Some Predictions for 2023 #254
By Hank Silverberg
The hours are slowly winding down for 2022, so logically it's time to look ahead to the new year.
Normally I am very optimistic about the future, but the pandemic put a kibosh on that outlook these past two years. As 2023 approaches, I am cautiously optimistic.
Covid-19 is still with us, but right now it appears, with proper precautions by the public and an effective vaccine, routines have returned to where they were in 2019.
With that in mind, here is just a small list of things I would like to see happen in the next year (call them wishes if you'd like):
1) For the good of everyone, people start paying attention again to medical experts and scientists when it comes to community health and welfare.
2) Politics becomes civil again, with those in office talking TO each other instead of AT each other. And that those in the moderate middle take control away from the radicals on the right and left who stymied any progress for the past five years. (That has to start with the adults taking charge of the Republican party.)
3) Traditional journalists regain control of newsrooms across the country and give us facts, not speculation, and news, not misinformation.
4) That the concept of social media "influencers" goes away quickly, along with the people who claim to be one.
5) That Donald Trump's impact fades from the scene long before 2024's presidential primaries. Perhaps through, a federal criminal indictment or maybe people just seeing him for the conman he has always been.
6) An increase in Holocaust studies in both high school and college to combat the scourge of antisemitism which has polluted our country once again.
7) That the world makes significant progress on combating climate change because it's almost too late to matter.
8) No one will care about anything Elon Musk has to say.
9) That my Red Sox make a good run at the World Series and possibly even win another one.
All of these may be too much to ask for, so let's just say the last one. Resurgent Red Sox would be a big improvement over 2022.
I thought about adding two more: a solution to the immigration problem and freedom for a woman to control her own body, but that's as unlikely as the wish for world peace that everybody talks about this time of year.
Whatever happens, let's hope 2022 is a year we can look back on as "the bad old days."
Flying Car
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| (Courtesy of AIR) |
pre-orders for the machine, and that includes 240 from U.S.-based customers.
The aircraft will eventually have a range of about 110 miles on a single charge and could fly at a maximum speed of 155 miles per hour at altitudes as high as 1,200 feet. AIR ONE can take off and land on any flat surface and has collapsible wings for easy parking.
The company expects to be in production by 2024. There is a catch, though. The FAA is still working on regulations for the aircraft and you will probably need a license to fly one. At this point, about 40% of those who have ordered the vehicle have a pilot's license. The most viable use is for an air taxi, but it can only carry a pilot and one passenger.
No Human Has Ever Seen It Before
If you look carefully into the sky at night on February 1st, in the right place, you might see something no human has ever seen before. It's a comet that only orbits the sun once every 50,000 years, and last came close to Earth when Neanderthals and woolly mammoths still walked on our planet. It's called C/2022 E3 ZTF, and it was first detected last March.
https://www.newsweek.com/comet-close-approach-earth-last-seen-neanderthals-1768860
Right now, it is about 117 million miles from the Earth, and scientists estimate it will come within 26 million miles of our planet. That's close, but it's nothing to worry about. Because it is so far away, astronomers are not sure how bright it will be when it passes by, but you should be able to see if you use binoculars and look at the right chart (it's at this link): https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/advice/comet-c-2022-e3-ztf/
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| (Comet ISON passing our way in Nov, courtesy of NASA) |
Comets are huge ice balls made up of frozen gases, dust and rock that orbit the sun. What you see is actually its tail, debris falling off the comet. This will be your only chance to see it. The next pass will be 50,000 years from now.
Dumbest Quote of The Week
Another tie this week between two of the dumbest members of Congress. It seems Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene and Colorado Republican Lauren Boebert have ended their mutual administration society with a bang. The catalyst is a fight over support for Minority Leader Keven McCarthy's bid to be Speaker of The House when the GOP takes control next month. Greene, who supports McCarthy, started it by criticizing Boebert for not supporting McCarthy. Here's her tweet:
"I’ve supported and donated to Lauren Boebert. President Trump has supported and donated to Lauren Boebert. Kevin McCarthy has supported and donated to Lauren Boebert. She just barely came through by 500 votes."
The reference there is to Boebert's narrow re-election victory this past month. But Boebert shot back:
"I've been aligned with Marjorie and accused of believing a lot of the things she believes in. I don't believe in this just like I don't believe in [Jewish] space lasers."
The reference there is to Greene's now infamous peddling of a Q-Anon conspiracy theory.
The spat has much of Washington laughing. It's another embarrassment for the folks in Georgia and Colorado who for some ridiculous reason re-elected them both this past November.
For me it's just another episode of dumb and dumber.
I'm sure we will hear many more dumb quotes in 2023.
Happy new year to everyone!
(Your comments and suggestions are welcome)
My book "The Campaign" can be purchased at the links below. Or you can buy a copy by emailing me at:
HankSilverberg@gmail.com for instructions on how to get a copy at a reduced price and with my signature.)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B084Q7K6M5/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-campaign-hank-
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