All right, it’s been 2006 for a while now – in case you don’t know, here’s what to look out for this year:

1. Detroit hosts Super Bowl XL on February 5, 2006.

2. Seattle travels to Detroit for an unexpected Super Bowl run.

3. The city of Detroit goes bankrupt after the Super Bowl (probably by March).

4. GM avoids bankruptcy for 2006.

5. The Pistons continue to be the best team in the NBA all the way through the Finals.

6. The wheels continue to fall off of the administration of this U.S. President as more of its conspiracies are uncovered and its foreign policy fails.

7. Seattle breaks ground on its African-American museum, constructed in the footsteps of Detroit’s own such institution.

8. U.S. liberals make some moderate gains in the 2006 elections even as the U.S. electorate continues its rightward shift toward economic and social irrelevance.

9. More nations thumb their nose at the U.S. a la Iran, Iraq’s "insurgents," Venezuela, Bolivia, and Brazil.

10. Apple finally uses standard hardware such as Intel chips to make more affordable PCs and laptops – it’s about time.

11. The world gets an overdue but cool new operating system in Vista.

12. It starts to become normal for DVD’s to release simultaneously with theatrical showings.

13. Video on demand starts to seep into the mainstream.

14. Several game publishers drop out of the PC game business.

15. Something unexpected and bad happens.

16. Something unexpected but good happens.

17. Me and buschick jump the broom.

18. Detroit’s downtown business and residential climate improve even as the city’s schools and services continue their decline and people leave the city.

We’ll see how my predictions hold up throughout the year. I can’t say I would have predicted the 20+ straight days of rain we had at the beginning of the month though…  Oh, and I have no idea if the Book-Cadillac renovation will actually start...