So the final Survivor 3 was on last night. I watched it, but I find my interest in the show has dwindled substantially since the first. At least with the first one, the bad guy won, which made it interesting. My wife and I both figured Ethan would win at the beginning of the episode. We even accurately guessed who would vote for who. I hope Mark Burnett isn't spending as much on security, because it's just a lot more predictable now.

Now which one of these folks do you think we'll remember in 6 months? Fifteen minutes is a much shorter time frame than it used to be. From the first, we got the Rudy action figure and Colleen in that God-Awful Rob Schneider movie (do I really need to put the description? Don't they ALL suck?). From the second.... well Keith got that cooking show.... Colby and Jerri were at E3... Elizabeth's fiance is in the NFL, although he would have done that without his Survivor Hottie wife.

From this round, Lindsay may get a commercial, seeing as she cleans up so good. Ethan the pro soccer player turned Millionaire may get a reebok ad or something, but overall, I'll guess that they'll all be forgotten before the contestants get off the boat for Survivor 4.

It's really interesting that everyone in the U.S. and Europe is having the worst winter in recent memory, while we here in the Great White North are experiencing the mildest winter in a long time. How long you might ask (you probably don't ask, but screw you get your own blog if you want your voice heard)? I don't ever remember a winter with this little snow and these mild temperatures. If this is what Global Warming is all about, count me in!

So, another new year has come, and with it reflections on the happenings of the year just passed. A hell of a year to be certain. Leaving Sept 11 for the moment, as all else really does pale in comparison, let's look at what else happened.

The dot com crash: Finally the rest of the world realized that the Emporer had no clothes. All of these companies had outrageous IPO's, but what the hell did they do? How did they make any money? Oh, that's right...they didn't.

The Death of Two Rock Icons: George Harrison and Joey Ramone both took their last bows this year. In both cases, they died of Cancer. Also, in both cases they were incredibly influential in their musical fields. Harrison with the Beatles and Ramone with, of course, the Ramones. Both had a distinctive voice and a great body of work to back that voice up. Now they have gone on to join that Band that includes Hendrix, Moon, Bohnam and Joplin among others, most notably Harrison's former bandmate John Lennon. Keith Richards, in his rememberance of George said that he hoped George and John were having a drink up there and getting together to jam. More and more they've got a hell of a band up there.

The Other Stuff: Condit & Robert Blake both seemed so important in May of last year. but after the 11th of September, who really gave a rat's ass.

Sept. 11th: There is no denying that the world did change that day. Everyone remembers exactly where they were as it all unfolded, and how surreal the weeks that followed seemed. Everyone struggled to pick up the pieces and to move on, but things have definitely changed. Then the Anthrax scare started, and just when you think it's all over some 15 year old kid smashes a private plane into a bank building in Florida.

Today the news hit that he left a note behind, supporting Osama Bin Laden. Luckily the only victim in this case was himself. To me this is Social Darwinism in action, and I implore all others with this desire to support a madman to follow this kid's lead and shuffle themselves off this mortal coil, without taking others with them. We need less of their kind!

Rather than end on a down note, I will say this: if nothing else, events of the past few months have to show you two things. First, no matter how bad things are, they are never going to be as bad as what we saw four months ago. Second, your priorities have hopefully shifted focus to what is really important. Live life now and enjoy the little things. This is no dress rehearsal, and you never know when the curtain comes down for you.

Hmm, not quite the up note I wanted to leave off on, but something to think about nonetheless.

Happy New Year!