2005 in somewhat of a review.

From the Out with the old department:

I wanted to get down my scatterbrained thoughts on 2005... before it actually ended.

This may well be the "Year of the Disaster". 2004 ended with a Tsunami that blew out much of Southeast and West Asia. We had Hurricane Katrina here in the US, and a massive earthquake in Northern India and Pakistan. And, that's just the biggest ones. While "Global Warming" has shown itself to be somewhat of a misnomer, since not everyone is feeling warmer temperatures on account of it, it has increased the intensity of all weather events. Yes, that includes your local rainstorm - which would otherwise have been more of a sprinkle.

After mulling over Hurricane Katrina for a few months, there's one thing that sticks out in my mind. Every day, I saw headlines that looked like this:

• FEMA won't accept Amtrak's help in evacuations
• FEMA turns away experienced firefighters
• FEMA turns back Wal-Mart supply trucks
• FEMA prevents Coast Guard from delivering diesel fuel
• FEMA won't let Red Cross deliver food
• FEMA bars morticians from entering New Orleans
• FEMA blocks 500-boat citizen flotilla from delivering aid
• FEMA fails to utilize Navy ship with 600-bed hospital on board
• FEMA to Chicago: Send just one truck
• FEMA turns away generators
• FEMA: "First Responders Urged Not To Respond"

I never like to venture into tinfoil-hat territory, but doesn't it just look like they were trying to let things get worse instead of helping? Are these all really "mistakes"? I can't figure out why that would be, though. Does anyone achieve a tangible goal this way? No one's going to gain politically or financially if these people die, right? It's worth mentioning that things are still a mess down there. New Orleans was a rough place before Katrina, and the people there still need help. If there is a way for you to assist... you shouldn't need me to tell you. The hurricane is gone, but the disaster continues.

The foremost world issue for the US continues to be Iraq, and I have only one thing to point out about Iraq's current situation. Is there anything that we can do to prevent an all-out civil war there? I'm not really sure what the Kurds will do, my gut tells me that they'll defend themselves, and try not to get involved. The Sunnis and Shiites will eventually go into all-out civil war, and we may be able to delay the inevitable, but we can't stop it. We never "liberated" the Iraqis, because they don't understand liberty. What we brought them is anarchy. Once we leave, the place will explode, and only if we're lucky will the dust settle in our lifetimes.

Within politics, I have a lot of hope for this year. The Republican machine has made such a train wreck out of all of our lives, that there can't be any reasonable people out there who would continue to vote for Republicans. Even if you consider yourself "conservative", these people have failed you. Voting for Democratic Party Senate and House candidates is the best thing you can do... for your own wallet, among other things. You've got ten months or so to think about it. If you feel like reviewing everything that went wrong in the political world: The Forgotten Stories of 2005.

There have been less depressing things this year, though.

In technology, we've had a good bit of coolness.

• Java SE 5.0 (aka "Tiger") was released, which a lot of Java developers have been waiting for.
• Podcasting has really exploded, becoming the next big thing in finding what to listen to.
• And, in news that may only concern me, IBM released Notes/Domino 7. On time, even! Well, mostly. Of course, the biggest new feature - DB2 Data Store - has gone largely ignored by most Notes shops. Shame, really.

In music, a lot of really strong albums came out this year. Ten Thousand Fists, Octavarium, Second Life Syndrome, Ogre Tones, Bloom... But my top album of the year - and I'm sure that </a></a>donbecker, nyghtowl, and </a></a>alexharden are with me here, is Porcupine Tree's Deadwing. Strong all the way around. On the downside, Staind's Chapter V was roundly disappointing.

In sports, we lost a lot of good people this year. Both owners of the Giants (both very much quality people) come to mind here. The big one you likely didn't hear about was lacrosse coach Les Bartley. Tough stuff. The good news, though, is that hockey's back. And, it's better than ever. My pick for the Play of the Year? Marek Malik's show-stopping 15th round shootout winner against the Washington Capitals. You gotta see it! [Link] (YouTube)

Other random thoughts...
I'm not sure I want to keep doing the slashdot-esque "department" openers. I do want to write more often, though. In fact, I want to "do better" in everything I do. This year, I think we can all do better - in everything.

Have a happy, and improved, new year, everyone.