PROJECTIONS FOR 2021 AND MY FAMOUS O-ZONI

Nine years ago only four of ten predictions were right. This past year I was more right than wrong, but mostly because it was a joke and I thought I'd get them all right:

I started RIGHT by predicting what had already happened. Something to do with published works, or 1-0
The UK would leave the European Union: RIGHT, or 2-0. But they cut it awfully close, departing at 11PM last night.
Israel will continue to be bedeviled by uncertainty on who is running the country: RIGHT, or 3-0.
The Mars 2020 rover mission will be launched: RIGHT, or 4-0. Did you know that in that July 2020 window three such missions were sent out--first, Hope orbiter by the United Arab Emirates, then Tianwen-1 by China, and, finally the USA. All three will arrive at Mars next month.
The XXXII Summer Olympics will be held in Tokyo from July 24 to August 9: WRONG, or 4-1. AS you know, this was postponed to this year, from July 23 to August 8.
The ICC Men's T20 World Cup will be held in Australia from October 18 to November 15: WRONG, or 4-2. This was for my cricket fans. The Cup was moved from Australia last year to India in October and November of this year.
The World Expo in Dubai will open on October 20, and run until April 10, 2021: WRONG, or 4-3. This Expo will now be held from 1Oct21 to 31March22.
Donald Trump will not win a Nobel Prize in 2020: RIGHT, or 5-3. One of my best predictions.
The key antagonist will be Michael Bloomberg, for he will spend half a billion of his own dollars to make Trump look bad, which is not all that hard to do. Bloomberg will not be the Democratic candidate that day, but just as well, for he will be 78, and it doesn't matter who runs: RIGHT, for his money was important, or 6-3.
A particularly key factor will be the environment: RIGHT, OR 7-3. I say right because the vote was so close that a margin of victory was the environment.

The shift in female votes will be significant: RIGHT, or 8-3.
Greta Thunberg will smile: RIGHT, or 9-3.
The Sun will rise on the morning of 1January2021: RIGHT, or 10-3.

For this coming year, again, I'll go with the obvious as my Top Ten Predictions:

2021 will be better than 2020.
The UK will actually leave the European Union.
All three Mars expeditions will get to Mars in February of this year.

The Tokyo Summer Olympics will be held this year. However, if it is delayed until the Fall, that would be better for spectators, for the weather in that city is just awful in July and August.

The World Cricket Cup will be held in India this year.
The Dubai World Expo will be begin later this year, and I'll be there sometime during its run.
Donald Trump will not win the Nobel Prize this year.
Joe Biden will be inaugurated on January 20, 2021.
The USA will rejoin the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
The Sun will rise on 1January2022.

My holiday meals started the eve of the new year with steak, scampi and cheesecake from 15 Craigside, plus sashimi from me, accompanied by a sunset:

My Famous O-zoni is only famous because that is what I call it. Every year is different, and this time it was a partnership with 15 Craigside. I bought some ingredients from Marukai. However, on Wednesday, served was miso soup, so I kept it to add to the zoni. Then on Thursday, as a snack, 15C gave us some zoni, which I also refrigerated.

On New Years's Eve I first fried some wagyu fat:

Then added the scallops, topshell, water chestnuts and shiitake mushrooms:

Kept the solid part and added the zoni and mochi soup, plus the liquid portion of the canned topshell, to the, pot, which I let sit overnight. This morning I added those solid ingredients, plus:

Thus, first heated the ozoni (the "o" is just an honorific) stock and added some of the ingredients from the 15 Craigside zoni and miso soup:

This is the first time I've added egg to the ozoni. My New Year 2021 brunch with hot sake and cold beer:

HONOLULU TO SEATTLE

The story of the day is Hurricane Milton, now a Category 4 at 145 MPH, with a track that has moved further south and the eye projected to make landfall just south of Sarasota. Good news for Tampa, which is 73 miles north. Milton will crash into Florida as a Category 4, and is huge, so a lot of problems can still be expected in Tampa Bay with storm surge. If the eye had crossed into the state just north of Tampa, the damage would have been catastrophic. Milton is a fast-moving storm, currently at 17 MPH, so as bad as the rainfall will be over Florida, again, a blessing. The eye will make landfall around 10PM EDT today, and will move into the Atlantic Ocean north of Palm Bay Thursday morning. My first trip to Seattle was in June of 1962 just after I graduated from Stanford University. Caught a bus. Was called the Century 21 Exposition . Also the Seattle World's Fair. 10 million joined me on a six-month run. My first. These a...

WHY YOU SHOULD CONVERT TO A JAPANESE HIGH TECH TOILET

Did you know that Oktoberfest in Germany is mostly in September? The very first day of Oktoberfest 2021 was supposed to be today, September 18, extending into October 3. Well, as in 2020, Oktoberfest was cancelled. So why is it called by that month when it is held mostly in September? The first celebration in 1810 was in October. Did you also know that Oktoberfest is held only in Munich? These days seven million drink more than a liter ( about three typical cans ) of beer each, costing around $11. Except for my wife and I when we followed the crowd to board the S-Bahn to the fairgrounds near Old Town. It was drizzling a bit. We bought a large pretzel outside of a typical barn where beer is served. We did not know that you needed to get this inside the hall. So no one came to serve us beer. After a while we decided to have lunch, and the restaurant we settled on only served wine. Thus, we might have been the ...

THE FIRST 84 YEARS OF MY LIFE

The first half of my life was spent preparing myself for my final 42 years. This was a mostly trying and stressful period involving a less than ideal youth, then struggles to get through school, my first few jobs and accompanying life, ending two months later on a Sunday with Part 15E , so it was a spiritual conclusion to my final transition. I never did count the number of actual postings, but I suspect it was around 25 parts. The ending had to do with golf, the disappearance and re-appearance of an 8-iron cover. That was the final clue to whether the beyond after death would be eternal gloom or Heaven. Today, I provide only one transition, but hint about a final one, for this, after all, is Sunday. I'm 84 years old, so let me summarize what happened during the first phase, from 0-42, and follow with the years 42-84. As this is 2024, that key transition year was 1982. I can't seem to find this photo, but as a one-year old baby, I was fat....

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