched several YouTube videos last summer about living in NYC. I found those thru my watching videos of luxury apartments and houses here and abroad. It was entertaining to see Italian, French and East European castles, chateaus and manor houses from centuries past selling for millions and the farmland, orchards, and vineyards accompanying. Anyway, one of the luxury realtors also runs a personal vlog about living in NYC, and as Callie's granddaughter says, he agrees about avoiding Times Square. And for many of the same reasons Callie posted.

I'll be glad when the Christmas break is over and I can get back to classes.

I agree about education. If it's anything like here, everything is by ideology. We have several home and church schools, and when I used to interview for employment as a manager, it was hard to read resumes or interview people who couldn't spell, read well or do math but expected to be hired and earn a wage.

MaryAnn, it must have been wonderful to have little ones in the family. Our littlest one is 28! It sounds like your fuzzy bears were a hit! And also like you're an essential linchpin for the family.

This year is the first year I've elected to stay home for the New Year in ages. I will watch the fireworks and roam YouTube but otherwise enjoy the peace after a hectic round of activities.

Great. I just lost my post. Oh, well. I'll start again.

Patricia, I also read Silent Spring as well as one other which I think was The Edge of the Sea. It was a wonderful volume, almost soothing and poetic, where she spent some time talking about the shore birds and shellfish in the Chesapeake Bay area.

Larry, the intersection at Broad and 6th seems a lovely place. There is a museum there, but I didn't catch what it displays. Also, there appears to be a pedestrian walk over the street into a park. Close by there is also what appears to be an apartment complex with interesting architecture.

Here is a look at the Enola Yard. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxM9FC1_1Pk Most of this is taken in the central part of the yard. The road that runs along it is 11/15. Too bad I couldn't find any footage for down at my end. Most of it covers the central and upper end. I can't give NS enough praises for revilalizing the yard. George, who had talked to some of the NS employees when they first took over the yard, said that NS got a bargain. The Conrail people gave the NS people impression that it was not much more useful than a throughfare. NS discovered otherwise and went to town hiring more people, cleaning up the awful mess Conrail left it in, and have been adding structures as needed, and apparently they need a bunch. Some of the repair work was sent out to Altoona/Johnstown so I don't know what all they do there now, but they do still paint and use the huge washing station. I often see train engines from all over the country, and Canadian Pacific there for work.

MarsGal, this is fascinating! I had never heard of "The Edge of the Sea" and will have to Google it. Also, I don't know anything about Conrail or NS or really anything outside of the west and some parts of Tennessee, Ohio, Florida, and Kentucky. I'm off to Google.