I've seen plenty of other bloggers with retrospectives, but '02 wasn't exactly a banner year for me. I wrote quite a bit, but it was all over the map, not very focused, and I didn't follow up with any fiction sales. I met some interesting new people, blogged my butt off both here and at my last blog, and kept a job for a whole other year.

But instead of dwelling on the year that was, in the tradition of those forward-lookers I'm going to make a few predictions:

War: There will be at least one. Probably with Iraq. Things will get ugly, and anti-American sentiment will rise (yes, even further than it has now).

Terrorism: There will be another major terrorist attack, on a port city (look for a dirty bomb or a chemical attack). In order to demonstrate their global reach, al Qaeda might strike at Eurpoean and American interests at the same time.

Clones: The "Eve" debacle will turn out to be a hoax, but the first true clone will be born in 2003, at a secret lab on the isle of Crete.

Fashion: Look for polyester to make a big comeback...oh, and cowboy hats, too.

Space: The bloated dinosaur that is NASA will keep plugging along, while private interests continue to perform test launches in Russia and elsewhere. Look for the first sub-orbital tourist trip in 2004, but not next year.

Best Picture 2002: "The Two Towers"

Food: The first synthetic meat approved by the FDA will appear on the market. "Faux-Beef" will sell enormously well after another European wave of Mad Cow and rumors that terrorist have infected livestock in America.

Computers: I'm going out on a limb, here, but I think they'll be cheaper and faster.

Television: Look for more inane "reality television". People can't seem to get enough of this crap.

North Korea: Basically Iraq II. Sanctions, diplomacy, and millions of suffering North Koreans, all blamed on the United States. Eventually, they'll be confronted, but not in '03. Meanwhile, look for Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan to begin development of nuclear programs of their own.

Politics: Look for the Presidential campaigns to start full-on. Let the crap-slinging begin!

Personal: Well hell, the dry spell can't continue forever. I'll finish another novel, lots of short stories, and make at least two sales. Per work, I'll probably get laid off, and find another, similiar job. Marriage? Um, no...look for another year of confirmed bachelorhood.

So that's it.

Any predictions of your own...?