It is another travel day, this time from muggy Atlanta back to the humid hothouse of Washington, DC.

I was going to dig out an old Daily about the last time I was in Atlanta, and a pilgrimage I made to the Ebenezer Baptist Church to see the tomb of Dr. King, majestically located adjacent to the church where he preached. I can’t find it- the story, I mean. It is out there in the digital wilderness, but I am IT challenged even while attending the big IT conference, and there is a lot to contemplate as smart people talk about Big Data and the Intelligence Community IT Enterprise (IC SITE) that is sweeping all before it.

Or maybe not. I am not intelligent enough to deal with all the implications, and an old colleague and I agreed that it was probably a good thing that we will not be around to see the full implications of what we are bringing about.

If you have not contemplated the implications of Big Data and what is being put in place to deal with it, you might want to. The Rise of the Machine is nigh upon us, it appears, and the notion of the age of Machine Intelligence is almost palpable in the air conditioned halls of the Convention Center’s Building “A.”

There are times when it seems infinitely preferable to retreat into the world of past glory. Things there have certainty, which the future being born does not.

In that spirit, I will leave you with this announcement of a celebration of our past as we confront an uncertain future:

50th Annual Naval Intelligence Dining In Announced

President of the Mess, RADM Bob Sharp cordially invites you to attend:

2016 Navy Intelligence Officers’ Dining-In
Friday, October 21, 2016 – 1800-2200
Fort Myer Officers’ Club 214 Jackson Ave Fort Myer, VA
22211

The website is now up and ready for registrations. The official theme is yet to be approved, but it will tentatively be “The past 50 years of Naval intelligence: A look back at our heritage and forward to our future.”

There is much to celebrate as our Navy faces a future filled with challenge. NIP is fully onboard for the voyage!

The Quarterly Staff has already registered for this historic event. The website address is:
http://www.events.org/cpage.aspx?e=97593

See you in October at Fort Myer!

– Vic