By Dr. Phil Nuytten

Long ago, (but not so very far away), when this magazine was a new kid on the block, I wrote a column that used the logo shown above. 'Soundings' was a look at new underwater technology, pithy anecdotes (excuse the lithsp) and the occasional rather lame little joke. (Hmm, that could well describe my life)

DIVER Publisher, Peter V., recently took me to lunch in my favourite North Vancouver Japanese restaurant and asked me if I would do a sort of a Soundings repriseto kick off the new century. Perhaps talk a bit about how things might look in the near, and not-so-near , future.

A few weeks later, I dragged out the old crystal ball. I was shocked at its condition! It was chipped, scratched, stained from years of sceptics' urine, half covered in tiny graffiti, and it seems to have developed a cataract! It doesn't look at all the way it did when it was newbut then, few of us do.

So, lets see . . .what's gonna happen in the next couple of decades?

For Dr. Phil Nuytten's predictions, pick up a copy of the February issue of DIVER Magazine.