Not too long now, it’ll be 2007. And not a moment too soon. ;)

Last year on this date, I was looking back on a difficult 2005…

Instead of the Litany of Bad Things, I will just say that despite the bad stuff, some good stuff also happened. More than anything, seeds have been planted that might just make 2006 a good one.

Suffice to say that unfortunately, 2006 was even more trying, by a long shot. But I can also say that a lot of good happened this year as well. I can even mean it wholeheartedly when I say that 2007 holds a lot of promise. With some dedication and good fortune, it could be the best year ever.

Have a happy and safe year, everyone!

Marion: You’re not the man I knew ten years ago.
Indiana: It’s not the years, honey, it’s the mileage.

We’re pretty much Indiana Jones fanatics around these parts. Which is why the news of a last chapter in the series (“Indiana Jones ‘to return in 2008’”) is mighty exciting.

Director George Lucas says the fourth instalment in the Indiana Jones film series will start next year.

Lucas said he and Steven Spielberg had recently finalised the script, and promised it was “the best one yet”.

Actor Harrison Ford will return as the titular star of the film, which is due to hit cinemas in May 2008.

Now, the original movie was released in 1981 and took place in 1936. If the new film takes place 25-30 years after the first story, that would put it in the early 1960s, maybe the late 1950s if they’re trying to get away with Ford being a bit younger than his 64 years.

Lots of potential historical story lines for that time period — everything from postwar Nazis in South America, to the Cold War, to nuclear developments… even the Kennedy Assassination. Should be fun, whatever it winds up being.

Lucas, 62, has now confirmed the script is ready - after more than 10 years in development - and told the Associated Press the film was “going to be fantastic”.

He would not reveal any plot details, but said it would be “a character piece” including some “very interesting mysteries”.

Can’t wait!

Productivity is for suckers. The establishment wants you to be ever more productive. To produce. For them. Screw The Man!

Okay, granted, The Man likely pays you for your production, which is known by many different names.

• “Selling out” — The Hippies
• “Cashing in” — The Yuppies
• “Wage slavery” — The Slackers
• “Where do I sign up?” — The Poor

This state known as Being Productive means different things to different people, and whether or not you subscribe to the notion that Being Employed is a good thing, I hope you can admit there is more to life than merely that. Here’s an analogy.

Sleep is a necessary part of life, in which we spend 8 hours a day (more or less). While important, it does not define who we are.

Work is also a necessary part of life, in which many of us spend 8 hours a day (more or less). It doesn’t define our humanity any more than sleep does. Unless we let it.

Also, not sleeping and not working can both make us pretty wacko. And of course, many people manage to accomplish both sleep and work simultaneously, so perhaps this argument isn’t entirely cogent.

Where was I…?

OK, point being, work is not everything, even if you love what you do. Efficiency is not the be all, end all of existence. Sometimes, older ways are better. Sometimes, simpler ways are better. Sometimes, slower ways are better.

And sometimes, productivity is for suckers.

Not the Norweigian Blue with its beautiful plumage, but a great deal more lively. From the BBC: “Parrot’s oratory stuns scientists”

The finding of a parrot with an almost unparalleled power to communicate with people has brought scientists up short.

The bird, a captive African grey called N’kisi, has a vocabulary of 950 words, and shows signs of a sense of humour.

He invents his own words and phrases if he is confronted with novel ideas with which his existing repertoire cannot cope - just as a human child would do.

We have a poodle whose only handicap for speaking English is lack of vocal cords. ;)

This reminds me of a portion of Nick Sagan’s “Memories Of My Dad” post from the Carl Sagan Memorial Blog-a-Thon earlier this month.

His laugh was explosive and uninhibited. It was the kind of laugh that made you feel good for making him laugh. His sneezes were booming. And sometimes he’d talk to animals in their native tongue. The times we’d see dolphins, he’d greet them in a reasonable approximation of dolphin speak. They’d often answer him. I have no idea what was said.

I’ll bet the dolphins did, though.