As the old year passes away, I try to leave with hope, rather than dread and forebodings. A better future is ours to build ― we cannot depend on gods to bestow it upon us. And that means we must learn lessons from what we are doing now and have done in the past, and let the understanding so gained (sometimes most bitterly gained) guide what we do with the awesome powers we have developed through scientific technology. Unfortunately, (in a roundabout way) because I was nearly crushed by a falling shelving unit an hour before the show, I ended up talking at length about computer technologies and their applications and misapplications, which is not my usual topic nor my field of expertise.