Since all the psychics like to come up with predictions for the new year, I thought I would do likewise. I’m aiming for things that are possible but not too terribly likely. Most of the time, they’ll be things I’d rather not see happen, but others will be ones I’d love to see, just don’t really expect to see.

1. Solar power will really, really take off.

Sure’d be nice, and things are getting more promising now that Nanosolar is in production, but I think there’s still more time on this one, darn it!

2. I will get a cat.

I want one! But my husband and I agreed no pets until we own a home.

3. We’ll quit hearing so much nonsensical news about celebrities.

Hey, I can dream, can’t I? This one probably won’t happen in our lifetimes.

4. A magnitude 7 or greater earthquake will strike somewhere in California.

It’s possible, and I really don’t want to see it happen. I live in California and have relatives up and down the state. But we all know that one of these days….

5. Oil prices will mostly rise.

Well, I ought to get one right, anyhow, even if I’d rather not.

6. People will realize that whether or not global warming is a real problem, polluting freely is a bad idea.

Yeah, I can be a dreamer at times.

7. New, potentially earth-like planets will be discovered outside the solar system.

Actually, one will be so similar that we’ll discover each other at the same moment. They’re coming for dinner, okay? Not telling you which night.

8. The San Diego Padres will go to the World Series.

Nope, not a baseball fan. But I may as well keep my fellow San Diegans happy.

9. Vote fraud will be a major issue in the Presidential elections.

I suppose I could just try to predict who will win, but this one seems easier to predict.

10. Someone will take my predictions seriously.

While these are mostly possible, I’m not remotely serious about them.

Technorati Tags: 2008 predictions, goofing off

Since it’s the end of the year I thought I would take a look at how it went for me, and what things have changed or just been interesting. No particular order here, just as I think of them.

1. Sold my car and didn’t replace it.
   My husband and I now share a car, which has worked amazingly well. It’s not as hard to be a one car family as most think when one of the people works at home.
2. One of my sisters got married.
3. My grandmother died.
4. My sister-in-law had a son.
5. Took the kids to see snow for the first time.
6. My daughter started kindergarten.
7. My daughter lost her first tooth.
8. My sisters and I painted our mother’s house for a birthday present
9. I started In Mother Words to allow other parents to share funny parenting stories.
10. My son started speech therapy.
11. Took my daughter to Disneyland for the first time.
12. We had to deal with frozen pipes
    In the San Diego area, this is particularly exceptional. I’ve never had to deal with frozen pipes before in my life, and last January we had them twice!
13. My cell phone survived being dunked in a sink full of water by my son, while powered on.

It’s been a fun year, all in all.

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The Christmas shopping season is fast coming to a close. Hit the malls now and you’ll be fighting some serious crowds. It’s not fun for most people.

It’s time to consider whether gift cards are the right choice. I like giving them for Amazon, just because people can buy just about anything they want there, and most of the time the prices are good. Not always, but most of the time. And of course you don’t have to fight the crowds at the mall to get it. At this point it’s late for mailing them, but you can arrange for it to be delivered by email on the day of your choice.

The one trouble is that if you don’t send it in the mail, there’s nothing to put under the tree. Not good if you’re celebrating together. That is the one advantage to buying gift cards in person.

But where?

That depends on the kind of gift you want to give. Are you going highly practical? Wanting the recipient to indulge? You can get gift cards for anyplace from Walmart to most restaurants. Think about what you want to be done with it.

While gift cards don’t come out immediately as the perfect gift, they are often quite welcome. There’s the assurance that whatever is bought with it, it will be much wanted. That’s a very good thing.

Technorati Tags: gift ideas, gift cards, holidays, christmas

1. Winter is the season in which people try to keep the house as warm as it was in the summer, when they complained about the heat. - Anonymous
2. The problem with winter sports is that - follow me closely here - they generally take place in winter. - Dave Barry
3. Winter is the time of promise because there is so little to do - or because you can now and then permit yourself the luxury of thinking so. - Stanley Crawford
4. I was just thinking, if it is really religion with these nudist colonies, they sure must turn atheists in the wintertime. - Will Rogers
5. Winter is nature’s way of saying, “Up yours.” - Robert Byrne
6. Snowflakes are one of nature’s most fragile things, but just look what they can do when they stick together. - Vesta M. Kelly
7. To shorten winter, borrow some money due in spring. - W. J. Vogel
8. There are three reasons for becoming a writer: the first is that you need the money; the second that you have something to say that you think the world should know; the third is that you can’t think what to do with the long winter evenings. - Quentin Crisp
9. Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face. - Victor Hugo
10. I like these cold, gray winter days. Days like these let you savor a bad mood. - Bill Watterson
11. If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome. - Anne Bradstreet
12. Sometimes our fate resembles a fruit tree in winter. Who would think that those branches would turn green again and blossom, but we hope it, we know it. - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
13. One kind word can warm three winter months. - Japanese Proverb

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You heard me. Die germs, die!

No, I’m not really all THAT paranoid about them. I have two kids and no time to be afraid of germs. A little dirt can actually help kids to build their immunities.

But there are some places you don’t want germs. And so when I saw the SteriPen Portable Water Purifier I couldn’t help but think how neat it was.

I can see two times I would want these:

• Going camping
• In a disaster kit

Living in earthquake country means that yes, I do have an emergency kit. With a decent water supply, but there’s no promise that the bottles won’t be smashed in a major quake. I don’t consider it paranoia to consider the possibilities so long as I don’t let them take over my life.

For more general areas, there’s the UV Disinfectant Wand. It’s a pretty cool little device too. I’m not quite feeling the need for it, but then I work at home. Pretty much no matter what I do I figure we’re going to all be sharing germs.

Of course, nothing can replace just keeping things clean for general germ control. I’m a touch overdue for a major housecleaning right now, and starting to feel it, which is no doubt why this topic really appealed to me today.

Technorati Tags: germs, killing germs

Most glues are only so good. But even the best glues we have right now probably can’t compete with this ancient one. You see, a glue used by Roman warriors has been found to still be effective.

The glue found dates back to 1 BC. There’s just not much around that is likely to work for one century, never mind two millenia. That’s pretty impressive.

So far the glue appears to be made of bitumen, bark pitch and animal grease. So if you have any sitting around the house, get to it. But do note that they think there’s still something more to it, as they have not been able to recreate the glue.

Technorati Tags: super glue, roman glue, history