What is it about January 1st and the following week that has the entire world compelled to say happy new year every 5 minutes? I mean besides the obvious fact that it is a new year (according to the calendar we have, as a world, adopted as a standard).

And what in the world posseses journalists and media to re-cap, count down and predict ad nausium.

And what's with the obsession with new born babies? There isn't anything special about someone born at January 1st 00:00:01am EST (eastern standard time) when someone else several time zones ahead was born at 01:26:37am is technically more of a new year's baby.

And Resolutions?

Tradition. That's what it is. So in this grand tradition I share the following:

Happy New Year.

Countdowns:
The top 5 baby names of 2004 (The computers are still working on the 2005 results):

Girls:
5 Hailey
4 Kaitlyn
3 Emily
2 Madison
1 Emma

Boys:
5 Matthew
4 Ryan
3 Ethan
2 Aidan
1 Jacob

Recap of 2005:
2005 had a war in Iraq, 2 election calls in Canada, and a couple of huricanes.

Predictions:
There will be Olympic winter games. Someone famous will die. Google will continue its quest for world domination. Microsoft will do something unethical. Mayonaise will regain popularity as a hamburger topping.

New Year's Baby:
And the first baby of 2006 in Toronto Ontario was:
Faith Jacqueline Mary Carlos who arrived at 12:02 a.m.

Resolutions:
And in keeping with my 1987 new year's resolution to not make any more new year's resolutions - I have no resolutions.

andre