It's such a drag to be at work today. I should have taken the next two days off. Maybe next year.

Been watching football games all day, mostly to block the noise of the foot stomping, furniture moving monster that lives above me. The freak moves her furniture around every week, what's up with that? I've been hiding out in my dining room and lying on my fold out futon chair. I moved the chair in there so I wouldn't hear the freak upstairs stomping around, and it's working. I can hear her, but at least I don't feel like it's right over my head. I'm congratulating myself on this brilliant move of mine. My computer is in here too, so I can work in peace if needed.

And, I guess I had too many Maker's Mark Manhattans at my friend's cocktail party last night, because I woke up with a dizzying wicked hangover. Haven't had one of these in years. I think I only had four drinks, but I guess I'm getting old because I think one or two drinks is my limit, although my friend does make her manhattans very strong. Or maybe it's because it was brown liquor and I usually only drink vodka or wine or beer. Who knows? I just know I was severely hung over this morning, and watching football in bed was a delightful idea.

Anyway, watching all these football games makes me marvel at the game of football. The whole playoff scene was a trip. Miami beat New England, but because the NY Jets beat Greenbay, both Miami and New England were eliminated out of the playoffs. But if the NY Jets lost, they'd be in.

How weird is that? To win your game, but then get ousted out of the playoffs because some other team won. And the NY Jets look like they're peaking as well. The NY Giants too.

Is it Oakland's year? It would be interesting to watch Oakland play Tampa Bay, because of the John Gruden connection. Skip Bayless from the Mercury News was right. Oakland didn't need John Gruden, because they've done well without him.

Not sure about the 49ers though. They're a strong team, but other teams looks better. If they play the Falcons, they might get through that game. If they play the red hot NY Giants, well, then maybe next year. The 49ers are still a young team, and I think they need a couple more years before they become superbowl contenders. Maybe if they get a new defensive guy, they'd actually have a chance to win. I've never liked Jim Mora, and don't think he's brought anything to the 49er team.

It's a rainy day in San Francisco, so I'm listening to Mozart's Requiem for the Dead. It's appropriate rainy day music I think.

I had the weirdest dream this morning. I dreamt that the civic center part of downtown San Francisco was all giant condo buildings. It must have been a futuristic dream because there were electric and hover cars everywhere. I was looking for a new place to live, and was contemplating a top floor apartment with one heck of a view. I wish!

I'm supposed to go to a pre-New Year's eve cocktail party tonight, which I should go to just to put in an appearance, since it's being given by a very good friend of mine. I hope the rain stops by then.

I've been listening to futurists talking about the year 2003, and they don't have very good news. Everyone says we will go to war sometime between January and February, and most likely February 1 because it's a new moon. One futurist said the military has always started an attack on a new moon to provide cover for the stealth fighter planes. I wonder if this is true.

One interesting comment from one of them, Sean David Morton, was about the airline industry. Morton said that a group called the Carlyle group, a primarily Republican Billionaire Boys club run by Former Sec. of Defence Frank Carlucci and Former CIA Dir. "Buzzy" Kronengard, was buying up train companies like CSX. Apparently, this same Carlyle group SHORTED MILLIONS of dollars worth of AMERICAN and UNITED AIRLINES stock the DAY BEFORE the 9/11 Twin Towers attacks. Morton said if the Carlyle Group is investing in trains, then they're expecting something to happen to the airline industry, which most likely will be terrorist related.

I think the airlines industry is in serious financial free fall right now, and one more terrorist related incident like 9/11 will clinch it. I think the United Airlines bankruptcy will have far-reaching effects on the SF Bay Area and Chicago economies, and that we've only seen the tip of that financial disaster.

What's weird about all the futurists is they're all predicting doom and gloom. Usually they differ very greatly in their predictions, but not this time, and that's the most frightening part.

I still tend to believe that we should go to war with Iraq, but then you have the law of unintended consequences to deal with. Sean David Morton said the same thing. The terrorists, the Al-Queda network is the X-factor. Who knows how strong their response will be to an attack on Iraq? There are even rumblings in the conservative papers about what's going on politically in Iran, so I wouldn't necessarily rule out the war in Iraq spreading to Iran.

Morton also said that Osama Bin Laden is still alive, but would be caught or killed in early 2004 and that the Al-Queda network will go on without him.

It's grim news I know, but all futurists will tell you that the future is not set in stone, that it can still be changed. But perhaps not this war in Iraq. The only thing that could change our government's plans for war with Iraq, is North Korea detonating a nuclear device in the DMZ. And no one knows what North Korea is capable of at this point.

Check out the Top 10 Word Lists of 2002, from Your Dictionary. The Shrubmeister has contributed many of his own personal mangled words to the list. I like the phrases "for shizzle" and "rank and yank".