How did I do

I've decided that life is too short to agonize about this. This is just for fun after all.

So let's see. Last year this is what I predicted:

- In the summer of 2008, there will be record hot days, which will be attributed by some to global warming.

Right. This is a freebie -- it's always true, of course. There is really a lot of doubt circulating about global warming right now, in light of the two consecutive very cold winters we have been having (so far), a decline in global temperatures that is very steep recently that no one has really been able to deny (although you can debate of course whether it's a trend or just some more data points), and the interesting story about significantly decreased solar activity, which I have discussed on this blog before here.

- The Dow or NASDAQ will close above its 12/31/2007 closing level.

Badly wrong. Well, the big thing that I didn't see coming very clearly was the magnitude of the economic blowup. I saw it coming, but figured it would not be as large as it was, and we would be digging our way out of it by the second half of 2008 (hence my prediction that the market indexes would be on their way back up by now.)

- Obligatory Presidential election predictions: Michael Bloomberg will not run for US President. No third-party candidate will capture more than 1.5% of the vote.

Right on. It went about like I expected. Oh, except for the Obama thing. I was really expecting Hillary to be elected, but I didn't want to go out and predict that formally (good thing, too).

- I will buy a new car.

Wrong. So you would think that the prediction that I had total control of over myself, I would have been able to succeed with. There was a lot of uncertainty about my employer earlier in the year, then I was in the market to buy a house (which I didn't), then of course the economy turned really far south. So my original intention to purchase a car has been tabled indefinitely. Which is fine. I love my current car and wasn't really looking forward to trading it in anyway.