Greg, you're a very nice guy, I like what and the way you write. But why don't you simply accept facts, events? If you have read me, you should know I am quite cold at Statisticians' view of the World. And, Prediction is quite a heavy word: I recently commented Miriam Boudreaux's colum on corrective action. I feel we quality pros should better follow a lean rather than a six sigma path. Thank you; and - remember - the End of the World was a years 60's hit of the greek rock band Aphrodite's Child. Thank you again. 

Greg, thank you for the timely heads-up on the impending end of sunshine. I sold all my solar stocks and was on my way to Walmart to load up on wind-up flashlights when I became concerned about another disturbing trend here where I live - the gradual decline in average temperature over the last few weeks. Using your model as inspiration, my calculations show that we will freeze to death before we run out of light. This means we need a solution that address both problems. Consider this your cue to head to Yankee Candle before the shelves are empty.

Apocalyptically yours,

Jeff

Umberto - I think I have that album.  Vangelis was the star of that band wasn't he?  Before he made it as a solo artist.

Hello Greg:

Why did you only plot data from October 2012 and not plot all of the available data to look for patterns? Drawing a conclusion from one month of data out of a millennium of data doesn't seem very statistically sound. 

Based on the last month of data, Apple stock will be worthless in less than 7 months. 

Are you teaching statisical skills or rhetoric?

Thank you, Dirk

Great use of a computer! A+...this illustrates the importance of understanding influencing factors, processes, and sampling methods. Perhaps after a full year of riding and recording the data, a more realiable prediction/model may emerge. (Your legs may tire after that, but at least there would be 365/734380 sample.) After all we are in 2012 Julian years....if we would like to use Julius C. as the definition of the population we wish to study....sorry I don't know any Mayans.

As with any statistical evaluation, I need to know the uncertainty associated with your end-of-sunshine date. I would hate to schedule my candle delivery only to find out the end of sunshine happened a day or two earlier.