Let The Partying Begin!!!

Happy New Year!!!

All the music you need to close out 2017. Get your party started now! 2017 New Year's Eve Party Rap 2017 R&B 2017 Country 2017 Pop 2017 Reggaeton 2017

Notations From the Grid (Special New Year's Eve Edition): As #2018 is Before Us

Enough said...Onward to 2018.....

Robots will replace human teachers in 10 years — do you agree? https://t.co/QBTanFzcVo pic.twitter.com/Et7bFbypLM

— Vala Afshar (@ValaAfshar) December 16, 2017

A timeline of when machines can achieve human-like capabilities: #AI

2024 - translating languages

2025 - assembling LEGOs

2026 - writing high school essays

2027 - autonomous trucks

2029 - run a 5K race against people

2030 - service workers in retail pic.twitter.com/mAfiwr3QWE

— Vala Afshar (@ValaAfshar) December 16, 2017

Notations On Our World (Special Year-End Edition): As We Go Dark For #2017.....

We begin with this that was featured in our main property as we prepare to go dark for the rest of the year: 

We captured this image courtesy of the team at The Mission that in many respects captures what we embrace as we hare ever so grateful for all the opportunities we have had over the past year as we hope all continue to embrace our adventure .

It was quite a week as we were witness to the the Noble Peace Prize being awarded to ICAN , President Trump annouced the move of the US Embassy to Jerusalem and we were able to be witness to the 24 Hours of Reality.  For us, it was especially poignant as Southern California that we have the privilege to call home, was  encircled by a ring of fire.  California's Governor underscored the fact that such fires prompted by Climate Change will be the New Normal.   This is why what the Climate Reality Project, 350.Org and other organizations do is ever so critcal.

We had the pleasure to release a Notation on it  and we are pleased to present this snapshot on the Kit which we hope all will embrace for the future of the planet: 

We hope you're enjoying this year's 24 Hours of Reality, broadcasting live across the globe! We know that when our world is in danger, we have to speak up. That’s why we’ve created Be the Voice of Reality: 12 Ways to Make a Difference, an action kit that offers concrete steps you can take today to protect tomorrow. Check it out here.  DOWNLOAD NOW Download the kit now and join a powerful movement of committed climate activists across the world. We’ve seen the climate crisis impact communities from New York to New Delhi and everywhere in between. We know that solutions exist, and that people want a more sustainable world. It’s time to create community, inspire hope, and take action. No one is going to solve the climate crisis for us. If we want a sustainable future for our families and our planet, we’ve got to be the voice of reality. Download our free Be the Voice of Reality: 12 Ways to Make a Difference action kit now. Thank you for all that you do! - Your friends at Climate Reality

BE THE VOICE OF REALITY: 12 WAYS TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE DOWNLOAD THE ACTION KIT NOW TAKE ACTION

As we "go dark" through the end of the year, our team will continue a daily "curation" of our Twitter Channel as we also hope all enjoy our live Broadcast Pod featuring Al Jazeera.   As we commend ICAN for its' win,  we view this small clip courtesy of ICAN that underscores a sense of humanity and a sense of purpose as epitomized as the World celebrates the 70th Anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Human Rights:     

This is as we have to deal with the onslaught of automation and the challenges presented and the possibilities as we embrace 2018:

This #AI professor shares the concerns with giving a robot citizenship https://t.co/djUHc9lISN #technology pic.twitter.com/Mub11BxTOe

— World Economic Forum (@wef) December 9, 2017

Self-Driving Cars Could Create a $7 Trillion Industry

What it is: A report from Intel predicts that investment in the new passenger economy could hit $7 trillion by 2050, with services ranging from remote vehicle fleet operators to in-ride masseuses. The inevitability of autonomous vehicles on the horizon could hit workers hard, starting with trucking. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 3.8 million people in the United States operate vehicles for a living, and roughly 1.7 million of them drive trucks.

Why it's important: Transportation touches almost every aspect of our economy and social structure. Exponential change here will be simultaneously exciting and stressful, creating massive opportunities for entrepreneurs to create new services — not only in the new economy, but also to manage the human element of change.  

Computers Made From E-waste and Jerrycans Give the Rising Billion Internet Access

What it is: In Chad, the Wenaklabs association and UNICEF are helping children use the Internet for the first time -- using computers made with e-waste and encased in jerrycans. Mashable reports that the children, who were displaced from their homes, used their first Internet experience to look up family members.

Why it's important: In Africa, 60 percent of children lack access to the Internet. How will their lives -- and the planet -- transform when every human can use the Internet any time they wish?  

Onward to 2018 with all its possibilities....

Notations On Our World (Special Edition): On the Future of Work....

 As we look to 2018,  our team chose an image of our World in 2030:  

Notations From the Grid (Final #2017 Year-End Edition): A Reminder of The Global Goals...

As we look to 2018, we wanted to report on this and note that we'd be focused on providing guidance and engagement throughout 2018.  We also wanted to share this "Food 4 thought" courtesy of the team at CBInsights which has given us a "Moment of Pause" about the potential evolution of Teaching as a profession as Artificial Intelligence continues to take ever so a central role in our lives:

"We need to change teachers' mindsets from being 'a sage on the stage' to being 'a guide on the side.' Students need real-world learning to understand their passion" - @EstherWojcicki #AhaCBI https://t.co/0JbfoMfuHO pic.twitter.com/YmfMIYyrg3

— CB Insights (@CBinsights) December 14, 2017

Onward to 2018 with all its possibilities...

Notations From the Grid (Final 2017 W-End Edition): Winding Down #2017 & Looking To #2018

Artificial Intelligence is already here whether we like it or not.      It will be a focus of ours during 2018 as we assess how to make sure we live up to the Father of the Internet's Admonition to keep it human and as we all have to grapple with the aftermath of the FCC decision to kill Net Neutrality:

A timeline of when machines can achieve human-like capabilities: #AI

2024 - translating languages
2025 - assembling LEGOs
2026 - writing high school essays
2027 - autonomous trucks
2029 - run a 5K race against people
2030 - service workers in retail pic.twitter.com/mAfiwr3QWE

— Vala Afshar (@ValaAfshar) December 16, 2017

Onward to 2018!!!

Notations From the Grid (Special Weekly Edition): A Toast to a Healthy Life During this Joyous Season!!!

In our quest to live up to our mission of "Intelligent Engagement", we hope all enjoy this courtesy of the Team at The Mission about the need to be able to live a healthy & vibrant life as a token of our appreciation for the privilege to be of service as we bid farewell to 2017 and gear up for 2018. 

Please enjoy!!!

I’m 50 Years Old SNL Skit

All we need to do is 10 minutes of large body movements every day to increase the blood flow, flush out the toxins, and inject the entire body with energy-giving oxygen and nutrients. –Miranda Esmonde-White

“A sedentary lifestyle — too much time spent on couches or at desks and not enough movement — is the most common trigger for muscular atrophy. When we move our muscles as little as possible, with a sedentary lifestyle, we turn down our furnaces and literally cause our muscles to atrophy. When the cells atrophy, we feel even more tired because we have fewer mitochondria generating ATP. A vicious circle begins: less energy leading to less movement, which leads to less energy, which leads to less movement. Atrophy from a sedentary lifestyle leads to weight gain, loss of energy, and chronic aches and pains. But atrophy can be easily prevented, stopped, and even reversed with daily gentle full-body exercise.”

Miranda Esmonde-White presents a powerful case for how we can stay young. This is a challenge to many people who feel that aging is inevitable, or the superstitions pushed on us by culture. She starts the book by dispelling 6 of the most prevalent myths about aging:

1 Myth: Our brains grow only until we’re in our twenties — and then they start to die.

Truth: Neuroscientists have proved that, as long as we stay mentally active, our brains can actually keep growing and adding brain cells well into our twilight years, through the miracle of “brain plasticity.” (And the most powerful booster of brain plasticity? Exercise.)

2 Myth: Our metabolism slows down when we hit 40.

Truth: If we do absolutely no exercise, yes, our metabolism will start to take a hit at 40. But study after study over the last 25 years has proved that people who consistently exercise three times a week can completely avoid age-related metabolic slowdown and actually retain the same metabolism as people almost 40 years younger.

3 Myth: Our skin will inevitably age and wrinkle — our only defense is good genes.

Truth: We know now that many, many factors have an impact on the health of our skin. And, luckily, the amount of sun exposure can be countered with sunscreen. The amount of free radical activity can be countered with a fruit- and vegetable-rich diet packed with free radical–fighting antioxidants. The impact of gravity on the skin’s elasticity and firmness can be lessened with plenty of fresh water, enough deep sleep, and — you guessed it — exercise. (Recent research found just 3 months of exercising twice a week can restore the skin of 60-year-old sedentary folks to the same state as that of a 20 — to 40 — year-old!)

4 Myth: Our muscles inevitably fade away with each passing decade.

Truth: If we don’t use it, we will lose it. But if we do use it — meaning, if we engage our muscles — we don’t need to lose a single ounce of muscle. One University of Pittsburgh study looked at a cross section of 40 recreational athletes aged 40 to 81 who exercised four or five times a week. They underwent MRI scans, body composition testing, and quadriceps strength testing; the researchers measured their muscle mass and the amount of fat under their skin and between their muscles. The researchers found that, with exercise, the athletes could retain exactly the same levels of lean muscle mass from their forties into their eighties — in fact, some of the older exercisers had even more lean muscle tissue than the younger athletes.

5 Myth: Our joints are destined to fail.

Truth: Our joints fail not from age but from mismanagement. If we learn how to protect our body from intense impact (by learning to walk gently), pay attention to range of motion in our training, and learn the proper ways to support our joints with flexible muscles, our original joints — the ones we are born with! — should remain healthy until our very last days.

6 Myth: Everyone gets cancer/diabetes/heart disease eventually.

Truth: Up to 34 percent of cancer risk is directly attributable to lifestyle choices. Every kilogram of weight loss lowers your risk of type 2 diabetes by 16 percent — so losing just 10 pounds could reduce your diabetes risk by over 60 percent. A study in the New England Journal of Medicine estimated that 82 percent of heart disease and heart attacks in women can be attributed to factors such as smoking, not exercising, being overweight, or eating a high-glycemic-index diet.

Check it out, and the book is packed with sources and research.

It is also vital for all to understand how sleep is critical.    Arianna Huffington has launched a new startup dedicated to such transformation:  

Notations On Our World (Special W-End Edition): On the Prowl Winding Down the Year........

As we wind down 2017, we wanted to report on some of the periodic outreach efforts we receive--this one from Senator Harris with her comments on the #IranDeal in response to an outreach by our Founder that he was good enough to share with us as part of our Commitment to "intelligent engagement" as we gear up for 2018:
December 8, 2017
	Thank you for taking the time to contact me about your support for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also referred to as the Iran nuclear deal. Americans are more secure when we pursue a policy of non-proliferation with our allies. We achieved this objective in 2015 when our government signed the JCPOA to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon through strong, verifiable, and long-term measures. In the two years since, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has confirmed that Iran remains in compliance with the agreement, which we must continue to ensure is vigorously enforced. While the JCPOA is not perfect, it effectively has ensured that the international community can monitor, inspect, and verify Iran’s nuclear program, eliminate all pathways for Iran to a nuclear weapon, and ensure its nuclear energy program is used only for peaceful purposes. The JCPOA is a multilateral agreement and all parties—including the United States—must uphold their end of the bargain. This is why I am concerned about the recent decision of the Trump administration to not certify the agreement, which alienates our country from our allies and creates uncertainty regarding the future of the agreement at a time when we’re facing a nuclear threat from North Korea. Beyond the terms of the JCPOA, we must continue to work with our allies to ensure that Iran ends its support of international terrorism, violations of human rights, and testing of its ballistic missile program, which violates UN Security Council Resolution 2231. Despite Congress’ near-unanimous decision to pass sanctions against Iran in July of this year, I am still waiting for the administration to fully implement those sanctions. Going forward, I will continue to advocate that our policy toward Iran be deliberative, fact-based, and driven by the national security interests of the United States. Thank you again for reaching out to me. If you have any additional questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact my Washington, D.C. office at (202) 224-3553. Sincerely, Kamala D. Harris United States Senator As we close out this special edition, please enjoy this "Thought 4 the Day": “You will meet many types of people in your life. You will meet delicate flowers, raging oceans, quiet forests, towering mountains and colorful skies. You will meet thunderstorms, you will meet lightning. They will knock you down, they will leave you breathless. You will meet sunrises. You will meet gardens. They will give you light, they will take you on adventures. Explore them. Get lost with them. They all have something different to teach you.”~ Author Unknown

A Virtual Treat Celebrating The Holidays.....

Please enjoy this  courtesy of the Team at @Pandora  that we we would feature throughout our Properties during this joyous Holiday Season as it is also our hometown, Laguna Niguel's Holiday Parade:

Throwback to the Christmas  songs you know and love  with our decades stations. 70s Christmas 80s Christmas 90s Christmas 2000s Christmas

Notations On Our World (Special Thursday Edition): On Education.....

We attended the last Board meeting of the Capistrano Unified School District on December 6, 2017 as deliberations ensued about the challenges teachers face in light of the funding mechanism known as the Local Control Funding Formula.    It underscores the profound challenges faced by Public Education.

As California is our home state, we have a keen interest in all that happens here.  What happens in California always has National Implications.    Education is no exception as we are pleased to report on the latest on California Education courtesy of EdSource:

Podcast: This Week in California Education

This week we focus on Gov. Brown's push to establish a new online-only community college. His proposal has generated both interest and controversy. November 30 was the deadline for submitting alternative strategies to the governor for how to establish the online college he has in mind. EdSource executive director Louis Freedberg talks with California Community Colleges Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley about the online college, and the huge population of "stagnant workers" it is aimed at. Also, Jory Hadsell, executive director of the Online Education Initiative of the California Community Colleges, talks about why online classes work better for several categories of students -- and the 700,000 community college students who are already taking online courses. In a major development this coming week the California Department of Education is expected to finally release the California School Dashboard which has been under development for several years. EdSource Editor-At-Large John Fensterwald talks with Josh Daniels of the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence about how the new support system will work. Listen Now Edsource was also "on the prowl" with this on the Local Control Funding Formula underscoring how Governor Brown had basically One Year to get it done or else with ideas to get it done: Jerry Brown's dilemma: fix school funding formula now or watch others do it later By John Fensterwald, EdSource If he chooses, Gov. Jerry Brown can leave office a year from now with the satisfaction of seeing the Local Control Funding Formula, the sweeping school funding and improvement reform he championed, intact and fully funded — at least as the 2013 law defines full funding. Read more