Happy New Year!

[Bob Schroeck]

And may 2017 be a better year all-around for everyone.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[ordnance11]

What he said.
__________________
Into terror!,  Into valour!
Charge ahead! No! Never turn
Yes, it's into the fire we fly
And the devil will burn!
- Scarlett Pimpernell

[robkelk]

In 2016:

• The manatee and the giant panda were no longer endangered species (and not because of dying out)
  
• SpaceX landed a rocket on its tail after it had been in space
  
• The "ice bucket challenge" raised enough money to let researchers determine the genetic cause of ALS
  
• Juno reached Jupiter
  
• Measles was eradicated from the Americas, and malaria was eradicated from Sri Lanka
  
• The civil war in Columbia finally ended
  
• Malawi reduced its HIV infection rate by two-thirds
  
• The Dutch crime rate shrank by a quarter
  
• We created an effective vaccine to protect against ebola
  
• The Chicago Cubs won the World Series, giving hope to all "underdog" sports teams and their fans
  

And may 2017 be a better year all-around for everyone.

--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[Duane Peters]

L'chaim, ladies and gentlemen.

[Labster]

Happy New Year everyone!  I wrote my quasi-annual First Sunrise blog post this year.  I always learn something from doing it, even it it's not what I expected to learn.

• The manatee and the giant panda were no longer endangered species (and not because of dying out)

-- ∇×V