Bye, 2016! Don't Let The Door Hit You In The Ass On The Way Out.

So, here we are. In my time zone, at least, we're less than 24 hours from the end of 2016.

And, man... You know, every year, it seems like there is a chorus of voices bemoaning all the terrible things that have happened in the last 365 days and suggesting that it's been a much worse year than most. I'm usually pretty dismissive of that. After all, every year has its share of deaths and bad news, and those things tend to loom larger in our minds than the events of past years only because they're more recent.

But 2016, it seems to me, really has been a giant tire fire of a year. It just kept burning and burning, and the longer it went on, the more noxious fumes it poured out onto all of us. I would like to say that I'm relieved it's almost over and that I'm anticipating much better things in 2017, but, of course, the truth is that 2017 will be shaped by the choices we made in 2016, and I'm not feeling too optimistic about those. Well. Here's hoping that it'll exceed expectations, eh?

In my own personal life, I suppose 2016 is memorable mostly as the year I finally got my driveway resurfaced, so I guess there's that. And one genuinely good surprise this year is that my beloved elderly cat Nova is still here with me at the end of it. He's down to skin and bones and very much showing his age, and to be honest I hardly expected him to make it to his 17th birthday -- round about June -- never mind still being here on New Year's Eve. But here he is, still getting around OK, still happily scarfing down bowls of that super-expensive prescription cat food, and still sitting on my lap and purring. That, at least, is one thing that does make me feel warm and glad at the end of this year. I think I will take it.

And I guess that's it for me for 2016! See you all next year, when I'll be back to do the usual roundup of my year's worth of reading, if nothing else.