I would like there to be a new car available.

It would look something like a Volvo 240 - utilitarian, maybe even boxy. It would have a basic, powerful-enough 4-cylinder engine, installed longitudinally, mated to either a five-ratio manual gearbox or a mechanically-controlled automatic gearbox with a locking torque converter, driving the rear wheels (with all-wheel-drive as an option). It would have a slew of airbags, crumple zones, and all the necessary safety features. Four-wheel disc brakes, ABS, all that good stuff that helps you avoid crashing in the first place. It would have all the usual OBD-II diagnostics, as necessary these days for legal reasons. The throttle would be controlled by a cable pulling on a spring-loaded butterfly valve.

It would not be the average car, though. It would, as standard, not have power accessories. No power windows, no power locks, no power seats... optionally, yes, but not on the base model. Power steering and power brakes, yes. It would also have a feature not commonly found on OBD-II cars: no reader would be required to get codes. There would be a readout under the bonnet to get the codes, and an explanation of the codes in the owner's manual. This would be a utilitarian car, designed to get the user from one place to another with a reasonable amount of stuff, and to be easy to fix. Tool-less replacement of bulbs, a basic toolkit included, and the aforementioned code readout would make it more appealing to the hobbyist.

Of course, it would never sell. People, in general, don't want a car that assumes they're competent at wrench-turning. Those who do are an exception, and not a unified market; while there are plenty of Volvo-enthusiast hobbyists, there are just as many people who tune hot rods, classic American iron, and so on, and there's less crossover than I would like. Just try to sell a reborn Volvo 240 to a Corvette fanatic!

But if I ever win the lottery, inherit Bill Gates's millions, or somehow come into possession of that sort of money, I'm definitely going to attempt to license the designs for the Volvo 240 and its red block engine, and bankroll this.

Why the world will not end in 2012.

Lately, there's been a lot of hoo-ha about "The Mayan calendar ends in 2012, they knew something!", and as always with apocalyptic predictions, plenty of films, TV shows, and other rubbish talking it up. Unfortunately for the doomsayers, it's all a load of hooey.

You see, the Mayan Long Count which is running out of numbers in 2012 is actually extensible. It merely needs another digit to continue on for far longer than it has done already. There aren't any predictions we've found in Mayan sources regarding the end of the calendar. All that's happening is a problem like the year 2000 bug: they thought they had plenty of headroom, but now people are still paying attention when they're running into a technical limit. A very similar issue is in store for 32-bit Unix-based systems (for those who don't know exactly what that is, it's not too important) in 2038, when their time storage system runs out of numbers; the time storage system used is very simple, being a count of nominal seconds (86400 per day, ignoring leap seconds) since 1/1/1970, but in 2038, it runs out of numbers.

So, please, don't worry about 2012. The worst problem that's likely to occur is possible riots because so many idiots believe the predictions of doom.

Looking back

This has been the first decade I've been an adult (legally, at any rate) all the way through. It's seen a fair bit of change in me, too.

At the start of 2000, I was in university, failing a chemistry degree. I changed to a geology degree, but eventually failed at that too, and dropped out in 2004. Along the way, I discovered computers and the internet, became a computer gamer (I even bought games at release), and didn't really make much progress figuring out who I really was. Once I was on my own, I did get a job, I started a long-distance relationship over the internet, and I lost interest in the latest and greatest games. For one thing, I couldn't afford to keep up with the power curve.

Between trouble staying in work (jobs on short-term contracts are less than ideal) and difficulty resisting the temptation to spend money, I spent a couple of years stuck in limbo, from 2005 to 2007. Eventually, I got myself out of debt and could allow myself to come over to the US. This was originally going to be a brief visit, but after advice from an immigration attorney, the LA and I tied the knot on February 29th 2008 at the LAX courthouse. We started the paperwork to get me a green card, and also started planning a reception. That took place in August 2008, and the paperwork was done a month later. Since then, I've become a volunteer for a theatre group in Berkeley, I've learned to drive, I've become the half-owner of an aging Volvo, I've switched my gaming interests from computers to tabletop (on the grounds that even if the table was bought in the 70s to eat dinner from, it doesn't need an upgrade to play the latest and greatest game of 2009), and I've not had a haircut in five years.

I'm happy with where I am right now. I know myself a lot better than I did ten years or even five years ago, and I've a lot more friends now than I did then. Naturally, there are areas I'd like to improve on, but the general picture is good.

Here's to a successful 2010 for everyone!

And we're just about ready!

All the gifts are achieved (whether made or bought) and wrapped. The cats are still allowing the tree to stand. The game room table has been cleared, in case people want to play games. Arrangements have been made.

I even have everything I need for a special dinner on Sunday which will put me firmly in the LA's good books (and I'm not going to spoil it!)

We celebrate Christmas as a cultural thing. It's good to have a party when the nights have drawn in (although the sun never gets as low here as it does in the UK; I'm still feeling as though it's roughly October, based on the hours of daylight) and it's nice to give gifts.

I am a chauffeur.

The LA prefers to sit in the front seat. She gets a better view, she avoids motion sickness, and in my car, that seat has a heating grid under the seat squab and in the lower backrest, which she makes use of. Unfortunately, the front passenger seat of my car is currently out of commission. The seatbelt latch has given up the ghost.

Yes, you read that correctly. A part related to safety has worn out, on a Volvo!

Some people have been urging me to replace it myself. I'm not wanting to do that because a) it's a safety part, and I don't have that much confidence in my wrench-turning skills, and b) replacing it would require removing the seat, which thanks to the aforementioned heating grids is a task and a half. For the moment, she's riding in the back if she rides at all, but as soon as the shop opens on Monday, I shall be calling for an estimate on bilateral replacement of front seatbelt latches. After all, the passenger belt has had less use than the driver's belt, and the wear shown is very similar.

Thanksgiving

It's been a good year, and for Thanksgiving, the LA and I were invited to a friend's house. We decided to accept; the serving of goose was not a small factor in that decision. We spent the day playing games, and had a great deal of fun.

Then, on Friday (traditionally the day on which you Don't Go Shopping if you have any sense; America starts its January sales the day after Thanksgiving, for the British folks, and the Americans need no explanation of Black Friday), I spent the morning removing the centre console from my car, dismounting the switch for the driver's side seat heater, which was sticking because of a soda incident some years earlier, and cleaning it so as to make it switchable again. Astoundingly, I succeeded despite having to service a non-user-serviceable part.

Sociability, and not drowning but waving

I haven't been saying much. It seems that how much I have to say here is inversely proportional to how much time I spend with people out in the real world - and that has significantly increased lately, as I've taken to attending the regular Tuesday night board games sessions at the local gaming store. It's generally an older-feeling crowd than Magic or D&D seem to attract (which does mean that I fit in quite well) and between the games and the company, it works out as a very good thing for my balance.

Also, I've just acquired Google Wave. This is new technology, stretches this computer to its limit, and is very very shiny.

Which makes it such a shame that the major use for it is likely to be shopping lists and suchlike.