08:59 – Happy New Year.
Today, I finish up Arthropoda and start the final group of lab sessions, on Chordata. I have 17 days budgeted for that, followed by three days on the Preface and Introduction. That leaves me 11 days for final cleanup and perhaps adding a lab session or two.
Here are my New Year’s Resolutions for 2012:
1. Continue smoking
2. Avoid exercise
3. Avoid losing weight
4. Eat more fatty foods
5. Ridicule irrationality and Political Correctness at every opportunity
6. Encourage kids to develop an interest in science
7. Speak my mind on political and social issues
8. Write a couple books and put together three or four science kits for sale to homeschoolers
9. Read a couple hundred books
10. Have fun.
Unlike some people, I never seem to have any trouble keeping my New Year’s Resolutions. I nailed all of my 2011 Resolutions except #3 (I did accidentally lose a bit of weight) and #8 (we actually have only one kit available for sale right now, but I do have two more in progress). A year from now, I’ll tell you how I did on these 2012 Resolutions.
13:20 – I just took a break and spent some time reading the New Years speeches of several of the EU leaders. The consensus is that 2012 will be a much more difficult year than 2011, during which the EU and the euro teetered on the brink of collapse. I’d say they got that right.
Apparently, the main goal of Greece for 2012 is to avoid collapse. Well, that and to avoid getting kicked out of the euro. The main goal of Ireland during 2012 is to avoid collapse. The main goal of Portugal during 2012 is to avoid collapse. The main goal of Spain during 2012 is to avoid collapse. The main goal of Italy during 2012 is to avoid collapse. The main goal of Belgium during 2012 is to avoid collapse. The main goal of France during 2012 is to avoid collapse. And the main goal of Germany during 2012 is to get the rest of the eurozone to do what it orders them to do and to avoid having to pay the rest of the eurozone’s bills. That, and get even with the UK.