"A good conscience is a continual Christmas." - Benjamin Franklin

Three on the tree.

It's the time of year when all the pundits are offering their retrospectives on 2015 and predictions for 2016. I don't get paid as much - OK, I don't get paid at all - but why shouldn't I do the same? And while they focus on the single area of their expertise, be it financial, political, social, or automotive, I'm not constrained by any limits, ready and willing to comment on any and every area of life. So, without further ado...

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS FROM 2015: (in no particular order)

• Broccoli and cauliflower growers in the Northeast were hit by the Swede Midge, a tiny fly that burrows into the plant's bud and destroys it from the inside. As a result of the spreading infestation entire fields produced no marketable produce. This lifted the spirits of children (and many adults) across the country during the same season that gave us a bumper crop of idiot politicians. Note: Ms. Allison's 6th grade science class is working on developing a similar pest that will infest Brussel sprouts. 
• The Paris conference on the environment resulted in an agreement signed by the majority of nations to reduce greenhouse gasses in order to combat global warming. At the close of the 2-week gathering the delegations got in limos for the trip to the airport where they got on giant planes (many of them private aircraft) for a flight back to their home countries where they'll do absolutely nothing different in their personal lives of luxury. (Cf. Al Gore's 10,000 sq. ft. home.)
• In another environment related story, researchers discovered that rice, the second most widely grown food in the world, produces more methane during cultivation than the total of all CO2 emissions, and that methane is 84x stronger as a greenhouse gas. Not to worry; Swedish scientists spliced a barley gene into a rice plant and got a 90% reduction in methane production. The bad news: now environmentalists have to choose between normal rice that ruins the environment and a GMO rice that saves the planet. 
• Volkswagen shocked the world when their Dieselgate scandal revealed for the first time that corporations care more about profit than ethics. Members of Congress quietly gave thanks for this diversion. 
• Adele proved that not all music starts in a studio with a market-tailored sound track to which meaningless lyrics are added with the product then sung by a focus group tested "artist." Thank you, Adele.

PREDICTIONS FOR 2016: (also in no particular order)

• By May 1st Donald Trump will be an interesting side note in the year's presidential election. Once we lose a few more of the gaggle of Republican wannabes currently splitting up the more sane element of the party and the plurality of Republicans coalesces around two or three candidates he'll pack up his ego into six shipping containers and head back to his executive suite. The only question is how he'll manage to make his fall look like he won. And if he can get his ego into only six containers.
• No matter what effect the el niño has on the weather, and no matter how long it lasts, it will be an indication that climate change is wreaking havoc on the planet and it's your fault. 
• Filming will begin on Star Wars episode #27, The Force Dozes Off. This is actually the fourth story in the series. 
• The stock market will go up and down. 
• The New England Journal of Medicine will confirm what we've known all along, that BACON is the perfect food. 
• You and I are both going to get older. Unless we don't. We should be ready for either development. I think I'm better prepared for the second.