* So what the hell is "auld lang syne"? That's easy ... now. Wikipedia is both one of the coolest tools around and a frightening problem.

If anyone's going to try and take on Baseball Reference, it will be a Wiki that does it. I still have the copy of Total Baseball that I was given in high school somewhere, but it's dusty and unused. Lee Sinins' SBE is pretty friggin' amazing, but doesn't work on Mac -- it may be the one thing I miss from the PC World.

* I make my living as an "expert." Does it worry me that this book proves that I'm not likely to make better predictions that anyone else?

If you didn't realize my predictions suck, then you haven't been paying attention. I admit they suck, know they suck, and make them anyway. Know why? Because the debate is interesting. It's funny that someone like me that hates, hates, hates blog commenting on most stories really likes the idea of a web-based debate. If things happened like they did recently with the "Ten Good Bloggers" discussion, I'd change my mind about comments. Until then, I'll continue to think that they're the talk radio of the web.

* While the Blue Jays spent the most and the rest of the AL East is getting all the attention, no one is noticing the very quiet job of restructuring that Josh Byrnes and Peter Woodfork are orchestrating in Arizona. The signing of Eric Byrnes (no relation) finishes off a great winter where they off-loaded older and unhappy players and opened up slots for their young players. Luis Gonzalez remains and he's likely to be a nice acquisition for someone at the deadline -- unless the D-Backs are running away with a very winnable division. With a great minor league system in place, the D-Backs could be a very, very good team for the latter part of the decade.

* 24 is back soon, but not soon enough. There's some amazing additions to the cast, I'm told, and perhaps the return of Elisha Cuthbert. Peter Weller? Julian Sands? Holy cow, that's a casting dream from my teenage days. Please tell me there's some sort of wink towards Buckaroo Bonzai or Gothic!

* Corections. Err, corrections. How do we deal with corrections on the web? Do we take the "it posted, so treat it like print" model or do we acknowledge an initial error with a strikethru -- or do we fix things when they don't affect the outcome of the story? I'll give an example - if I said that Juan Pierre strained his left hamstring in UTK, but it was the case that it was his right hamstring, should that be changed? To me, I think it gets changed if it's caught quickly and doesn't change the story materially. In this example, Pierre would have the same problem no matter which leg and it wouldn't change how fantasy players would react. (Yes, I know who my core market is.) If it turned out that my source was incorrect and that Pierre in fact had a knee problem, then I would correct it in the next column, because that changes things and deserves acknowledgement.

*The new iPod rules. Flat out rules. The video capabilities aren't as mind-altering as carrying around a couple thousand songs, but they're nice. I can see watching a show or movie while sitting in the airport or waiting at the doctor's office. It has an amazing "oooh" factor as well. A broader selection from the iTunes store would help, but then again, if you really want movies, you go to Blockbuster and rip a DVD or hit up Bit Torrent.

* I may be sick, but this Dick Clark thing might be the best NYE marketing gimmick since dropping a ball. (By the way, I only learned this year that Times Square is named after the New York Times. I thought it was because that's where we marked the passage of time. I should have checked the Wikipedia.)

* I'm soooooo done with the Cubs. Seriously. I mean it this time.

* I'm debating an interesting writing project. More on this soon. The big question now is structure and if it's something that can safely run at TheJuiceBlog.com.