The number 21 is usually good, right? In blackjack, 21 means you win. In life, 21 means you’re officially adult enough to buy alcohol, gamble in a casino or purchase a handgun (In the United States, at least). In military ceremonies, a 21-gun salute is an honor reserved for dignitaries or heads of state.

Often in life we're forced to make decisions with too little information. Phone's dead and you don't have access to GPS? Lost the instructions for assembling that new gas grill? Don't have the recipe for your favorite dessert? “No problem," I often tell my wife or my kids, "I'll just use the Force."

As the founder, president and co-host of Manufacturing Talk Radio, as well as publisher of Metals & Manufacturing Outlook eZine, I am excited to report that the economic outlook for 2018 is just too good not to tout. Whatever "final GDP number" the government divines for 2017, the year will finish above 3% for the first time in a decade.