This post is just an off-topic commentary, and probably is totally irrelevant, but I think some of it will affect caving in 2018 and beyond.
2017 is starting to look like 2016 - just a faded memory. There are just 21 days until the big New Year's Eve parties. The NSS is having one. [ contact: fennig...@gmail.com ] So it is almost time to reflect on the past 12 months, and ponder the future of 2018. Some of you may recall movies and books in the 1970s and 1980s about what 2018 would be like. Some of us, are about to find out for ourselves, in person. https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1289962600l/4339742.jpg Do not believe the media. There are things to look forward to in 2018. The computer and tech world is rapidly changing. Tiny computers called SBC's ( like the RaspberyPi ) are going to be a huge opportunity for the folks that are into that. Linux on the desktop computer is going to more user-friendly and work on more hardware. [ I am working on a blog about that: http://david-locklear.blogspot.com/2017/12/linux-opinions.html?m=1. ] Space companies are going to impress us with launches landings and videos. Sophia the Robot and her counterparts at Boston Dynamics are going to do more fascinating stuff - probably baton-twirling while doing cartwheels, or tap-dancing with Fred Astaire moves, or moonwalking like Michael Jackson, or doing the splits while jiving like James Brown. Talking computers is going to be a big deal in 2018. The internet will continue to degrade with so many advertisments and censorship that it will be almost worthless. A million people will spend over $ 1,000 on their cell-phone plus accessories. Millions of people will waste money on a 4K tv in 2018. 2018 will be the end of 720p. Thousands of people are going to die un-naturally in The Middle East in 2018, but the same thing can be said of Texas just in car accidents. It is possible the first 100 feet of Trump's Wall will be built in 2018. I would favor a different approach, but my idea would be way too expensive. My idea is an artificial wildlife refuge barrier that is off-limits to all humans. The self-driving car will be seen by more people in 2018, and many rich folks will get a brief chance to ride in one. Banks are going to fight for survival in 2018. There will be far less human tellers, and none by 2020. Grocery stores will become more automated to. Hundreds of brick-n-mortar stores will close nationwide in 2018. Millions of people will make minimum wage working for on-line retail stores and doing home deliveries. Millions of young poeple will become obssesed with playing video games and social media on their gadgets. Some of that will be exploring the new trends in Virtual Reality ( VR ). There will be sadness in 2018. We may lose a close friend, and likely there will be a beloved celebrity pass away. Probably not Dick Van Dyke. That guy will probably live to see 2025. I can only hope that I go in a fun cave in 2018, and make it to the TSA Spring Convention, the NSS Convention, TCR, and my quest to drive my Sequioa in the Sierra Madres and to see The Real Milky Way, and that someone finds a cure for E.D. I hope 2018 is the best year ever, not just for me, but for the whole human race ( except for a handful of my enemies - most of whom are attorneys or criminals or both ). I will let someone else elaborate in more detail, and explain how all of this will affect caves and caving. David Locklear dlocklea...@gmail.com
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