Ebony's Pearls

<>The Phoenix Mission will find life on Mars, but not life as we know it. Probably late in 2008. Expect little toy Martians to become popular among the geeks. (heh, if we collect plushie germs, why wouldn't we collect plushie Martians?)

I want my Martian plushies! But life, or signs of it, anyway, have been found on Mars.

New sun models will show that solar flares are responsible for a larger than expected portion of the climactic changes we are experiencing, and we'll have to look to technology to help us survive the coming climactic upheavals.

Scientists have been talking about it for a while and now it's seeping into common media.

There will be no bird flu epidemic.

Nailed it.

The Rocket Racing League will take NASCAR-style racing (with rockets!) to the skies and back. It will become an exciting new sport, and a very expensive one. I think it will fuel the desire to spend more time and money lifting people into space, and provide a needed incentive to develop in space. Refueling stations for the race on the other side of the Moon, anyone?

Missed it, but it would have been fun, eh?

LEDs will become the new trend in home lighting, reducing greenhouse emissions substantially. Not sure how it will work for those with SAD.

Getting there.

Major record label companies will find they are losing clients as bands discover they don't need recording contracts to record and sell their music.

<>There's more indie music than ever and it's easy to get it.

The Christian Left will finally make concerted and successful efforts to begin reigning in the Christian Right. Barack Obama will be in the lead on this. It may prove to be a more important role than becoming president.

It's happening. Slow but sure. To early to tell if this will be more important for Obama than being president. We'll see. And he did become president.

China will experience a population explosion as people who previously declined bearing children choose to have them in the auspicious Year of the Pig, 2007, with spillage into early 2008.

Haven't seen the stats, but there does appear to be an upswing in their population.

Mexico will experience what it has given to America - an illegal immigrant problem.

They're complaining about it now.